Penang To Impose Stricter Rules When Issuing Tourist Visas

[jstumbo]

hunt and peckist?

[spongeman]

Hi there !

Its a pity to see the new rules for Penang...... In 1995/1996 I did the visa run there on the train four times (I now reside in Ireland with my Thai Wife).

What really worries me that there were guys on that train who had been doing the runs for many years....... These were genuine guys teaching in Thailand and while I would'nt like to see a full amnesty, perhaps for those who have been teaching for a long time??????

I remember going down there there was only about 5 - 10 people ahead of me ..... how times have changed i read now! Give in the application and collect it the next day.......

Best of luck to all ye visa runners!

It depends where you come from. If you're Filipino, Thai, Cambodian or from many other countries in the region, try getting a tourist visa to visit Australia.

With good reason.

A very high percentage of 'tourists' from those countries, especially Thais, decide not to return home and remain illegally.

Australia cannot support mass immigration from under-developed and developing countries which is exactly what would happen if the rules were relaxed.

Conversely, there will not be a mass immigration of Westerners to Thailand now, or in the foreseeable future, illegally or otherwise.

[Flhai]

Quote from Brian: Meanwhile, roughly forty-seven years since my first Thailand visit and into my eleventh year of this visit

Wow 11 years for a visit... is not even a stay. I would hate to have this guy over for coffee or a beer, could visit for a decade or so!

Edited March 6, 2008 by Flhai

[Flhai]

I posted the question below in another thread however I think it relates to the current topic here also because if a Thai does overstay a Visa in Australia and gets caught 1 month or 10 years later it would just be a short stay in a comfortable cell followed by a pretty friendly deportation.

The question:

I was reading the bogus thread about staying for 20 years that was just a wind up and now this thread about how to get and stay for 3 years or so. But I have always wondered what would happen if you came on a Visa or anything and just stayed for years and years (maybe even 20) and didn't get caught???? Would you just go to your the airport with your passport (of which you can keep up to date) and pay the max fine of 20,000 baht or would you got the an IDC for 500 or so years???

[gbt71fa]

I think they see it more as a way to combat foreigners working illigaly in Thailand

Very true Robbloc. Then again, are farang working illegally stealing jobs from Thais ? I haven't seen to many farang taxi drivers, policemen, etc. around town. These rules keep getting tighter due to paranoid law makers more than anything else.

Yes, don't let farang buy land and houses if you must but why scare away people who spend money here ? I can see the Philippine government smiling from here. It will only benefit them.

What is wrong with farangs buying land? If I buy land than it is a Thai that is profiting from it. If I build or buy a house than it is a thai construction company with thai workers that are profiting from it. If I can afford a more expenseive house than it will be thais who get the money. What is wrong with that?

[farangmal]

Just out of curiousity - why is the Thai Gouvernment so "Anti Long Stay Tourist" ...... I know alot of guys that work in the UK / Europe for 6 months during srping / summer, save up alot of cash, then go to Thailand for the autumn / winter (6 months) and spend all that cash...... I'm talking like 10 grand...... as in half a million Baht..... surely that is a good thing for the country? I can understand why they would want to stop foriegners buying up land & houses, pushing up prices etc., but what is wrong with people hanging around spending what is locally a hel_l of alot of money..... this money is filtering back up the entire country one way or another..... the typical long stay tourist is not exaclt a burden on the state?

Just seems pointless to me........... could some one fill me in?

That's a hard one to answer isn't it.

I lived in Thailand for many years a while back. In the good old days when you got a 30 day stamp at the border every thirty day.

Since then they have tampered and changed the investment visa, Marriage visa, the 90 day rule has come in and they are threatening to investigate Thai companies established to precure land and a house.

they keep tightening and tightening the rules and I have to say that's one of the reasons I took my Wife and Family back to the Uk.

Thai people are great happy smiling people but there is a Xenophobic streak that runs very deep. If anyone has ever been in earshot of a Thai person shouting at a farang in anger, nine out of ten times they will be shouting, telling the farang to get out of their Country.

This is unheard of in most places I have been to.

Last January my Wife tried to call a radio program that was having a 'live' debate about poverty and homelessness in Thailand and most of the panel were blaming Farangs, coming in and buying up all the land etc.

When sher tried to call and put her point of view across they wouldn't let her speak.

For me it's a great place but I really do hesitate making a commitment to live there again.

Let's hope any new changes will be for the better but I seriously doubt it.

[Maestro]

I posted the question below in another thread however I think...

It is not appreciated if you post the same question in two different topics.

See here for the answer: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...t&p=1858172

--

Maestro

[jstumbo]

What is wrong with farangs buying land? If I buy land than it is a Thai that is profiting from it. If I build or buy a house than it is a thai construction company with thai workers that are profiting from it. If I can afford a more expenseive house than it will be thais who get the money. What is wrong with that?

When you boil it down, a country comes down to the land that it occupies. Companies can move to a different location, people can move, cultures can move, but the land is always there. If you sell your land to foreign nationals, you are selling your country piece by piece. The US bought Alaska from the Russians and it became part of the US. The US bought the Louisiana Territory (most of the middle part of the US) from the French. Your land is what defines your country. That is why countries fight wars, for the land.

People from Falangland, China, Japan, etc.. have much more money than Thailand does. They could come in and buy the whole country if they wanted. What happens when 50% of the land is owned by other countries? 75%?

If a foreign person wants to control the land there are instruments available to allow them to do that, but the ownership still remains in the hands of a Thai, as it should. I believe this for any country. US land only owned by US citizens, UK land only owned by UK citizens, Japanese land only owned by Japanese. Plus there should be some benefit to being a citizen of a country. In the US, pretty much the only difference between my wife (permanent resident) and me (citizen) is I get to vote. Otherwise she has all the rights of a citizen of the US.

Edited March 7, 2008 by jstumbo

[farangmal]

What is wrong with farangs buying land? If I buy land than it is a Thai that is profiting from it. If I build or buy a house than it is a thai construction company with thai workers that are profiting from it. If I can afford a more expenseive house than it will be thais who get the money. What is wrong with that?

When you boil it down, a country comes down to the land that it occupies. Companies can move to a different location, people can move, cultures can move, but the land is always there. If you sell your land to foreign nationals, you are selling your country piece by piece. The US bought Alaska from the Russians and it became part of the US. The US bought the Louisiana Territory (most of the middle part of the US) from the French. Your land is what defines your country. That is why countries fight wars, for the land.

People from Falangland, China, Japan, etc.. have much more money than Thailand does. They could come in and buy the whole country if they wanted. What happens when 50% of the land is owned by other countries? 75%?

If a foreign person wants to control the land there are instruments available to allow them to do that, but the ownership still remains in the hands of a Thai, as it should. I believe this for any country. US land only owned by US citizens, UK land only owned by UK citizens, Japanese land only owned by Japanese. Plus there should be some benefit to being a citizen of a country. In the US, pretty much the only difference between my wife (permanent resident) and me (citizen) is I get to vote. Otherwise she has all the rights of a citizen of the US.

In some parts of the Uk they are crying out for foreign land owners to come in and INVEST in high unemployment blackspots.

They even let a regular topic of this board (Thaksin) spend 70 Million ££ and buy a football club.

Most of the Penthouses and famous addresses in London are owned by Arabs. Not to mention a lot of the Scottish Islands themselves.

These people pour big money into the area.

Ever noticed in Thailand once you drive out into the Countryside how baron and desolate and POOR the whole place looks. There's no Foreign investment in these areas.

If they really wanted they could allow foriegn land ownership up to a certain plot size and introduce a Foreign yearly land tax or such. Generating Billions of baht for their own economy.

[007]

In some parts of the Uk they are crying out for foreign land owners to come in and INVEST in high unemployment blackspots.

Well, the official unemployment rate Thailand's has been 1.5% or so for the past 20(?) years, so why bother..

The few ruling families are just not interested in wealth creation for the majority of people. Instead they want an obedient, un(der)educated people that is ignorant towards the world outside. Thailand is stuck in the past and IMHO will be for a while.

Edited March 7, 2008 by 7

[Dupont]

I think they see it more as a way to combat foreigners working illigaly in Thailand

Very true Robbloc. Then again, are farang working illegally stealing jobs from Thais ? I haven't seen to many farang taxi drivers, policemen, etc. around town. These rules keep getting tighter due to paranoid law makers more than anything else.

Yes, don't let farang buy land and houses if you must but why scare away people who spend money here ? I can see the Philippine government smiling from here. It will only benefit them.

What is wrong with farangs buying land? If I buy land than it is a Thai that is profiting from it. If I build or buy a house than it is a thai construction company with thai workers that are profiting from it. If I can afford a more expenseive house than it will be thais who get the money. What is wrong with that?

The paradox here for you (and many others amongst us) is that IF you were allowed to buy land, you wouldn't be able to buy land because big business would beat you too it and the prices would skyrocket overnight.

Probably easier - and certainly cheaper - for us to do it the hard way and let the missus hold it. It also keeps all the speculators and jack the lad "just bought some land and am builing a house on it. Gonna make a killing" in check.

[farangmal]

I think they see it more as a way to combat foreigners working illigaly in Thailand

Very true Robbloc. Then again, are farang working illegally stealing jobs from Thais ? I haven't seen to many farang taxi drivers, policemen, etc. around town. These rules keep getting tighter due to paranoid law makers more than anything else.

Yes, don't let farang buy land and houses if you must but why scare away people who spend money here ? I can see the Philippine government smiling from here. It will only benefit them.

What is wrong with farangs buying land? If I buy land than it is a Thai that is profiting from it. If I build or buy a house than it is a thai construction company with thai workers that are profiting from it. If I can afford a more expenseive house than it will be thais who get the money. What is wrong with that?

The paradox here for you (and many others amongst us) is that IF you were allowed to buy land, you wouldn't be able to buy land because big business would beat you too it and the prices would skyrocket overnight.

Probably easier - and certainly cheaper - for us to do it the hard way and let the missus hold it. It also keeps all the speculators and jack the lad "just bought some land and am builing a house on it. Gonna make a killing" in check.

Thailand needs big business. And i don't think the average house price would skyrocket at all.

look at the Philipino example. You put $50,000 - $75,000 in a time deposit for six Months and you can achieve a special residency permit for you, and your family.

And more inportantly you can own a Condo or Townhouse 100% with this visa.

And even if you didn't have that visa but were Married to a Filipino and She were to die, you WOULD be allowed to inherit the land and own it outright.

So so different in Thailand I'm afraid to say.

[JetsetBkk]

The paradox here for you (and many others amongst us) is that IF you were allowed to buy land, you wouldn't be able to buy land because big business would beat you too it and the prices would skyrocket overnight.

Nonsense. It would be simple to allow any foreigner to own freehold 1 or 2 rai of land as their permanent residence - no company ownership would be allowed. The only reason this is not allowed is because of most Thai's attitude to foreign ownership of anything Thai.

A decent education policy might eventually correct this, but there are plenty of higher priority issues that a decent education policy needs to fix first.

[bangkokgas]

The paradox here for you (and many others amongst us) is that IF you were allowed to buy land, you wouldn't be able to buy land because big business would beat you too it and the prices would skyrocket overnight.

Nonsense. It would be simple to allow any foreigner to own freehold 1 or 2 rai of land as their permanent residence - no company ownership would be allowed. The only reason this is not allowed is because of most Thai's attitude to foreign ownership of anything Thai.

A decent education policy might eventually correct this, but there are plenty of higher priority issues that a decent education policy needs to fix first.

A decent eduaction policy. Noone could argue with that. But please do not tell me the American one is the way to go.

[toret]

Why not go to Malaysia? It has the fantastic MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) scheme, that will give you a 10 year visa for requirements many of us can meet.

And if not, they give most of us 90 days on entry. No questions asked.

They will also arrest you if you are found queing in the same line as the ladies if you are a man in your local supermarket.

That's the biggest load of bullshit I have read in quite a while. I don't know what parts of Malaysia you have been to, but I have never encountered anything even similar to such a practice.

[Crossy]

They will also arrest you if you are found queing in the same line as the ladies if you are a man in your local supermarket.

That's the biggest load of bullshit I have read in quite a while. I don't know what parts of Malaysia you have been to, but I have never encountered anything even similar to such a practice.

Actually whilst I was there in the early 21st century, the Muslim fundamentalists "Party Pas" made significant gains in the north-eastern provinces where they introduced seperate checkout queues for male and female shoppers, they also wanted to introduce elements of Shariah (sp.) law.

Whether these rules are still current I can't say, but it most definately did happen

[toret]

Well, could be it happens in a couple of states on the east coast where they are known to be quite conservative, but as Malaysia have different laws in different states it would not apply to the entire country. I have never encountered anything but different toilets for men and women in Malaysia.

That said, Malaysia has elements of shariah in it's federal laws, such as parts of family law etc. But the good news is, those laws apply only to muslims

And Bangkok used to have (still has?) buses for women only.

[007]

They will also arrest you if you are found queing in the same line as the ladies if you are a man in your local supermarket.

That's the biggest load of bullshit I have read in quite a while. I don't know what parts of Malaysia you have been to, but I have never encountered anything even similar to such a practice.

What a nonsense! At best they may kindly ask you to join the 'male queue' at the larger supermarkets in Kelantan, but they would never "arrest" you.

[tropo]

Let's get back to the topic. It's been about 6 months now since Penang started toughening up on the issue of tourist visas.

I haven't seen any reports about Penang for a long while. Does anyone have recent experience of what's happening down there?

Penang used to be a hot topic on this forum. People were forever asking questions on what to do there, where to stay, how to get there etc etc. Does anyone still go there? Are there still queues at the consulate?

Edited April 17, 2008 by tropo

[jstumbo]

Let's get back to the topic. It's been about 6 months now since Penang started toughening up on the issue of tourist visas.

I haven't seen any reports about Penang for a long while. Does anyone have recent experience of what's happening down there?

Penang used to be a hot topic on this forum. People were forever asking questions on what to do there, where to stay, how to get there etc etc. Does anyone still go there? Are there still queues at the consulate?

Seems like I saw another thread that said that they had replaced the consulate general down there. They said that they are loosening up. Don't know if it is true.

[tropo]

Seems like I saw another thread that said that they had replaced the consulate general down there. They said that they are loosening up. Don't know if it is true.

Replaced again? The replacement last year is responsible for the toughening up.

[mel2surf]

Could be what some of us were discussing in the older threads about loss

of local revenue for Penang.In any case,I would love to be able to go there again

for a TV.It was smooth,and I enjoyed my stay there.Anyone heard from good ol

Mouhammad? he was a kind gent.

Mel

[jaiyen17]

Hello ~ Need a current update on tourist visas out a Penang. Are they issuing them? What are the requirements? Is there any chance of getting a double entry? If not where is the best place to go theses days? Any new forum topics started with current info??

[Mario2008]

Look for recent reports here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/189375-latest-reports-of-getting-a-visa-in-the-region/