Don’t leave it to the last minute! Thai Immigration reminds foreigners ahead of amnesty deadline

[Bender Rodriguez]

20 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

The question is this ?  What type of Visa were you on when you came here, and if you have chosen to stay here long term, why do you need to try and obtain a visa or extension that is more than likely fraudulent more than if it was legitimate by having to pay.  It seems to me that you either have some issue regarding funds, your under 55, your not married to a Thai, or one of many other types of people who find it hard to stay legitimately in the country without having to post up an exorbitant amount of money.  Options are many if you truly have the funds at your disposal.  Just do the right thing and stay off the radar.

ok short story

 

was LEGALLY married for 10+ years in Thailand,  legitimate enough ?

 

had 400.000 baht in bank account specially for immigration, never touched...

 

gave up half (50/50 split) of a 10+ million baht house with ex in court divorce agreement, to be able to live in it with my child till 20.  Ex supposed to deliver signed id card, tabien baan

 

immigration asked, just in case, for a signed copy of the chanote and her presence at immigration = no where on the official website to be found, this rule =  new invented excuse to deny my extension and to force to go with AGENT

 

ex does not provide needed "landlord" documents (as agreed in divorce), but the law is on her side, she cannot be forced or fined over it, went to court to get confirmation about it...

 

so what did I do illegal again ?  even I am 50, I cannot get extension because of the need of landlord docs that my ex will give when pigs can fly

 

funds ... looooooooooool.... I showed 10+ million baht on a fixed deposit and asked for investment visa, after extension based on being parent of thai child was denied...

 

IO's question:  WHERE DID YOU GET THE MONEY.... instead of preparing documents for my investment visa... so ...

 

Sold my house & business in home country... none of their business, legally transferred into Thailand years ago

 

Will I get the:  why don't you waste 500k on elite ?  Why would I have to ? 

I earned my money over the years, I don't want to throw it away for a trash paper.

 

And even with Elite ... and having to extend at immigration, I will get the same sh....   LANDLORD DOCUMENTS...

[BritManToo]

Just now, Bender Rodriguez said:

so what did I do illegal again ?  even I am 50, I cannot get extension because of the need of landlord docs that my ex will give when pigs can fly

Rent a room for 2k/month ....... problem solved.

[Bender Rodriguez]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Rent a room for 2k/month ....... problem solved.

 

IO police comes to check if you live there, with your child... 

 

happens few years ago when we moved, from same moo baan, other "better" section  (10+ million house)

 

ask for witness, neighbors, security, whomever

 

do I have to go fake live in a <deleted> hole with my child, enough days of the month/year to fake/prove we live there instead of our usual 4 bedroom villa in the moo baan where we used to live for the last years and on top risk to be denied entrance to the house as we moved to the <deleted> hole and thus gave up on that ?  my ex is waiting for a <deleted>.up like that to reclaim the last thing she did not take away ?

Edited September 7, 2020 by metisdead
Profanity removed.

[Oldie]

7 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

 

 

And even with Elite ... and having to extend at immigration, I will get the same sh....   LANDLORD DOCUMENTS...

By law your ex needs to make TM30 for you. Perhaps you can get documents via this route? 

[sandyf]

4 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

I just assumed that as the Malaysia/Singapore border has only recently (17th August) reopened after being closed for 5 months, that the other borders would be the same. https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3097723/singapore-malaysia-begin-limited-cross-border-travel

 

Malaysia & Singapore have a "Special" relationship so again, an assumption on my part but I thought this would be the 1st border Malaysia would reopen, especially as quite a few people live in Johor Bahru & commute into Singapore daily for work.

 

But I'm also assuming (last assumption I promise ???? ) that Citizens will be allowed to return home so wpuld have more options than somebody who just fancies a holiday in Penang...

  

I would have thought that there would be a lot more road freight across the Thai borders but that would also be an assumption.

I think that you are probably right in your last sentence, that the majority of the people crossing are Thai and Malay nationals returning to their own country. Like Thailand, there is restricted access for foreigners, and certainly not holidaymakers. I would think that those foreigners that are allowed in are flying in.

At the end of the day if the poster that raised the point is a Malay national then there is no real reason why he shouldn't be able to cross any land border that is open, and access wise, Pedang Besar is probably the easiest.

[TaoNow]

@Bender Rodriguez:   I don't understand why you can't get a retirement extension.  You seem to say you are 50+ years old, and that you have seasoned well in excess of 800K baht here in a Thai bank.  If so, your ex-wife, housing situation, and child need not be involved in your application for extension (for purpose of retirement).

 

Folks here have done numerous retirement extensions (at least at Immo/CW) without having to show proof of residence.  All you need is the bank book, statement for past year, TM47, map to dwelling, passport copies, and the Immo form for annual extension.  Then pay 1,900 baht and you are good for another year of residence.  There are very few reports of Immo home-visiting people on retirement extensions in Bangkok.

 

Covid-19 and the amnesty has not affected the ability of people here on retirement extensions to renew, either.

[Morch]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

You selected the wrong country for long term. Basically unless you qualify for permanent residence, you're a temp that can be removed any time. It's a risk that has been well known for decades.

 

"...the wrong country for long term."

"...has been well known for decades."

 

Decades work for me.

[dario77]

Marriage visa is 90 days reporting .You must be on a multiple entry visa if you have to do border runs.

[DrTuner]

47 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

"...the wrong country for long term."

"...has been well known for decades."

 

Decades work for me.

It did. Now however the end is nigh. There's been a major geopolitical shift towards China.

[metisdead]

A troll post trolling about illegal activities has been removed. 

[Morch]

2 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

It did. Now however the end is nigh. There's been a major geopolitical shift towards China.

 

Been hearing that for decades as well. So the sky is falling, then?

What would such an apocalyptic shift have to do with our visas, though? Do you somehow imagine they'd kick the lot of us out to make room for Chinese retirees etc.?

[DrTuner]

42 minutes ago, Morch said:

Been hearing that for decades as well. So the sky is falling, then?

What would such an apocalyptic shift have to do with our visas, though? Do you somehow imagine they'd kick the lot of us out to make room for Chinese retirees etc.?

Yeah it's falling, CCP paratroopers. It's a general change in attitude, where people from countries that are likely to promote democracy are not welcomed. Only short time tourists or the high roller kind. The mass in between, ie. retirees, married, working, will slowly get more and more trouble from immigration, as it has been lately, with re-introduction of TM30, perpetual increase in paperwork for marriage extensions, etc. And now of course getting quickly rid of the riffraff in one go. Death by a thousand papercuts.

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

Yeah it's falling, CCP paratroopers. It's a general change in attitude, where people from countries that are likely to promote democracy are not welcomed. Only short time tourists or the high roller kind. The mass in between, ie. retirees, married, working, will slowly get more and more trouble from immigration, as it has been lately, with re-introduction of TM30, perpetual increase in paperwork for marriage extensions, etc. And now of course getting quickly rid of the riffraff in one go. Death by a thousand papercuts.

And yet there is now this breaking news:

 

[Bender Rodriguez]

3 hours ago, Oldie said:

By law your ex needs to make TM30 for you. Perhaps you can get documents via this route? 

by law, she don't give a ... about law

 

immigration told me my ex was "breaking the law", but they don't care, they make it a ME problem

 

not talking about TM30, I did that myself (registered) and they were surprised to see my TM30

 

so they asked for the CHANOTE + everything signed off course + owner actually showing up

 

and they added another NEVER seen or asked paper, to give permission again, to me, even it was open and clear in THAI from COURT that I could stay there till my child is 20

 

no thai law can make my ex do any of the above and she knew that

 

I can go to court, she can not show up, twice... then, she MIGHT get fined

 

500 BAHT, once !!!!  after I would have spend 200.000 baht on lawyers, at least

 

 

the thing is , my ex wife knows this IO

 

her aunt is middle management at immigration at an airport also on top of that...

 

 

Edited September 7, 2020 by Bender Rodriguez

[Bender Rodriguez]

3 hours ago, TaoNow said:

@Bender Rodriguez:   I don't understand why you can't get a retirement extension.  You seem to say you are 50+ years old, and that you have seasoned well in excess of 800K baht here in a Thai bank.  If so, your ex-wife, housing situation, and child need not be involved in your application for extension (for purpose of retirement).

 

Folks here have done numerous retirement extensions (at least at Immo/CW) without having to show proof of residence.  All you need is the bank book, statement for past year, TM47, map to dwelling, passport copies, and the Immo form for annual extension.  Then pay 1,900 baht and you are good for another year of residence.  There are very few reports of Immo home-visiting people on retirement extensions in Bangkok.

 

Covid-19 and the amnesty has not affected the ability of people here on retirement extensions to renew, either.

never said I was 50+ as I am not

 

I had all the papers you speak about above

[DrTuner]

12 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

And yet there is now this breaking news:

 

China squeezing Thailand a bit. "do what we tell you or we won't send our hordes". 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Yeah it's falling, CCP paratroopers. It's a general change in attitude, where people from countries that are likely to promote democracy are not welcomed. Only short time tourists or the high roller kind. The mass in between, ie. retirees, married, working, will slowly get more and more trouble from immigration, as it has been lately, with re-introduction of TM30, perpetual increase in paperwork for marriage extensions, etc. And now of course getting quickly rid of the riffraff in one go. Death by a thousand papercuts.

 

OK, so here's the thing - for all the trouble, changes in regulations, and torrents of confusing statements, I find that my dealings with immigration remain more or less the same. Most time it's routine, sometimes it's smoother, sometimes not. Can't say things actually got worse, but could be I just got used to it.

 

As for the rest of the scaremongering effort - Thailand is moving forward. It's no longer as cheap as it used to be, it's not as easy as it was to skirt regulations and scrutiny, it's not as backwards as it used to be. So yeah, that means there will probably be higher bars and new terms for various long term visas, and that some people may find themselves in difficult situations.

 

I kinda doubt this has a whole lot to do with your "geopolitical" take. Does being from a democratic country imply promoting democracy? Most foreigners here stay away from local politics, most Thais (at least in my experience) don't care all that much about World politics. As far as I'm aware all the changes listed apply to Chinese long term stayers as well. The last one I saw at the IO here was treated poorly as he acted in an aggressive and disrespectful manner.

 

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

I kinda doubt this has a whole lot to do with your "geopolitical" take. Does being from a democratic country imply promoting democracy? Most foreigners here stay away from local politics, most Thais (at least in my experience) don't care all that much about World politics. As far as I'm aware all the changes listed apply to Chinese long term stayers as well. The last one I saw at the IO here was treated poorly as he acted in an aggressive and disrespectful manner.

I don't think there are many Chinese long term stayers in the sense many westeners made Thailand their "home", not where I am staying anyway. They seemed to head back to motherland when covid hit and the couple of houses I know once had Chinese living in them in the village have been empty for months ( probably illegal hotels ). Their MO is to stay in China and exploit Thailand as their vassal state, not to stay here. Immigration isn't really a problem for them then. 

 

As for will somebody who's been brought up in a democracy keep on promoting it? I though I was apolitical until I found myself surrounded by daily usurper BS and had enough. Probably should thank them though, I got a newfound interest into Europe and it's history of dictators, marxism, WW 1, French Revolution and even the Roman empire. Fascinating to compare to the current situation here. If I'm a thorn on the side of usurpers, then I'm a proud one. I suspect many who stayed here before 2014 also have the same feelings and aren't exactly quiet about it. But I'm a paying customer so they'll just have to ignore my rants or throw me out.

[Morch]

35 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

I don't think there are many Chinese long term stayers in the sense many westeners made Thailand their "home", not where I am staying anyway. They seemed to head back to motherland when covid hit and the couple of houses I know once had Chinese living in them in the village have been empty for months ( probably illegal hotels ). Their MO is to stay in China and exploit Thailand as their vassal state, not to stay here. Immigration isn't really a problem for them then. 

 

As for will somebody who's been brought up in a democracy keep on promoting it? I though I was apolitical until I found myself surrounded by daily usurper BS and had enough. Probably should thank them though, I got a newfound interest into Europe and it's history of dictators, marxism, WW 1, French Revolution and even the Roman empire. Fascinating to compare to the current situation here. If I'm a thorn on the side of usurpers, then I'm a proud one. I suspect many who stayed here before 2014 also have the same feelings and aren't exactly quiet about it. But I'm a paying customer so they'll just have to ignore my rants or throw me out.

 

When I lived in Bangkok, and used the CW IO, there were usually a few Chinese about in the long term visa sections. That's been about 5 years ago, doubt numbers decreased. Even here there are some, see them at the DIY shops, Makro, Tesco and IO.

 

I don't know about MO, and the rest of your generalizations, doubt your views are actually based on much. Would agree that maybe marrying a local girl and retiring to the village is not a "thing". But people who work here or have families (mixed or otherwise), sure. The Mrs. family is Thai-Chinese, as are many in her (nearby) hometown. There's more talk these last few years about Chinese coming over to start businesses, looking for real estate options, distant family members considering the move and the like. A bit different than say 10-15 years ago.

 

The latter part of your post in unclear. What you feel and claim to do does not necessarily reflect the general Western foreigner population here, nor does it demonstrate how is this "promoting" works or how is it an issue. Kinda doubt most of us are afforded guru status by locals on things political. That's without factoring the language barrier most suffer.

[Felt 35]

This is only for they on amnesty, right? I hope so and not for they of us who recently extended our 1-year retirement extension!

Thanks

Felt.

 

[ThailandRyan]

8 minutes ago, PatrickC said:

 

I wish I was young. And granted, there are double taxation treaties.

 

The point remains - there is an enormous sense of entitlement shown here by those who think they can stay for unlimited amounts of time. "Pattaya would not survive without us". Incredible borderline racist entitlement. They think they are white saviours who should be worshipped for spending a few hundred Baht a day. Combine this with a healthy dose of Thailand bashing and it is too much. Immigration is corrupt, etc etc.

 

This all combines with a healthy dose of "me, me, me". "I do not want to go anywhere else". "Thailand should let me stay". "I can't find any flights out". Etc. Entitlement, Thailand bashing, and "me, me, me". How do you expect some of us to react to that?

 

People need to wise up. This is not about these individuals. The country needs to think about its own good - and these individuals are not Thailand's responsibility. They can return to their country of citizenship, which has a duty of care for them. It is also simply is not practical to keep extending the amnesty. At this point, people should  regularise themselves or leave.

 

Sympathy for those with families and without the income to get the right visa, but again, there is Thailand bashing involved - as if other countries don't apply minimum incomes to family visas.

 

There also needs to be a recognition that borders might remain closed for 1 year, 2 years, 20 years. Who knows. There is no proof whatsoever that a vaccine will work. We might be in for a very, very long haul, and people should plan for that. Extending the amnesty into 2022 is not practical.

 

Time to accept the world has changed, tourism is dead and the nomad lifestyle is dead, and move on.

 

Thanks for the clarification. Your original posts lumped all who do not work here into your taxation category beliefs. I agree with the facts that in order to stay here you need to meet the requirements. Amnesty is not a forever option.  

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, DrTuner said:

I don't think there are many Chinese long term stayers in the sense many westeners made Thailand their "home", not where I am staying anyway.

You would be wrong to think that, a lot more Chinese have made their home in Thailand than westerners ever will.

In the the early 1930's over 12% of the population of Thailand were Chinese. My wife is second generation Chinese and the family still follow the Chinese traditions and often visit the temple at Ang Sila. Spectacular temple and well worth a visit in anyone's language.

[DrTuner]

11 minutes ago, sandyf said:

You would be wrong to think that, a lot more Chinese have made their home in Thailand than westerners ever will.

I meant currently as expats, not the naturalized immigrants that came before.

 

I'm aware of the earlier immigration waves.

https://newleftreview.org/issues/II97/articles/benedict-anderson-riddles-of-yellow-and-red

 

There's also a huge difference that happened in the meanwhile: Mao. 

Edited September 8, 2020 by DrTuner

[Morch]

23 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

I meant currently as expats, not the naturalized immigrants that came before.

 

I'm aware of the earlier immigration waves.

https://newleftreview.org/issues/II97/articles/benedict-anderson-riddles-of-yellow-and-red

 

There's also a huge difference that happened in the meanwhile: Mao. 

 

Quite a few Chinese emigrated to Thailand post-Mao, legally and otherwise. I would guess that for many Westerners, it's sometimes hard to tell whether a person is Thai, Thai-Chinese, Chinese expat, Singaporean and so on. That's ok, I've been told often enough that "we" all look the same. Further, I think Asian expats, more than Westerners, tend to reside in the same areas (call in enclaves or whatever), which aren't always the obvious choices. Lack of interaction and lower visibility would contribute to the illusion they aren't here.

[DrTuner]

5 minutes ago, Morch said:

Quite a few Chinese emigrated to Thailand post-Mao, legally and otherwise. I would guess that for many Westerners, it's sometimes hard to tell whether a person is Thai, Thai-Chinese, Chinese expat, Singaporean and so on. That's ok, I've been told often enough that "we" all look the same. Further, I think Asian expats, more than Westerners, tend to reside in the same areas (call in enclaves or whatever), which aren't always the obvious choices. Lack of interaction and lower visibility would contribute to the illusion they aren't here.

Interesting discussion, but, alas, off topic. Let's pick it up once opportunity calls.

[2009]

On 9/6/2020 at 8:37 AM, trucking said:

Glad they have made this announcement. Hope it has finally filtered down to every immigration office that this is the correct official line and they will stop saying the extension begins on day of application.

Right, haha.

 

I got mines BACKDATED to April!

[johnc925]

Why would I go earlier than the 26th to extend my 30 days? I'm cheating myself by going earlier. I have an extension letter from the US Embassy. I am unable to go abroad and come back to obtain a non-immigrant Visa to process a marriage visa. The policy of most countries including Thailand is a 14-day quarantine. It makes no sense whatsoever to go abroad. Let alone I am a high-risk disabled retiree. 

[shackleton]

I think we will be reading about this story right up to the 26th September

Then on the 27th the excuses of why some people did not follow up on their visa requirements on their reasons  to stay or not 

[Daithi85]

2 minutes ago, shackleton said:

I think we will be reading about this story right up to the 26th September

Then on the 27th the excuses of why some people did not follow up on their visa requirements on their reasons  to stay or not 

Well at the moment some people that are going to do there extensions are being told by immigration to hold on and wait for another announcement.

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, DrTuner said:

I meant currently as expats, not the naturalized immigrants that came before.

What makes you think they were naturalised, my wife's grandfather was a Chinese expat till he died. The offspring became Thai through birth.

It is an unfortunate fact that on this forum the Chinese are brought up in nearly every topic, second in line to the government on the forum hate list.