Confirmed: Visa run crackdown effective from August 12, 2014: Thai Foreign Ministry

[stevenl]

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So will people who fly in regularly to Thailand and get 30 day stamps be affected by the new rules or is it only land border crosses.

Lots of oil workers, Aussie FIFOs will be affected if they are monitoring at airports.

Yes, they are sffected - some of those guys are in for a shock.

i dont think they will be affected at all;

they are NOT"visa runners" they come into Thailand stay from 1 week to 4 , spend their hard earned $$$ an leave for 4 weeks to ------

they are NOT VISA RUNNERS nor are they abusing what the visa exempt is for

What is "living here" yes they might have houses/wife's/families but they are not here full time.

I guess its a fine line an we will have to wait and see.

I can't see them stopping these guys

they are not "staying in Thailand", they are working.

Sure, assuming all the paperwork is in place (WP and visa) then they will not be affected, why would they...

But that the question was raised here indicates to me that in some (many?) cases the "paper work" is NOT in place and people just hopped in and out as it was so much easier for everyone (including the Thai companies hiring them)...

They are not working in Thailand.

[TTom911]

If the government sees these plans through it's sure a "good idea", if that is practically possible without serious collateral damage is to be seen...

THAT is the evil consequence of longstanding corruption: it creates and cements circumstances which make change extremely hard to th point of becoming impossible without "blood on the floor". The main evil of corruption is not so much that someone gets a little money", the REAL EVIL is that is hinders change/advance, as the corrupt want to cement the status quo in their favour...

Thailand has a very long and very painful way ahead IF it wants to change... ultimately I don't see too many people want really change... many just want for themselves what they envy others for... which keeps the old circle spinning... That's what the old guards in any corrupt country are playing on... They just sit there on their wealth with and wait... all too often time will play into their hands...

Let's see... This "visa change" thingy will be very interesting to watch and will tell a lot of how Thailand wants/can/will address the need for change...

[phuketrichard]

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i dont think they will be affected at all;

they are NOT"visa runners" they come into Thailand stay from 1 week to 4 , spend their hard earned $$$ an leave for 4 weeks to ------

they are NOT VISA RUNNERS nor are they abusing what the visa exempt is for

What is "living here" yes they might have houses/wife's/families but they are not here full time.

I guess its a fine line an we will have to wait and see.

I can't see them stopping these guys

they are not "staying in Thailand", they are working.

Sure, assuming all the paperwork is in place (WP and visa) then they will not be affected, why would they...

But that the question was raised here indicates to me that in some (many?) cases the "paper work" is NOT in place and people just hopped in and out as it was so much easier for everyone (including the Thai companies hiring them)...

They are not working in Thailand.

correct, there working out of Thailand

why would they need a wp?

[stevenl]

There are many people over 50 in Thailand with a retirement visa that have very little funds so it annoys me to hear all these experts harping on about how it won't affect them . I am here on a tourist visa , I arrived on a triple entry , went to Laos got a double entry and recently Hanoi with my Thai gf but would only be issued a single entry.

The thing that annoys me is I have a lot better finances than a lot of people on retirement visas but I'm not 50 for another 9 months so it's possible I will have to leave the country in August when my current visa ends.

Why does it bother you that some people followed the rules and won't be impacted? I'm not saying you have to take glee in their misfortune but it's pretty shortsighted to bet your retirement on a loophole in the Thai immigration law. Hell, it's shortsighted to base your retirement on any Thai law. The people who have gone through the process, done things the right way, and are being rewarded, should be somewhat happy that their faith in the rule of law paid off.

And why are you annoyed that you have to wait another 9 months to be eligible for a retirement visa? It's not like that law changed. Oh, or are you just annoyed that Plan A, take advantage of a loophole in Thai immigration law, isn't viable anymore so you have to do it the way you would likely have to do it in most other countries, and wait?

You obviously missed the point I was trying to make , I know many people that have retirement visas illegally , I.e pay someone approx 15,000 and receive a visa because they have insufficient funds and or income to get one legally.

I on the other hand have been doing every thing legally and just trying to get by till I'm 50 , I don't want to pay 500,000 to get an elite card when I've only got 9 months to wait and also things are changing all the time so could possibly lose a lot of money

I missed nothing. I understand your point. I don't understand why you're annoyed because the country has a very reasonable requirement that you be 50 years of age before they grant you a retirement visa. I don't understand why you're upset that you can't live in Thailand for 9 months on a tourist visa.

Nobody said you have to get an elite card. You just have to wait 9 months until you're 50. It's not an unreasonable request by the Thai government so quit pissing and moaning about it.

The age for the retirement visa has been 50 for as long as I can remember. It's not like that fact sneaked up on you. It's just that you thought you could take advantage of loopholes in Thai immigration law until then. Oh well, that's just how life goes sometimes. Get over it.

And I do not find joy in your situation but I do find great pain in hearing you rant about it. You're not the first guy to have their plans ruined in Thailand and you won't be the last.

He only needs 9 months before he can apply for retirement visa/extension. So simply get ED now.

[Pattszero]

So will people who fly in regularly to Thailand and get 30 day stamps be affected by the new rules or is it only land border crosses.

Lots of oil workers, Aussie FIFOs will be affected if they are monitoring at airports.

Yes, they are sffected - some of those guys are in for a shock.

i dont think they will be affected at all;

they are NOT"visa runners" they come into Thailand stay from 1 week to 4 , spend their hard earned $$$ an leave for 4 weeks to ------

they are NOT VISA RUNNERS nor are they abusing what the visa exempt is for

What is "living here" yes they might have houses/wife's/families but they are not here full time.

I guess its a fine line an we will have to wait and see.

I can't see them stopping these guys

What's stopping them is that they ordinarily attempt to enter Thailand six times a year on visa-exempt. ( month on/ month off ).

This whole push is to end abuse of the visa-exempt system.

In as much as I agree that it would be self-defeating to block these guys from entry - you are forgetting one simple thing.

When they present themselves to immigration with thirty visa exempt stamps already -

And ask for one more -

Immigration aren't going to see their worth to the economy

They are going to see a habitual traveler attempting to use yet another visa exempt.

As sure as night follows day that will be a problem.

To pretend otherwise is ostrich in the sand stuff.

[rucus7]

Confirmed: Visa run crackdown effective from August 12, 2014: Thai Foreign Ministry . . . . . Sweet baby Jebus what's next??

[Pattszero]

So will people who fly in regularly to Thailand and get 30 day stamps be affected by the new rules or is it only land border crosses.

Lots of oil workers, Aussie FIFOs will be affected if they are monitoring at airports.

Yes, they are sffected - some of those guys are in for a shock.

They are not doing out-in runs, so don't think they'll be affected. But getting a proper visa meant for living in Thailand would be a good idea in stead of tourist visas/visa exempt entries.

A lot of these guys do have to do out/in runs as in many cases they're off periods don't run perfectly within the 30 day visa exempt window.

When I said "some" of these guys are in for a shock, the word "some" was the operative word.

They are going to have a lot of explaining to do at the border.

[stevenl]

So will people who fly in regularly to Thailand and get 30 day stamps be affected by the new rules or is it only land border crosses.

Lots of oil workers, Aussie FIFOs will be affected if they are monitoring at airports.

Yes, they are sffected - some of those guys are in for a shock.

They are not doing out-in runs, so don't think they'll be affected. But getting a proper visa meant for living in Thailand would be a good idea in stead of tourist visas/visa exempt entries.

A lot of these guys do have to do out/in runs as in many cases they're off periods don't run perfectly within the 30 day visa exempt window.

When I said "some" of these guys are in for a shock, the word "some" was the operative word.

They are going to have a lot of explaining to do at the border.

As I said, if they're living here it would be a good idea for them to get the visa that matches their living here.

[samran]

Not exactly the best move considering the current tourist numbers, but they seem to want to go down the route of punishing countries who don't have visa on arrival for Thais. Hopefully, the reciprocal will mean that Thais will be scrutinised when applying for visas, exempted from owning property, companies and opening bank accounts in other countries.

How will this effect ED visas?

I'm all for reciprocal treatment. Standing out in the snow and rain of London or Washington, D.C. In the snow or rain after driving down 300 miles for a tourist visa interview, which you booked online months before after repaying a ridiculous fee.

Wait for an embassy worker behind a thick glass windows ask you for all your financials, evidence of property ownership and a job to come back to.

You've asked for a three month multi entry visa but because the guy behind the desk has a bad mood that day, you'll only get a single entry 30 day visa.

Yep, I do like the sound of that. Good idea!

[digibum]

The fact is these people are doing nothing illegal, may well have Thai partners (not yet married but certainly reason enough to want to stay in the country) and are contributing to the country financially. Basically they're retired but are not yet 50 years of age. Very simple.

Personally I think there should be a proof of finances measure put in place, no different to the requirements for other visas. They certainly shouldn't be discriminated against just because they're not married, don't own a business, don't want / need to study, and are (fortunate enough to be) under 50.

You mean nothing illegal other than signing a government document saying that the purpose of their stay in Thailand is for tourism purposes even when their intent is to live in Thailand? Normally, we call that perjury.

I hate to break this to you but nobody cares what you think the laws should be. They are what they are. Live within the laws or there's a chance something like this could happen and your life may be completely upended with little or no recourse on your part. Pretty simple concept to understand once you grasp the fact that the Thai government could give a damn about a few expats.

If they actually cared what we think or how much we contribute to the Thai economy, there would be a clear path to permanent residency, the right to land ownership, etc, etc. The fact that none of these things exist should pretty much indicate to you how much the Thai government cares about your opinions.

Then why the hell should anyone of us give a damn about the Thai system? We should endeavor to exploit it to the hilt, not worship the thing that doesn't care if we live or die.

You can't have it both ways - either you participate in the system and the system participates in you or live by your wits and exploit what you can. What you're suggesting is to be subject to a system that hates you, provides no rights and doesn't give a damn about your opinion. That's no way to live!

And before any of you start with the 'why do you think Thailand owes you something,' I'm not saying that.

What I am saying is that if they owe me nothing then I owe them nothing in turn. Let Thailand prosper or sink to the center of the Earth - if I'm not human to them then they can rot.

I didn't say that you had to worship the laws. I'm saying that by living in a country that openly holds your presence in contempt, sh*t happens. Go ahead and exploit their laws but when it comes back and bites you in the butt, don't come on TV crying like a school girl with a scraped knee. Man up.

I don't follow the rules because I hold the Thai legal system in high regard. I follow the rules because I have a lower tolerance for risk.

[phuketrichard]

So will people who fly in regularly to Thailand and get 30 day stamps be affected by the new rules or is it only land border crosses.

Lots of oil workers, Aussie FIFOs will be affected if they are monitoring at airports.

Yes, they are sffected - some of those guys are in for a shock.

i dont think they will be affected at all;

they are NOT"visa runners" they come into Thailand stay from 1 week to 4 , spend their hard earned $$$ an leave for 4 weeks to ------

they are NOT VISA RUNNERS nor are they abusing what the visa exempt is for

What is "living here" yes they might have houses/wife's/families but they are not here full time.

I guess its a fine line an we will have to wait and see.

I can't see them stopping these guys

What's stopping them is that they ordinarily attempt to enter Thailand six times a year on visa-exempt. ( month on/ month off ).

This whole push is to end abuse of the visa-exempt system.

In as much as I agree that it would be self-defeating to block these guys from entry - you are forgetting one simple thing.

When they present themselves to immigration with thirty visa exempt stamps already -

And ask for one more -

Immigration aren't going to see their worth to the economy

They are going to see a habitual traveler attempting to use yet another visa exempt.

As sure as night follows day that will be a problem.

To pretend otherwise is ostrich in the sand stuff.

worth?

there working out of Thailand and bringing their pay to Thailand.

That's what a tourist does

Immigration will see exactly what they are;

hard working guys who want to enjoy their off time and spend their $$ in Thailand.

One simply question will be asked?

"what do you do?"

"I work in Nigeria, Indonesia, Australia as a oil worker, truck driver, miner"

" ahh, welcome back"

The ones they will stop are the ones that stay here 30 days, go to Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos for an hour, day and come right back

Of course this is all second guessing the thai mentality

Edited July 1, 2014 by phuketrichard

[stevenl]

I didn't say that you had to worship the laws. I'm saying that by living in a country that openly holds your presence in contempt, sh*t happens. Go ahead and exploit their laws but when it comes back and bites you in the butt, don't come on TV crying like a school girl with a scraped knee. Man up.

I don't follow the rules because I hold the Thai legal system in high regard. I follow the rules because I have a lower tolerance for risk.

I would say it is the other way round. By openly ignoring the law and the intentions of the law, the perpetual visa runners, whether exempt or with tourist visa, have held Thailand in contempt for a long time.

[cup-O-coffee]

Simply some thoughts on my part. Opinions, if you will, as well.

Figuratively speaking, of course...

There is no law here, so to speak. There is moreover only a mood. The law seems to only be written to be there as a means and resource to justify the mood. No matter where the mood strikes or falls on any given day or at any given moment, this law can be used as a resource to justify the mood.

I have read somewhere by attorneys even, that the law is intentionally written to be vague and ambiguous so as not to put any authority into a corner and hence lose face. The law is written so as to allow any authority to use it as an ingredient to form and solidify their mood or whim. Once achieved, no one can argue with that mood or whim on the basis of how one in power interpreted it for that unique issue or event ...simply because the law as it stands is unformed and unsolidified (like wet concrete), and needs an authority to grab it and form and solidify it to one's needs.

Once one understands the moods of people, and what major factors sway the moods of people, then one can improve their abilities to crystal ball.

If one really wants to crystal ball and improve their odds at predicting, then one only needs to view a possible scenario (or an OP) and ask, "Where's the money? What will happen to the money? How much money is involved?"

If no money is involved, then the process is expendable and an easy target for cracking down on. If the process has a lot of money involved and a lot of fingers in the pie, and cracking down would cause severe ramifications, then it is logical to crystal ball that any mention of killing the process is nothing more than threat and boast.

----

Sometimes the tree needs to be pruned a bit. A new gardener comes in and prunes off the sucker branches to his liking, but keeps the fruit bearing branches.

The visa industry is huge. It involves many many entities both known and unknown. A lot of these entities are like fruit trees. Some bear fruit and others don't.

I have never known a native, imbued with power and authority, to commit financial suicide and prune off the fruit bearing branches, and the visa industry is no exception. Extending visa exemptions is like a sucker branch. Most all other forms of visas are extremely fruit bearing.

When the new gardener comes into the garden and views all the fruit trees, he is more than likely going to exercise his right to show his power and make it known (muse out loud to make knees tremble) that he may or may not prune all the fruit trees right down to the trunk, and ignore the consequences. However, I have found that a lot of this is simply a way of showing power and boasting at what one could do, but more than likely would not do.

Every gardener needs something to grow and eventually reap. If everything is pruned back to the stalk, trunk and sod, then the gardener is out of a job because he has no fruit and no one to be there to tremble when he speaks.

The visa industry is too lucrative to apply the logic of the OP. The only other option is to commit suicide and go with the ASEAN visa and let foreigners come into Thailand with a dirt cheap visa from Laos or Cambodia, and then the gardener is out of a job for sure.

As I suggested at the beginning of my post, the mood is supported by the law, and what affects the mood is money: large amounts of money, or the lack thereof ...Money, or the lack thereof... that is the chief indicator for where the mood will fall. If the mood is in opposition to large amounts of money, it is more than likely a boast, or an interruption to the status quo and likely to be resumed once a few sucker branches are pruned and a few knees made to tremble.

These are simply some thoughts I have on this topic. In summary, these people will not cut off a fruit bearing limb. At the worst they will replace it. Additionally, there are too many businesses who have their livelihoods wrapped up in this cottage industry. The insane logic of the OP strongly suggests to me that this is nothing more than a shakedown by the new gardener, and an announcement to those who have fruit trees that the master gardener is coming around for inspection and is posing utterly mad possibilities in advance of this auspicious event. Knees will tremble, but the fruit bearing limbs will still be permitted to bear fruit for the harvested. Saying "I'm not hungry" and threatening to throw out the food is not going to fool anyone, but it will impress them and make some knees tremble. LOL. Ya gotta have food for the mood! Have food = good mood. No food = bad mood.

Well... that's it. Those are my opinions and views.

Edited July 1, 2014 by cup-O-coffee

[Tatsujin]

Wow, the panic and worry is setting in . . . time for you guys to get legal and get a proper visa to run your (online) business on whilst you are here . . .

Another great patronizing tidbit by our ultra yellow friend Tatsujin.

How about this... people will get "proper" visas the day military officers pay "proper" taxes on all their side businesses.

What do you think of that?

And another idiotic post from you . . .

We're talking about foreigners and abuse of visa's, not Thai nationals and taxes, so I don't think anything about it in relation to this thread.

The visa system has been abused by foreigners for decades, and the Thai's up to now have allowed it. Now they are not allowing it, so that party is over. If you want to live here permanently and to work here, then get the correct visa . . . it's not that hard.

If we were talking about foreigners living and working in your home country and abusing the tax and visa system, would you be so indignant and upset about that?

[dcpo]

Wow, the panic and worry is setting in . . . time for you guys to get legal and get a proper visa to run your (online) business on whilst you are here . . .

What is the legal and proper visa for running an online business?

non-immigrant B plus work permit.

Is it possible to get a work permit for an online business?

[belg]

so, my guess is there will be more illegal overstayers, not reporting to anybody or anything

max fee is only 20.000 baht anyway, if you overstay here one month or 20 years

[teddysbuttons]

If Joe gets a multiple entry O visa from the Thai Consulate in his own country before arriving in Thailand, he wouldn't have a problem...................

[stevenl]

Simply some thoughts on my part. Opinions, if you will, as well.

Figuratively speaking, of course...

There is no law here, so to speak. There is moreover only a mood. The law seems to only be written to be there as a means and resource to justify the mood. No matter where the mood strikes or falls on any given day or at any given moment, this law can be used as a resource to justify the mood.

I have read somewhere by attorneys even, that the law is intentionally written to be vague and ambiguous so as not to put any authority into a corner and hence lose face. The law is written so as to allow any authority to use it as an ingredient to form and solidify their mood or whim. Once achieved, no one can argue with that mood or whim on the basis of how one in power interpreted it for that unique issue or event ...simply because the law as it stands is unformed and unsolidified (like wet concrete), and needs an authority to grab it and form and solidify it to one's needs.

Once one understands the moods of people, and what major factors sway the moods of people, then one can improve their abilities to crystal ball.

If one really wants to crystal ball and improve their odds at predicting, then one only needs to view a possible scenario (or an OP) and ask, "Where's the money? What will happen to the money? How much money is involved?"

If no money is involved, then the process is expendable and an easy target for cracking down on. If the process has a lot of money involved and a lot of fingers in the pie, and cracking down would cause severe ramifications, then it is logical to crystal ball that any mention of killing the process is nothing more than threat and boast.

----

Sometimes the tree needs to be pruned a bit. A new gardener comes in and prunes off the sucker branches to his liking, but keeps the fruit bearing branches.

The visa industry is huge. It involves many many entities both known and unknown. A lot of these entities are like fruit trees. Some bear fruit and others don't.

I have never known a native, imbued with power and authority, to commit financial suicide and prune off the fruit bearing branches, and the visa industry is no exception. Extending visa exemptions is like a sucker branch. Most all other forms of visas are extremely fruit bearing.

When the new gardener comes into the garden and views all the fruit trees, he is more than likely going to exercise his right to show his power and make it known (muse out loud to make knees tremble) that he may or may not prune all the fruit trees right down to the trunk, and ignore the consequences. However, I have found that a lot of this is simply a way of showing power and boasting at what one could do, but more than likely would not do.

Every gardener needs something to grow and eventually reap. If everything is pruned back to the stalk, trunk and sod, then the gardener is out of a job because he has no fruit and no one to be there to tremble when he speaks.

The visa industry is too lucrative to apply the logic of the OP. The only other option is to commit suicide and go with the ASEAN visa and let foreigners come into Thailand with a dirt cheap visa from Laos or Cambodia, and then the gardener is out of a job for sure.

As I suggested at the beginning of my post, the mood is supported by the law, and what affects the mood is money: large amounts of money, or the lack thereof ...Money, or the lack thereof... that is the chief indicator for where the mood will fall. If the mood is in opposition to large amounts of money, it is more than likely a boast, or an interruption to the status quo and likely to be resumed once a few sucker branches are pruned and a few knees made to tremble.

These are simply some thoughts I have on this topic. In summary, the these people will not cut off a fruit bearing limb. At the worst they will replace it. Additionally, there are too many businesses who have their livelihoods wrapped up in this cottage industry. The insane logic of the OP strongly suggests to me that this is nothing more than a shakedown by the new gardener, and an announcement to those who have fruit trees that the master gardener is coming around for inspection and is posing utterly mad possibilities in advance of this auspicious event. Knees will tremble, but the fruit bearing limbs will still be permitted to bear fruit for the harvested.

Well... that's it. Those are my opinions and views.

Since this was announced long before the new gardner arrived your story makes no sense.

[MrWorldwide]

@cup-o-coffee, every gardener knows that you have to control pests in your garden, particularly parasites. Failure to do so decreases your yield and may even mean the end of your garden all together. One thing to want as much fruit off that tree as possible for yourself - sooner or later the village will want to know why they arent getting their cut and they wont be happy if they find out you allowed worms to ravage your harvest. I can bang on like this all day - lets get back to looking at options for dealing with the impending pest control measures.

[stevenl]

Wow, the panic and worry is setting in . . . time for you guys to get legal and get a proper visa to run your (online) business on whilst you are here . . .

What is the legal and proper visa for running an online business?

non-immigrant B plus work permit.

Is it possible to get a work permit for an online business?

Sure, you just have to meet the requirements for both business startup and workpermit application.

[wilcopops]

I don't understand why some many people here are "confused" it's really very simple. If you're legally working or retired in Thailand then it doesn't affect you at all. The only people it affects are the people who are illegally staying in Thailand exploiting the tourist visa and visa exemptions issued to certain countries. If a Thai person applied for a tourist visa for the USA or any EU country and they were granted the visa, they would not be granted a second tourist visa on the completion of their original tourist visa. Most countries in the EU make you wait a minimum of 90 days from the expiry of your previous tourist visa before they let you apply for a new one.

Not really....there are many people who have stayed in Thailand for a long time taking advantage of the acceptance by immigration that so long as you go in an out every 30 days it is OK. Now immigration has decided to change the way they operate this system. It means that for some who have built up a life here, things will have to change. To suggest that most of these people are here working is totally without foundation.

A second group that may have difficulties are those long term visitors who hope to use Thailand as a hub for their stay in South East Asia.

This isn,t the first time this sort of thing has happened. Thai immigration has a long history on confusing visas and an inconsistent approach to how they are enforced.

Rather than just tinkering with the current hotch-potch situation, what would be nice is a ground up review if the range of visas offered and the lenght of stay permitted on each one.

Edited July 1, 2014 by wilcopops

[TTom911]

so, my guess is there will be more illegal overstayers, not reporting to anybody or anything

max fee is only 20.000 baht anyway, if you overstay here one month or 20 years

Yeah, that's "the old rules"... and you are so naive to believe that they don't crack down on the overstayer's even harder than on the "border runners"... ? If they mean what they say, we WILL see also see big changes there... Maybe just try it and report back?! If you can't report immediately, no problem, then just wait until you get out of prison...

[MrWorldwide]

so, my guess is there will be more illegal overstayers, not reporting to anybody or anything

max fee is only 20.000 baht anyway, if you overstay here one month or 20 years

And if the BiB ask to see your passport at any time during your overstay holiday ? Thanks, but no thanks. Two places I never want to see the inside of - a jail cell anywhere in SEA and the Immigration Detention Centre - the Police know that and I'm guessing the 'fine' would be correspondingly harsh. As always, happy to hear otherwise.

[FangFerang]

I notice they are...delicately...ignoring the Education Visa avoidance therapy because private schools here run on that fuel now.

[dcpo]

Is it possible to get a work permit for an online business?

Sure, you just have to meet the requirements for both business startup and workpermit application.

Exactly, by which point you're not running your own 'online business' since you must have Thai partners (exception for Americans), an office and full time Thai staff. Edited July 1, 2014 by dcpo

[cup-O-coffee]

@cup-o-coffee, every gardener knows that you have to control pests in your garden, particularly parasites. Failure to do so decreases your yield and may even mean the end of your garden all together. One thing to want as much fruit off that tree as possible for yourself - sooner or later the village will want to know why they arent getting their cut and they wont be happy if they find out you allowed worms to ravage your harvest. I can bang on like this all day - lets get back to looking at options for dealing with the impending pest control measures.

You are absolutely correct. So then it comes down to who has the power and might to make it right. We never discussed how the gardener got or gets to be the gardener. That is what you are implying. He didn't get to be the gardener on looks alone, hehe.

[Tatsujin]

Wow, the panic and worry is setting in . . . time for you guys to get legal and get a proper visa to run your (online) business on whilst you are here . . .

What is the legal and proper visa for running an online business?

non-immigrant B plus work permit.

Is it possible to get a work permit for an online business?

Yup, register a company here, follow the rules for employees, capital, taxes etc. Same as I and many others have done for years.

[stevenl]

Is it possible to get a work permit for an online business?

Sure, you just have to meet the requirements for both business startup and workpermit application.

Exactly, by which point you're not running your own 'online business' since you must have Thai partners (exception for Americans), an office and full time Thai staff.

Yes, of course there are criteria. Don't meet them, you're illegal, same now, same last year.

[Tatsujin]

Is it possible to get a work permit for an online business?

Sure, you just have to meet the requirements for both business startup and workpermit application.

Exactly, by which point you're not running your own 'online business' since you must have Thai partners (exception for Americans), an office and full time Thai staff.

Yup, that's the law currently. Follow it or not, up to you.

[luckyluck]

There are many people over 50 in Thailand with a retirement visa that have very little funds so it annoys me to hear all these experts harping on about how it won't affect them . I am here on a tourist visa , I arrived on a triple entry , went to Laos got a double entry and recently Hanoi with my Thai gf but would only be issued a single entry.

The thing that annoys me is I have a lot better finances than a lot of people on retirement visas but I'm not 50 for another 9 months so it's possible I will have to leave the country in August when my current visa ends.

Why does it bother you that some people followed the rules and won't be impacted? I'm not saying you have to take glee in their misfortune but it's pretty shortsighted to bet your retirement on a loophole in the Thai immigration law. Hell, it's shortsighted to base your retirement on any Thai law. The people who have gone through the process, done things the right way, and are being rewarded, should be somewhat happy that their faith in the rule of law paid off.

And why are you annoyed that you have to wait another 9 months to be eligible for a retirement visa? It's not like that law changed. Oh, or are you just annoyed that Plan A, take advantage of a loophole in Thai immigration law, isn't viable anymore so you have to do it the way you would likely have to do it in most other countries, and wait?

The fact of the matter is there are many people who are under the age of 50, who aren't married to a Thai national, don't have Thai children, don't have a Thai based business and who aren't studying.

Clearly they're not tourists because they're living here, and they're not working because they have sufficient funds. So where does this leave them visa-wise?

Is having to buy the supposed Elite card really a fair and viable option? Is exploiting the education visa loophole the right thing to do? Should they be encouraged to marry or start a business - genuine or not - just to stay in the country!?

Unfortunately the best option available is a tourist visa, so it's not surprising that these new visa restrictions come as bad news to those falling into the above category.

I although I am not under 50, we kind of come under this quote... hubby and I are in our 50's and do not have the funds to get the Non 'O' anymore, so on a tourist visa.. neither or us work, but we are here because we have two grandchildren whom we seen since they were born first one born 2008, we live next door too, for us it is purely to enjoy the children while we can.. we just had a small house bought, which if we can sell will raise the money for the funds for Non 'O', sadly they don't take account that you have money in bricks and being that my son did not make the ceremony legal, we are not really seen as the grandparents!

I hope they do not go for the tourist visa's too as we do get one with 2 or three enteries.