2 hours ago, Korat Kiwi said:

Yippee ki yaay,  let's open the gates wider for all the less desirables to flow in. 

 

Give it a few months and await the about turn on this one. 

As long as they keep letting in the New Zealanders who marry the Issan prostitutes all will be ok.

51 minutes ago, Lunghans said:

If this is really the case, does this mean I get 60 days on arrival and after 60 days I can apply for a 30 days extension.

Making my two yearly 90 days E-visa obsolete.

 

Unless they make these new-fangled 60-day visa exempt entries non-extendable, you are probably correct.

1 hour ago, john donson said:

DESPERATION mode.... tax hookers, allow casino's ....

 

Gurners gotta gurn...

1 hour ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

OK the negative nellies have had their say. I for one will be happy to be able to come for 2 months with no worries  from Australia. 

It is incredible these nellies.

They are carrying on as if they just made things harder, not easier.

 

There is definitely a large % of people on here that just love complaining. The ANKarens.

Bad Boys in? Thought the Gov't would have learned from previous experience?

"...............in an effort to boost tourism.................."

 

And there we have it in a nutshell!

 

(P.S. I thought last week they were complaining of too many tourists in Phuket?) 

19 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

As long as they keep letting in the New Zealanders who marry the Issan prostitutes all will be ok.

Such as yourself?

3 hours ago, racket said:

Is this now 100% confirmed that travelers who enter on July 15 will get 60 days visa exempt?

The article says. 'The new visa measures, which are awaiting Cabinet approval, are expected to be a formality, according to Traisulee.' Then it will have to be published in the Royal Gazette

I arrive Monday night from Australia, but despite the promises, I don't like the chance of getting more than 30 days visa exempt entry. Don't understand why the new rules are meant to apply from the 15th July when it's obvious they won't.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

in an effort to boost tourism and ease travel restrictions.

 

what travel restrictions ?

1 hour ago, MalcolmB said:

As long as they keep letting in the New Zealanders who marry the Issan prostitutes all will be ok.

And what sort of fakd up comment is that?  What's kiwis got to do with it? 

 

My Mrs is from Issan and has never worked in a bar... ran 3 businesses actually but never one that had girls for hire. 

 

I really dont get your point. 

15 minutes ago, Spock said:

I arrive Monday night from Australia, but despite the promises, I don't like the chance of getting more than 30 days visa exempt entry. Don't understand why the new rules are meant to apply from the 15th July when it's obvious they won't.

The gazette is a website and items are posted Mon to Fri.

Generally speaking about 100 items a day, only 5 so far today.

https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/#list-tab

3 hours ago, Korat Kiwi said:

let's open the gates wider for all the less desirables to flow in. 

Who are these less desirables? 
 

Kiwis who have married Issan bargirls?

7 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

Who are these less desirables? 
 

Kiwis who have married Issan bargirls?

You seem to know a lot about Isaan bar girls, yet you have only been in LOS for a few weeks...........🤔

 

2 minutes ago, transam said:

You seem to know a lot about Isaan bar girls, yet you have only been in LOS for a few weeks...........🤔

 

Actually this is my third trip here and I am living permanently now.

 

The first person I spoke to here many moons ago was an Issan bar girl, which is quite common here amongst the western males who travel alone or with other western males to Thailand.

 

Those Issan bargirls are the front line.

 

Let me guess, you live in Issan?

9 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

Actually this is my third trip here and I am living permanently now.

 

The first person I spoke to here many moons ago was an Issan bar girl, which is quite common here amongst the western males who travel alone or with other western males to Thailand.

 

Those Issan bargirls are the front line.

 

Let me guess, you live in Issan?

 

Aren't you a fountain of wisdom!

 

What's the relevance of all this for this topic though?

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The nation has already waived any requirements for Russians, so they might as well waive them for everyone else. They couldn't really do worse than inviting in an unlimited number of Russians, knowing that a huge percentage of them who can afford to travel are involved in crime, and that they will continue their criminal activities here, and likely degrade the nation in the process.

 

It is a spectacularly huge error in judgment to not carefully screen every single Russian that arrives. 

Pattaya and Phuket will always attract the Russians due to the nearby airports. One British Estate agent I’ve known for around 12 years told me they’d made a fortune from Russians arriving with suitcases full of $. I asked if they could buy condos/ houses with cash and he said everything is possible here. I don’t think he was telling porkies or exaggerating, he’s married to a Russian speaking lady which probably helps. She used to work on those stands in Central Festival ground floor.

The Russians arrived in Phuket quite a few years back, at least 12 when I was still wintering there. They were literally hated at first , latter welcomed, now it’s back to hating. My last long stay was 2022, only to see my old friends, I left early and went to Bangkok where I breathed a sigh of relief ! 
Absolutely taken over by some very uncouth people. I’ll stick to Jomtien for the moment with getaways to Bangkok and Koh Chang. 
The new visa 60:days suits me of course. No more queuing for extensions in soi 5. I can take a week away somewhere and fly back in for another 60. 
Good for snowbirds as myself. 

4 hours ago, khunjeff said:

So which is it - this is officially confirmed to be starting in three days, or it's still awaiting approval? And if the cabinet hasn't approved it yet, presumably it hasn't been gazetted either...?

It should be garroted not gazetted.     

Do you expect from foreigner tourists to feed you by the time Thais are bored to work as westerners do at their home countries?

No closed bordes and free entrance for legal foreign citizens mainly from Schengen Area 29 countries in Europe.

You can increase your almost zero real estate yearly tax to substitute tax tourist entrance.

In Thailand the yearly real Estate tax is almost zero.............

 

4 hours ago, racket said:

Is this now 100% confirmed that travelers who enter on July 15 will get 60 days visa exempt?

the article says "The new visa measures, which are awaiting Cabinet approval, are expected to be a formality, according to Traisulee.", So the answer is NO!

 

Yeah,, The aims justify the means!

"" this is new and needs explaining

5 hours ago, webfact said:

temporarily exempt from visa requirements for tourism, short-term business, or work purposes and can stay in the Kingdom for up to 60 days

 

 

this is new and needs explaining.

4 hours ago, AhFarangJa said:

Yet retirees are still jumping through ever more bureaucratic hoops, and doing 90 day reports.

What are the ever more bureaucratic hoops retirees are jumping through haven’t seen any more I have to jump through.

Try retiring in a Western country of which you are not a citizen or married to a citizen of that country.

Ninety day reports take about 16 minutes a year in total  out of my life.

Permanent residents of Thailand who go through a rigorous application and vetting process and paid fees in the region of 180,000 baht still need to have work permits but any Joe Blow can just show up and work for 6 months at a time without even having to apply for a work permit.  Now there's consistency for you. 

 

Why not go back the status quo before 1972 when work permits were not required.  Or better still before 1927 when visas and passports were not required.  That would boost tourist numbers no end.

Hey Folks, 100% confirmation of decisions of the Thai government does not exist because of immobile bureaucracy and the provincial princes interpret even the simplest facts wrongly

5 hours ago, racket said:

Is this now 100% confirmed that travelers who enter on July 15 will get 60 days visa exempt?

no - it has to be published in the Royal Gazette.

31 minutes ago, Dogmatix said:

Permanent residents of Thailand who go through a rigorous application and vetting process and paid fees in the region of 180,000 baht still need to have work permits but any Joe Blow can just show up and work for 6 months at a time without even having to apply for a work permit.  Now there's consistency for you. 

 

Why not go back the status quo before 1972 when work permits were not required.  Or better still before 1927 when visas and passports were not required.  That would boost tourist numbers no end.

I think you've got most of that wrong.

Do what they may. I don't really think TAT realise just how bad things are in the west. the last think on peoples minds it travel. Not with the cost of living being what it is at the moment. 

Purchased a 60 day tourist e-visa in London seven weeks ago 

I arrive in Thailand early August on that visa.

assuming that the 60 day visa exempt is operational on 15th July,

are there any benefits from presenting it to immigration on arrival, or not ?

 

9 hours ago, Korat Kiwi said:

Yippee ki yaay,  let's open the gates wider for all the less desirables to flow in. 

 

Give it a few months and await the about turn on this one. 

The percentage of "undesirables" will likely remain the same. So you're a little bit right, but mostly wrong. For every 1000 new arrivals there may be the same percentage, which is theoretically higher mathematically, but they will likely scrutinize these new categories more thoroughly, bringing that percentage down. Also, most undesirables  won't qualify for these new visa categories - the bad apples primarily come on tourist visas, in which case the numbers will stay the same. Thailand desperately needs more income, and the bottom line is risk vs benefit. But yes, for a variety of reasons things like this tend to waffle back and forth.