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Foreigners in Thailand face fines and jail for overstaying as visa amnesty ends


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4 hours ago, CALSinCM said:

My guess is that this will border on sexual arousal for Thai Immigration.  Sorta like a pod of killer whales savaging a school of salmon. 

hmmmm,  quite a vivid imagination .    i am intrigued and have been scouring Google but can not find

the part where whales get sexually aroused when "savaging"  a school of salmon.

 

on the other hand i have suspected a female officer or two might be reaching the level you refer to

when I have entered errrr,  arrived .

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57 minutes ago, lkv said:

Although I cannot vouch for that particular advert/company, it is true that foreigners can enter Indonesia if they have KITAS/KITAP or a visa issued after March 31st, 2020.

 

The visa advertised in that link is a B-211 social visa for 60 days, that you can stretch locally up to 6 months (local extensions).

 

Other companies are advertising cheaper services (Rp 6M instead of 8 million in your link), maybe even cheaper if you google search. Example: https://visaforbali.com/service/telex-visa

 

They basically charge for the sponsorship letter, anybody with an Indonesian company can do that.

 

No quarantine if the traveller shows a covid-19 free test taken within 7 days of departure.

 

Sorry for the slight off topic, but it might be relevant to people that have to depart from Thailand.

However, according to Indonesia: 

"All foreign visitors are restricted to enter and transit through the Indonesian territory. foreign entry is banned" 

 

https://www.kbri-canberra.go.id/en/menu-visa-service.html

Edited by aussiexpat
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4 hours ago, GigsGigs said:

And I've been saying this for weeks to no end now, the double amnesty thing has been seen and perceived as a "sign of weakness" by the upper inner circles at the Immigration headquarters.

 

As always as foreigners we only see what we want to see from our angle, point of view through the prism of whatever reality we live in. For the Thais however, it appears we would have "abused" their kindness by using these two amnesties as a way to maintain ourselves in the Kingdom (THEIR Kindom, remember?) more than what we should have.

 

The 26th September marks the grand opening of the "farang hunting season" for the immigration, expect to be stopped frequently through the country for a quick passport/visa check (checkpoints anyone?) more than you ever have in the past, post Covid-19 era.

 

Why do you ask? Because in their minds we have effectively abused their trust and misused the double amnesties they have granted us.

 

Or simply put, because THEY CAN.

 

That is one of the sides effects of the Xenophobic rhetorica that is being spun by this "self-elected" government.

 

Thailand is officially going down the drain. Thanks to the Army, I guess.

 

Edit: On a personal level, I'm starting to take peeks here and there to Laos as an alternative destination, afterall let's face it; most of the girls we interact with in the seedy/raunchy areas of the country that are being employed in the nightlife/adult industry (yes, I'm looking at you Pattaya, Koh Samui, Patong, Nana Plaza@BKK etc) are from the Issan region anyways, they speak Lao in their families more than they speak the "Hi so" Thai from Bangkok and they are ethnically speaking closer to their Laotian sisters than they are to their Bangkok "Hi so" compatriots. Same same as they say.

Good luck and bail out if you're so inclined - tho your "farang hunting season" may be quite a stretch at current climate - surely some unwanted pos will get their limelight soon-ish, but I'm thinking you're underestimating your friendly neighbour Thai, whils packing to pastures more green here.

Why, do you (even) ask...

History is written by victors, so hope in the end we're at the same end of spectrum, but meanwhile I'd say no reason for doom&gloom, and less reason to undermine them IB fellows and their comprehension skills.

When and if Laos opens borders, hook me up with a tubing session, and let's discuss some more politics :burp:

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8 hours ago, genericptr said:

Given the absolute shambles tourism is currently in, I still can't believe they're going to send all these tourists home without even offering some alternative visa.

What's the explanation for this behavior?

Those in power are Deranged I tell you...completely deranged! ????

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4 hours ago, Jack Hna said:

I believe retirees do not spend anywhere close to 40k a month.

 

I see loads of these guys about and they are not spending. 

You need to look outside of the box.  Plenty of us retiree's spend well over the amount you quoted, and plenty of those retiree's have money to burn should they choose too.  I have assets parked in the US and a very comfortable pension to live off of.  I was one of those who used the ME Visa's to go back and forth, but with the writing on the wall parked 1MB in a fixed deposit account here to ensure the extension for the next year would be easier then having to show 12 bank statements of an average of 5 pages each, because I spend considerable amounts to live like I want, and make life easier for both myself and the IO's.  As unfortunate as it may be, there is a visa type that single under 50 folks can obtain, the problem is that as much as they talk about having boat loads of money and propping up tourism they just do not want to spend the money on that one type of Visa that would guarantee them the ability to stay.  Say what you will, and unfortunately I started my life here in Thailand playing the same games, but then realized to be legal and live with no fear of Immigration I would comply with THEIR regulations and stay legally.  Enjoy your day.

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8 hours ago, genericptr said:

Given the absolute shambles tourism is currently in, I still can't believe they're going to send all these tourists home without even offering some alternative visa.

 

What's the explanation for this behavior?

Good question. On the one hand-why not keep the 150,000 tourists that are contributing to the economy? However, how are people who intending on staying a week or two surviving after they’ve been here 5 months? Few planned for a long term stay and many could be running short of funds. 

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7 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

There never been any logic about desition's in here! Still this is one of most stupid thinking of human kind! Kick out ten's of thousand's foreigner who are here (covid free) and try get 1200 new one in / month! Who possible have covid and can spread that in here, even you are in quarantine (have already happen)!

They going to make more bad to them self again! Really bad advertisement!

It is classic left hand/ right hand. 

The left hand sees and seized on an opportunity (however flawed and unlikely to succeed) to milk cash from what is essentially a scam, despite the damage it will do to Thailand's reputation as a future tourist destination; the right hand, perhaps from xenophobia, perhaps (more likely) simply because they are following the rules with no directions or guidance (who knows) are forcing people out, despite the damage it will do to Thailand's reputation as a future tourist destination. All presided over by an incompetent and bewildered government.

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3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Thai logic - kick out 100,000 1 month and import 1,200 the next - potentially

The STV is just a ruse to fool people into thinking foreign tourists are still welcome.

 

They are not, as evidenced by the continuing actions of the Thai government. 

 

But having a complete ban on foreign tourists (which is pretty much the situation now) upsets local industry leaders and gives Thailand a negative image. 

 

Actions speak louder than words. 

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9 hours ago, ukrules said:

It's time to start prodding the Home Office (or equivalent) to make sure that Thais in foreign countries get a good measure of reciprocity here.

 


Maybe then the Thais in our home country (UK) will start prodding their government to have reciprocal retirement visa rules to the UK.

 

Got £1,000,000 knocking around?

 

And maybe we should have to go through the same rigmarole when visiting for a few days/weeks as a Thai would have to go through to visit the UK.

 

Be careful what you wish for..

 

 

End of the day people have had 6 months & a plethora of options to sort something out so it’s churlish to start having a pop at the Thai government for doing what they said they’d Do > 2 months ago.

 

Edited by Mike Teavee
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And yet there is another article on Phuket being in a Coma, because of not having visitors.  Makes one wonder if this current government is trying to reset time, reduce folks in order to restore nature, and move into the industrial age.....Nah just stupidity on there part and then those who believe free handouts last forever.

Edited by ThailandRyan
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9 hours ago, genericptr said:

USA has 300k Thai residents I believe. We've taken in thousands of refugees from the region and surely would have done the same for Thailand. If only Americans knew how the Thais treat us here they wouldn't be so generous in the future.

 

A friend of mine from New Zealand was in California a couple of months ago. He was actually keen to remain there rather than go back to Hong Kong where he is based. When he called American Immigration he was yelled at down the phone line and told he could not extend his visa and he had to leave before his visa expired.

 

You say America is being kind to tourists who want to stay there, right? My friend didn't find that to be the case at all - so don't go saying Thailand is not treating visitors as well as your own country of USA because that is <deleted>.

 

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I went to CM io yesterday for the 60 day extension for 2 reasons. Firstly if the Amnesty was not granted today there would be large amounts of people there. Secondly, I didn't want the Amnesty to interferer with me getting a 1 year visa. CM io was less than half full yesterday and I got there at 10.30am and left at 2.00pm with the 2 month extension in my passport.

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9 hours ago, genericptr said:

USA has 300k Thai residents I believe. We've taken in thousands of refugees from the region and surely would have done the same for Thailand. If only Americans knew how the Thais treat us here they wouldn't be so generous in the future.

You said it, they’re “Residents”, get one of the many visas available to you in Thailand & be a “Resident”.

 

Incidentally the only available Resident option available to me (UK Citizen) in the US is a $500,000 investment to live in a slum state... Maybe Thailand should do the same for US Citizens??? ... Thought not... 

 

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14 hours ago, Jack Hna said:

The retired folks from UK basically have 20k gbp in the bank static and about 30k baht a month

LMAO... Coming from somebody who couldn’t pony up £12,500 to get a 5 year Elite Visa... Wait a minute, this old (54) retiree often forgets which pocket he left that in.

 

Joking aside,  I take no pleasure in people having to leave (might be me tomorrow, or the next day), was chatting with a couple of guys from the UK last night who have been here since Jan & were gutted to have to go back on Friday not knowing when they’ll be able to return, i suggested  they have another crack at getting a letter from the UK Embassy as surely they’ll be softening up by now.

 

Get back onto your Embassy, give them some gubbins about not being able to get back home & get an extension 

 

Good Luck with whatever you decide ???? 

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