1 hour ago, malibukid said:

send these rotten apples home pronto.  just the tip of the iceberg

Just remember - all foreigners - yourself included are on the same iceberg irresepctive of how compliant, lawful and integrated you consider yourself. Worth remembering. 

1 hour ago, arithai12 said:

Yes the rules, fair or unfair, might be designed to avoid too large "tourists" numbers. I find it ok, or Thailand wouldn't be the same.

I don't think too many tourists has been Thailand's problem the last few years. Quite the contrary 

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6 hours ago, webfact said:

another two persons were also arrested for not giving notification of the foreigners staying in their property within 24 hours of their arrival.

This sounds a bit excessive.

The immigration raiding places is not exclusive to Thailand, It happens in the UK, last week in the Uk the immigration raided my Daughter's restaurant, it took 10 immigration officers to carry out the raid,  

 

They found no illegals working there, 

2 hours ago, Frankie baby said:

Cant believe their was just one from Myanmar. I can take a walk round the back of the apartment and nab a dozen. 

Obviosly they need the cheap workers as they are too enegetic to do labor themselves and have orders to follow the master plan...

sabai sabai...

1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

Thai immigration for tourists is among the easiest in the world. 

So far,

Cambodia is easy, stay as long as you like, did need $25 to enter.

Philippines is easier, 30 days on arrival, stay for 3 years.

Vietnam, very easy for Brits, 14 days on arrival.

Laos was easy, did need $25 to enter.

Malaysia really easy, 3 months on arrival.

China was easier than expected, but I did need to apply for $25 VISA in advance.

 

I don't consider Thailand as easiest in the world for tourists.

 

It's not difficult to follow the rules on visas. To stay in Thailand ???????? ????

Unless you have something to hide ????

These are the people who are not needed in Thailand ????

 

"........a Russian who overstayed six days but is also facing charges of cryptocurrency fraud amounting to US$72,700 (around 2.5 million baht) and not paying the bills for accommodation and food totalling  66,255 baht."

 

And so it begins! Expect more of these type of stories in the near future - I don't blame them for running away from the war, but there'll be many Russians running out of money, and not being able to afford to pay their bills. Next step is they turn to crime to enable them to stay here, but I suspect it will be a problem that will not only exist in Thailand!

23 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

So far,

Cambodia is easy, stay as long as you like, did need $25 to enter.

Philippines is easier, 30 days on arrival, stay for 3 years.

Vietnam, very easy for Brits, 14 days on arrival.

Laos was easy, did need $25 to enter.

Malaysia really easy, 3 months on arrival.

China was easier than expected, but I did need to apply for $25 VISA in advance.

 

I don't consider Thailand as easiest in the world for tourists.

 

"I don't consider Thailand as easiest in the world for tourists."

 

Or for expats!

No sympathy for those do not follow the immigration rules and think they can get away with it. They are the baseline "problem children" that in more ways than not reflects poorly on the overall reputation of foreigners who for the majority do comply consistently and appreciate the privilege of living and working in Thailand and which make this country their home.

Yes the rules, fair or unfair, might be designed to avoid too large "tourists" numbers.

 

Unbelievable - try telling that to TAT!!!

2 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

2 hours ago, Mad mick said:

Only stupid Jaunta is the problem past 10 years , making visas ridiculously hard (...) 

Not quite. It started under Thaksin...

Maybe you guys like it more as in the west, where everyone can come in and even get free accommodation and some living expenses on top?

Then you can complain that there are too many immigrants

5 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

Good. All the foreigners who fail to follow the rules are the cause of all the problems over the last 10 years or so. 

More like lack of Brown envelopes

34 minutes ago, Seeall said:

Obviosly they need the cheap workers as they are too enegetic to do labor themselves and have orders to follow the master plan...

sabai sabai...

"they are too enegetic to do labor themselves............"

 

As for the rest of your post - ????????????

 

I presume you mean "energetic", but I also think you've picked the wrong word  -  do you not mean "lazy"?

 

2 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Not quite. It started under Thaksin...

Yep.

 

I remember I started actually having to go out of the country to renew my visa instead of just giving the passport to my agent Vinny, or popping into the Wall pub in Silom to get my long term visa done. About 2003 the crackdowns started iirc.

 

The cheek of it. 

 

It was so much easier back then. They didn't mind us being here as long as we kept ourselves to ourselves.

5 hours ago, Henkjan2 said:

Good guys in, bad guys out ...

So right,

 

22 years I am now in Thailand and I stick to the rules which are no troubles at all.. imo

 

Once I failed because a job has been delayed and I miscounted that I was due with my Visa extension.

As I realized I was 6 days "over" 

 

I rushed with my wife to the immigration and told in the most pollite way the story, the Officer smiled and joked that he must lock me in and my wife too... 

And then it went fast...

Bang, Stamp, 1 week extension re-dated for 1800 Baht, pointed to the next desk, retirement visa extenison into the passport...

"careful next time" was all the Officer said to me with a raised finger and we passed him again.. 

 

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30 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

So far,

Cambodia is easy, stay as long as you like, did need $25 to enter.

Philippines is easier, 30 days on arrival, stay for 3 years.

Vietnam, very easy for Brits, 14 days on arrival.

Laos was easy, did need $25 to enter.

Malaysia really easy, 3 months on arrival.

China was easier than expected, but I did need to apply for $25 VISA in advance.

 

I don't consider Thailand as easiest in the world for tourists.

 

Vietnam, very easy for Brits, 14 days on arrival. 30 days in Thailand

 

Laos was easy, did need $25 to enter.  Free in Thailand

 

Philippines is easier, 30 days on arrival, stay for 3 years. As long as you keep paying

 

Cambodia is easy, stay as long as you like, did need $25 to enter.  Not so according to the UK government. You can do the same in Thailand, if you break the rules. At least in Thailand the limit of the fine is 20.000 baht

 

Tourist visas issued by a Royal Cambodian Embassy abroad may appear to have a longer validity than 1 month. The validity of the visa refers to the time you have to enter Cambodia. The visa is valid for 30 days from the actual date of entry into Cambodia.

 

You can be fined, detained and deported if you overstay your visa. There is a fine of $10 per day for overstaying the validity of your visa. There is no limit to this fine.

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/cambodia/entry-requirements

6 hours ago, harleyclarkey said:

Clever Russian....cryptocurrency fraud, not paying his bills? Great way to draw attention to your overstay! 

Is it really cost effective to have an island wide sweep to nab a few idiots who don't bother with the rules.

The rules are a lot of the problem. Thailand just loves to make things more and more difficult...except foe the red carpet Chinese of course! 

Why are the rules a problem, I have been here 13 years and no problem with the rules. There are always people who will break the rules, they just cannot be bothered.

3 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

When I rent a hotel room in Thailand, I always have to pay upfront.

Depends the grade of your hotel, with hotels like Landmark and Marriott, you book in they "swipe", your card and you pay when you leave. Quite easy to build up a large hotel bill and cancel your card before you leave.

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

This sounds a bit excessive.

Unless they were knowingly harboring criminals or evading taxes.

15 minutes ago, mogandave said:

Unless they were knowingly harboring criminals or evading taxes.

If friends come to stay with you, do you first ask to see their passport, check their Visa, then report to immigration? 

 

What about a girl that sleeps over, do you check she's a Thai citizen, etc.? 

 

How about motoring offences, do you report pals you see, drink driving, speeding, tax, ins, dl? 

 

Once you start being a nark, where do you draw the line? 

4 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

But no explanation 'how'. When I rent a hotel room in Thailand, I always have to pay upfront. Or I pay for an apartment, where staff also insist on punctual payment. How can someone run up a bill of 66,000 baht?

Probably Couldn't Exchange his Roubles ??

5 hours ago, Gandtee said:

Frankie Laine would sort them out.

Frankie Laine would be encouraging Clint Eastwood aka Rowdy Yates to sort em out, and yes knowing that really does show my age.

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

If friends come to stay with you, do you first ask to see their passport, check their Visa, then report to immigration? 

After telling them they are under arrest for "not depositing all their money with Airport Immigration and going straight home again".

2 hours ago, nchuckle said:

I don't think too many tourists has been Thailand's problem the last few years. Quite the contrary 

NOT According to the TAT !!!

3 hours ago, jonclark said:

Just remember - all foreigners - yourself included are on the same iceberg irresepctive of how compliant, lawful and integrated you consider yourself. Worth remembering. 

No, not all foreigners here are the tip of an iceberg that is created by people that don't care about laws. These people create problems for all other foreigners here that follow rules and regulations. The bad thing is that such unlawful people often try to pay Thais so that they can remain undetected as long as they pay. Criminals on both sides...  

3 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

There are probably many. My current landlady refuses to do the report, and, I suspect, (at least) another landlord in the past did as well.

When they start issuing fines to Thai landlords that will change.  I booked a room for 8 hours before a Surat Airport flight and the manager was panicked when I said I didn't have my passport and offered him my Thai DL (like I always do when traveling domestic) He said he has had regular visits from IO's and the fine was 10000b for not registering foreigners with their actual passport.    I showed him a photo of my passport and he was visibly relieved.  Because I was sure he must've reported it I had my home landlord do an updated TM 30 after a recent international trip to avoid an issue when doing my recent retirement extension. 

Possibly with all the problems around Europe, war, high inflation and cost of living, young people are eyeing South East Asia as a place to live and work remotely to get away from it, certainly see that trend on YouTube and Tik Tok.