Immigration boss confirms the Out-In visa run is dead

[brewsterbudgen]

Most people doing an in/out border run will not have their possessions with them and may only have enough money for the day. Are they really going to be left stranded in Cambodia and not allowed to return to Thailand for their possessions?

Or if they're told on exiting Thailand that they won't be allowed back, will they be arrested for overstaying if they don't tlave but return to their hotel/condo?

[lostinisaan]

"If we believe their purpose in coming to Thailand is not what they say it is, then we will order them to leave and they will be blacklisted. They will not be able to return to Thailand, ever."

I have a hard time to understand it. Before I settled down here, I always made longer holidays and spent a fortune, supporting bar girls, their families and was even so stupid to buy gold for quite a few of them.

I'd met a few guys who bought their visas and work permits somewhere in this country, had a job for many years and never a problem.

I'd bet my pink elephant that this business, selling fake visas will be "the hit". Or many people will just overstay. I also find it hard to believe that they first changed the 15 day visa rule to 30 again for G 8 countries.

Please forgive them, as they don't know what they do. Do they blame foreigners now for their not functioning system?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Another confusing article - many references to tourist visas rather than visa exempt arrivals. Are they now saying that even on a double entry tourist visa you are not allowed to do an 'in-out'?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Does this quote from the OP help you understand ?

“Out-in visa runs will still be possible but they have to show a credible tourism plan and give details of their accommodation to the officials.

“Thirty days should be enough for a normal tourist. If they really want to travel around the country for more than 30 days, then they must show us a plausible plan. If officers are suspicious, then they will carry out checks."

It's rubbish. Backpackers make it up as they go along, and the cheap accommodation they use is found when they get to a place. Often, cheap places aren't on the internet at all. Not all tourists are wealthy enough to be able to book places on the internet, and how else would you be able to book if you had never been to a place before and didn't know where to stay?

The official obviously doesn't understand that the backpacker of today is the flashpacker of tomorrow. Anyway, who does he think he is to judge what is or isn't long enough?

< If officers are suspicious, then they will carry out checks.> Where are they going to check up on a gap year student- Interpol??????? The mind boggles.

A 'backpacker' will not likely make repeated visa runs after almost exactly 30 days. Their trips will likely be more random and from different borders. Someone crossing a border after only twelve days will be less suspect than someone doing so close to thirty days since their previous entry.

[inthepink]

Next to no countries allow people to live there and hop across the border every month.

Apart from all of Europe for other Europeans.

That is a little different though. Shengen and all that. And even then there are some restrictions on citizens from countries that only joined the EU recently.

A better question is where is the world is there not a visa class for rich people to come there and spend money indefinitely ??

Show you have assets and everywhere is open.. But not here for under 50s.

Investment visa

[Soutpeel]

Most people doing an in/out border run will not have their possessions with them and may only have enough money for the day. Are they really going to be left stranded in Cambodia and not allowed to return to Thailand for their possessions?

Based on what they did do or tried to do to the Russian girl in Phuket, that's correct, believe they would not let get her stuff from the place she was living in if I read the article correctly

[metisdead]

A post using all caps has been removed, turn off your Caps Lock key when posting:

Posting in all capitals or in all bold, and using large or unusual fonts and colors is bad netiquette.

Another post using overly large all caps has been removed. From Thai Visa Forum Netiquette:

1. Please do not post in all capital letters, bold, unusual fonts, sizes or colors. It can be difficult to read.

Simply turn off your All Caps button when posting and post like everybody else, then your posts won't be removed.

[Soutpeel]

Investment visa

Yeap THB 10.0 million...and the visa is yours...

[Ianatlarge]

With all this talk of tightening visas, does anyone know of changes to back to back tourist visas. I am planning to travel to Laos in a few weeks to get a second Thai tourist visa, to give me my normal 6 months of the year in Thailand. Great if this could go smoothly, as it always has. Any advice?

[Tomtomtom69]

Exactly.. The bangkok post article listed a Korean man who was denied entry as a tourist simply for being married.. The logic being if your married you cant be a tourist ???

--------

I'll put my flak-jacket on, because I haven't actually read that article, but there is usually some combination of factors that gets someone into that kind of a pickle

That guy had done 7 visa runs, each one giving him 90 days so 7 x 90 days = 630 days, i.e. almost 2 years worth of visa runs. Given that, he should really be able to get himself a proper visa, rather than trying to exist on 90 day visa free waivers and abuse the system, which for Koreans is 3 times more generous than most other nationalities, 6 times if you consider that he gets 90 days compared to the 15 days that many other nationalities get when arriving back in Thailand overland.

[GinBoy2]

Just wondering, does anyone know what kind of numbers are we talking about? Excluding us old farts on retirement extensions etc, how many people are engaged in the visa runs; hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands? I have no idea, just it prompts a lot of online discussion, so I was curious

[Pralaad]

Investment visa

Yeap THB 10.0 million...and the visa is yours...

I think the 1 million baht card is still available, what was the name?

1 million gets you 5 year visa, massages, spa's, bmw rides from airport and few other perks

[Pralaad]

Just wondering, does anyone know what kind of numbers are we talking about? Excluding us old farts on retirement extensions etc, how many people are engaged in the visa runs; hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands? I have no idea, just it prompts a lot of online discussion, so I was curious

Really good question.

I am guessing enough for immigration wanting to close it down.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Have a question and don't know if any one could help me about this. Staying since about 8 month via border runs by air. Had before 2 non immigration b visa and two tourist visa. Don't work legal or illegal in Thailand and would never do. Living from money I earn when is sell my company some years ago. The issue is my 30 day stamp will run out on Saturday. I already booked a flight and one night in Singapore and would fly back to get another visa. At the same time I request the documents from my lawyer to get a new non immigration b visa but this will take some time so never been finished by end if this week. How likely I will get issues when I arrive back in Bangkok? Do I have a chance that they let me in one more time? Have already a ticket back to Europe for the 9th of June to get the visa there. Only other option would be to overstay but don't want to do this.

Airport restrictions don't begin until August and apart from this, you have a credible and demonstrable travel plan.

[LivinLOS]

Another confusing article - many references to tourist visas rather than visa exempt arrivals. Are they now saying that even on a double entry tourist visa you are not allowed to do an 'in-out'?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Does this quote from the OP help you understand ?

“Out-in visa runs will still be possible but they have to show a credible tourism plan and give details of their accommodation to the officials.

“Thirty days should be enough for a normal tourist. If they really want to travel around the country for more than 30 days, then they must show us a plausible plan. If officers are suspicious, then they will carry out checks."

It's rubbish. Backpackers make it up as they go along, and the cheap accommodation they use is found when they get to a place. Often, cheap places aren't on the internet at all. Not all tourists are wealthy enough to be able to book places on the internet, and how else would you be able to book if you had never been to a place before and didn't know where to stay?

The official obviously doesn't understand that the backpacker of today is the flashpacker of tomorrow. Anyway, who does he think he is to judge what is or isn't long enough?

< If officers are suspicious, then they will carry out checks.> Where are they going to check up on a gap year student- Interpol??????? The mind boggles.

A 'backpacker' will not likely make repeated visa runs after almost exactly 30 days. Their trips will likely be more random and from different borders. Someone crossing a border after only twelve days will be less suspect than someone doing so close to thirty days since their previous entry.

But you cannot have vague discretionary rules.. Not when air travel is concerned.

Say they are in cambodia and have a flight out of the 'hub airport' of swampy.. What happens when they rock up from siem reap and get told no ?? They need to be sure for a flight..

The system cannot operate on the whims of the guy on the desk, there has to be a system of precise rules.

[Tomtomtom69]

With all this talk of tightening visas, does anyone know of changes to back to back tourist visas. I am planning to travel to Laos in a few weeks to get a second Thai tourist visa, to give me my normal 6 months of the year in Thailand. Great if this could go smoothly, as it always has. Any advice?

By the sounds of it, the system for tourist visas will remain the same, although you shouldn't expect to live on tourist visas indefinitely. However, a couple of back-to-back tourist visas should be OK. If your passport takes on the appearence of someone who lives on tourist visas, then you might need to bring along more documents, such as bank statements confirming money is coming in from abroad and perhaps a plane ticket to another country. From what I've heard and my own personal experience, Laos is OK with a couple of visas from their consulates (perhaps 2 or 3) in a row, which would be double entry visas. Anything more than that and they might only give you a single entry.

[max72]

"If we believe their purpose in coming to Thailand is not what they say it is, then we will order them to leave and they will be blacklisted. They will not be able to return to Thailand, ever."

I have a hard time to understand it. Before I settled down here, I always made longer holidays and spent a fortune, supporting bar girls, their families and was even so stupid to buy gold for quite a few of them.

I'd met a few guys who bought their visas and work permits somewhere in this country, had a job for many years and never a problem.

I'd bet my pink elephant that this business, selling fake visas will be "the hit". Or many people will just overstay. I also find it hard to believe that they first changed the 15 day visa rule to 30 again for G 8 countries.

Please forgive them, as they don't know what they do. Do they blame foreigners now for their not functioning system?

Believe it or not, somewhere in Bangkok (I don't want to tell where ..) there is a "hotel" called OVERSTAY which accepts all foreigners with expired visas. Everybody knows that, including the cops of this TAMBON who ,from time to time, go to pick up their monthly fees.

I swear the place name is OVERSTAY , blatantly in front of our eyes.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

If what this guy says is true then this is going to be the end of long term tourism before retirement option which many people choose, even with multiple entry tourist visas. I'd give it a year and it will all be over if he sticks to it.

I think this is what so many people are missing..

In the young professionals set, many many of my friends and associates are legally working outside of Thailand on contract work, hopping in and out of the country constantly. Sometimes coming back just for the weekend, sometimes staying as much as a couple of weeks up to a month. Add in the oil guys on rotation and you have masses of people, the kind of people who spend well north of a million a year, some of them 2 or 3 mil a year, but who are not tourists, cant study language due to time away, dont have the time to go to a 3rd country each trip for a new tourist visa as the visit itself is only for days.

These younger professional people are big spenders in Thailand, they spend like a 'quality tourist' but do so maybe 100 days per year not 10.. They rent the villas, buy the ducatis and bmws, pour money into hotels and trips.. etc etc.. Many lease land and villas, many employ servants and maids, etc etc.. These are not barflys, penny pinchers, or whatever a few on retirement visas want to categorize them as. They probably outspend those 'full time resident' expats by a factor or 3 or 5 to 1.

Sure some may be married.. And now will have to chase that option.. But many are not.

These guys are now being told theres no way their high spending lifestyle is compatible with Thai visa regulations. Thats very strange.

A few questions would allow the officer to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The kind of people whom you describe are not making same days runs to Poipet.

It is should clear to any reasonable person as to who these measures are aimed.

No need to panic.

I disagree 100%.. These guys go through passports every year or two because they fill with Thai stamps.

If you think immigration are going to see 50x visa exempt entries, ask them about their hotel and they say no they have a house.. His response is "your not a tourist"

Plain as day these guys will be caught up in it.

Let me know if this is ever the case.

[LivinLOS]

Investment visa

Yeap THB 10.0 million...and the visa is yours...

I thought that got removed ??

If thats still there and not only grandfathered then its at least a simple answer.

Poor use of capital but solves a need.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Perhaps Thai immig could take a chill pill? Any western tourist, working in Thailand without a work permit, is not doing the kingdom any harm. Most of these guys are teaching Eng, some sort of internet biz, or just selling a few items on ebay. Nothing that would cause the country to collapse into a black hole. If you do want to see what the real problems of Thailand are, just take a look at the reds and yellows screwing the country over.

The entire immig/visa thing is a slow and inefficient waste of time. People want to stay in Thailand for a few months. Big deal. Let them. 90% of Thais love the idea. Chill.

They can and it's often very simple to do so.

[LivinLOS]

Exactly.. The bangkok post article listed a Korean man who was denied entry as a tourist simply for being married.. The logic being if your married you cant be a tourist ???

--------

I'll put my flak-jacket on, because I haven't actually read that article, but there is usually some combination of factors that gets someone into that kind of a pickle

That guy had done 7 visa runs, each one giving him 90 days so 7 x 90 days = 630 days, i.e. almost 2 years worth of visa runs. Given that, he should really be able to get himself a proper visa, rather than trying to exist on 90 day visa free waivers and abuse the system, which for Koreans is 3 times more generous than most other nationalities, 6 times if you consider that he gets 90 days compared to the 15 days that many other nationalities get when arriving back in Thailand overland.

Where did it state he had been doing it over 2 years.. How are you so sure he hadnt done eg 7 visa runs in the last few weeks..

This comes back to my professionals hopping in and out.

[neverdie]

Investment visa

Yeap THB 10.0 million...and the visa is yours...

I think the 1 million baht card is still available, what was the name?

1 million gets you 5 year visa, massages, spa's, bmw rides from airport and few other perks

Thai elite.

Yeah they are trying to boost sales of those.

2 mil Thai baht, plus 20k per year for 20 years of membership. cheap really, that lobster bloke could probably buy 2!

[inthepink]

Investment visa

Yeap THB 10.0 million...and the visa is yours...

I thought that got removed ??

If thats still there and not only grandfathered then its at least a simple answer.

Poor use of capital but solves a need.

It was 5m before, then it got removed. It was reinstated with a new amount of 10m. For rich people that can afford to stay anywhere indefinitely and never work, it's not a great deal of money is it? As for whether it's a poor use of capital, that depends in what you invest I would have thought.

[jpinx]

But you cannot have vague discretionary rules.. Not when air travel is concerned.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

You still don't get it? Everything about immigration is at the DISCRETION of the immigration officer you are talking to.

[Ianatlarge]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

With all this talk of tightening visas, does anyone know of changes to back to back tourist visas. I am planning to travel to Laos in a few weeks to get a second Thai tourist visa, to give me my normal 6 months of the year in Thailand. Great if this could go smoothly, as it always has. Any advice?

By the sounds of it, the system for tourist visas will remain the same, although you shouldn't expect to live on tourist visas indefinitely. However, a couple of back-to-back tourist visas should be OK. If your passport takes on the appearence of someone who lives on tourist visas, then you might need to bring along more documents, such as bank statements confirming money is coming in from abroad and perhaps a plane ticket to another country. From what I've heard and my own personal experience, Laos is OK with a couple of visas from their consulates (perhaps 2 or 3) in a row, which would be double entry visas. Anything more than that and they might only give you a single entry.

I take your point, but for me, 2 tourist visas a year is enough. I spend the rest of the year bumming around other Asian nations. As much as I like Thailand, 1/2 a year is ok. 2 tourist visa does me nicely. I will report my findings as soon as I know.

[Neeranam]

I've news for this guy - he can't throw me out the country unless I commit a criminal act. Going in and out Thailand is not a criminal offence. This is because there are Thai citizens that I support.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Another confusing article - many references to tourist visas rather than visa exempt arrivals. Are they now saying that even on a double entry tourist visa you are not allowed to do an 'in-out'?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Does this quote from the OP help you understand ?

Out-in visa runs will still be possible but they have to show a credible tourism plan and give details of their accommodation to the officials.

Thirty days should be enough for a normal tourist. If they really want to travel around the country for more than 30 days, then they must show us a plausible plan. If officers are suspicious, then they will carry out checks."

It's rubbish. Backpackers make it up as they go along, and the cheap accommodation they use is found when they get to a place. Often, cheap places aren't on the internet at all. Not all tourists are wealthy enough to be able to book places on the internet, and how else would you be able to book if you had never been to a place before and didn't know where to stay?

The official obviously doesn't understand that the backpacker of today is the flashpacker of tomorrow. Anyway, who does he think he is to judge what is or isn't long enough?

< If officers are suspicious, then they will carry out checks.> Where are they going to check up on a gap year student- Interpol??????? The mind boggles.

A 'backpacker' will not likely make repeated visa runs after almost exactly 30 days. Their trips will likely be more random and from different borders. Someone crossing a border after only twelve days will be less suspect than someone doing so close to thirty days since their previous entry.

But you cannot have vague discretionary rules.. Not when air travel is concerned.

Say they are in cambodia and have a flight out of the 'hub airport' of swampy.. What happens when they rock up from siem reap and get told no ?? They need to be sure for a flight..

The system cannot operate on the whims of the guy on the desk, there has to be a system of precise rules.

They aren't vague.

Would you like it if the stopped every single person at Customs in order to check their luggage?

There aren't trying to inconvenience everyone. But the amount of people working there with neither WP or suitable visa has clearly become an issue.

[neverdie]

Dear Gigman,

Please pull your head in.

What part of please don't type in caps don't you understand, now,you are colouring the caps. w t f ?

Give yourself an uppercut

[Ianatlarge]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

With all this talk of tightening visas, does anyone know of changes to back to back tourist visas. I am planning to travel to Laos in a few weeks to get a second Thai tourist visa, to give me my normal 6 months of the year in Thailand. Great if this could go smoothly, as it always has. Any advice?

By the sounds of it, the system for tourist visas will remain the same, although you shouldn't expect to live on tourist visas indefinitely. However, a couple of back-to-back tourist visas should be OK. If your passport takes on the appearence of someone who lives on tourist visas, then you might need to bring along more documents, such as bank statements confirming money is coming in from abroad and perhaps a plane ticket to another country. From what I've heard and my own personal experience, Laos is OK with a couple of visas from their consulates (perhaps 2 or 3) in a row, which would be double entry visas. Anything more than that and they might only give you a single entry.

I take your point, but for me, 2 tourist visas a year is enough. I spend the rest of the year bumming around other Asian nations. As much as I like Thailand, 1/2 a year is ok. 2 tourist visa does me nicely. I will report my findings as soon as I know.

[evadgib]

How would this have prevented 2 passengers boarding the missing plane on dodgy passports that were "recycled" in Thailand ?

Maybe a closer inspection of the facts will show you that the passports were stolen in Thailand and the bookings were made n Thailand and the immigrants were in Thailand and doing visa runs to extend their stay till arrangements were made for their travel

TBH if they keep say 30 days on arrival plus 1 extention for holidaymakers & introduce visas for everyone else I can't see a problem. I would however like to see an end to the 90 day border bounces, along with an end to reporting every 90 days after say 3 years on married or retirement extn.

[neverdie]

When exactly are you leaving ?

Not soon enough!

Hopefully a moderator expedites his departure !