Thai govt eyes new visa rules in bid to woo investors

[Fex Bluse]

The problem with Thailand is that one simply cannot trust anything. There is no rule of law, and foreigners have no legal recourse if they are taken advantage of. That makes all of their schemes attractive ONLY where individuals or companies can exploit some advantage.

 

For example, for Chinese nationals who are laundering money out of China, their alternatives are limited, so they will accept the risk of these silly Thai schemes. There are many of these Chinese desperate to get their money out of China, and Thailand has no interest learning where the money comes from. They care only that they can get it.

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

With only smaller than 40 applications in 8 month, one would assume it wasn´t a hit. ???? 

The Smart Visa has been around since Feb 2019 & the guys I know who have them got their’s when they Extended/renewed Visa/WP (as I understand it they no longer need a WP) this year

 

I don’t know if they tried last year & failed or the company wasn’t aware of them but is now & is moving people over to it at extension/renewal time.

[Smokegreynblues]

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

I'd like to find out how many 'smart visas' have been issued since it was introduced...I suspect it's either zero or very close to zero.

Quite a number of people in the IT industry hold such visas. I know around 5 people who hold such visas. All are working in IT. One in the food technology industry. 

[ezzra]

Right now every man and his dog is coming up with visas ideas for this or that, it seems that if you're an official of some kind of rank you have to throw your ideas into the ring, what will come out of it? very little i suspect...

[Lacessit]

I've been living here ten years. Until the pandemic reduced my outgoings, I was averaging about a million baht per year expenditure in Thailand. I daresay there are quite a few farangs in Thailand making similar contributions to the Thai economy.

Why we are treated as an inconvenience baffles me. It's not the average Thai selling goods and services, most appreciate our custom. It's the people in high places who make visa life more complicated than it should be.

Other posters have a valid point. Put your money into Thailand via property, watch it disappear later by government fiat. If they don't trust us, why would they think we should trust them?

[mrmicbkktxl]

2 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Its certainly a way to sell these condos and if foreign buyers are being offered  a hassles longterm visa staying option its interesting but the devil is in the details and why not have offered it 7 years ago ? 

Thailand had a visa like that before and when the economy got better they just scraped it.That left the owners of condos without a long stay visa option,but immigration didn't care

[miamiman123]

100k to spend plus 100k of insurance plus 14 days in Q at 20,000 USA dollars? 

who they kidding???!

hahzha no way 

it’s done fir a very very long time amigo Thai

[PEE TEE]

Also consider the ones who have bought property in a thai partners name and got a long term lease. 

[GeorgeCross]

32 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

I've been living here ten years. Until the pandemic reduced my outgoings, I was averaging about a million baht per year expenditure in Thailand. I daresay there are quite a few farangs in Thailand making similar contributions to the Thai economy.

Why we are treated as an inconvenience baffles me. It's not the average Thai selling goods and services, most appreciate our custom. It's the people in high places who make visa life more complicated than it should be.

Other posters have a valid point. Put your money into Thailand via property, watch it disappear later by government fiat. If they don't trust us, why would they think we should trust them?

to be honest i think they just reap what they sow. while they continue to be untrustworthy and difficult, they will earn no trust. i for one could bring a lot more to this country, create jobs, infastructure but i will not. in fact its beyond that. for the last 5 years my family has been actively downsizing and offshoring our footprint in thailand. i cannot see it returning even if democracy is restored and PR and such things are handed out. the damage has been done and the trust has been lost. 

i like it here and we live a good life here but our assests and investments are unlikely to come back.

somehow i doubt i am the only one who thinks like this.

 

[bobbin]

1 hour ago, Chassa said:

Divorce law says you own half.

No, it doesn't say you "own" half.  It says you are entitled to half of communal assets. That is, assets acquired after marriage.

 

A small but important distinction.

[micmichd]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

I'd like to find out how many 'smart visas' have been issued since it was introduced...I suspect it's either zero or very close to zero.

Of course none. It's a new law. 

[micmichd]

2 minutes ago, bobbin said:

No, it doesn't say you "own" half.  It says you are entitled to half of communal assets. That is, assets acquired after marriage.

 

A small but important distinction.

Depends on your marriage contract.  

 

In Germany where I come from you can state whatever you want in your marriage contract. If you lovely ex refuses to work and claims welfare instead, then the welfare office can and will void anything in this contract. And off you go, they even let you sleep under a bridge in the West. 

[NemoH]

This is not new.

 

Its a beautiful policy actually. 

 

They are just copying all these from other regional countries. When it comes to implementation, they have ZERO process or have any idea of how to implement the policy in Thailand. It's like - Left hand saying and when it comes to doing, Right hand has no clue of what to do.

 

Politicians come and go. Like always, all who expect to benefit from all this, will just go away being disappointed again.

 

[SymS]

2 hours ago, Matzzon said:

With only smaller than 40 applications in 8 month, one would assume it wasn´t a hit. ???? 

Applicants would need a salary of 200,000+ Baht to that already limits the number of people who can apply, plus the conditions were not that enticing.

[Susco]

4 minutes ago, micmichd said:

11 minutes ago, bobbin said:

No, it doesn't say you "own" half.  It says you are entitled to half of communal assets. That is, assets acquired after marriage.

 

A small but important distinction.

Depends on your marriage contract.  

 

In Germany where I come from you can state whatever you want in your marriage contract.

But you're not in Germany anymore Fritz, this is Thailand and the Thaivisa forum

[holy cow cm]

Great. And I have part of my name on our family house. But I bet this doesn’t qualify even being a father of 3 here with cars and bikes. I might consider buying a condo if push comes to shove. Just unfair again to people already vested and invested here. 

[Poet]

We know that a huge number of Thai and Chinese condo buyers have already started defaulted on their monthly payments, realizing that Airbnb rentals are no longer viable. Many are simply writing off the 30% they originally paid and walking away.

This means that the Thai banks, who were already sitting on a huge amount of repossessed property, will now have a ridiculous amount. This is going to be significantly worse that the crash of '97. Much of the bank's supposed liquidity is based on counting the property already on their books at it's full original value (yes, this would be fraud in any other country), the government will be under tremendous pressures to prop up the property market.

I have no doubt that the government will introduce another residence scheme for condo buyers, but it will only apply to those being sold by either the banks or particularly well-connected development companies. The prices will be based on the pre-covid market. What you will receive will be a 5-year Elite visa, worth 500,000. Commenters here on TVF will be disappointed to note that it would be cheaper to buy a condo on the regular market and buy your Elite visa separately. The scheme organizers will, however, decorate the marketing with golden dragons and the Chinese will love it.


 

[Poet]

18 minutes ago, micmichd said:

In Germany where I come from you can state whatever you want in your marriage contract. If you lovely ex refuses to work and claims welfare instead, then the welfare office can and will void anything in this contract. And off you go, they even let you sleep under a bridge in the West. 

Well, come on, what sort of idiot would marry a Western woman?!
 

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, Chassa said:

Why just condos? Many farang built houses cost as much!

Because the condo industry is greatly hurting now because of CV19. This alone has a major effect on economy as they will tell us. Maybe in reality too many people in the government are losing money and their piece of this pie as there are thousands and thousands plus sitting empty or not being paid off in default. 

[steveyinasia]

3 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Its certainly a way to sell these condos and if foreign buyers are being offered  a hassles longterm visa staying option its interesting but the devil is in the details and why not have offered it 7 years ago ? 

Probably because 7 years ago their tourism industry didn't evaporate as it has now.    They are coming with all soorts of ideas to bring money...oops...people into the country.

[moe666]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

I'd like to find out how many 'smart visas' have been issued since it was introduced...I suspect it's either zero or very close to zero.

I know of at least one, a young guy who is a hot shot computer jockey

[malathione]

1 hour ago, Chassa said:

Generally, foreigners are not allowed to directly purchase land in Thailand. ... It is a commonly unknown fact that although a foreigner cannot own land in Thailand, he can own the house or structure built thereon. One only has to apply for a construction permit to build the house in his own name.

From the internet

If that is correct, you have my unconditional apologies. I'm too lazy to verify...

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Govt eyes new visa rules in bid to woo investors

Hub of scams, now with the condos all laying empty with no buyers lets think of a way to get them in.

[0815]

5 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Thailand the world's visa hub.

They should make a survey in Western countries, to find out what Thailand is famous for and then rethink their plans again.

[carbon007]

and VOA is ?

[Bender Rodriguez]

PR = you don't have really begging anymore ? no 90 days either ?

 

do you have to live in it, or can rent it out ?

[BestB]

First they mercilessly get rid off all the people under 50 and now they want to bring them back ????

 

how about perm residency for those who have been working or running businesses for past 20 years? Less value than condo buyers?

[bobbin]

1 hour ago, micmichd said:

Depends on your marriage contract.  

 

In Germany where I come from you can state whatever you want in your marriage contract. If you lovely ex refuses to work and claims welfare instead, then the welfare office can and will void anything in this contract. And off you go, they even let you sleep under a bridge in the West. 

We are not talking about "pre-nuptual agreement/contracts".  We are talking about Thai divorce law.

 

I'm betting that German law regarding divorce is similar when it comes to dividing communal assets,

[Caldera]

If they give me PR for buying a condo, I would seriously consider taking that offer.

 

That being said, I realize that there's usually a big difference between such a headline statement and the actual implementation. If it materializes at all, that is.

[connda]

In nature, a symbiotic relationship is a long-term survival strategy, much better the draining the life out of your host which seems to be the goal of most new immigration regulations targeting foreigners. 

"You have to buy this from that Thai company, and deposit this much with that Thai bank, and give this much of your ownership rights to those native Thais, - and you need to shoulder all the risk.  And if there is a global pandemic or other emergency?  You'll need to pay this much to that special hotel, and book transportation with these special companies, and submit these special documents to those agencies - and Oh! make sure you buy $100,000 Covid insurance from one of these Thai companies who we have promised some of the cream that we'll be render from your carcass.  And be aware, we may simply chose to not let you back into the country.  <smirk, laugh>
And don't worry - we'll think of other ways to sear the remaining fat off of your bones before we discard the husk of what is left."

In parasitic relationships, the host isn't necessarily the only one who dies.  Symbiosis is a better strategy!  But here?  Xenophobic fear and loathing gets the best of them and it's right back to looking for ways to suck the life out of the host while making the host think that they are being fed.