Warning to the Chiang Mai Expat Community from the US Government re Visas

[Mapguy]

The attached mesage (sent about thirty minutes ago) from the US government is relevant to more than Americans, especially, to the very large Chiang Mai expatriate community who post here or lurk regularly. iI is concerned with extending visas. It does NOT apply directly NOW to all Chiang Mai expats or, indeed, most expats, but it DOES reflect very definite larger concern.

The current government of Thailand intends to do something about the flagrant disregard of Immigration regulations by short and long-term "visitors."

Are other examples necessary than to the specific dodginess referred to in the message to reflect the general disregard of immigration policy and regulations than have been reflected on this Chiang Mai web site over many, many years? Rather superfluous.

So, if you have not done so already, get your act together regarding the dodginess of the specific problem ths message refers to or any other dodge. The government of Thailand is clearly getting fed up --- and this has really been obvious for some time! It makes no difference if you are talking about falsifying marital visa applications, continue to do your version of "visa runs," live here without any visa (or possibly any passport), take short-term loans to "validate" seasoned money in the bank for three months, lie in affidavits to some consular officials about your "pension" income, and so on, and so on.

Confusion in discussion to this announcement is not needed on Chiang Mai's local ThaiVisa spot. There seem to be posters "listening in" from what seems from all over Thailand and posting randomly often with some confusion, often with incomplete, irrelevant or misleading information, to people in Chiang Mai who need information about Chiang Mai. Instead, IMHO, the general announcement should be broadly disseminated to all local threads as well as placed on the appropriate general threads. Let the problem be discussed "locally.' Otherwise, If you don't understand that a strong shot has been fired across your bow and you don't make certain all the crew know of the danger impending, then you are not much of a captain.

Immigration Announcement.rtf

[cdnvic]

This is already being covered extensively elsewhere.