6 minutes ago, ELMqgp said:

I went to the immigration office today and the immigration volunteer said to either leave the thailand before September 26th or change to other long stay visa pay abount 70000 baht. This is legal solicitation of bribes and I think the Thai government should do something about it.

Did you qualify for any other extension? (30-day with embassy letter,  Medical not-fit-to-fly)? 

If you do not qualify for those, they really can't suggest much else other than to depart or face illegal overstay penalty.

Edited September 21, 20205 yr by audaciousnomad

1 minute ago, EricTh said:

Bangkok Post just reported there are 150,000 tourist visa holders currently in Thailand today.

 

They will be fined if they don't renew their visa so there's no more amnesty for sure.

 

150k is a lot.....

'Just reported'???

 

In other news, Germany have invaded Poland.

13 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Bangkok Post just reported there are 150,000 tourist visa holders currently in Thailand today.

 

They will be fined if they don't renew their visa so there's no more amnesty for sure.

 

150k is a lot.....

I don't want to be captain obvious here, but if the average foreigner is spending 30-40K baht per month on rent, food, domestic travel, etc that is 4.5-6 Billion baht per month. ????  I would guess many spend much more than that.  Just sayin....  

Edited September 21, 20205 yr by Fancyfarang

15 minutes ago, ELMqgp said:

I went to the immigration office today and the immigration volunteer said to either leave the thailand before September 26th or change to other long stay visa pay about 70000 baht. This is legal solicitation of bribes and I think the Thai government should do something about it.

Why? Without the bribes the only option left is just "Leave the country" so I prefer to have a second option available for a little bit of money.

2 minutes ago, ELMqgp said:

I don't think a lot of people can afford the high visa fees, and many people probably can't afford to eat. Overstay doesn't matter anymore, during an epidemic many people's hope is to survive. The Thai government should know that was a biological weapons attack and not many tourists will want to visit Thailand in future. Consideration should be given to taking in tourists who are already in Thailand, rather than hoping for new tourists to enter the country.

These are exactly the type of people though who have absolutely no business of being in Thailand or any country other than their own where they can apply for social assistance.

 

If someone is truly destitute then go to your embassy and inquire about repatriation. Such individuals wouldn't be tourists but social welfare cases and it's not the responsibility of a foreign country to take care of them. 

       I'm holding out for an announcement tomorrow RE the SMART visa - New details were supposed to be finalised soon, and it looks like this could be the answer for a lot of people who, like me, work online and make no money in Thailand. The other option is a new toursit visa and allowing people to apply in-country. If they want tourists to stay in Thailand, then it doesn't make sense to boot out 150K tourists, and replace them with 1,200 who may or may not come here at all.

       The UK is also in a sorry state of COVID affairs, and is talking about doing another 2 week 'mini' lockdown - why on Earth would i want to go back !

       Amnesty is obviously not going to be extended, but seeing as Thailand loves to do things last minute, it makes planning impossible. So many forum members have told stories about using their extension, only for amnesty to come along. Or purchasing a dodgy non o for amnesty to come along. I'm only waiting now, because i am entitled to a further 30 days extension. If there is no announcement then an etension will be applied for on the next day. Then i suppose it'll be an agent i'll be relying on to complete my long stay visa.

        Good luck to all who are waiting for some good news!

Edited September 21, 20205 yr by 2530Ubon

3 minutes ago, ELMqgp said:

I don't think a lot of people can afford the high visa fees, and many people probably can't afford to eat. Overstay doesn't matter anymore, during an epidemic many people's hope is to survive. The Thai government should know that was a biological weapons attack and not many tourists will want to visit Thailand in future. Consideration should be given to taking in tourists who are already in Thailand, rather than hoping for new tourists to enter the country.

I agree with you.  The visa fees is 1900baht...IF YOU QUALIFY. I was simply saying that the frontline workers don't make the policy, so they can only suggest based on what you qualify for. The ideas you are presenting will only be decided at the higher levels.

27 minutes ago, ELMqgp said:

I went to the immigration office today and the immigration volunteer said to either leave the thailand before September 26th or change to other long stay visa pay about 70000 baht. This is legal solicitation of bribes and I think the Thai government should do something about it.

 

70,000 baht or 700,000 baht?

 

70,000 is just about 7 months rental so it ain't much unless you want to spend money in 14 days quarantine in hotels and buying expensive insurance.

Edited September 21, 20205 yr by EricTh

10 minutes ago, Fancyfarang said:

I don't want to be captain obvious here, but if the average foreigner is spending 30-40K baht per month on rent, food, domestic travel, etc that is 4.5-6 Billion baht per month. ????  I would guess many spend much more than that.  Just sayin....  

Try to stay in a Western country with that logic.

21 minutes ago, EricTh said:

Bangkok Post just reported there are 150,000 tourist visa holders currently in Thailand today.

 

They will be fined if they don't renew their visa so there's no more amnesty for sure.

 

150k is a lot.....

Those who can renew will do so before the 26th. Those who can't or won't, pity for them. These are hard times we are living in. ???? 

1 minute ago, EricTh said:

70,000 is just about 7 months rental so it ain't much unless you want to spend money in 14 days quarantine in hotels and buying expensive insurance.

7 months rental? 10k a month?

 

Bit optimistic, I'm paying 32,000 and it's not a palace. Already negotiated down from 40k for the new term since August.

6 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

       I'm holding out for an announcement tomorrow RE the SMART visa - New details were supposed to be finalised soon, and it looks like this could be the answer for a lot of people who, like me, work online and make no money in Thailand. The other option is a new toursit visa and allowing people to apply in-country. If they want tourists to stay in Thailand, then it doesn't make sense to boot out 150K tourists, and replace them with 1,200 who may or may not come here at all.

       Amnesty is obviously not going to be extended, but seeing as Thailand loves to do things last minute, it makes planning impossible. So many forum members have told stories about using their extension, only for amnesty to come along. Or purchasing a dodgy non o for amnesty to come along. I'm only waiting now, because i am entitled to a further 30 days extension. If there is no announcement then an etension will be applied for on the next day. Then i suppose it'll be an agent i'll be relying on to complete my long stay visa.

        Good luck to all who are waiting for some good news!

The Smart visa isn't for digital nomads. You aren't a tourist, you work here without paying tax, don't have a work permit or the appropriate visa. Just leave. 

24 minutes ago, ELMqgp said:

I went to the immigration office today and the immigration volunteer said to either leave the thailand before September 26th or change to other long stay visa pay about 70000 baht. This is legal solicitation of bribes and I think the Thai government should do something about it.

So do you have an option under the existing rules and with borders closed due to covid to remain in Thailand without using an agent or an embassy letter?

 

If not then you should seriously consider your options.

 

If the govt stopped the use of agents, as you want, because you did not get your free stay, then many others would be affected and also unable to stay in Thailand.

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

The Smart visa isn't for digital nomads. You aren't a tourist, you work here without paying tax, don't have a work permit or the appropriate visa. Just leave. 

     Perhaps you should look at the new announcement, they specifically mentioned people who were working online and not currently paying tax being moved over to the SMART visa.

     As someone who doesn't do any work in Thailand, or make any money in Thailand, all of my money comes from a bank in the US in USD, then this applies to people like me. We will pay tax and in exchange, receive a visa. Work permit is not required. 

     Yes, i am not a tourist. I was working in Thailand for many years paying tax, but then i became self employed and recently transitioned to using tourist visas whilst waiting for enough funds to purchase the Elite Visa. COVID kind of screwed everything up. I have bought a beautiful new build home with my girlfriend, which i have extensively upgraded. I have money and means, although my money has been tied up in building the property at the moment, hence i don't have funds for Elite visa's - i have Thai builders to employ. I would happy to pay tax to live here legally. Let me guess? You're a poor teacher paying 6-9k a year in taxes and feel that emboldens you to tell others to pay their tax, get a proper visa or "just leave." You sir, or madam, are pathetic. This is a forum for people to help each other. What valuble contribution did you just make?

Few hours left for the idiots who rushed to pay for an expensive visa to understand what they really are ????

 

 

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

The only thing I feel entitled to is the right to live with my wife of 30 years - live, not be allowed to visit. I cannot imagine any other country that requires husbands to renew visas every year, providing the same information over and over and over and over and over again, year after year after year after year, rather than issuing, say, a five year visa - a normal visa, not a so-called elite visa which is anything but, requiring 90 day reports, re-entry permits etc. Some countries even give permanent permission to stay after five years or less. Imagine that.

Yip does my head in . In uk I think it’s two and half years foreign wife can stay and then applies to stay permanently and that is granted around two years later usually. As far as I know there is no 90 reporting , yearly visa renewal, money in bank every year to renew , immigration rocking up to your house . Think after 13 years of doing the same thing and submitting the same info at same address with photos etc they might actually think ok they are married !

1 minute ago, 2530Ubon said:

     Perhaps you should look at the new announcement, they specifically mentioned people who were working online and not currently paying tax being moved over to the SMART visa.

     As someone who doesn't do any work in Thailand, or make any money in Thailand, all of my money comes from a bank in the US in USD, then this applies to people like me. We will pay tax and in exchange, receive a visa. Work permit is not required. 

     Yes, i am not a tourist. I was working in Thailand for many years paying tax, but then i became self employed and recently transitioned to using tourist visas whilst waiting for enough funds to purchase the Elite Visa. COVID kind of screwed everything up. I have bought a beautiful new build home with my girlfriend, which i have extensively upgraded. I have money and means, although my money has been tied up in building the property at the moment, hence i don't have funds for Elite visa's - i have Thai builders to employ. I would happy to pay tax to live here legally. Let me guess? You're a poor teacher paying 6-9k a year in taxes and feel that emboldens you to tell others to pay their tax, get a proper visa or "just leave." You sir, or madam, are pathetic. This is a forum for people to help each other. What valuble contribution did you just make?

I am a manager for a multinational and pay a lot more than that. Nice excuses but you are working illegally here.

5 minutes ago, userabcd said:

If the govt stopped the use of agents, as you want, because you did not get your free stay, then many others would be affected and also unable to stay in Thailand.

Exactly. Typical western mindset Paired with jealousy and no business sense.

 

It would cost a lot more having to leave and then return under the STV scheme. Plus the time and effort involved.

 

But no, some folks just want the TH government to create a new in-country extension rule and file their application for 1900 Baht. Because... well, because Covid. ????

 

But with people reporting to just getting "under consideration" stamps and then having to return after 21 days and paying 1900 Baht each month I seriously gotta wonder how little people value their nerves and time. So instead of 4 taxi roundtrips monthly and 1900 Baht fees plus a massive waste of time it has been possible to get a 15 month volunteer Non-O for 50,000 Baht.

 

Let's do the math for a moment: 15x 1900 - 28,500 Baht, Transportation 60 taxi rides 9000 Baht, Time: Priceless. Thank you, I take the agent any day!

3 minutes ago, scoupeo said:

Few hours left for the idiots who rushed to pay for an expensive visa to understand what they really are ????

They should have already realized that when Immigration started extending tourists visas with embassy letters.

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

I am a manager for a multinational and pay a lot more than that. Nice excuses but you are working illegally here.

No, i'm not. You only need a work permit and visa if you are making money in Thailand, working for a Thai company or volunteering for a Thai company. Consulting on my computer for companies in America, and getting paid into my American bank account and transfering these funds over to my Thai bank account does not constitute working in Thailand. This has been verified by immigration. Again, you've brought no value at all to the conversation.

3 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

No, i'm not. You only need a work permit and visa if you are making money in Thailand, working for a Thai company or volunteering for a Thai company. Consulting on my computer for companies in America, and getting paid into my American bank account and transfering these funds over to my Thai bank account does not constitute working in Thailand. This has been verified by immigration. Again, you've brought no value at all to the conversation.

Absolute BS, where the money goes has nothing to do with it. Immigration is for visa's, the labor office is for work related things. I don't need to add value to people who break several laws in this country.

Edited September 21, 20205 yr by FritsSikkink

54 minutes ago, ELMqgp said:

I went to the immigration office today and the immigration volunteer said to either leave the thailand before September 26th or change to other long stay visa pay about 70000 baht. This is legal solicitation of bribes and I think the Thai government should do something about it.

 

would you have rather they just said "leave thailand before the 26th" then?

 

strange. where i come from lifelines are generally good news.

 

 

6 minutes ago, JoseThailand said:

They should have already realized that when Immigration started extending tourists visas with embassy letters.

????you can't be still expecting amnesty to be extended.

6 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Absolute BS, where the money goes has nothing to do with it. Immigration is for visa's, the labor office is for work related things. I don't need to add value to people who break several laws in this country.

Case closed

5 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

Case closed

BS, good bye

54 minutes ago, Fancyfarang said:

I don't want to be captain obvious here, but if the average foreigner is spending 30-40K baht per month on rent, food, domestic travel, etc that is 4.5-6 Billion baht per month. ????  I would guess many spend much more than that.  Just sayin....  

whilst i totally agree with you.. from their point of view they do not believe we are bringing money IN unless we are on long stay visas and they can validate it. they feel we're working here illegally and thus just spending money that was already here.

 

not my feeling btw i'm trying to make sense of it all myself but this was how i interpreted todays BP article.

 

it also brings into perspective their preoccupation in bringing new money in.

 

they really are a strange bunch 

 

Edited September 21, 20205 yr by GeorgeCross

6 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

whilst i totally agree with you.. from their point of view they do not believe we are bringing money IN unless we are on long stay visas and they can validate it. they feel we're working here illegally and thus just spending money that was already here.

 

not my feeling btw i'm trying to make sense of it all myself but this was explicitly stated in todays BP article.

 

it also brings into perspective their preoccupation in bringing new money in.

 

they really are a strange bunch 

 

So don't Thais save their earnings and go and stay places outside of their land of birth for a long time with their savings earned elsewhere? I guess not or they must be living on credit.

Quote

In Thailand, it is Thai law for one to have proof of their legal status to stay in the country on them at all times (passport and stamp) and Immigration or Police officers can legally check or ask to check the status of any foreign national at any time.  The statements appear to infer that “spot” or “random” checks may take place.

 

looks like hunting season starts on sunday.

 

stay safe people.

 

src:https://thepattayanews.com/2020/09/21/royal-thai-immigration-bureau-warns-of-strict-enforcement-of-overstay-after-amnesty-ends-next-weekend-for-those-on-tourist-visas/

5 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

looks like hunting season starts on sunday.

 

I'm starting to pack my bag for IDC. A pair of underwear, toilet paper, toothbrush. What else? A tube of KY? Just in case lol.

14 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

Case closed

To be fair that's a several years old online post and has nothing to do with the actual law.

 

We (well known MNC) had our legal department research the matter extensively because we (HQ) frequently use the services of self employed consultants and developers. They consulted with Immigration as well as MOL and the conclusion was clear that it's not allowed for self employed individuals to remain and/or work in Thailand using Tourist Visas and Visa Exempts. There are many components to this, for one the work and taxation aspect to it. Then the maximum amount of days you're allowed to remain on TV's generally.

 

It doesn't matter where you receive your remuneration as far as the MOL/Immigration is concerned, doing permanent work in Thailand on a TV is illegal. The origin of your funds might come into play when talking about which taxation laws apply but that doesn't touch the core issue.

 

I know there are many folks here who choose not to believe it because they heard otherwise or chose snippets of information to make themselves believe what they do is perfectly legal. Well, there are very few things as dangerous in this world as trying to be a lawyer or a doctor when you're actually not. ????