Foreign Population? Curious! Thailand & CNX

[cnx37]

Curious! There seems to be many more foreigners in CNX. Tourists v Long-term stayers. What is your guess of the l/t foreign population - Thailand & CNX?

[eyecatcher]

Hard to believe but the number of expats in chiang mai is around 15~20thousand.

In Bangkok its 150 thousand.

I don't have source for that stat, just read somewhere....probably on here.

[khwaibah]

Less than there were 6 months ago.

[elektrified]

Less than there were 6 months ago.

+1

Lots of new arrivals. They can be seen all over the city. Look for the guys with plaid Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian shirts, golf caps.....looking like they just landed on Mars. You can also see them in Computer City, Icon Plaza, Computer Plaza, Panthip,etc. buying computers and notebooks. Some are taken there by hotel staff (obviously in on a kickback). I was amazed at how many I saw buying in the shops when I was in them the other day.

There are also more single (40 y/o+) farang ladies here now than I have ever seen.

I hate those on-line articles suggesting foreigners move to Chiang Mai!

Edited January 22, 2014 by elektrified

[true blue]

yes quite amazed at the number of elderly people around huay kaew area tops ect,never used to see older couples here 4 or 5 years ago.sat outside a resturant by shell gas station huay kaew road station few weeks ago and never seen a thai person for ages only farangs.

[onthedarkside]

unhelpful post removed

[northernjohn]

The last time I did my yearly extension. The fellow doing it told me they generally do 50 a day some times more.

Assuming they are open 250 days a year at 50 a day that would be. 12,500 give or take retirement. Have no idea how many of the other type visa's extensions or what ever people want to call them there are.

Got to be Married ones, student ones and work permit ones. It could add up to a lot.

[jonwilly]

A Japanese lady I know, she teaches Japanese kids to write Japanese, told me there are 6,000 japanese families in and around Chiang Mai.

john

[elektrified]

A Japanese lady I know, she teaches Japanese kids to write Japanese, told me there are 6,000 japanese families in and around Chiang Mai.

john

Wow. That's a lot. That surprises me. Between them, the Koreans, Chinese, and the farangs, there are a heck of a lot of foreigners here.

[BarnicaleBob]

Officially, Thai Immigration has said that in the northern provinces; Chiang Mai, Lamphun, Lampang, Phrae, Nan, Phayao, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son there are 18,400 Americans. I would think that about half the number live in or in the surrounding area of Chiang Mai.

[eyecatcher]

The last time I did my yearly extension. The fellow doing it told me they generally do 50 a day some times more.

Assuming they are open 250 days a year at 50 a day that would be. 12,500 give or take retirement. Have no idea how many of the other type visa's extensions or what ever people want to call them there are.

Got to be Married ones, student ones and work permit ones. It could add up to a lot.

Thanks for the official research b.c.

So happy my guesstimate was cock on..........as usual of course.

[MESmith]

The last time I did my yearly extension. The fellow doing it told me they generally do 50 a day some times more.

Assuming they are open 250 days a year at 50 a day that would be. 12,500 give or take retirement. Have no idea how many of the other type visa's extensions or what ever people want to call them there are.

Got to be Married ones, student ones and work permit ones. It could add up to a lot.

I don't go to immigration, I imagine a whole lot more don't too. Double it or treble it & you might be close....

[northernjohn]

The last time I did my yearly extension. The fellow doing it told me they generally do 50 a day some times more.

Assuming they are open 250 days a year at 50 a day that would be. 12,500 give or take retirement. Have no idea how many of the other type visa's extensions or what ever people want to call them there are.

Got to be Married ones, student ones and work permit ones. It could add up to a lot.

I don't go to immigration, I imagine a whole lot more don't too. Double it or treble it & you might be close....

Not sure what you are talking about. My figures were for yearly extensions for retirement.

I said I don't know about the other permanent residents here.

Have you any thing to base your statement on.

For example there is two officers doing yearly extensions on a give and take average of 25 a day. This is information the fellow at the back desk gave me. There is only one officer doing the marriage extensions. So I would guess that there is only about 20 a day as from what I have heard it can involve more paperwork. So that would be 5,000 a year. I have no way of knowing if they have a waiting list like they have for the single ones waiting list of 4 or 5.. For all I know they just go in and maybe wait a few hours and it is done. So in fact it could be less. I have no idea about the work ones Maybe they go out of the country and come back I don't know. All I know is I have two friends with their own business and they have to leave the country every 90 days. I think I will ask them about the one that they have to renew. I think they have to do it every 15 months. Not sure.

It would be interesting if people that had knowledge of the other visas could give us a estimate based on what they have seen and heard from the immigration officers.

[Chiengmaijoe]

You have to take into account the thousands that live here as permanent tourists doing visa runs to mae sai and the likes. They never see Chiangmai immigration.

[elektrified]

The last time I did my yearly extension. The fellow doing it told me they generally do 50 a day some times more.

Assuming they are open 250 days a year at 50 a day that would be. 12,500 give or take retirement. Have no idea how many of the other type visa's extensions or what ever people want to call them there are.

Got to be Married ones, student ones and work permit ones. It could add up to a lot.

I don't go to immigration, I imagine a whole lot more don't too. Double it or treble it & you might be close....

Not sure what you are talking about. My figures were for yearly extensions for retirement.

I said I don't know about the other permanent residents here.

Have you any thing to base your statement on.

For example there is two officers doing yearly extensions on a give and take average of 25 a day. This is information the fellow at the back desk gave me. There is only one officer doing the marriage extensions. So I would guess that there is only about 20 a day as from what I have heard it can involve more paperwork. So that would be 5,000 a year. I have no way of knowing if they have a waiting list like they have for the single ones waiting list of 4 or 5.. For all I know they just go in and maybe wait a few hours and it is done. So in fact it could be less. I have no idea about the work ones Maybe they go out of the country and come back I don't know. All I know is I have two friends with their own business and they have to leave the country every 90 days. I think I will ask them about the one that they have to renew. I think they have to do it every 15 months. Not sure.

It would be interesting if people that had knowledge of the other visas could give us a estimate based on what they have seen and heard from the immigration officers.

Are you writing a report on C.M. Immigration statistics hellodolly?

[cardinalblue]

A few years back US consulate put the # of Americans living in the north at 15k...

CB

[HooHaa]

funny i always thought that cnx was an airport

[true blue]

funny i always thought that cnx was an airport

chaing mai in web speak,ie bkk bangkok.

[thrilled]

I know to many farangs at cnx.Inflation is so high.Many things that I see for sale are more expensive than bangkok.Noothing like foreigners for prices to go higher.

[Hugh Jarse]

Any idea about how much money this little office makes in a year in visa fees etc!

[Torrens54]

yes quite amazed at the number of elderly people around huay kaew area tops ect,never used to see older couples here 4 or 5 years ago.sat outside a resturant by shell gas station huay kaew road station few weeks ago and never seen a thai person for ages only farangs.

Probably escaped Poverty in Australia.

Miserable Australian Aged Pension is reduced after Pensioner is out of the country for 13 weeks and then FURTHER Reduced after 26 weeks. Of course they refuse to accept any Medical Bills from Thailand where it is much less expensive than going to a doctor in Australia, but at least, if you and/or your wife own your own home here, you can still live pretty well.

Only way to do well in Australia is to arrive as a so-called Refugee....they'll give you everything but if you have retired after paying monstrous Taxes all your working life, they just want to rip all they can off you to give to the so-called refugees.

Bitter??? YOU BET!!

[Chiengmaijoe]

funny i always thought that cnx was an airport

First of all, there isn't anything even remotely funny about that and secondly CNX is not an airport, it is an airport code. Since you are aware of the fact that CNX is the airport code for Chiang Mai International Airport, it wouldn't take a great leap in imagination to figure out that maybe the OP was using it to refer to the city itself would it? If you think I'm being pedantic then all I can say is ........ You started it.

As a by no means funny side note, my baggage on my recent return flight from Dubai was wrongly tagged as CHM, which is an abbreviation I've sometimes used for this fair city. Fortunately I had plenty of time in Bangkok and so decided to check that my baggage was on the flight to Chiang Mai, which was when the mistake was noticed. Otherwise it was on the way to Chimbote, which as everyone knows is in Peru!

[FolkGuitar]

A Japanese lady I know, she teaches Japanese kids to write Japanese, told me there are 6,000 japanese families in and around Chiang Mai.

john

The Japanese consulate says that there are 4,357 Japanese who are registered with them. Most Japanese people will keep in close contact with their embassies and consulates when abroad, especially if actually living abroad.

[cnx37]

Fellow members,

Thank you for your input!

Of course, I did not expect a high degree of accuracy regarding your estimates - just an opinion. Nevertheless, it is apparent that there are many expats living here as evidenced by the crowds at the CNX Immigration Office (IO) every single day. No one really knows the answer - not even the IO.

When I arrived in CNX more than 10 years ago, I stayed in a guesthouse in a Soi off Thapae Rd. I did not meet ONE expat who went to the IO - they all did visa runs. So how many expats live in CNX? Of the say 10 people who used to socialize in the Soi, I was 10%! On that basis (a minute sample), ther are 150000 staying here. Refer "Chiengmaijoe".

As "true blue" says, there are many more older people living here - I am one of them!

And then there are comments in TV about older farangs with much younger Thai partners living in CNX. Why not? I am one of them & have very much enjoyed our long-term relationship - more than 9 years - a much better track record than in my native country! We have a wonderful loving relationship - what an asset!

My punt - > 50000 expats living permanently in CNX (not at the airport) - just in the CITY of CNX.

"Torrens54", I will send you a PM re my opinion of the social welfare system in Oz!

[chiang mai]

Wiki reports 200,000 farangs living in Thailand, total population of 67 mill includes 15% Chinese.