I have lived in Thailand for over twelve years, and I still struggle to find out accurate and reliable information on the latest rules and regulations.

Concerns such as the latest rules about Visas often are passed around by rumours over social media.

If the government wants to make new laws, I have noticed that normally a Thai Minister will be reported as stating that his ministry plans to stop this or start that regulation shortly.

However, unless the law is published in the Royal Gazette it is not confirmed. 

Meanwhile, social media and gossip help to fuel those rumours.

As we know immigration offices around the country seem to make their own decisions.

 

So, what sometimes happens in Bangkok, does not necessarily happen in say Chonburi or Chiang Mai.

Regulations are changing every month from vaccine passports to digital driving licences, or inland revenue rules to 90-day reporting.

Naturally, during Covid it is not great at the moment to have to queue up in busy government offices.

Therefore, more reporting is going online such as 90-day reporting for resident expats.

We of course at AseanNow do our best to keep residents and expats up to date.

However, it would be extremely helpful if the Government could have just one mouthpiece where they can keep us up to date and in English.

How are you coping with obtaining reliable information?
 

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AFAIK ubonjoe is the most accurate source of information on visas.

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

AFAIK ubonjoe is the most accurate source of information on visas.

^^^+100%^^^

You're in good company, many of us as well as many Thai people whom i talk to are confused and bewildered of the contradicting and often senseless rules and regulations that being set up us on a daily bases...

Even in the unlikely event that you get accurate info.....it will flip flop in a few days

I've used ThaiVisa for 17 years to successfully navigate the maze of visa regulations. After some visa exempt entries, I entered on a 90 day tourist visa, then converted to a Non-O by reason of retirement, then to a marriage visa and back to a retirement visa. Through annual extensions and new passports and re-entries, I always found the information I needed in this forum and never needed to pay an agent to do it for me.

 

Kudos to ubonjoe (and all that came before him) for all the helpful advice.

 

Paul Laew

Keep logging on right here !  A very helpful and informative site from UJ and many others........thanks......

4 hours ago, webfact said:

As we know immigration offices around the country seem to make their own decisions.

So you do what the officer in front of you asks, irrelevant of what's law.

That's how Thailand works.

It filters through aspects of the economy.  Try getting transparent real estate information doesn't seem to exist here.

47 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

Keep logging on right here !  A very helpful and informative site from UJ and many others........thanks......

The information here is as good as you will ever get about regulations, changes, and practical application by government agencies.

 

While some laws and definitions can be found with the help of Google, as we all know, this is only 'half the story', as each and every bureaucrat in Thailand can bend the rules to their individual likings, and what is published today can be outdated again within a week due to 'flip-flopping' of laws and regulations.

Yes, I do find it difficult sometimes, even though I have been married to Thai lady and lived in Thailand longtime,  my friend before, many years ago told me the biggest problem is the understanding/misunderstanding

Maybe its hard to find accurate news as it changes daily and there  is so much yoyo'ing !

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

AFAIK ubonjoe is the most accurate source of information on visas.

Same here.  If a question or topic on immigration/visas is asked that may concern me, I scroll through the comments until I see ubonjoe's reply.  But I do love the "my GF's husband said...." comments ????

5 hours ago, Lacessit said:

AFAIK ubonjoe is the most accurate source of information on visas.

And my wife knows everything else!

5 hours ago, Lacessit said:

AFAIK ubonjoe is the most accurate source of information on visas.

Ubonjoe, is the only reliable, and trustworthy source of Information. Not just on Visa,s but other important issues also.

It seems to be such a burden upon him at times, but he performs the task well.

Its such a shame there is not ' Official " kind of source, as I am sure Joe would sometimes like  Holiday.

While talking of Joe, may I on behalf of many Thai Visa users thank him most sincerely for all his hard work and dedication, because without him, many would not have a single idea as to what the current situations were in Thailand.

Thanks Joe !

6 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

Ubonjoe, is the only reliable, and trustworthy source of Information. Not just on Visa,s but other important issues also.

It seems to be such a burden upon him at times, but he performs the task well.

Its such a shame there is not ' Official " kind of source, as I am sure Joe would sometimes like  Holiday.

While talking of Joe, may I on behalf of many Thai Visa users thank him most sincerely for all his hard work and dedication, because without him, many would not have a single idea as to what the current situations were in Thailand.

Thanks Joe !

Love the way you still refer to it as Thai Visa !

2 hours ago, Paulaew said:

I always found the information I needed in this forum and never needed to pay an agent to do it for me.

Same here, but about 4 yrs ago when extension rules were changing, I visited my local IO for a list of requirements, It was given to me in Thai ????, I then asked "how many Thais need an extension ? you need to have a list in English !" 3 weeks later when I went again, the assistant there, came running up to me with a well translated list, with a beaming smile. That list has stayed constant, but as I always apply one month in advance any changes will be pointed out. There is the last one on the list that always makes me smile.

5 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Love the way you still refer to it as Thai Visa !

Sorry ! Old habits die hard.

4 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

There is the last one on the list that always makes me smile.

Ah, the ambiguities of enforcement.

 

That is why the reports of forum members are so important and useful. In addition to ubonjoe's advice on the regulations, only reports from the field can track the ambiguities of enforcement.

 

Think of all the ambiguities we had to endure when someone in the immigration police decided that it was no longer enough to provide evidence of 3 months money in the bank for a retirement extension, as set out in the regulations.

 

Some immigration offices wanted 6 months of bank statements, some wanted a year. And some offices wanted you to come back in 3 months or 6 months to show your balance never dropped below 400k. It was a complete clusterfvck, if you'll pardon my French. But we got through this with the help of forum members reporting their experiences.

 

Paul Laew

30 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

Sorry ! Old habits die hard.

I know, it is still Thai Visa to me as well.

Same as Wise is still Transferwise!

My thinking for over the past decade has been it is just easier for me to go through an agency to deal with immigration requirements here in Chiang Mai. The agency keeps up with official changes, local office nuances, changes in political appointees, and knows who best to deal with/who to avoid. So, yes, I am willing to pay for the convenience (no need to “get around” any requirements in my case).

1 hour ago, Cake Monster said:

While talking of Joe, may I on behalf of many Thai Visa users thank him most sincerely for all his hard work and dedication, because without him, many would not have a single idea as to what the current situations were in Thailand.

Thanks Joe !

Absolutely!

It's not just government stuff. I want to find details of bus times Mukdahan to Khon Kaen. I had no luck with Google and asked my wife to try on Thai-only sites. She failed too. She just brushed it off as you just wait for the bus. Well, even in pre-Covid times there could be two hours between buses, so knowing when one is due might actually be quite useful. Seems that Thais don't see things that way. 'It comes when it comes'. Planning to be there five minutes before the bus instead of waiting for an hour or more doesn't seem to occur to them.

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

Same here, but about 4 yrs ago when extension rules were changing, I visited my local IO for a list of requirements, It was given to me in Thai ????, I then asked "how many Thais need an extension ? you need to have a list in English !"

A perfect example of the total lack of Thai common sense.

Yep its damned hard sometimes. I'm pretty settled now and have a solid netwrok of Thai support to call on bot in the home and around us. I also have a damned good lawyer who is on speed dial 24/7 (which I must say has come in handy one a few rare occasions) to help sort through the confusion you speak of when it arises.

From a meta viewpoint; Junta's are staffed by military people who know little of nor hold much empathy nor awareness of complex sociological issues which creates an atmosphere of monkey see monkey do or no do. The Asian 'face' stuff don't help this much either huh? ????

If I add to this my language barrier (still <deleted> at it), and my still shocking capacity to read Thai (learning but oh I'm so slow!) then I'm up a creek pretty fast. 

9 hours ago, webfact said:

I still struggle to find out accurate and reliable information on the latest rules and regulations.

Regretful, but most important for me during my 20 years living in the North of Thailand, was not what you needed to know from all the bureaucratic rules etc. but WHO YOU KNEW to make things work!!!

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It's not just government stuff. I want to find details of bus times Mukdahan to Khon Kaen. I had no luck with Google and asked my wife to try on Thai-only sites. She failed too. She just brushed it off as you just wait for the bus. Well, even in pre-Covid times there could be two hours between buses, so knowing when one is due might actually be quite useful. Seems that Thais don't see things that way. 'It comes when it comes'. Planning to be there five minutes before the bus instead of waiting for an hour or more doesn't seem to occur to them.

Thai's are the same with appointments; they come when they come and time doesn't matter !

10 hours ago, webfact said:

How are you coping with obtaining reliable information?

By asking the relevant authority...

10 hours ago, webfact said:

How are you coping with obtaining reliable information?

I don't really need any information but I simply wait until I need some government document and then go to the relevant office and ask. 

 

This is why I chose to live where I do and not on some farm or mountainside 60+ kms or further from government offices. Or in a place where the queue at immigration is around the block.

9 hours ago, webfact said:

How are you coping with obtaining reliable information?

I'm reading the news in ASEAN NOW - and for visa purposes i believe in what Ubon Joe says - and I furthermore follow PR Thai Government's Facebook profile and a few more news sources. I think that I get fine reliable information.

 

My only problem was when to pay the new property tax last year. I began visiting the revenue office in February with my papers - as the year before they only got the first ever new type property tax bill ready in October, and they told me to come early next year to pay in February - but at that time they didn't have the calculations ready, so I was asked to come back next month. I went back in both March and April, still same answer. Unfortunately I skipped May - it began to cost me more money in fuel that the tax - and came again in July, which was now one month late, so I had to pay interest for late payment...????

 

The kind cashier said that it was not my fault, they were late with the calculations and documents, but so was the rules, so I had to pay. However, I presume that I'll manage to survive that 20 baht penalty, I was more concerned about the gasoline costs...