1 minute ago, baansgr said:

Malaya is a fantastic place to chill, in fact far better than Thailand regarding food, transport, beaches, safety and a lot more...it's a tally cheaper than Thailand..except for booze and fags

If it checks all your boxes, that's fine. Let's just say that after several months working in Malaysia over the past dozen years, I beg to differ but maybe your boat floats differently.

I tried the 45 days once but I ran out of good looking women . 

1 hour ago, Caldera said:

Too busy with the upcoming election to think about extending that, would be my guess.

A caretaker government can not extend the Visa waiver nor make any new laws. What is so hard to understand.

1 hour ago, SpanishExpat said:

They are simply stupid!! Would have been no bureaucratic effort for them to extend it. Even if 30 days is still enough for most tourists, post-covid a country should do everything possible to thrive tourism.

 

Never understood why Thailand is so strict about that, while countries like Malaysia give a 90 days exemption entry.

Tell me how a caretaker government, which has no true power can pass new laws or extend waivers without it costing the government money, simple answer they can't, but you folks believed they could....laughable. 

1 hour ago, Polaky said:

They should reduce it to 14 days, fresh new notes arriving every fortnight instead of every month, no tourists comes in for 30 days, they don't get 30 days holiday a year, 4 weeks Max, and why would you want to spend your entire 4 weeks every year in Thailand of all places, unless your ugly and hard up for a woman.

Yes, ordinary tour-package tourists don't come for 1 month and more - but long stay people who can afford it, - do! 

And they spend minimum 20 000 baht per month: they rent property, they eat food, they shop - which is good for Thai economy and just better than nothing anyway. 

1 hour ago, Davedub said:

The problem with these constant rules changes is that tourists looking for a convenient, hassle free break from their everyday lives are put off coming to Thailand because of all the research that needs doing on issues like this, only to find it all changes suddenly and without warning shortly before their departure.

 

The Thai tourist sector would certainly benefit if people could book their holidays a year in advance without any uncertainty surrounding visa duration and entry requirements.

Most tourist coming to Thailand only need 5 to 10 days at most, 30 days is too much for the majority.

An off topic rant sprinkled with excess emoticons has been removed

18 minutes ago, moe666 said:

Most tourist coming to Thailand only need 5 to 10 days at most, 30 days is too much for the majority.

Exactly. My daughters are coming to visit in a few weeks and their jobs only allow 2 weeks of paid vacation a year as they have been working now for under 5 years at their current jobs, next year they will get a third week added as they will be into the next tier.  By the time they have 20 years with the company, provided they are still working for them they will have 6 weeks a year they can take. If they want to take time off other than what they are given then it is unpaid, and they can not afford that at this point in time.

The usual moronic decisions from an uneducated nation. 95% of the thickos couldn't even spell the word school ( obviously in Thai. )

2 hours ago, cheapcanuck said:

All the neighbouring countries will be getting a boom of tourist due to Visa runs. 

 99% of Normal tourist,s do not need to do visa run,s.

And who would ever consider going to that badly run Immigration at Jomtien for an extension!

 

Not a chance!

4 minutes ago, chris carre said:

 99% of Normal tourist,s do not need to do visa run,s.

True, most I know that come to visit come in with and exempt stamp and leave before the end date.

33 minutes ago, moe666 said:

Most tourist coming to Thailand only need 5 to 10 days at most, 30 days is too much for the majority.

You're wrong, people from Europe stay an average of 17-18 days.

 

That's average, which means half of European arrivals stay longer.

 

Dropping to 15 days visa exempt would mean essentially losing half of European tourists!

 

Most tourist coming to Thailand only need 5 to 10 days at most, 30 days is too much for the majority.

 

Source:  

15 minutes ago, chris carre said:

 99% of Normal tourist,s do not need to do visa run,s.

Correct. But 3-4 weeks is very usual for the working class. Better jobs in Switzerland get 5 weeks free. When I visisted the University, holidays were very long. Enough to make some pocket money and then travel. My first trip to Thailand/Malaysia/Singapore was 6 weeks long. No idea what kind of visa I needed. I think even none, but this is a very long time ago. The 45 day time span does not hurt anybody. It is therefore really stupid to cut it.

 

On the other hand what would disturb if the Visa Exempt was 90 days ? Nothing.

6 minutes ago, CanadaSam said:

That's average, which means half of European arrivals stay longer.

 

Dropping to 15 days visa exempt would mean essentially losing half of European tourists!

Not quite, if it was the mean then yes, but not average. No doubt snowbirds are included in those figures which would skew the data.

2 hours ago, Mad mick said:

Agree lm in Vietnam cost using visa run company $127 US per month admittedly unlimited border crossing HCMC to Moc Bai lm on my last 6 month Government rumours are going to 3 monthly visa in June? ! unsure what cost visas will be  , l made up my mind go back Philippines 3 years on tourist visa without leaving renew internally local immigration office = approx $30 US per Month " End of April 2023 l'm gone from Vietnam great place food infrastructure people, language is hassle etc,.. Thailand l gave up on few years back flip flops to much ? Cambodia okay & availability to access visas  however it's become more of CCP Vasil state downside lot ???????? crime watch what ya say ! up side pension $ no limits & easy obtain multiple entry 3 x 4 etc, visas ! After weighing all up decided go back Philippines won out 7000 + Islands visit  English widely spoken , rental affordable main reason visas access easy , Very little language barrier people friendly .. Back to Philippines after living all 4 these Asian countries prior over decades on/off.

My god. For someone who wants to speak English this is unreadable.  Now that we have access to GPT, it fixed it for us all:

 

I have been living in Vietnam and using a visa run company that costs $127 US per month for unlimited border crossings from HCMC to Moc Bai. However, there are rumors that the government will switch to a 3-month visa system starting in June and I am unsure what the cost of visas will be. I have decided to go back to the Philippines where I can renew my tourist visa internally at the local immigration office for approximately $30 US per month. I plan to leave Vietnam at the end of April 2023. While Vietnam is a great place with good food, infrastructure, and people, the language can be a hassle. I gave up on Thailand a few years back because of the abundance of flip flops. Cambodia is okay in terms of accessibility to visas, but it has become more of a CCP Vasil state with a lot of Chinese crime. However, the upside is that there is a good pension and easy access to multiple entry visas. After weighing everything, I have decided that going back to the Philippines is the best option due to the abundance of English speakers, affordable rentals, and easy visa access with little language barrier and friendly people. This will be the end of my Asian country adventure, as I have lived in all four countries over the last few decades on and off.

What a bunch of morons they are, how do you attract tourists to your country?? You make rules and regulations as attractive as sensible to pending tourists but these clowns try and make it harder with their constant stupid rule changes. And this hotel reporting business is such another stupid pointless waste of time, wake up Thailand! 

 

AND YET Vietnam is introducing a 3 MONTH VISA ON ARRIVAL. oh well all off to Vietnam at least they speak English better 

 

6 minutes ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

AND YET Vietnam is introducing a 3 MONTH VISA ON ARRIVAL. oh well all off to Vietnam at least they speak English better 

 

Got a link for that? 

As far as tourist visa Vietnam currently only provides single entry 30 day tourist visa.

The 3 month multi was taken off the table since start of covid. 

24 minutes ago, moogradod said:

Correct. But 3-4 weeks is very usual for the working class. Better jobs in Switzerland get 5 weeks free. When I visisted the University, holidays were very long. Enough to make some pocket money and then travel. My first trip to Thailand/Malaysia/Singapore was 6 weeks long. No idea what kind of visa I needed. I think even none, but this is a very long time ago. The 45 day time span does not hurt anybody. It is therefore really stupid to cut it.

 

On the other hand what would disturb if the Visa Exempt was 90 days ? Nothing.

They did not cut the 45 day time, it was given for a 6 month period of time only and it ended yesterday the 31st of March, what is so hard to understand.  It was for a limited time and the current caretaker government could not extend it, simple.  Maybe after a new government is in they will up the duration of stay time to 45 days and make it permanent, but I doubt it very much.  I remember in 2010 when I applied for my Non Imm O visa at the consulate in Loas Angeles it was free and no money was needed.  This was also done to bring tourists in during the 2010 high season, and it was also canceled after 6 moths. Nothing is permanent unless it says so in the immigration law, and then it is only changed by a new decree which is posted in the royal gazette after the top man signs it into law. 

19 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

What a bunch of morons they are, how do you attract tourists to your country?? You make rules and regulations as attractive as sensible to pending tourists but these clowns try and make it harder with their constant stupid rule changes. And this hotel reporting business is such another stupid pointless waste of time, wake up Thailand! 

 

So no where else in the world reports tourists staying in there hotels. Myanmar and others are just like Thailand.

tourist will not  come to Thailand , with expensive flight ticket like that 

3 hours ago, BestB said:

All the neighboring countries including Vietnam looking to relax and extend visa's to attract more tourism, but Thailand does the opposite.

 

I fully understand most tourists do not need more than 30 days, but having them also does not hurt considering they are bringing money and spending money

Maybe there are statistics showing that tourists (or any non-resident foreigners for that matter) spend much less per day between days 31-45 than between days 1-30? Remember, what is wanted here is money money money, and there are always suspicions that non-Thais are not seen as desirable....

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

If it checks all your boxes, that's fine. Let's just say that after several months working in Malaysia over the past dozen years, I beg to differ but maybe your boat floats differently.

Same experience here, after a while working in M. I was ready to move up to Thailand, so much more exciting and worth putting up with some of the well-known "Thailand eccentricities"

Lol - you just have to read this thread to realize that most of the people whining are not tourists but people trying to scam the system by staying for years without having the proper visa.

Reminds me of all those barstool geniuses who whine every time the bars are closed for a day because of an election or Buddhist holiday and they run to Thail Visa to announce that this (the lastest of the many closures that happen every, single year) will be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" of tourism and then predict all manner of doom and gloom, claiming Euro tourists will flock to other locations where the bars apparently stay open 24/7, 365 days a year.

(Makes you wonder why those people don't move there if it's so great, doesn't it ?)

Thailand was doing just fine before covid when the arrival stamp was only 30 days. It will not affect (real) tourists at all as most of those arriving without a Visa will already know how long they can stay when they bought their plane tickets.

And the vast majority of those (real) tourists will stay from 10-14 days and then go home. What was the (pre-covid) stat for Chinese tourists ? 5-8 day stays or something ? 
And people from India have to get a Visa on Arrival which is back to 15 days max now as well. (According to the Immigration Bureau and Ministry of Foreign Affairs websites as of a minute ago.)

So I don't think this is going to adversely affect tourism in Thailand at all. 

Might make some faux tourists have to scramble and go back to whatever they were doing prior to this time last year.

4 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Lol - you just have to read this thread to realize that most of the people whining are not tourists but people trying to scam the system by staying for years without having the proper visa.

Reminds me of all those barstool geniuses who whine every time the bars are closed for a day because of an ...............................................

I think you have come to a wrong conclusion. All we are doing in this thread is to discuss the current situation on a logical basis. Why always be so negative ? Not everybody is a barstool warrior or thinking only of himself or trying to scam anything. But probably you know a lot of people who do.

1 hour ago, Salerno said:

Not quite, if it was the mean then yes, but not average. No doubt snowbirds are included in those figures which would skew the data.

I think the word you were looking for was "median", not "mean". The arithmetic mean is basically the same as average.

3 hours ago, Polaky said:

They should reduce it to 14 days, fresh new notes arriving every fortnight instead of every month, no tourists comes in for 30 days, they don't get 30 days holiday a year, 4 weeks Max, and why would you want to spend your entire 4 weeks every year in Thailand of all places, unless your ugly and hard up for a woman.

You must be the “hansum man”! the bar girls call out to 

1 hour ago, Pdavies99 said:

And who would ever consider going to that badly run Immigration at Jomtien for an extension!

 

Not a chance!

Indeed. The line of farangs that often stretches down and around a few blocks from Jomtien immigration still hasn't clued those guys into realizing there's a whole rest of the country to be lived in. I'm in and out of my shiny new Issan imm office 5-10 mins, every time.

 

And geez, if you've really gotta have bars, ladies, beaches: 1) other provinces got em, 2) you can live in another province, deal with their far more favorable imm, then go visit Patts if you really need to.

6 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I think the word you were looking for was "median", not "mean". The arithmetic mean is basically the same as average.

Oooops, well spotted, my bad ????