TAT to Propose Visa Extension for Tourists

[Baron Samedi]

43 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

That's probably very true, but who would replace them ?

Google ????

[Burma Bill]

23 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

to extend the maximum stays

Despite many misleading and BS posts referring to the above, as I see it living next door in Cambodia, I present my passport at a land border crossing and I will get a 45 day entry stamp with a "valid until" date. My Khmer colleagues will get 30 days entry, up from the current 15 days, stamped in their passports. All for free! Thank you Thailand.

[androokery]

6 hours ago, NativeBob said:

I think the revenue from tourism is greatly overestimated. Guides, rent shops, beer bars and bar girls, travel agencies - they all pay almost no taxes. I used to work with few = one launder payments through her German personal account (don't ask how), others deal with cash and middle men. Hotels? Same scheme: hotel (resort, whatever) run by banana company registered at some rice field far North for few years, later switched to another service/managing company while money flow through their accounts. Even that W* resort with villas and private pools at Samui, not to mention A* hotel at Phayathai Rd. Bangkok that sorry building with proud name of Grand Ay**** at Ratchada. 

 

I wouldn't call "grey money" or even "black cash" legit revenue of the country.  

 

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "revenue". I think you're right in saying that a lot of the money generated by foreign tourism doesn't get taxed, at least not directly. Most of the people engaging directly with tourists are probably part of the "black economy", with informal businesses paying no taxes whatsoever. And the bigger businesses probably manage their revenues in a way that minimises taxes. 

But the country as a whole - not the government - gets more money into the system. Money that a tourist spends on beer, tourist guide, motorbike rental, lady drink etc (not on accommodation necessarily) gets spent somewhere by someone. Part of that money often gets taxed somewhere along the line. But even when it doesn't get taxed, it helps grease the economy on the smallest of scales and in large enough numbers it will help the entire society. There's really no such thing as "trickle down economics" from billionaires and large corporations but there definitely seems to be a "trickle back to home economy" in play between holiday resorts and Issan villages and small towns. 

 

[Thunglom]

6 hours ago, NativeBob said:

the revenue from tourism is greatly overestimated. Guides, rent shops, beer bars and bar girls, travel agencies - they all pay almost no taxes

It's not just down to taxes though, is it? It's the amount of money that comes into the country. At the height of entries 2018, bout 40 million people expended the population of Thailand par annum and they ALL spent money brought in from abroad.... apparently about 20% of the GDP.

[BusyB]

15 hours ago, transam said:

But why do we have to do 90 day reports....?

They care about us and want to make sure we're OK?

[BusyB]

12 hours ago, androokery said:

These are all interesting statistics. But where does the money go? One thing that the government may have found out during the pandemic, is that a lot of people benefit from your silly example of noodle soup and massage, while in truth there's a lot of lady drinks, transport, bar fines, beer, excursions, scams, jet ski, motorbike rentals etc associated with the foreign tourists. What we've learned is that a lot of people, many of them in poorer areas of the country, rely on the money sent home by individuals who make their money directly from tourists. So the absence of the revenue streams from tourism has caused damage to a lot more people than the actual amounts would suggest when you just compare them to things like rice or rubber production. 

It's been horrendous for anyone even indirectly twice removed from tourism. Whole families lost their income streams and homelessness has rocketed.

[Hanuman2547]

13 hours ago, Gknrd said:

Yes if you want to support the government with your donation of 800K baht. haha

Why would anyone be donating 800K?  It's in the bank under their name.  Although it has to be parked there for a certain amount of time while one is going through the retirement visa process one could always withdraw the 800K and leave the country at any time with their money.  

[heybuz]

22 hours ago, Daithi85 said:

What absaloute nonsense.You do understand that you can get a 60 day tourist visa plus 30 day extension.Thats a pretty straight forward 3 months.why would u claim it's impossible?It only seems impossible to lazy Larry's.

not so easy when they close the consulate in your city. making you send all your guff 700 ks to their embassy plus non refundable payment by postal order which costs more and the chance of it not coming back in time.this time i just went visa exempt for a month instead of my normal 2 months ,after not having been for nearly 3 years i wasn't impressed a noticeable vibrancy in my opinion has gone from the area i normally stay in  at bkk also my other choice of place chang rai,maybe me getting old but it was to me noticeable. i have since returned home and may try again in november ,as a side note after not catching covid at home in 3 years i managed to catch it in thailand.555

[Daithi85]

16 hours ago, Gknrd said:

Yes if you want to support the government with your donation of 800K baht. haha

how is keeping money in your own bank account a donation??

[Gknrd]

33 minutes ago, Daithi85 said:

how is keeping money in your own bank account a donation??

Banking is nothing more than a government institution. They want the money to loan out at 3-5x the amount you put in.  

Until they go to a system like all other countries where you prove you have the 65K or a fixed amount in your account then I will pass.

Like I said if you want to support the local government and make a donation for an extension. What do I care.

Personally I would say people that make the donation are people that cannot afford to move on. Don't have any money. Would be my guess.

[Daithi85]

1 hour ago, Gknrd said:

Banking is nothing more than a government institution. They want the money to loan out at 3-5x the amount you put in.  

Until they go to a system like all other countries where you prove you have the 65K or a fixed amount in your account then I will pass.

Like I said if you want to support the local government and make a donation for an extension. What do I care.

Personally I would say people that make the donation are people that cannot afford to move on. Don't have any money. Would be my guess.

So you are saying anyone who has 800,000 in the bank,only lives in Thailand because they have no money ????????more nonsense from yourself.I get the feeling you wish you could live here but you can't.you sound like a jealous man.

[rohitsuk]

On 8/19/2022 at 1:17 AM, rohitsuk said:

It was refused at the June meeting and my bet is it will be refused again.  There is a nasty mean sprinted streak that runs from top to bottom of Thailand's immigration, bureaucracy gone berserk, system.  When Big Joke was Big Chief and threatened to reform it all, he was heaved out to an inactive post from which he is slowly recovering.  

Glad I was wrong about that - it has been approved.

[pomchop]

23 minutes ago, rohitsuk said:

Glad I was wrong about that - it has been approved.

can you give a link on where it was approved...i saw one story but was very wishy washy as to details...thank you

[Kwaibill]

On 8/19/2022 at 7:27 AM, transam said:

But why do we have to do 90 day reports....?

Because it is required? A wee nuisance, but the last three successfully managed on line. Still not able to input a couple of items, but apparently not vital.

[Gknrd]

1 hour ago, Daithi85 said:

So you are saying anyone who has 800,000 in the bank,only lives in Thailand because they have no money ????????more nonsense from yourself.I get the feeling you wish you could live here but you can't.you sound like a jealous man.

Ok, look at it this way. This is the way the Thai banking and institutions , government looks at it.

Inflation is running about 10% / yr. and is expected to track that or increase in the next 5 years.

You put 800K in a Thai bank. They are going to loan out multiples of that for a huge profit. I would say double or triple digit % rates increase.  

 

You, the one that puts the 800K in the bank are stuck with a fixed rate of return. Not sure what they are paying but lets just say 3%.  

If you had the 800K in a average mutual fund it would average out at 7-10%.  So there you have adjusted for inflation even at these horrible times. So your balance would increase and you would always have the purchasing power of the original 800K.

But, with it in a Thai bank paying 3% you have lost 7% due to in not having it in a decent fund and you have lost 10% due to inflation. Actually you are loosing 17%/yr PURCHASING POWER on your 800K investment.

To keep it simple 800,00 x .17 = 136,000 Baht / yr.  That is about 372 Baht/day in the first year.

 

I don't have very good people skills. But, even an idiot can see how this turned out.  

In a few years you would have lost the Purchasing power of your 800K .

Lets say today you went to buy a truck and it was 800K, in a few years with inflation it was 160K. You have lost the total 800K purchasing power and the banks have not only hedged inflation but made a tidy profit on your 800K. 

 

This is probably one of the best schemes they have implemented. Hence anyone putting this in Thailand does not know what's is going on or!!!  Does not have a choice. Family, children. No other options.

 

These are only rough estimates and I am not going to dig down and research it. But, it is a good representation of what is going on. 

 

I personally can live where ever I want to live! I tend to look at things in a rational way. That means doing things that benefit me not giving away money for free!

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by Gknrd

[Daithi85]

33 minutes ago, Gknrd said:

Ok, look at it this way. This is the way the Thai banking and institutions , government looks at it.

Inflation is running about 10% / yr. and is expected to track that or increase in the next 5 years.

You put 800K in a Thai bank. They are going to loan out multiples of that for a huge profit. I would say double or triple digit % rates increase.  

 

You, the one that puts the 800K in the bank are stuck with a fixed rate of return. Not sure what they are paying but lets just say 3%.  

If you had the 800K in a average mutual fund it would average out at 7-10%.  So there you have adjusted for inflation even at these horrible times. So your balance would increase and you would always have the purchasing power of the original 800K.

But, with it in a Thai bank paying 3% you have lost 7% due to in not having it in a decent fund and you have lost 10% due to inflation. Actually you are loosing 17%/yr PURCHASING POWER on your 800K investment.

To keep it simple 800,00 x .17 = 136,000 Baht / yr.  That is about 372 Baht/day in the first year.

 

I don't have very good people skills. But, even an idiot can see how this turned out.  

In a few years you would have lost the Purchasing power of your 800K .

Lets say today you went to buy a truck and it was 800K, in a few years with inflation it was 160K. You have lost the total 800K purchasing power and the banks have not only hedged inflation but made a tidy profit on your 800K. 

 

This is probably one of the best schemes they have implemented. Hence anyone putting this in Thailand does not know what's is going on or!!!  Does not have a choice. Family, children. No other options.

 

These are only rough estimates and I am not going to dig down and research it. But, it is a good representation of what is going on. 

 

I personally can live where ever I want to live! I tend to look at things in a rational way. That means doing things that benefit me not giving away money for free!

 

Do what many thousands do,use a visa agent,no need to park your 800,000k in the bank.

[transam]

2 hours ago, Kwaibill said:

Because it is required? A wee nuisance, but the last three successfully managed on line. Still not able to input a couple of items, but apparently not vital.

Yes I obviously know it is required, but why, they do not know where you have been or are between reports, even moreso with Internet reporting....

You give me one thing that it achieves that is useful......?

[Gknrd]

2 hours ago, Daithi85 said:

Do what many thousands do,use a visa agent,no need to park your 800,000k in the bank.

Be cheaper in the long run for sure.   Actually you can skew down those numbers if you only factor in inflation.. 

Loss would be around 56,000 baht/yr.  Very good argument for agents for sure.  And the way I would go if I wanted to stay here for a year.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Gknrd

[bangon04]

On 8/18/2022 at 6:37 PM, Baron Samedi said:

Dear TAT,

 

Delete visa extensions all together and let people renew their tourist visa online indefinitely and without having to leave the country if they feel like it.

 

Stop pretending that Thailand has something special worth protecting from the outside world when in fact the truth goes like this: "Without foreigners - both workers and tourists - the kingdom's economy has no future whatsoever."

 

Thank you. ????????

 

 

oooh  you are going to upset Anutin........

[Nicknoodle]

Tourist visa 45 days, yippee! 5555

 

I’m currently in Cambodia, planning to get a Thai tourist visa (yes 60 days) I would like to get it online but impossible as I do not live here, seems ridiculous that you have to be in your country of residence to get the online evisa. You can apply for it of course but you get a message saying the application could take several weeks.

[rohitsuk]

8 hours ago, pomchop said:

can you give a link on where it was approved...i saw one story but was very wishy washy as to details...thank you

This is the only one I have seen, probably the same one you saw.  It will not be legal anyway until it is published in The Royal Gazette. : https://thepattayanews.com/2022/08/19/thai-covid-center-approves-visa-period-extensions-for-foreign-tourists-to-boost-tourism-economy-effective-this-october/

[jacko45k]

On 8/20/2022 at 10:07 AM, Daithi85 said:

Do what many thousands do,use a visa agent,no need to park your 800,000k in the bank.

No, park 25000 into another's pocket!

[buddyy]

For the exemption, does the initial period will be 45 days or the extension?

Meaning, 45+30 or 30+45?

[Kwaibill]

On 8/20/2022 at 11:07 AM, transam said:

Yes I obviously know it is required, but why, they do not know where you have been or are between reports, even moreso with Internet reporting....

You give me one thing that it achieves that is useful......?

That was not your question, and I don't know for sure why the government thinks it is "useful", except to keep tabs on "criminally inclined falangs." There does seem to be an official element of xenophobia at work, but perhaps turnabout is fair play. Several Western nations seem to think any Thai woman seeking a visitor visa is perforce wishing to engage in prostitution, completely ignoring that the small number of such women are most often trafficked against their wills.

[transam]

6 minutes ago, Kwaibill said:

That was not your question, and I don't know for sure why the government thinks it is "useful", except to keep tabs on "criminally inclined falangs." There does seem to be an official element of xenophobia at work, but perhaps turnabout is fair play. Several Western nations seem to think any Thai woman seeking a visitor visa is perforce wishing to engage in prostitution, completely ignoring that the small number of such women are most often trafficked against their wills.

How does it keep an eye on farangy crims, even more so wiv online reporting....?

As for the prostitution thingy, a young lady teaming up wiv an old farangy to get into farangland is much the same.

 

I know a 74 year old farang who's bird has just been refused a visit visa to farangland, I wonder why.....????

[worldexpress]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:08 PM, it is what it is said:

the truth goes like this: "Without foreigners - both workers and tourists - the kingdom's economy has no future whatsoever."

 

not accurate, tourism only contributes around 11%-12% of GDP, if thailand really wanted to it could pivot its economy and rely less on tourism

Not that simple and you have to dig a little deeper if you want to mount an argument. Without foreign companies and joint ventures, organic Thai firms are mostly in service, light manufacturing and food sectors and would only be a very small portion of the GDP. Thailand is a leading automobile exporter in the world and also contribute close to 15% of overall Thai economy but that's because the Japanese build them there. That's just one example.

 

Thailand REALLY does and has been trying to "pivot" and wean off tourism but has not been able to for different reasons. In the mean time, tourism is an easy and significant revenue stream.

 

As the OP's statement, as exaggerated as it might sound, is not too far off base.

[worldexpress]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:08 PM, it is what it is said:

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by worldexpress

[worldexpress]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:08 PM, it is what it is said:

 

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by worldexpress

[worldexpress]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:08 PM, it is what it is said:

 

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by worldexpress

[worldexpress]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:08 PM, it is what it is said:

 

My apologies about the dups. Technical difficulties. ????

Edited August 22, 2022 by worldexpress