1 hour ago, Front Row said:

Please let me know which bank is paying 5% interest. Or perhaps I misunderstand the point you’re trying to make.

Trading212 for cash used to be 4.8% but looks like that has gone down to 3.8% for GBP which still returns a guaranteed 30,400 baht (still 10k profit on visa), but I was really referring to holding it in indexed funds. The S&P500 has an average return of 10.56% as an example. Keeping it in a typical Thai bank account has an average return of 0% for comparison.

18 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Plenty UK banks still offer 5% or almost...just look at Raisin

OK. I thought you were referring to the 800K for immigration that needs to be on deposit in a Thai bank.

24 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Plenty UK banks still offer 5% or almost...just look at Raisin

First up, he isn't a felon from a short immigration sentence in Thailand. Nowhere checks that BS except the US. They have enough criminals there already.

Don’t lie or try to cheat Thailand, it’s that simple!

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense. Bank accounts to show the 800k balance have to exist

You mean Bank accounts to show the 800k balance have to exist to show the balance FOR 5 MINUTES.

Reminds me of the line from movie The Producers (1967)

LITTLE OLD LADY #3

It's right here in my purse and I made it out just as you told me --

to cash. That's a funny name for a play.

At least he can work here. Heating engineer isn't prohibited.

5 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Warning to morons everywhere: Do not visit Thailand. Ever.

Thank you for the warning.

I have translated and certified it into Swiss-German, French, Italian, and Romansh and shared it with the Swiss Expat Community, the Swiss Embassy, the Swiss Travel Associations, and the Swiss Parliament. As of now, Switzerland has officially issued travel warnings for Thailand. All passengers holding a Swiss passport must undergo a Moron Test for Thailand before check-in. Other countries may implement similar measures in the near future. 🤣😂

5 hours ago, bendejo said:

Is this a joke?

Oliver Hardy

I was expecting more of this.

Should have stuck with Stan. He’d have kept him out of his fine mess!

4 hours ago, wil iam not said:

I have never noticed that. On arrival the IO looks at paperwork, takes your photo, then stamps the passport and immediately passes it back to you.

Incoming They have certainly written something on mine. I always assumed it was my re entry visa number. But maybe it’s the flight number. I’d have to look to check and I’m lazy.

2 hours ago, Front Row said:

Please let me know which bank is paying 5% interest. Or perhaps I misunderstand the point you’re trying to make.

He said invest. Not put on deposit.

6 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

Hasn't he written a book yet?

We are just waiting to hear about fish heads and tails soup and all the rest of the crapola.

Another clown, next comes the YouTube channel and claims he's an influencer.

Reminds me of the movie Midnight Express - Turkey.

2 hours ago, JerryM said:

ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense. Bank accounts to show the 800k balance have to exist

You mean Bank accounts to show the 800k balance have to exist to show the balance FOR 5 MINUTES

No, I do not mean that.

Bank accounts that are opened for that purpose exist after that transaction as a normal bank account, they are not temporary accounts, something that doesn't exist. The new account holders are given a passbook and an ATM card.

7 hours ago, connda said:

For all those who have agents "fix" their immigration problems for them? There's a lesson here.

You are so right! I remember arriving back in Bangkok, before heading to Kow Taow to do my scuba instructors course I went into Gulivers. I was shocked as it was full of people I new from Kow Taow (instructors and dive masters). Turned out a very popular shop (not far from the police station), owned by a jolly old boy did visa passport runs to Malaysia. 2000baht a trip. Hand over your passport and 2000baht and get a hassle free stamp. Only problem was he decided to simply have the stamp made. A really nice guy from Holland went to go home to see family and got thrown in prison. Luckily his big boss sorted and paid a hell of a lot of money but I believe he was banned for life. When I got to Kow Taow, there was the jolly old man sitting at his table at his shop with the same sign advertising visa for 2000baht!!! Nothing ever happened to him. Visa scams are everywhere in Thailand.

7 hours ago, connda said:

For all those who have agents "fix" their immigration problems for them? There's a lesson here.

Only if those agents are not working with Immigration but just provide fake stamps.

7 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

If this guy was a British national as stated, why would he have " two passport stamps that were not recorded in the system and appeared to show travel to England that had never occurred."????

Thai Immigration stamps for when he was, allegedly, leaving Thailand, perhaps?

7 hours ago, Iron Tongue said:

this chap pled guilty and went to prison for forged documents, how then, would other countries allow a convicted felon to enter their countries?

He wasn't a "felon", to be a felon he would have to have been convicted of a felony but Thailand does not categorise any crimes as "felonies", this is not the US. Even if it did, so what?...,UK passport holders get visa-free entry to Thailand.

His arrogance and lack of oversite created his jail time.

Too bad.

6 hours ago, impulse said:

Must have visited Khao San road, eh?

"Providers" in KSR do not provide any forged Thai documents...that's how they get away with doing what they do.

3 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

At least he can work here. Heating engineer isn't prohibited.

Yes, it is...manual work.

it's a jail for God's sake, was he expecting a 5 star accommodation, what a loser

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Only if those agents are not working with Immigration but just provide fake stamps.

And those agents 'work' with Immigration to induce the IMM officer to invoke the "legitimate reason" 5. discretion clause and waive any financial requirement otherwise necessitated.

6 hours ago, James105 said:

He probably likes having an excuse to visit Pattaya. Using an agent costs about the same whether you use your own money in the bank or the agents. If he invests the 800k and makes even just 5% return then he is in profit.

It costs him 20k, and then there's probably 8k for 3 return trips to Pattaya. So, 28k is around 3% of the 800k. Is it really worth doing? I would prefer to remain legit.

1 hour ago, Andrew65 said:

It costs him 20k, and then there's probably 8k for 3 return trips to Pattaya. So, 28k is around 3% of the 800k. Is it really worth doing? I would prefer to remain legit.

The 800K in question has to remain in a Thai bank account earning 0% interest to be legit. My point was that if he invests it lets say in S&P500 for that year, then he makes a return of 80K (going on its historical 10% average) so he is 50K in profit or at least funds his adventures on his little trips to Pattaya.

Yes it's not legit, but it's a very different level of not legit to forging stamps in a passport. The purpose of the 800K is to cover possible medical expenses so whether it sits in a Thai bank or a high interest or investment account shouldn't really make any difference so long as it is accessible. Also there is a whole industry seemingly built around retirees not using their own cash for this involving agents, the banks and immigration so I doubt he is overly worried about it.

11 hours ago, Smokey and the Bandit said:

". He said immigration officials identified two passport stamps that were not recorded in the system and appeared to show travel to England that had never occurred."

If this guy was a British national as stated, why would he have " two passport stamps that were not recorded in the system and appeared to show travel to England that had never occurred."????

Ehhhh Inspector Clouseau he is British. And the stamps were forged that’s how he was caught. 🙈

The moral of the story is to do it yourself. If you need help with the language, get a Thai friend to go with you. If you are still compelled to use a visa agent look long and hard for a legitimate company. Perhaps you will go with them to the immigration offices? I'm not sure as I've never used a visa agency.

9 hours ago, JJ-Thailand said:

Don't ever use agents! Just visit the immigration office and sort it out yourself.

This... Just this...Just go to Immigration yourself and sort it out directly.

There are some reputable agents out there, and a few are regularly recommended by people on this forum. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of charlatans, scammers and middlemen promising miracles they cannot legally deliver.

Historically, the system was far easier to game. At remote land borders and smaller ports, long before everything was centrally linked and digitised, all it sometimes took was a cooperative official, the right stamp, and someone willing to look the other way. Those days are largely gone.

Over 30 years ago, I handed my passport to a company representative for what was described as a routine visa renewal. It came back showing an exit and re-entry through Songkhla Port despite me never having left my office. I hit the roof. At the time, these shortcuts were common, but they carried obvious risks if the paperwork was ever scrutinised.

This case strikes me as a modern version of the same story. A naïve young lad overstayed, then convinced himself that someone could magically put him back on the right side of the system. He paid a lot of money to people who promised they could fix it. That was foolish, but it was also trusting.

He bears responsibility for his own actions, but I do have some sympathy. Rather than focusing solely on the foreigner caught holding the passport, I'd be equally interested in knowing who supplied the stamps, who arranged the paperwork, and whether the same agents are still operating today. If forged or irregular stamps were involved, they didn't appear in that passport by magic.

The easiest person to prosecute is often the one standing in front of you. Finding and dismantling the people selling these services is considerably harder.

The lesson is simple: if you need a visa, deal directly with Immigration. If something sounds too easy, too convenient, or too expensive to be true, it probably is.

6 hours ago, unblocktheplanet said:

At least he can work here. Heating engineer isn't prohibited.

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Yes, it is...manual work.

Not much call for heating engineers in Thailand in any event, I would have thought.

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Only if those agents are not working with Immigration but just provide fake stamps.

I think that's certainly a possibility. Some operators may simply be running a scam, inserting counterfeit stamps, taking the money and disappearing the moment things go wrong.

What I suspect is more likely is that there are agents with contacts who can obtain genuine stamps or genuine access to official processes, but in a manner that is entirely improper or fraudulent. To the customer, everything appears legitimate because the stamp itself looks legitimate.

The difficulty is that the person paying for the service often has very little way of knowing where the line between "assistance" and outright fraud is actually being crossed.

Let's be honest, plenty of retirees have used nominee fund arrangements or similar services to satisfy financial requirements that they would not otherwise meet. Whether people like it or not, those arrangements exist in a legal grey area at best, and many are openly discussed and even recommended on forums such as this one.

The reality is that people become accustomed to hearing that "everyone does it" and that certain agents are "trusted".

After a while, it becomes easy to convince yourself that if a service is widely used, it must also be legitimate.

They're told the agent is "well connected", "knows the right people", or has been "doing this for years", and they assume the arrangement is authorised.

Maybe he is trying to get a spot on the TV series Locked up Abroad....that will likely fit well with a book , a podcast, and many many click bait schemes.

Being a big guy does not help you much in a Thai prison if a few dozen guys decide to beat you to death or stab you with homemade shanks or if the guards decide to beat you senseless for whatever reason. I suspect that there are a lot of rough tough violent muay thai types in prison that don't much care for young falangs.

So now off to nam and brazil for more "adventures of the young and stupid"....what could go wrong...maybe stop off in columbia and smuggle few kilos of coke back into UK or Thailand?