Immigration Crackdown On Border Runners

[wefearourdespot]

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.

We might not be a primary source, but a vital one for sure, expecially during a worldwide recession that's hitting Thailand very hard (GDP -8% in the first quarter)

[Jingthing]

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'.

No but several local wage Thai JOBS for each and every retired expat is not chopped liver.

[bangkokrick]

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.

We might not be a primary source, but a vital one for sure, expecially during a worldwide recession that's hitting Thailand very hard (GDP -8% in the first quarter)

Explain why vital. Tourism accounts for around 7/8 per cent of the Thai GDP. I would not consider that anywhere near vital in a country that is the biggest rice exporter in the world.

Rick

[samran]

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'.

No but several local wage Thai JOBS for each and every retired expat is not chopped liver.

...and would be more than replaced with increased foreign investment if Thailand wasn't viewed as the knock shop of Asia....

this won't change that impression, but it is a first step....

[MJo]

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'.

No but several local wage Thai JOBS for each and every retired expat is not chopped liver.

Most of those local thai jobs would be sustained from money short term tourists bring in. I mean all retirees out of the picture, yes some jobs would disappear especially during low season and especially from service sector in patters, phuket and the like but i still believe tourists are the main supporters of these jobs, not retirees. Difficult to say, services for tourists, 75% tourists and 25% expats or something else ?

[Jingthing]

A poor country needs all the jobs it can get, expats, tourists, foreign investment all create jobs. Why discourage ANY of those?

[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.

We might not be a primary source, but a vital one for sure, expecially during a worldwide recession that's hitting Thailand very hard (GDP -8% in the first quarter)

Vital? Inward remittances by long term 'expats' aren't even a blip on the national accounts. I dare say they'd hardly count as a rounding error.

Migration has never been about letting people parking the bums in a country and spending their retirement money.

It is more about skilled migration and the productivity that creates for nations. Great immigrant nations, Australia, US, Canada, etc have proved that time and again.

And before you give me the 'ohh, Thailand makes it sooo hard for me to work here', let me say just this. I'm all for Thailand dropping its barriers to foreigners obtaining work permits. I guarantee that 95% of the people whinging here still wouldn't be able to make it in Thailand even if it laid out a red carpet for them..

Again, whiners using visa rules as a red-herring for their own deficiencies.

[samran]

A poor country needs all the jobs it can get, expats, tourists, foreign investment all create jobs. Why discourage ANY of those?

cause a country needs to stop scraping the bottom of the barrel sometime...

[inthepink]

We might not be a primary source, but a vital one for sure, expecially during a worldwide recession that's hitting Thailand very hard (GDP -8% in the first quarter)

An important source of income maybe. Primary? No way. Vital even? Certainly not. Sure it wouldn't do the economy a whole lot of good if every Westerner here suddenly upped and left. GDP was down 7.1% in the first quarter, by the way. That's a far greater fall than you'd see if we all went home, and the country hasn't fallen to pieces yet.

Edited June 1, 2009 by inthepink

[rinpoche]

This action is actually understandable. The reduction from one month to two weeks stay for border runs was a clear signal that Thai authorities didn't want this routine to go on. If people are still running back and forth, something like this was to be expected. It can't be that difficult to find a Thai embassy or consulate abroad, can it?

Thai embassies in the neighbouring countries are not that difficult to find, but travelling there takes a bit of time and may cost a bit more money than doing a border run. Think Chiangmai to KL or Kunming. At the border, these guys just need to do a U-turn. On the other hand, it may cost them an air ticket and an airport taxi ride to get to a foreign embassy. They may also need to stay a couple of days while their visas are processed.

This policy has been proposed by previous administrations, so it's not new. It aims at weeding out the long-staying backpackers, drifters, vagabonds etc.

[RJJ]

Did they ever look to Malaysia the Thai authorities?

3 month upon arrival, also on a landborder, no Visa requiered.

That's because nobody wants to stay in Malaysia that long!

[Jingthing]

A poor country needs all the jobs it can get, expats, tourists, foreign investment all create jobs. Why discourage ANY of those?

cause a country needs to stop scraping the bottom of the barrel sometime...

I think you very wrong. Many countries of different levels encourage retired expats to help the local economy. Malta for example. Such people are a benefit to any country they choose to move to. Why would you pick on retired expats as being a problem for Thailand? That's outrageous. On the contrary, they are a clear economic benefit. Vital? No, but so what? You seem obsessed with sex angle, btw.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Jingthing

[notobnoxious]

I have no problems(what so ever), in understanding this new regulation. Order Order.

When will the Peacocks of Asia ever learn same as the Kuwait'ees of the Middle East!

[netiquette]

I am confuse about the new rules from immigration today... i have already 4x stamp in my passport . would the next stamp be number 5 already or number 1 under the new regulation?

[Jingthing]

This policy has been proposed by previous administrations, so it's not new. It aims at weeding out the long-staying backpackers, drifters, vagabonds etc.

Like Buddha?

Edited June 1, 2009 by Jingthing

[neverdie]

A poor country needs all the jobs it can get, expats, tourists, foreign investment all create jobs. Why discourage ANY of those?

Im surprised this question is coming from you jing.

[inthepink]

This policy has been proposed by previous administrations, so it's not new. It aims at weeding out the long-staying backpackers, drifters, vagabonds etc.

Like Buddha?

If you think your average KSR backpacker bears any resemblance to Buddha then you obviously haven't been there in a long while.

[anon467367354]

Once again I have read this thread like previous similar threads looking for info that may be useful to someone under 50 that wants to stay in Thailand for an extended period. I dont want to work there or get married.

All I find are smug posts from smartarse farangs that i assume have either retirement visas, marriage visas or work visas telling everyone to stay in their own countries and stay out of Thailand. We are all criminals or the dregs of western society and the borders should be tightened to keep us out. Listen to yourselves.

If you have enough money to live in Thailand and therefore contribute by paying sales tax on everything you buy and create jobs what is so wrong with that.

Seems to me that a lot of those who are already long term expats want to keep Thailand for themselves and not let anyone else into their club.

Could not agree more. If you have the money to live in Thailand you surely have few hundred bucks to pay for your visas and voila. Problem solved.

would someone like to share as to what visas people are buying? Does this include a trip to the other side of the world, or is it really possible to for just a few hundred bucks get the whole thing taken care of? Just get a visa, ok, which one?

[Jingthing]

This policy has been proposed by previous administrations, so it's not new. It aims at weeding out the long-staying backpackers, drifters, vagabonds etc.

Like Buddha?

If you think your average KSR backpacker bears any resemblance to Buddha then you obviously haven't been there in a long while.

Thailand's loss. India's gain.

[rinpoche]

A poor country needs all the jobs it can get, expats, tourists, foreign investment all create jobs. Why discourage ANY of those?

I'm not completely in favour of this ban, but Thailand wants to get more upmarket with tourism. I suspect that many Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean and Singaporean shopaholics who spend 4 days in Thailand contribute a lot more to the economy than the hordes of visa runners who stay for months to experience the real Thailand.

[Thaddeus]

In a crackdown on foreigners who regularly abuse the tourist exemption rule of getting 15 days stay at border entry points, the Immigration Bureau has confirmed and informed thaivisa.com of the following new regulation:

The 15 day rule has not been in force long enough to be regularly abused.

To borrow a saying from another board member, it's just another case of 'dance, monkey, dance'

[Jingthing]

Its not a ban. There are easy workarounds. Yes, it will weed out some people. What else is new?

it's just another case of 'dance, monkey, dance'

And so it goes, from one ling to another ...

On the other hand, maybe we are being taught to be good Buddhists. Don't get too attached to ANYTHING, including your desire to live "permanently" in Thailand.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Jingthing

[z9999]

No problem, know the rules and follow them.

[Maestro]

I noticed that the interval between rule changes is getting shorter.

...If you're contemplating a visit to Thailand, they will give you, ,FREE.....!...thirty days, with no restrictions. If you decide to stay longer, and you can get your return airline ticket changed, then they will allow you an additioonal 15 days by crossing a border, and paying the fee.

If you intended to stay in Thailand for longer than thirty days in the first place, it's YOUR fault, not Thailands. You knew the rules before you came here, and if you didn't get a visa, who's to blame?

And if you didn't know the rules before you came here.....all you had to do was ask.....!!!...

Whom would you have asked last week about this rule effective today? How can your travel agent advise you on the visa requirements for your trip if these requirements are not announced in advance? I know that today I can fly to Thailand on my Swiss passport without a visa and get permission to stay for 30 days. Let’s say that tomorrow I book my flight to arrive in Bangkok on 12 September and leave Thailand three weeks later. When I arrive on 12 September perhaps the immigration officer will tell me that a new rule taking effect on that day allows me a visa-exempt entry for only 10 days. No prior announcement of this new rule was made and therefore my travel agent was unable to advise me of it before I left home.

--

Maestro

[Jimjim]

Just get a tourist visa, how hard is that?

[Moonrakers]

If somebody was to get caught out by the short notice, then you must have sympathy.

But then it will only take a bit of common sense from immigration to deal with it.................oh!

[yuyi]

We are all from this planet, and requesting a visa from you if you wanna go somewhere on this planet, just because you happen to be born somewhere else on this planet, is a retarded and wrong concept, simply utter nonsense. It should be abolished, like slavery was.

[sassienie]

A poor country needs all the jobs it can get, expats, tourists, foreign investment all create jobs. Why discourage ANY of those?

cause a country needs to stop scraping the bottom of the barrel sometime...

Well said, hit the nail right on the head.

Visa runners and backpackers contribute very little legitimately to the Thai economy and are more of a burden than an asset.

If these people were substantially of any benefit towards the economy of Thailand, than the authorities would not be creating hurdles and difficulties for those staying here.

I am sure that the powers that be have done their sums and concluded that the cost of policing these people, administration and controlling illegal activities far out ways any contributions if any, these travellers are making towards the country.

[Moonrakers]

We are all from this planet, and requesting a visa from you if you wanna go somewhere on this planet, just because you happen to be born somewhere else on this planet, is a retarded and wrong concept, simply utter nonsense. It should be abolished, like slavery was.

Don't quite know what to say to that. You're not serious are you?

Maybe I have missed a joke here.

Edited June 1, 2009 by Moonrakers

[yuyi]

We are all from this planet, and requesting a visa from you if you wanna go somewhere on this planet, just because you happen to be born somewhere else on this planet, is a retarded and wrong concept, simply utter nonsense. It should be abolished, like slavery was.

Don't quite know what to say to that. You're not serious are you?

Maybe I have missed a joke here.

No joke. Dead serious.

Visas have not been invented by great minds such as Buddha, but narrow minded and scared bureaucrats.