Immigration Crackdown On Border Runners

[Zombienation]

Once again I'm reminded of the inequality that exists here. Abhisit stayed in the UK for years and years, was educated at the best institutions, enjoyed himself without having to worry about ridiculous ever changing rules. He certainly didn't have to report every 90 days........

Why is it that such people as himself, certainly knowing how things are in developed nations, fail to extend the same courtesy back. Whilst this change isn't an obvious scam or "farang tax" it does mean foreigners wishing to stay will be required to fly out of the country, as opposed to a quick cheap bus journey, causing inconvenience and incurring costs.

Why can't Thailand get its act together and seek to make life easier for those who seek to do business here, spend their money here and contribute to the economic wealth, growth and development of this country?

I'm beginning to feel more and more unwelcome of late....and I pay a shitload of taxes to this country. Certainly more than the vast majority of Thai's.

[MJo]

It's not about affording it, I really don't appreciate the inconvenience of having to get a visa, sending my passport off, etc. Of course I do get visas when I really want to go to specific country that requires them, however in the past I have often avoided countries altogether, especially for short trips as I couldn't be bothered to go and get photographs made, fill out the forms and then pay the entrance fee just to get a visa for a trip that might only last a few days, it's a lot less hassle to just go somewhere else. I have avoided Vietnam completely and have only been to mainland China twice in the past (on a double entry visa) due to this hassle.

As far as I can see it they should make it easy for me or I'll go elsewhere, I think of it as a form of customer service.

For Thailand I have the one year visa at the moment but I mainly live in England, I might renew it when it runs out or maybe I'll just fly in for less than thirty days next time I go instead of the more normal sixty to seventy day trips I have been doing recently, it doesn't make much difference to me either way. What's easier ?

We all have our wish lists. Top of mine would be free flights to Bangkok and unlimited free beer say for 14 days of your arrival.

But seriously, Thai visa is not that difficult to get. Which other countries let you in for 30 days by airport and basickly has still no limit on stay if you just drop by in nearest embassy in Lao or Malaysia ?

Malaysia you might get 90 days without visa, how long you can go on with this ?

Singapore you get 90 days but i know from my own experience that after couple of "visa runs" you are stamped for 3 to 5 days and told to get EP or other form of visa to stay legally.

Philippines you get only 21 days on arrival but this can be extended depending how much you want to pay and how good contacts you have.

Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao? and Myanmar? there is no entry without visa so you need to get one and pay for it for each visit. Even for a day or two trip.

As you said you have got one year non-imm visa yourself as it is easier than to do border runs.

[ovenman]

Does anybody know what Malaysia does with "border runners"?

Malaysia gives 90 days visa exempt entry to most western nationalities. What if you stay in MY and do a border run every 90 days, how long would they let you do it???? I doubt very much they would let you in more than twice back-to-back (same or next day return) without you having a very good reason

Hate to disappoint you but from what I have read on Malaysian boards, that is apparently exactly what people do with no problem.

[meelousee]

Stupid is as stupid does

[Pops]

Listen boys, In our countries in Europe and USA they are complaining why so many foreigners flock across our borders (illegally) every year, and when the Thai government wants to regulate this, we complain.

These foreigners also come to our countries of origin and want to stay and live there for one reason or another.

Anybody with enough money, a job or a good reason to be in Thailand should not have a problem acquiring a visa to stay here.

Anybody else, just go back to where you came from, just like it is in our countries of origin, no reason to complain I guess.

There are clear rules and regulations regarding visas, that's it, live with it.

In my country of origin, if I would like to take my wife to live there with me (or even for a fuc_king holiday visa), I would have to go through more hoops then in Thailand, I shit you not !!

[astor]

n a crackdown on foreigners who regularly abuse the tourist exemption rule.

Abuse. This recurrent word each time they talking about the foreigners.

This rule doesn't have effects on me ,but I'm feeling hurt all the same.

Then I will resend all my money to my home country within the end of this week. I keep here just the minimal and essential for my life expenses. Because I no longer want that they ABUSE of my money.

[animatic]

Could it simply be just be a coupling of Thai natural jingoism,

and the desperate need to generate more income for their airlines,

and increase Suvarnbuhmi landing fees and kickbacks from them?

Every thing is FINE if you use USE AN AIRLINE...

Maybe King Power is feeling the pinch?

[Elvikingo]

Could it simply be just be a coupling of Thai natural jingoism,

and the desperate need to generate more income for their airlines,

and increase Suvarnbuhmi landing fees and kickbacks from them?

Every thing is FINE if you use USE AN AIRLINE...

Maybe King Power is feeling the pinch?

Does nobody realize Thailand is nothing more than a 3rd world country? Average income, average age and average death don't get them anywhere yet......

[Jingthing]

Yes and it also makes TAT look better. Airport visa runner enters 12 times a year. That's 12 international air arrivals! Things are rosy!

[CMFarang]

This is SIMPLY a way to BOOST the Numbers to Make it LOOK LIKE more people are coming to Thailand on Holidays .

This makes the NUMBERS LOOK BETTER THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE .

No drop in Tourism , look at the Numbers...

Great idea ...

LOTS OF TOURISTS IN THAILAND

[Jingthing]

I think we have figured it out. The crafty buggers!

[ernieK24]

Is it possible that Thailand is making and enforcing this regulation for a reason? Could it be to get rid of those who cannot get a visa due to, Criminal Records, Lack of Income, Communicable Diseases (can't get a health cert), or have other serious problems which would preclude a legitimate visa?

Look to all the "1st World" countries and see which ones allow "Border Run Visas".

Finally a clean-up is underway.

"legitimate" ?

You have a problem understanding what he means...? I am a person of average intelligence, and I didn't have any trouble at all understanding the meaning of his post. My take on it is, I think when he used the word "legitimatre", he meant lawful, legal, within the long established rules of the Kingdom, etc..

It's THEIR country. They have a right to make up their own rules, and they also have the right to change them any time they feel the need to, WHATEVER the reason. And they don't have to ask our permission. I personally don't find it a hardship to notify them of my residence every three months, since they do the same thing in my own country. And since I'm not a citizen of this country, I don't mind renewing my visa every twelve months, at a cost of approximately, at the prevailing exchange rate, about fifty six U.S. dollars, which is about the price of a carton of cigarettes in my country. If you're in such dire financial straits that you can't afford the round trip baht bus trip every three months to report your residence, in case a relative of yours at home passes away and they will know how to contact you, or the 56 bucks is way out of your budget range to renew your annual visa, then fella' you're better off going back home and recieving government welfare, so get on the first boat out of the country. If I hated this country as much as a lot of you seem to, I swear, I'd leave immediately.

Otherwise, for Pete's sake, quit complaining and ENJOY........it's later than you think. Cheers

[Oberkommando]

Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao? and Myanmar? there is no entry without visa so you need to get one and pay for it for each visit. Even for a day or two trip.

Cambodia you can get a tourist visa online with minimal hassle.

If you want you can get a business visa on arrival at Phnom Penh airport and extend it for a year, then you can come and go as you please, relatively hassle free also.

[neverdie]

Have a little winge on the internet, doo daa, doo daa

[MJo]

This is SIMPLY a way to BOOST the Numbers to Make it LOOK LIKE more people are coming to Thailand on Holidays .

This makes the NUMBERS LOOK BETTER THAN THEY ACTUALLY ARE .

No drop in Tourism , look at the Numbers...

Great idea ...

LOTS OF TOURISTS IN THAILAND

If you do the maths again you notice that visa runner via airport is only 12 arrivals per year. Old system meant 24 arrivals per year thru land border. So if they are after numbers they should reduce borders only 7 days stay and airports for 14 days stay.

They still do record people arriving overland as they have done previously ?

[Oberkommando]

Have a little winge on the internet, doo daa, doo daa

Ridiculous rules give people plenty to complain about.

They really should stop giving people so much ammunition.

[granuaile]

get a real job and a real 1 year visa! that's the other option:)

And if real job is out of a question you can always pretend to be studying thai and get a ED visa. Non-immigrant, all kind of perks like local driving licence and you can call yourself as an expat or resident in the pub in front of your "mates".

Why pretend? 555.... After all if someone is living in Thailand they should learn Thai. It is respectful of Thailand and it is advantageous for the foreigner. Though I like to live in Thailand, being able to study and learn Thai is an opportunity I am happy to have.... I think I have a lot to learn from Thailand in many areas including language and a formal course I think for me is an advantage...

[sassienie]

What is not being addressed here is the constant change at very short notice to visa rules. Could this possibly be part of a longer term plan to make life harder for all farangs deciding to live over here? (I read a couple of days ago in the Post that they were going to start to clamp down on "Spouse nominee bought properties".)

This must cause some difficulties to people entering or re-entering the kingdom. One can sit and judge but money is money regardles of whether it is being spent in-country by someone wearing "planters" at the Oriental or a football shirt in Sabai a gogo and it should probably be welcomed by all in these difficult times.

Yes, this is a constant worry.

If seems the Thai authorities can move the goal posts literally overnight and practically without warning, suddenly many of us could find ourselves no longer eligible to stay here anymore.

Like many other legit ex pats living in Thailand, I have sunk a lot of my assets into Thailand, plus have a family here.

This is my reason for being so anti visa runner. Farangs using loopholes to commit illegal activities in Thailand can only make matters worse for all us, especially knowing that the facts are such as, Thais consider us as being all tarred with the same brush and that we could be thrown out at the drop of a hat.

When I was pulled in to our local police station last March on a police so called getting to know all the Farangs in my area exercise, the policeman was convinced that I should have known all the other Farangs living near my home and hardly believed me when I explained, no I do not.

In other words, what one does here can have a knock on effect by giving the semblance that all Farangs living in Thailand are up to no good, one way or another.

These days, our stay in Thailand is based on living on a hope and a prayer and that the worst wont happen, plus those others will not mess things up for us here.

[Jingthing]

Thats a good point. It isn't all negative at all. The ED visa is a great option for people under 50 if it suits them (or even people over 50 who can't meet the retirement financial requirements). It is liberal of Thai immigration to offer it, and we should be happy for that.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Jingthing

[Bosse137]

disagree with all complaining!

ever considered the rules when a Thai goes to Europe? Even as a tourist it is difficult to enter without....etc..

Try to see this without your personal biased view.

Apparently I am not the only one which disagree with you.

Some years ago,I brought a Thai woman,who I had met a couple of monthts earlier,to Sweden.She got workpermit,free education i Swedish,social security card and so on.This in the first months of her stay!After 3 years,she could become swedish citizen,had she wanted that.Rare enough for Thais in europ,she opted for moving back to Thailand after ca 6 months!Thats different from my situation here after 20 years,I can not do anything of the above and still have to report every 3 months.So why do I Stay here? Not because I like the regulations or the immigrationofficers,but in spite of them;there are so many other good things here.But from my experience,it is easier for a Thai to go to Sweden (and be fully "incorperated") than it is for a Swed to do the same in Thailand!

[MJo]

Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao? and Myanmar? there is no entry without visa so you need to get one and pay for it for each visit. Even for a day or two trip.

Cambodia you can get a tourist visa online with minimal hassle.

If you want you can get a business visa on arrival at Phnom Penh airport and extend it for a year, then you can come and go as you please, relatively hassle free also.

Yep, tourist is single entry for $20 and business single entry $25 both give you one month stay. Get multiple business for a year and if i now remember correctly it is around $250 or $300 ? Basicly same price as 12 single enties from border. And you do not have to leave the country which is nice.

Thailand free entry for 30 days but need to leave the country vs. Cambo pay as you go but can stay in country.

So there is something for everyone just need to pick one But i'm still quite sure that in Cambo forums they bitch and moan how expensive it is to stay. Not like in Thailand where you get free 30 days on arrival and even additional free 4 x 14 days overland

Actually i like PP but what comes to basic infra and services i still do prefer BKK for long term stay and when i need a fix of bit more wild scene it's only an hours flight.

I might change my mind in few years though if PP is going to develop as fast as it has been going on last couple of years.

[Jingthing]

Yes that is why first world countries are so restrictive to people from countries like Thailand. There are major benefits available to them. Going this way, NONE. Don't compare third world immigration policies to first world ones.

[Oberkommando]

Actually i like PP but what comes to basic infra and services i still do prefer BKK for long term stay and when i need a fix of bit more wild scene it's only an hours flight.

I might change my mind in few years though if PP is going to develop as fast as it has been going on last couple of years.

Agreed.

Its come on leaps and bounds recently. I find the people a lot friendlier too.

[RICHW]

it only effects deadbeats, not tourists or those with genuine reasons for long stay and productive input into Thailand, those that can't stay in LOS within the new rules will shift to nearby countries who will change the rules there when they realize what they are getting.

[hansnl]

The economy in the West has pretty much collapsed over the past few month and the recovery will be long term. I think that Thailand is now aiming for tourists from their neighbouring countries, where the economy's are not yet so badly affected and due to their geographical location and flights are cheaper.

They are not so dependant on Westerners nowadays because like it or not many more Asians can afford to travel from their developing countries.

There will be many more Chinese and Indians arriving here and I have seen evidence of this at the airport.

I talk to my mates in the UK and money is tight, so they will go to nearer destinations if they can afford a holiday at all.

Cheers, Rick.

Oh really?

And how much do those tourists now arriving from Asia in droves spend per day?

And how much you think the economy in Asia is contracting, and will?

Indeed, the Thai officials are counting on Asia more and more.

But, is it wise?

China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Thailand are all export driven economies.

All developing, indeed.

Are there indeed more Asian visitors arriving at the airport, or maybe it seems to be because less westerners are arriving?

How much did the arrivals contract totally? (-30%)

How much did the arrivals from Asia grow? (+2%)

Ahhhhhhh

[inthepink]

Anyway, i think also that immigration rules in thailand should be more friendly toward farangs, as we are the primary sustain source of the country

Are you on drugs or something? You think western tourists are the primary source of income for Thailand???

[samran]

Once again I'm reminded of the inequality that exists here. Abhisit stayed in the UK for years and years, was educated at the best institutions, enjoyed himself without having to worry about ridiculous ever changing rules. He certainly didn't have to report every 90 days........

Why is it that such people as himself, certainly knowing how things are in developed nations, fail to extend the same courtesy back. Whilst this change isn't an obvious scam or "farang tax" it does mean foreigners wishing to stay will be required to fly out of the country, as opposed to a quick cheap bus journey, causing inconvenience and incurring costs.

Why can't Thailand get its act together and seek to make life easier for those who seek to do business here, spend their money here and contribute to the economic wealth, growth and development of this country?

I'm beginning to feel more and more unwelcome of late....and I pay a shitload of taxes to this country. Certainly more than the vast majority of Thai's.

Abhisit was born in the UK. Anyone born in the UK prior to 1983, regardless of their parents nationality, was a automatically british national.

Thailand had similar rules. Anyone born on thai soil (regardless of parents nationality) before 1971, was automatically a Thai citizen.

Anyone born on Thai soil between 1971 and 1992, regardless of their parents nationality, can also automatically gain thai nationality if they can prove an enduring link to Thailand.

There are more than a few 'white' 'anglo/europeans' about with Thai nationality who aquired in this way (I know a few). They enjoy the same rights as other Thai citizens.

As for the rules, they strike an even balance. Can't imagining the UK allowing people to do too many visa runs.

[samran]

Anyway, i think also that immigration rules in thailand should be more friendly toward farangs, as we are the primary sustain source of the country

Are you on drugs or something? You think western tourists are the primary source of income for Thailand???

yes, way too many farangs on this thread thinking 'if it wasn't for me and my pension, the Thai economy would fall in a heap'.

Fortunately, it isn't true. And Thai immigration know that.

[wefearourdespot]

'Give us your money and get the hel_l out!!', seems to be all they really want.

I guess they will be granted the latter, but not the former

The more they think they are smart the more they shoot on their feet

[bangkokrick]

The economy in the West has pretty much collapsed over the past few month and the recovery will be long term. I think that Thailand is now aiming for tourists from their neighbouring countries, where the economy's are not yet so badly affected and due to their geographical location and flights are cheaper.

They are not so dependant on Westerners nowadays because like it or not many more Asians can afford to travel from their developing countries.

There will be many more Chinese and Indians arriving here and I have seen evidence of this at the airport.

I talk to my mates in the UK and money is tight, so they will go to nearer destinations if they can afford a holiday at all.

Cheers, Rick.

Oh really?

And how much do those tourists now arriving from Asia in droves spend per day?

And how much you think the economy in Asia is contracting, and will?

Indeed, the Thai officials are counting on Asia more and more.

But, is it wise?

China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India and Thailand are all export driven economies.

All developing, indeed.

Are there indeed more Asian visitors arriving at the airport, or maybe it seems to be because less westerners are arriving?

How much did the arrivals contract totally? (-30%)

How much did the arrivals from Asia grow? (+2%)

Ahhhhhhh

Oh really yes.

The Indian economy has performed far better than expected over the last quarter and the Chinese economy is also still very strong. On my last trip from Beijing to Bangkok almost the entire passenger list was Chinese. A year ago it was not the case. They have the money and don't tell me that the Chinese don't like to spend because you are way off the mark. If your reply was meant to be sarcastic you failed miserably.

Love to see where you get your figures from?

Rick