Free Visa Plan Backfires On Thai Honorary Consulates

[747man]

Liverpool will go that's for sure. The place is on a prime piece of real estate right next to the "One" in the banking district.

The lack of online discussion leads me to believe that they don't do a hel_l of a lot of business.

I Use Liverpool Everytime & get my 1 year Non Imm O.....No Probs.I Am a close friend of Sue who stamps the Visa,and SHE is doing them ALONE !! Last November ( Last one I got ) She said SHE Had " Never been so busy " But Mine was STILL Ready the SAME Day,as said earlier I am a close friend of Sues,She is VERY Good,BUT SHE is NOT the Consul,It appears HE Does Sweet FA and just takes the money generated by the Visas..........Just to add The Building it's in is A MAJOR Jewellers shop,opposite Liverpool One Shopping Centre,NOT Far from the banking area BUT NOT in it,BUT The SHOP will NOT Close,But If "The Freebies " Continue,Maybe My Friend will be out of a job,Which Friend or NOT will be a great pity,as She is SO Helpful & Competent.......

[seri thai]

Perhaps some of these consulates who have very strict rules and requirements should offer the 1 year non immigrant 'O' visa in a similar manner to that offered by the Consulate in Hull, that would generate them a lot more income.

If these non cooperative consulates go out of business then in my opinion they deserve it. It's within their power to issue these year long visas to all comers but they choose not to.

My wife and I paid $175 each for a one year visa last month at the Royal Thai Consulate in Houston. We are moving permanently to Phuket the last week of July.

"]I am Brian, and so is my wife!"

Welcome to Thailand then Grey 11. Hope you enjoy it as much as all those on Thaivisa

Edited June 26, 2009 by seri thai

[Pib]

The consulate in Hull is charging an admin fee for visas now. I expect other consulates are following suit.

Zv__Tourist_Visa_Fee___Temporary_Concession.doc

Well, the admin fee is about half the cost of the visa...at least there is an overall savings. Now if the Thai govt does reimburse for the lost visa charge and Hull requests the full amount, Hull will make out like bandits...visa fee reimbursement plus the admin fee. Wonder if they will really drop the admin fee once the visa charge goes back into affect or come up with a reason that they must continue to charge the admin fee. Hopefully they will drop the admin fee.

[Tod Daniels]

What few people on this forum and even fewer people in the thai government seem to understand is the number of people who come here as TOURISTS, yet secure a tourist visa before hand is miniscule. When compared to the number of tourists who just show up and get a 30 day visa exempt stamp the numbers are just too disparate to even think this will boost thai tourism.

In perusing the Tourism Authority of Thailand's website, looking at the statistics they have on previous years’ numbers, checking the break down by nationality, looking at the duration of stay, etc, I don’t think people will be swamping the Honorary Consulates to secure their "free" tourist visa before heading over here. Most tourists to thailand are from other Asian countries, and of those few if ANY, stay here longer than 30 days.

I imagine it will certainly help the "pseudo-tourists", aka; foreigners who long-stay (as in reside) in thailand on tourist visas because they are unable to stay any other way, either thru sheer stupidity, lack of funds, or lack of initiative.

I thought it innovative that they honorary consulate thought up the "administrative fee". At least it secures some revenue for them, although I believe the stampede is overstated to the extreme.

[samran]

The consulate in Hull is charging an admin fee for visas now. I expect other consulates are following suit.

Zv__Tourist_Visa_Fee___Temporary_Concession.doc

Well, the admin fee is about half the cost of the visa...at least there is an overall savings. Now if the Thai govt does reimburse for the lost visa charge and Hull requests the full amount, Hull will make out like bandits...visa fee reimbursement plus the admin fee. Wonder if they will really drop the admin fee once the visa charge goes back into affect or come up with a reason that they must continue to charge the admin fee. Hopefully they will drop the admin fee.

the government can barely afford to pay for many governments at home. Not a snowflaks chance in hel_l they are going to re-imburse the hon. consulates.

[PTYstefan]

As i have Mention once before.

It can not be done free for a wile, because of the shortage from income.

[BlueSmurf]

Don't forget Mrs Wishart in Glascow! Kay is a star will send you a form for your visa if you cannot download it from their site for free as well and you get your visa by return of post1! Long live Mrs Wishart..

But 180 days on arrival for everyone would open up Thailand again and give no any reason to winge...

After all if you are a criminal it shows up on your passport! ie wanted for crimes abroiad..i could suggest more but have said it all here many times.....Maybe a Post new topic for suggestions to be read by TAT on how they could improve the image of Thailand and so increase tourism..But one big point they must understand is that at the moment flights to Thailand from our homelands have never in real terms been cheaper..I.E 389 British pounds return with Etihad.400pounds with emirates and a fiend also said that Turkish airlines were doing 291 pounds return from the UK.(have not checked the last one).

But virtually no one is comming!!

Look after the farangs they have here would be better...But please do not close the borders and lock us in here!!lol Have a good weekend

[NHJ]

it might be a trouble for some honorary consulate, but i don't believe it's gonna be that bad.

in my town in belgium, the honorary consulate is inside a factory and the honorary consul is the boss of the factory so he doesn't rely on the money brought by the visa to get a living, same goes for his secretary.

[hansnl]

Do you really believe that people will come only in thailand because they can have a free visa ?

what is the financial impact of such a measure for the holiday budget

What next ? They will give candy at the immigration

Like before, I repeat that most tourists go to Thailand for 2-3 weeks.

From most countries they don't need a visa anyway (30-day stamp)

The longer staying crowd need a visa.

And indeed, that is handy for them, but not handy for the consulates.

The consulates charging a handling fee will equalise waiving the visa fee, and is not helping the longer staying crowd too much or not at all.

So. more or less, the effect on tourism is very minimal.

Which we all know.

But............

When business is bad, raise the prices.

Don't even try to generate more business!

Edited June 26, 2009 by hansnl

[Chopperboy]

Ahhh..... the foot shooting season is still open, I see.

I always think they're gona run out of bullets - but they never seem to!

[MongerSEA]

What few people on this forum and even fewer people in the thai government seem to understand is the number of people who come here as TOURISTS, yet secure a tourist visa before hand is miniscule. When compared to the number of tourists who just show up and get a 30 day visa exempt stamp the numbers are just too disparate to even think this will boost thai tourism.

In perusing the Tourism Authority of Thailand's website, looking at the statistics they have on previous years’ numbers, checking the break down by nationality, looking at the duration of stay, etc, I don’t think people will be swamping the Honorary Consulates to secure their "free" tourist visa before heading over here. Most tourists to thailand are from other Asian countries, and of those few if ANY, stay here longer than 30 days.

Exactly right. The TAT's published figures aren't nearly granular enough to have any real meaning. One example of this is the count of foreign visitors which is not the number of unique individuals who enter the Kingdom but merely the number of times all Immigration inspectors cumulatively reach for their admittance stamps. One dedicated visa-and-stamp runner could account from 4 to 24 entries per year.

The average length of stay is exactly that, an average, or to be more precise, an arithmetic mean. From a statistical standpoint an arithmetic mean is wholly unsuited to analyze such a diverse population. In no way does 1 foreign tourist staying for 90 days have the same weight as 10 foreign tourists who stay for 9 days; the economic and social benefits and costs are highly divergent for each group.

[bungy007]

Do you really believe that people will come only in thailand because they can have a free visa ?

what is the financial impact of such a measure for the holiday budget

What next ? They will give candy at the immigration

Actually yes they will, since one visa is for a 1000 Baht for many this means an extra night of accomodation, hence a family of four will get for extra nights or extra shopping money

Oh yeah.. I can see all my mates in depression-struck England saying "Hey..! we save 17 quid if we fly to Thailand now.. lets nip down to the travel agents and pay 400 quid for a ticket today"

rollocks!

Its just another desperate idea from REALLY messed up country!

Don't get me wrong, I still like it here though. But it is getting worse...

I think they've just run out of ideas and don't want to loose face by asking the punters 'What would make you choose Thailand over other holiday destinations'. Don't expect to see the hordes return on the strength of this action

[kiwiphil]

much " mirth & tittering " eminated from the show patrons globaly !!!! nyuk nyukk nyukkk

[samran]

The average length of stay is exactly that, an average, or to be more precise, an arithmetic mean. From a statistical standpoint an arithmetic mean is wholly unsuited to analyze such a diverse population. In no way does 1 foreign tourist staying for 90 days have the same weight as 10 foreign tourists who stay for 9 days; the economic and social benefits and costs are highly divergent for each group.

true, but the one 'tourist' staying for 90 days is often convinced that if it wasnt for him, Thailand would fall to pieces...

[steve187]

I wont mind paying the Hull consulate a fee for my visa they are the most helpful consulate I have ever come across ande just hope that they stay in business

I agree Hull staff and very friendly, helpful and offer a fast turn around postal service.

[Roachiebkk]

Absolutely no sympathy here..... I have a limited work permit so my wife and daughter need to apply for a Non O each year and still need to do visa runs every 90 days. My duaghter is 4 years old and yet the official law is that a minor can stay in the kingdom until after their 7th birthday but the consulates don't give a rat's clack and still overcharge for the Non O, Now $175 each which actually well exceeds the official figure. So all you poor guys in honorary Consulates, the game is up boys.

[thaitang]

The consulate in Hull is charging an admin fee for visas now. I expect other consulates are following suit.

sheesh! and when the free visa period is over do you think they will remove the admin fee once it is already in place? right after they stop income taxes to pay for the war... oh what war was that again?

tt

[justaskdan]

The Thai Consulate in Dubai has moved from a very nice location to 3 blocks from the Burj Al Arab (seven star hotel) in Jumeirah. The rent for similar real estate is 4 million baht per year.

When I went to get a Tourist visa for me and my 1 year old daughter they told me I had to apply for Non-O’s. At the same time I was also filling out the forms for my daughters Thai Birth certificate to make things even more complex. I simply told them NO and asked why I would be denied a tourist Visa after putting up with having to get a Non-O every 3 months for the 4 years I lived in Phuket. That shut them up and I got my two tourist visas 4-free.

Edited June 26, 2009 by justaskdan

[OnNutter]

Liverpool will go that's for sure. The place is on a prime piece of real estate right next to the "One" in the banking district.

The lack of online discussion leads me to believe that they don't do a hel_l of a lot of business.

Liverpool's Thai consular office is only an office suite above Boodles Jewellers, not exactly prime real estate...probably rented at that...and there is a glut of office accomodation in the area for which there are no takers, but if their volume of business declines then like many other businesses in the UK they may go to the wall...a sad sign of the times.

[hagler]

Perhaps some of these consulates who have very strict rules and requirements should offer the 1 year non immigrant 'O' visa in a similar manner to that offered by the Consulate in Hull, that would generate them a lot more income.

If these non cooperative consulates go out of business then in my opinion they deserve it. It's within their power to issue these year long visas to all comers but they choose not to.

oh gawd almighty. Perhaps the so called "non-cooperative" consultates are indeed folllowing the intent and spirit of the Thai Immigation Law rather than just being a commercial money making supplier to all and sundry who want one of the "O"'s.

[sunray69]

I dont think people will come to Thailand because the visa is free, most of the tourists do not care about that but about more important things...

[Junglejumbo]

Does the Liverpool one give the one year business visa like the Hull one?

[sunnymarky]

Visas are overpriced in virtually all consulates. 30 to 60 GB Pounds or 60 to 100US$ for a simple page in the passport. Just makes work for some , no more no less

Furthermore so many consulates of the same country have different issuing rules and procedures on visas to same country passport holders . thailand is one of them, But China ? no one can surpass their visa rules, different in every consulate I have ever been to.

Edited June 26, 2009 by sunnymarky

[dubstar]

OMG

the simians are even shooting their own goodwill ambassadors

The message is clear, go away flang, but leave your money behind

IMHO los is looking north to their ancestors, and hooking up with them for their future

Excuse me, but just how is waiving visa fees giving out a clear message to "go away farang" ?

Most of the honary consulates are running it as a sideline to their existing business, finance and insurance in the case of Sedgewick Dineen in Dublin. They have been paid for this service which is now no longer required. Welcome to the world of business. And boy have they enjoyed the perks such as hob nobbing with dignitaries etc.

Tourists from most countries get 1 month free anyway so it just might encourage some tourists to stay longer in Thailand.

[bangon04]

Ironically I suspect this will lead to Consulates offering more expensive one year visas to a lot more people than who are currently getting them under the various interpretations of the rules. This will be interesting to see.

Net result, more "control" over visa issuing, and more / higher fees charged. Very plausible for agents of the Land of False Smiles.

Next step is to outsource the whole visa process to the dreaded VFS bandits. Ironic really - it will be payback time for the foreigners who have subjected the Thais to the VFS style ritual humiliation over the past few years. Taste of our own medicine....

[BlackJack]

TIT

[reenatinnakor]

<br />OMG<br /><br />the simians are even shooting their own goodwill ambassadors<br /><br />The message is clear, go away flang, but leave your money behind<br /><br />IMHO los is looking north to their ancestors, and hooking up with them for their future <img src="style_emoticons/default/mad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="mad.gif" /><br />

<br /><br /><br />

How easy is it to get a one year non-immigrant o visa? How much does it cost? Is it easy to get in the UK and do I have to stay in Thailand for one year without leaving?

[Wonderboy]

You guys are something else. Makes me wonder at times why I bother to read this forum. Must be a lot of miserable individuals there as whining is all you are capable of. Never mind that closures of consulates are at this time pure speculation; I suggest you propose the Thais to double the visa fees to help the consulates you suddenly have such a touching affection for. According to people here, 1000B would not make a difference for tourists anyway so maybe charge for the 30 day visa?

For me, I welcome this change. I dont think it will make a huge impact tourism wise, but it surely is a nice gesture. Myself I detest having to pay a fee for entering Laos/Cambodia and others. Gives a bad first impressions, and first impressions often stick.

WB

Edited June 26, 2009 by Wonderboy

[Garry]

I'm renewing my non-imm O, multi-entry next month. I'm expecting a price hike as per a normal CPI process. Free tourist visas are a great idea for the fickle traveller on a budget.

Edited June 27, 2009 by Garry

[jitenshaman]

What next ? They will give candy at the immigration

Free spending money ?

Even better yet, how about visa fee "up to you"