Thai Immigration is determined to prevent abuse of visa exceptions

[watso63]

Genuine tourists are fine. All they have to do is prove to the immigration officer at the border checkpoint that they really are tourists by presenting evidence such as their travel itinerary, hotel booking, tour bookings and any other documents to prove their travel in Thailand is genuine, Lt Gen Pharnu said on Wednesday...

What am i to do, when i'm between job's or waiting for work i have several times spent my time in Thailand, i arrive with absolutely no plans other than the hotel booked for the first 2 - 3 nights from that on i usually do whatever i pleases and feel like to do. I arrive on the arrival visa and a quite few times i have done the border run. I wont as it stands now be able to show hotel booking, travel itinerary or tour bookings because i like to stay on my own terms. I'm not working here, i'm not a drug carrier i follow the laws here and i don't do anything illegal. I even drive motorbike with helmet and have a international licence. I spend a shit load of money here and probably also way to much and have done so for 5 - 6 years now. I stay in thailand 3 - 5 times a year for periods from 10 days to 2 months as i like it much more than my cold clima.

As i can understand from this i'm no longer to be considered a genuine tourist and might risk a charge of working illegal in Thailand, yet i fail to understand why i would work for a month in thailand for a salary that can be done home in 1 - 2 days. I'm sorry to say but it's getting more and more clear that this country have a high percentage of no brainers or people who forget to put on the thinking cap.

Time to move on?....I recon it might be the best, can the Philippines offer me almost the same but at a lower price...Yes, and goodbye Thailand may you rest in peace.

You could have always got a tourist visa first....See ya!

[watso63]

You want facts , I'll give you facts .And this is mainly directed at the ones who posted that this is a great system without a hitch.

I'm 55 yrs.old .Never been to thailand in my life but had thought about retiring there. (Yes I am presently retired.)Anyway before making the leap I naturally wanted to see the country . So about four months ago I applied for a double entry visa from my home in the U.S. I received it and off I went. Now from what I understood is that I would enter, and before sixty days were up I would apply for a thirty day extension. Then before the extension ended ,a few days or so ,I would leave the country and reenter because I had a tourist visa. A dble entry tourist visa. That's,,, tourist , visa .

Well I received my extension with no problem.

Now to keep you up to speed I really liked thailand and decided that it would make a good retirement location and was planning to reenter on the dble entry and apply for the ''retirement'' visa.Get my affadavit from the consulate, proof of income, fill out the documents etc.

After three months I had seen enough and felt content.

On this past Tuesday a week before my extension ended I crossed the border to reenter.I had left all my luggage and personal belongings at my room I had been renting and only took the nec. documents along to present to the fine ,honest, intelligent, uncorrupt immigration officials.

(By the way not that it should make a difference, but I 've been staying in Chiang Mai.)

Now what do you think happened??? They refused to let me back in.

I was dressed well, clean shaven , very presentable and polite.My papers were in order . But regardless ,the interrogation began. And it was'nt pleasant .They accused me of working illegally and/or attempting to seek employment. They wanted to see my itinerary. Why I was in thailand to begin with, where I was staying, who did i know there, how much money I had.(I had about 6000 bht with me). ,etc.etc., This #$^% went on for an hour. They ultimately said ...no.Partly because I opted to rent a studio apartment rather than stay at a hotel ! Renting a studio apt. evidently removes one from''tourist'' status!!

Oh they wanted to see money, alot of money! And I got the feeling that a bribe was being suggested, more than once.

Now at that point I was livid. but I 've read enough to know you don't get angry. So I politely asked to speak to someone in charge. Which i finally did. And to tell you the truth I would have said fine and the hel with thailand, but all my belongings were at the room I was renting. The guy finally allowed me to enter ,this took oh about 5 hrs total.

Now I'm in this sewer of a country and will not be staying. I am completely disgusted with the place . I'm not a deadbeat . I am a retired police officer with a very nice pension. But this whole thing transpired because some idiot at immigration ''suspected'' I was working. did you get that..................... ''s u s p e c t e d''. Regardless of my tourist visa that I had been issued, by his Embassy.

And that is the entire problem, all they have to do is suspect someone .And a few intelligent posters get that here. Some jerk at immigration has a bug up his or her behind and that clown decides not to let you enter ,because they use the ''suspect'' card and accuse you to be working illegally or whatever reason..they ''feel''.at the time .It does'nt matter what visa you have. Way too much power to give to immigration ''officers'' with regards to enforcing a very vague rule.

The lunatic asylum has handed the keys over to the patients and it's going to be bad for everyone ,honest and dishonest forieghners alike.

Lets see you had a great time in Thailand and were prepared to live here but because of a bad experience at immigration, which if true was uncalled for, Thailand is a sewer all because of one guy. Sounds like a anti-Thai rant to me.

You have obviously never fallen foul of a dumb person, implementing dumb rules with a rubber stamp.in their hand.

And as a police officer you never abused your position or acted high and mighty over any member of the public you so dilligently served? You sound too sensitive and get too easily hurt to survive the realism of living in Thailand. I am retired here and once you get settled down it is great. Choose wisely where you live. The police and the local immigration officials around here (Surin/Kap Choeng) are great. Never had a single problem.

[Strangebrew]

Now the kicker there will be a rash of lost or stolen passorts reported. Then a rush on immagration to restamp new passports in. Problem solved.

[watso63]

By enforcing the regulations as they are doing they are throwing out the baby with the bathwater: for instance, with the under 50s, offshore workers, certain travellers, folks from other developing countries or teachers who are not necessarily trying to work illegally.

I highly doubt the vast majority of people being effected by this in various ways and to numerous extents are really criminals, 'poor quality' people or are remotely trying to 'play' the system. Many of these people are just doing what they can within a system that is unaccommodating, lacking, faulty or corrupt and some of them have more than likely been benefiting Thailand way beyond the price of a thousand baht visa. See dozens of posts in various related topics for examples of why a teacher might spend periods of time working illegally through no fault of their own, for instance.

If people's lives are to change without notice, if they are to be left stranded outside a border, if they are to be questioned, accused, blacklisted, deported or detained....

It is Thai Immigration and every one of their officials who are most responsible and should be held most to blame, not just for the sure inconvenience, the difficulty and indeed even probable suffering for some people due to their utterly unprofessional introduction of actually enforcing their own law, but also those same Thai Immigration officials should look to themsleves and/or their colleagues for being most responsible in allowing things to have got to this point at all.

Perhaps they can also be paid ABOVE THE TABLE to interrogate each other as to why they now might think it's appropriate not to allow for a period of grace so everybody can make the changes necessary for us all to live our lives as best as we possibly can.

PS. I actually totally condone this enforcement, if implemented better.

How can it be Immigration's fault if a teacher is working here illegally? Blame the teacher for not getting everything in order first or blame the teaching establishment for not ensuring the legal requirements are implemented prior to employment. Thailand has very liberable visa rules. The UK, USA, Australia are many times harsher. Just remember the 7 P's before coming here. PROPER PLANNING and PREPARATION PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE and then enjoy.

[neverdie]

They ultimately said ...no.Partly because I opted to rent a studio apartment rather than stay at a hotel ! Renting a studio apt. evidently removes one from''tourist'' status!!

Interesting train of thought. Makes sense for the immigration, if someone is a tourist why would they need to rent an apartment if their stay here is only temporary? This must have been their thinking.

Sorry to hear it. Thailand is a great country although you may not feel that way now.

As you well know Mac, here In Thailand one can rent a Thai style apartment on short term be it, monthly, weekly or even daily, by this In talking about Thai style room. Often there will be other Thais & Foreigners alike living permanently in so e of these places.

I realise you are merely pointing out what Immigration may have been 'thinking' but it's somewhat a flawed method, after all. they know all of this. Pity to hear DNKY77's story.

[Evolare]

Maybe they should remove the necessity for 1-year non immigrant visa holders to do visa runs every 3-months also as it is complete and utter waste of time and resources. Both for visa holders and Thai government thankfully I got my WP so I'm fine

[moe666]

Lets see you had a great time in Thailand and were prepared to live here but because of a bad experience at immigration, which if true was uncalled for, Thailand is a sewer all because of one guy. Sounds like a anti-Thai rant to me.

Yeah, sure. Otherwise you old geezers applauding for this new crackdown might start looking like naive fools!

Why so much anger young man, since you know me ,not, tell me why I am naïve for not excepting the poster remarks 100 per cent

[ronthai]

Fellow farangs, it is very simple after reading all this here:

Everybody below 50 is a tourist (and working), so no longer welcome then only 30 days a year max.

Do not use a double entry visa, because leaving the Kingdom might result in you loosing all your belongings in Thailand.

If you are 50+ get a retirement visa, but do it in the first 90 days of your stay. DO NOT leave Thailand to use a double entry.

Conclusion: If you are now 50- , sell all your belongings in Thailand and lets all go to Cambodia or elsewhere.

[Jimbolai]

It is a good and a fair policy, HOWEVER the problems will arise with immigration officers, especially at land border crossings and it will create more opportunity for corruption and bribes at the land border crossings

Only for dishonest and corrupt people.

There is also a shortage of that particular blue ink used for exit stamps and such.

[Jimbolai]

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If you own a condo in Thailand and can show them the blue book , and you explain to them that you own a business in Europe but live in Thailand many months every year , can they still refuse you to enter with tourist visas, and with a passport full of old stamps ?

Yeah it appears to be on a whim. Maybe you get unlucky and deported maybe you don't.

Some stuff coming up for sale, condos, refrigerators, big screen tv, cars, motorbikes etc. Does this forum have a for sale section?

[ronthai]

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If you own a condo in Thailand and can show them the blue book , and you explain to them that you own a business in Europe but live in Thailand many months every year , can they still refuse you to enter with tourist visas, and with a passport full of old stamps ?

Yeah it appears to be on a whim. Maybe you get unlucky and deported maybe you don't.

Some stuff coming up for sale, condos, refrigerators, big screen tv, cars, motorbikes etc. Does this forum have a for sale section?

Yep, that is exactly what will happen.

I am not 50 yet,

live here for many years,

never worked a day in Thailand,

get monthly payments from my old, sold business back home.

I am OK for my visa for almost 3 months now, but after that ....

We will see what happens the coming months.

[chrisinth]

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Quote

They have got this all wrong.

They are doing it to stop illegal workers but from my experience most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar.

A lot of guys work offshore and fly into Thailand spending big on their break between shifts. These people do not have the ability to get visas and they are true frequent holidaymakers.

Immigration says these people will not be affected but my gut feeling is they will.

My experience is that a lot of the offshore O & G guys spend big between shifts and support (in your experience) "most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar".

Does that make them part of the conspiracy?

[stevenl]

Next months news headline from Immigration:

We are proud to announce that we have successfully refused entry to Thailand to 3.500.001 illegal workers who wanted to re-enter the Kingdom.

Most come from Europe, Australia and USA.

... another headline:

Condominium parking lots are full of motorbikes and cars gathering dust and empty apartments/condo's, which has increased the burglary rate by 5000%

Get out of your litle bubble. Koreans, japanse, russians wil be much, much more affected by this than europeans.

[chrisinth]

The words in the OP from Immigration Commissioner Pharnu Kerdlarpphon should be causing concern to not only those people abusing the system (if indeed they are) using border runs on visa exemption stamps but also those who are staying in Thailand on tourist visas. A lot of his information in the OP is directed/ hinting towards the tourist visa rather than the visa exemption which was reported as the main reason for the clampdown.

I would have to wonder if this will be the next restriction put in place, double/triple entries?

The other concern, as has been mentioned earlier is the doors of potential corruption that this could open to satisfy the immigration official stamping the passport. I do say potential here.

If a person is deemed as a possible violator to the immigration system, what is the procedure for being put on the blacklist? This has also been asked earlier; does the offender go to IDC to be processed or has the immigration officer got the power to deem the possible offender (in his/her eyes) as abusing the system and is stamped PNG and entered into the database as blacklisted before exit/entry of the country by computer alone?

And lastly, it seems that it is only Phuket making these statements at the moment. Should this not be coming from Bkk. and issued as a public statement that these rules will be coming into effect in August as a heads-up for potential long-stayers?

I know, I know.....................

Just thinking ahead.................

[p_brownstone]

You want facts , I'll give you facts .And this is mainly directed at the ones who posted that this is a great system without a hitch.

I'm 55 yrs.old .Never been to thailand in my life but had thought about retiring there. (Yes I am presently retired.)Anyway before making the leap I naturally wanted to see the country . So about four months ago I applied for a double entry visa from my home in the U.S. I received it and off I went. Now from what I understood is that I would enter, and before sixty days were up I would apply for a thirty day extension. Then before the extension ended ,a few days or so ,I would leave the country and reenter because I had a tourist visa. A dble entry tourist visa. That's,,, tourist , visa .

Well I received my extension with no problem.

Now to keep you up to speed I really liked thailand and decided that it would make a good retirement location and was planning to reenter on the dble entry and apply for the ''retirement'' visa.Get my affadavit from the consulate, proof of income, fill out the documents etc.

After three months I had seen enough and felt content.

On this past Tuesday a week before my extension ended I crossed the border to reenter.I had left all my luggage and personal belongings at my room I had been renting and only took the nec. documents along to present to the fine ,honest, intelligent, uncorrupt immigration officials.

(By the way not that it should make a difference, but I 've been staying in Chiang Mai.)

Now what do you think happened??? They refused to let me back in.

I was dressed well, clean shaven , very presentable and polite.My papers were in order . But regardless ,the interrogation began. And it was'nt pleasant .They accused me of working illegally and/or attempting to seek employment. They wanted to see my itinerary. Why I was in thailand to begin with, where I was staying, who did i know there, how much money I had.(I had about 6000 bht with me). ,etc.etc., This #$^% went on for an hour. They ultimately said ...no.Partly because I opted to rent a studio apartment rather than stay at a hotel ! Renting a studio apt. evidently removes one from''tourist'' status!!

Oh they wanted to see money, alot of money! And I got the feeling that a bribe was being suggested, more than once.

Now at that point I was livid. but I 've read enough to know you don't get angry. So I politely asked to speak to someone in charge. Which i finally did. And to tell you the truth I would have said fine and the hel with thailand, but all my belongings were at the room I was renting. The guy finally allowed me to enter ,this took oh about 5 hrs total.

Now I'm in this sewer of a country and will not be staying. I am completely disgusted with the place . I'm not a deadbeat . I am a retired police officer with a very nice pension. But this whole thing transpired because some idiot at immigration ''suspected'' I was working. did you get that..................... ''s u s p e c t e d''. Regardless of my tourist visa that I had been issued, by his Embassy.

And that is the entire problem, all they have to do is suspect someone .And a few intelligent posters get that here. Some jerk at immigration has a bug up his or her behind and that clown decides not to let you enter ,because they use the ''suspect'' card and accuse you to be working illegally or whatever reason..they ''feel''.at the time .It does'nt matter what visa you have. Way too much power to give to immigration ''officers'' with regards to enforcing a very vague rule.

The lunatic asylum has handed the keys over to the patients and it's going to be bad for everyone ,honest and dishonest forieghners alike.

Strange that, I've been in Thailand since 1990 and never had a problem.

I crossed the road once with my eyes closed and didn't get run over. Does that mean everybody else will be so lucky? You're just one person. Hardly reasonable to draw any conclusions from one person's experiences.

To which "one person's experience" are you referring - DKNY77's or Banzai99's ?

Patrick

[JB300]

“From August 13, if we suspect any foreigner of working illegally in Thailand on a tourist visa, that person will be detained and deported, even if the foreigner has not previously completed even a single visa run,” he said.

“People who are deported will be banned from re-entering Thailand for five years, not forever. After that, the foreigner may appeal to re-enter the country.

Hmmm... so say someone has a bunch of VISA exempt stamps / tourist VISAs in their passport and/or an overstay, then leaves Thailand via BKK airport. If the immigration officer decides you've been here too long, they're now going to officially detain and deport you, meaning a few days in the IDC while it goes through a judge and gets processed?

Or are they just going to blacklist you for 5 years on the stop then & there, and still let you get on your flight?

I think the point is you'll be denied entry on the way into Thailand & (possibly) banned from entering the kingdom for life (though this might equate to 5 years).

[slipperylobster]

You want facts , I'll give you facts .And this is mainly directed at the ones who posted that this is a great system without a hitch.

I'm 55 yrs.old .Never been to thailand in my life but had thought about retiring there. (Yes I am presently retired.)Anyway before making the leap I naturally wanted to see the country . So about four months ago I applied for a double entry visa from my home in the U.S. I received it and off I went. Now from what I understood is that I would enter, and before sixty days were up I would apply for a thirty day extension. Then before the extension ended ,a few days or so ,I would leave the country and reenter because I had a tourist visa. A dble entry tourist visa. That's,,, tourist , visa .

Well I received my extension with no problem.

Now to keep you up to speed I really liked thailand and decided that it would make a good retirement location and was planning to reenter on the dble entry and apply for the ''retirement'' visa.Get my affadavit from the consulate, proof of income, fill out the documents etc.

After three months I had seen enough and felt content.

On this past Tuesday a week before my extension ended I crossed the border to reenter.I had left all my luggage and personal belongings at my room I had been renting and only took the nec. documents along to present to the fine ,honest, intelligent, uncorrupt immigration officials.

(By the way not that it should make a difference, but I 've been staying in Chiang Mai.)

Now what do you think happened??? They refused to let me back in.

I was dressed well, clean shaven , very presentable and polite.My papers were in order . But regardless ,the interrogation began. And it was'nt pleasant .They accused me of working illegally and/or attempting to seek employment. They wanted to see my itinerary. Why I was in thailand to begin with, where I was staying, who did i know there, how much money I had.(I had about 6000 bht with me). ,etc.etc., This #$^% went on for an hour. They ultimately said ...no.Partly because I opted to rent a studio apartment rather than stay at a hotel ! Renting a studio apt. evidently removes one from''tourist'' status!!

Oh they wanted to see money, alot of money! And I got the feeling that a bribe was being suggested, more than once.

Now at that point I was livid. but I 've read enough to know you don't get angry. So I politely asked to speak to someone in charge. Which i finally did. And to tell you the truth I would have said fine and the hel with thailand, but all my belongings were at the room I was renting. The guy finally allowed me to enter ,this took oh about 5 hrs total.

Now I'm in this sewer of a country and will not be staying. I am completely disgusted with the place . I'm not a deadbeat . I am a retired police officer with a very nice pension. But this whole thing transpired because some idiot at immigration ''suspected'' I was working. did you get that..................... ''s u s p e c t e d''. Regardless of my tourist visa that I had been issued, by his Embassy.

And that is the entire problem, all they have to do is suspect someone .And a few intelligent posters get that here. Some jerk at immigration has a bug up his or her behind and that clown decides not to let you enter ,because they use the ''suspect'' card and accuse you to be working illegally or whatever reason..they ''feel''.at the time .It does'nt matter what visa you have. Way too much power to give to immigration ''officers'' with regards to enforcing a very vague rule.

The lunatic asylum has handed the keys over to the patients and it's going to be bad for everyone ,honest and dishonest forieghners alike.

Strange that, I've been in Thailand since 1990 and never had a problem.

I crossed the road once with my eyes closed and didn't get run over. Does that mean everybody else will be so lucky? You're just one person. Hardly reasonable to draw any conclusions from one person's experiences.

To which "one person's experience" are you referring - DKNY77's or Banzai99's ?

Patrick

Valid gripe from DKN77

I too came here (again) this year from a 3 month stay in the USA. Arrived 30 days visa exempt, did two back to backs (awaiting my flight out), flew to the PI and stayed a month, returned and got another 30 days, then got my double entry. In all appearances...I am a tourist, abeit long term. No abuse of anything.

However, my double entry had some handwriting to the effect that I must provide a certificate of residence and proof of income.... I now have both, and will extend my first entry for 30 days.

After reading the OP (being denied his second entry) I can only guess that they were looking for those two documents I mentioned. Then they could verify if he was working or not working. However, I am not going to take a chance...so I will fly out 3 weeks before the expiration date, stay in the Philippines (until one day prior to the expiration date), and then fly in for me second entry (with a return ticket to the philippines in 90 days)...

90 days after the second entry I will be flying to the USA for another 3 months...and will then do the appropriate retirement related visa/extension. (Only if things start looking more positive here). I have one shoe on in Thailand and the other shoe has not yet found a foothold. So now, I am neither a resident, nor (as some would have it) a tourist. I am retired with a pension and without a home.

That should do it?

[samran]

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They have got this all wrong.

They are doing it to stop illegal workers but from my experience most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar.

A lot of guys work offshore and fly into Thailand spending big on their break between shifts. These people do not have the ability to get visas and they are true frequent holidaymakers.

Immigration says these people will not be affected but my gut feeling is they will.

My experience is that a lot of the offshore O & G guys spend big between shifts and support (in your experience) "most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar".

Does that make them part of the conspiracy?

I don't understand why people are banging on about oil and gas workers. They aren't doing back to back exits and returns on the same day are they? They leave for up to a month. Come back for a similar period, just about always less that 30 days.

Or is it the people who are worried about oil and gas guys just can't count??

[Bernard Flint]

Does this mean that teachers working illegaly will be deported

[ronthai]

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Quote

They have got this all wrong.

They are doing it to stop illegal workers but from my experience most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar.

A lot of guys work offshore and fly into Thailand spending big on their break between shifts. These people do not have the ability to get visas and they are true frequent holidaymakers.

Immigration says these people will not be affected but my gut feeling is they will.

My experience is that a lot of the offshore O & G guys spend big between shifts and support (in your experience) "most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar".

Does that make them part of the conspiracy?

I don't understand why people are banging on about oil and gas workers. They aren't doing back to back exits and returns on the same day are they? They leave for up to a month. Come back for a similar period, just about always less that 30 days.

Or is it the people who are worried about oil and gas guys just can't count??

I have 2 friends who do the same as engineers.

Sometimes they are here for a week, a month or 40-50 days, sometimes longer.

They always come in by airport 30 days stamp, now if they do not have a job before that, they can not go in out even to get a valid visa in Laos or something, which might only be for 20 days, since then a new job comes along.

They are at risk also from stories that are now written here, since they do an In-Out, maybe a 2-3 days In-Out.

They never know when the next job comes along, just spend their money here on holiday between jobs.

But since they do not stay in a hotel (both own a condo), they now can be suspected of working in Thailand.

Their passport will show many, many tourist visa's within a year.

[Bernard Flint]

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Quote

They have got this all wrong.

They are doing it to stop illegal workers but from my experience most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar.

A lot of guys work offshore and fly into Thailand spending big on their break between shifts. These people do not have the ability to get visas and they are true frequent holidaymakers.

Immigration says these people will not be affected but my gut feeling is they will.

My experience is that a lot of the offshore O & G guys spend big between shifts and support (in your experience) "most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar".

Does that make them part of the conspiracy?

silly post

the o&g boys come here for a max of 30 days, and the bar owners dont work due to no work permit, or their tilak owns the bar realy

[slipperylobster]

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If you own a condo in Thailand and can show them the blue book , and you explain to them that you own a business in Europe but live in Thailand many months every year , can they still refuse you to enter with tourist visas, and with a passport full of old stamps ?

Yeah it appears to be on a whim. Maybe you get unlucky and deported maybe you don't.

Some stuff coming up for sale, condos, refrigerators, big screen tv, cars, motorbikes etc. Does this forum have a for sale section?

When(and if) I get the appropriate Retirement package here...people may contact me, as I will be in the market for your distress sale.

For those with a work visa...why not set up a warehouse on the border for these guys (who now cannot/will not enter Thailand). Sort of a Rent/Sell back deal for cars, motorbikes, furniture, appliances, and girlfriends. They can just truck in the stuff when the do their border deal, in case they cannot get back. Then the guy who does get back and rent all that until it is his next turn to leave.

Business opportunity.

[Bernard Flint]

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Quote

They have got this all wrong.

They are doing it to stop illegal workers but from my experience most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar.

A lot of guys work offshore and fly into Thailand spending big on their break between shifts. These people do not have the ability to get visas and they are true frequent holidaymakers.

Immigration says these people will not be affected but my gut feeling is they will.

My experience is that a lot of the offshore O & G guys spend big between shifts and support (in your experience) "most of the illegal workers are retired expats who are a bit short on pension funds and as such are helping their income with a small profit from a restaurant or bar".

Does that make them part of the conspiracy?

I don't understand why people are banging on about oil and gas workers. They aren't doing back to back exits and returns on the same day are they? They leave for up to a month. Come back for a similar period, just about always less that 30 days.

Or is it the people who are worried about oil and gas guys just can't count??

I have 2 friends who do the same as engineers.

Sometimes they are here for a week, a month or 40-50 days, sometimes longer.

They always come in by airport 30 days stamp, now if they do not have a job before that, they can not go in out even to get a valid visa in Laos or something, which might only be for 20 days, since then a new job comes along.

They are at risk also from stories that are now written here, since they do an In-Out, maybe a 2-3 days In-Out.

They never know when the next job comes along, just spend their money here on holiday between jobs.

But since they do not stay in a hotel (both own a condo), they now can be suspected of working in Thailand.

Their passport will show many, many tourist visa's within a year.

Many m,any stamps????

would think 30 days on and 30 days off means they have 6 stamps

[gemguy]

I know it is only a pipe dream ....but you would think the immigration department would work with the labor department and coordinate the means for foreigners to work in Thailand legally without all the bureaucratic nightmare involved and all the efforts involved to obtain a 1 year business related visa and the work permit.

This fear of foreigners taking away jobs from the Thais is basically unfounded and proven to be incorrect thinking.

If they had any sense at all they would realize that people would be willing to pay a relative hefty sum of money if they would just stream line the process allowing foreigners to obtain the proper visa and work permit in less than 1 week ...all done here in Bangkok at one office and charge say 30,000 baht.... a money maker for sure.

With the current immigration laws and regulations and the means and ways to obtain a work permit, everyone, including the Thai authorities, can be assured there will be many, many people, including Thai nationals and Thai officials, circumventing the current laws and regulations.

Talk about slow learning abilities as they have already seen and know well that laws and regulations applied in other areas simply creates all the more problems and then finally they change the rules and regulations and laws relative to the ramifications of the rules and laws and regulations.

Such as import duties on Gemstones.

Back in the day they had ridiculous duties on gemstones being imported into the country and everyone {smuggled} the gems into the country.

Finally after a lot of pressure was put on the government , back in the day around 1987, they removed the duties and tariffs and let the industry flourish all the more while the government made 10 times more money from the industry growth rather than trying to enforce high duties and tariffs on the importation of the raw materials.

Like DUH ..it should be obvious.

I can only surmise it is matter of SMALL MINDED PERSONS retaining power and authority while their power and authority is applied by some of those government officials or political appointments who make up the rules and regulations and laws.

[zydeco]

Now what do you think happened??? They refused to let me back in.

I was dressed well, clean shaven , very presentable and polite.My papers were in order . But regardless ,the interrogation began. And it was'nt pleasant .They accused me of working illegally and/or attempting to seek employment. They wanted to see my itinerary. Why I was in thailand to begin with, where I was staying, who did i know there, how much money I had.(I had about 6000 bht with me). ,etc.etc., This #$^% went on for an hour. They ultimately said ...no.Partly because I opted to rent a studio apartment rather than stay at a hotel ! Renting a studio apt. evidently removes one from''tourist'' status!!

Oh they wanted to see money, alot of money! And I got the feeling that a bribe was being suggested, more than once.

That is unfortunately exactly what I thought this latest crackdown will lead to. Every tourist is now a suspect. Renting a condo is now suspicious behaviour. Travelling more than once into Thailand per year is suspicious. DKNY77 is a retired cop and still was subjected to 5 hour long interrogation on his SECOND entry of his first double tourist visa ever! Jaysus!

Don't think you are "safe" if you have a retirement visa or any other visa. Those visas could be targeted next. Thailand tourism will plummet when these horror stories start spreading. There are plenty of other, more friendly locations around.

Your latter point is spot on, which is why I, with my work permit and visa, responded to the threads on this subject from the beginning. Some people are really laying into the visa runners, saying they deserve what they get. Lack of sympathy aside, all of us should be able to see that the visa runners are the low hanging fruit and, to mix the metaphors, Thai immigration may have every intent of working its way up the food chain.

[JDGRUEN]

If Thai immigration wants to find people in Thailand without valid Visas and Work Permits... and if they will pay my way back to Koh Samui and Ao Nang, Krabi (from where I just returned) - I will walk with them down the streets and point out several thousands of such criminals in both of those resort areas. Let's see who will they find with no valid papers? Well - they will find lots and lots of guys from Myanmar (who often say they are from Nepal - as is that makes any difference), plus quite a number from India and even some Mid East Countries. And the Thai immigration folks will also find many Europeans, Americans and Aussies working the travel shops. Hmmmm? How did all these people get Work Permits and the supporting Visas which allow the WP's? Oh - you mean they likely do not have either - HOW SHOCKING!!! Why are these people there? Well it seems the common denominator is that to a great or lesser degree they can speak English to the tourists. What would happen if all these folks were removed or prevented from entering? Big Economic problems for the resorts that is what would happen --- and that is why it will not happen either. If the great majority of these people I just observed in Koh Samui and Ao Nang are here in Thailand legally and working legally - then someone please correct me -- I will stand corrected if believable information is presented.

[slipperylobster]

Now what do you think happened??? They refused to let me back in.

I was dressed well, clean shaven , very presentable and polite.My papers were in order . But regardless ,the interrogation began. And it was'nt pleasant .They accused me of working illegally and/or attempting to seek employment. They wanted to see my itinerary. Why I was in thailand to begin with, where I was staying, who did i know there, how much money I had.(I had about 6000 bht with me). ,etc.etc., This #$^% went on for an hour. They ultimately said ...no.Partly because I opted to rent a studio apartment rather than stay at a hotel ! Renting a studio apt. evidently removes one from''tourist'' status!!

Oh they wanted to see money, alot of money! And I got the feeling that a bribe was being suggested, more than once.

That is unfortunately exactly what I thought this latest crackdown will lead to. Every tourist is now a suspect. Renting a condo is now suspicious behaviour. Travelling more than once into Thailand per year is suspicious. DKNY77 is a retired cop and still was subjected to 5 hour long interrogation on his SECOND entry of his first double tourist visa ever! Jaysus!

Don't think you are "safe" if you have a retirement visa or any other visa. Those visas could be targeted next. Thailand tourism will plummet when these horror stories start spreading. There are plenty of other, more friendly locations around.

Your latter point is spot on, which is why I, with my work permit and visa, responded to the threads on this subject from the beginning. Some people are really laying into the visa runners, saying they deserve what they get. Lack of sympathy aside, all of us should be able to see that the visa runners are the low hanging fruit and, to mix the metaphors, Thai immigration may have every intent of working its way up the food chain.

I suppose the next target will be those illegal/conveniently managed, bars and restaurants....those owned and run (behind the scenes) by farangs (who get shady gals to handle the legalities/protection).

Certainly these guys might want to pull out now....or get off the border/tourist wagon.

[Oceanbat]

Hi everyone,

Reading this thread has made me a little concerned. Here's my scenario:

I was working in singapore on an EP up until last Friday. I have changed company and they have transferred over my singapore EP to my new company. This company is a Malaysian bank and they are going to seconder me to the thai office for 1 year with a 1 July start date. I was in Thailand for 1 day about 2 weeks ago and took down an apartment and the lease will commence 19th may. I am leaving singapore on 19th of may to move into my place with my wife and son (she is thai). I am flying back to singapore on 22nd may for a meeting then back to Thailand on the 23rd. I'm a bit worried as although I won't be working in Thailand until 1 July I will be going back and forth trying to get everything settled.

Any thoughts?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[Mario2008]

“From August 13, if we suspect any foreigner of working illegally in Thailand on a tourist visa, that person will be detained and deported, even if the foreigner has not previously completed even a single visa run,” he said.

“People who are deported will be banned from re-entering Thailand for five years, not forever. After that, the foreigner may appeal to re-enter the country.

Hmmm... so say someone has a bunch of VISA exempt stamps / tourist VISAs in their passport and/or an overstay, then leaves Thailand via BKK airport. If the immigration officer decides you've been here too long, they're now going to officially detain and deport you, meaning a few days in the IDC while it goes through a judge and gets processed?

Or are they just going to blacklist you for 5 years on the stop then & there, and still let you get on your flight?

The check is being made while entering the country, not leaving the country.

[ronthai]

Hi everyone,

Reading this thread has made me a little concerned. Here's my scenario:

I was working in singapore on an EP up until last Friday. I have changed company and they have transferred over my singapore EP to my new company. This company is a Malaysian bank and they are going to seconder me to the thai office for 1 year with a 1 July start date. I was in Thailand for 1 day about 2 weeks ago and took down an apartment and the lease will commence 19th may. I am leaving singapore on 19th of may to move into my place with my wife and son (she is thai). I am flying back to singapore on 22nd may for a meeting then back to Thailand on the 23rd. I'm a bit worried as although I won't be working in Thailand until 1 July I will be going back and forth trying to get everything settled.

Any thoughts?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Take any and all paper work with you. Just everything even how un-important it may seem.

If you are legally married to your Thai wife, makes sure you also can prove that.