Soutpeel Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 A lot of negative replies to the OP! Don't be so fast to blame him for not getting a tourist visa. In Singapore they will have any and all excuses for denying you a visa! Been there and done that! Strange every time I needed a visa I got one Singapore no problem at all, very hassle free and professional 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoad Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 A lot of negative replies to the OP! Don't be so fast to blame him for not getting a tourist visa. In Singapore they will have any and all excuses for denying you a visa! Been there and done that! Strange every time I needed a visa I got one Singapore no problem at all, very hassle free and professional Always been my preffered place to go for a visa. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 A lot of negative replies to the OP! Don't be so fast to blame him for not getting a tourist visa. In Singapore they will have any and all excuses for denying you a visa! Been there and done that! Strange every time I needed a visa I got one Singapore no problem at all, very hassle free and professional Always been my preffered place to go for a visa. Agreed. Just to keep things in perspective 2014-07-04 http://www.thaivisa....pore-need-help/ visa refused 2014-09-04 http://www.thaivisa....a/#entry8338839 visa refused Singapore is not recommended for tourist visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingtongtourist Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I'm not arrogant....and my visa would have been accepted had I been willing to give her a copy of the boat registration papers and wait 4 days for processing. She just wasn't used to people travelling by boat so she could not approve me without further documentation. My point is that she thought she could deny me when in reality, anyone can just buy a visa with 500,000. So the truth is that they can't keep anyone out that has money. Why even bother having visa approval people when visas are simply for sale? No other country I know of sells visas...you have to be approved based on a whole list of factors and is not just your willingness to pay 500,000. Only in Thailand. please do state your profession sir as i am so keen to know how such a bufoone did get rich. Such a man of the world would know that money is numero uno on every countrys proiority Have to be rich before get in. Have to have prestige qualification. Document travel history diaries criminal check..on and on it goes. And then you say only in thai..haha in every country you have to buy your way in plus provide many other stuff to qualify...maybe even talk the language, but no for this highroller cannot waste 20 mins of time! you did bag thailand for being able to buy your way in but in every other country make it hard because people can bludge off the welfare system. I think they did right to goose you around what a buffoon! Ple Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingtongtourist Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 The net result was that anyone with 'too many stamps' or 'too many Tourist Visas' ran the risk of being denied a tourist visa - no shortage of threads on that one - or granted a visa only to be denied entry at a border. This was particularly bad at the southern land crossings from Malaysia where it seems that IOs expected a 500-baht note to be inserted into any passports they deigned to open. They had the power and they weren't going to pass up a golden opportunity. The only problem as I see it is that any crackdown is only meant to be on Visa Exempt arrivals but it's turning out that this is not the case. The reason I'm currently pointing this out is that I have long suspected tourist visas will also be affected by this 'non crackdown' and this now appears to be showing up. Someone somewhere has decided to prevent tourist visas being issued at various Embassies around the world by apparently implementing unknown limits on recent visits. To me it looks like a new crackdown by stealth. They're doing it but didn't let anyone know about it. It's very underhand. I have entered Thailand well over a hundred times in the past 30 years and have never had a problem. I have always been immediately stamped into the country, and not even once in all those times have I ever been asked one question. Three weeks ago I flew into BKK and easily got a 30-day visa-exsemption stamp. And that was with a 9 y.o. American passport filled with over 40 entries into Thailand ... including lots of back-to-back 30-day stamps, several triple-entry tourist visas, many extensions, and four overstay stamps. Upon this latest entry, the immigration officer shuffled through the many pages of my passport (with added pages) looking at the hundred-or-so immigration stamps, gave me a smile and stamped me into the country yet again. But, even so. Given the supposed immigration "crack-down" I don't want to press my luck. I'm currently in USA getting a new passport and will enter Thailand in three weeks with the so-called "Elite" 5-year visa. Having just turned 70 y.o. I'm tired of the hassle of getting visas & extensions, visa runs, overstays, etc., so I figure, why not spend the 500K baht and avoid all that. These days I have more money than time and I'm very happy to pay for comfort and the elimination of hassle. Why be in the LOS if it doesn't make you smile? ;-) I have one of the 500k Elite visas and it does save a lot of hassle but if I was over 50 I'd probably go down the retirement extension route. i have 2 of them just in case the first one didnt get filed correct < tuggety tug tug> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert24 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I'm not arrogant....and my visa would have been accepted had I been willing to give her a copy of the boat registration papers and wait 4 days for processing. She just wasn't used to people travelling by boat so she could not approve me without further documentation. My point is that she thought she could deny me when in reality, anyone can just buy a visa with 500,000. So the truth is that they can't keep anyone out that has money. Why even bother having visa approval people when visas are simply for sale? No other country I know of sells visas...you have to be approved based on a whole list of factors and is not just your willingness to pay 500,000. Only in Thailand. Actually Singapore gives you permanent residence if you have deposited enough money on a Singapore bank account. But I think the amount is quite a bit more than THB 500k. Many countries in the world try to attract rich people to move to their country. I think very legitimate. For you I'd suggest to just get the Elite visa. I guess it's a drop in the ocean for you and whilst I share your sentiment about paying Thai government unnecessary money, it will save you a lot hassle going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suitcase Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 All this talk about going to Singapore for a tourist visa. Last year I came into Thailand on a 30 day visa exempt. For what it costs for a plane ticket to another country I was able to purchased a 90 day extension, in 2 days time, without even leaving the country. Money talks and BS walks. TIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 All this talk about going to Singapore for a tourist visa. Last year I came into Thailand on a 30 day visa exempt. For what it costs for a plane ticket to another country I was able to purchased a 90 day extension, in 2 days time, without even leaving the country. Not sure what you "purchased" and for how much, but there is no such thing as 90 days extension. A 30 days extension, the only one available to everyone that has entered visa exempt, cost Bt. 1,900, that is more than a single entry tourist visa, about 1,000 Baht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themechanic Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 If you think that this lady was hard, try applying for a US visa as a Thai national or citizen of any other third world country. She just wanted to see your papers. Uncle Sam's evil minions don't even look at any papers. If a visa officer (they typically earn $12 an hour and is a sort of "internship" every aspiring FSO must go through for a year) doesn't like your face, or is having a bad day, you don't get the visa. And you pay $150 (maybe more now) for the privilege of the 30 second interview before you're dismissed. Look up Section 214B. If Thailand had a similar law, we'd all be screwed. I am unbelievably surprised! How can you state the truth so simply and directly? It is very rarely one comes across someone like you. Thank you. I have first hand experience, applying with an Indian passport at the Mumbai consulate. The farangs really have no idea how privileged they are, treating the world as their playground while the majority of the world's population in the third world is essentially ghettoized and can not travel out of their shit countries without being scrutinized as closely as a convicted criminal might. If you are a citizen of a third world country, you are presumed guilty by western immigration agencies until you establish your innocence and intentions. But it is nothing new, travel restrictions have been a favorite weapon in the white man's arsenal of oppression even since the colonization of Australia and the imprisonment/ghettoization of the Aboriginal population. The aborigines actually had to apply for permits to travel within their own continent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themechanic Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I think most of you are missing the point. Regardless of the OP's 'slightly off' attitude Are there too many tourists for Thailand to handle so they've started turning people away by refusing to sell the entrance tickets ? Very disappointing post from a senior and otherwise helpful member. The OP's attitude is not just "slightly off", it's disgusting. In his own words the Thai visa officer is a "joke" and an "annoyance" just because he is convinced that she will never make as much money as the cost of his boat in her lifetime. I'd like to remind the OP that in most cultures historically, the trading class was not a respectable one to belong to, nor was money as omnipotent as it is perceived to be today unless you belonged to nobility. You should read a history book or two, it may humble you and teach you more about human behavior and how very little changes. And you, ukrules, I don't think that the Thais like to think of their country as an amusement park or the visas as "entrance tickets". What a disdainful way to refer to a country that everyone else wants to get into and live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukrules Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I think most of you are missing the point. Regardless of the OP's 'slightly off' attitude Are there too many tourists for Thailand to handle so they've started turning people away by refusing to sell the entrance tickets ? Very disappointing post from a senior and otherwise helpful member. The OP's attitude is not just "slightly off", it's disgusting. In his own words the Thai visa officer is a "joke" and an "annoyance" just because he is convinced that she will never make as much money as the cost of his boat in her lifetime. I'd like to remind the OP that in most cultures historically, the trading class was not a respectable one to belong to, nor was money as omnipotent as it is perceived to be today unless you belonged to nobility. You should read a history book or two, it may humble you and teach you more about human behavior and how very little changes. And you, ukrules, I don't think that the Thais like to think of their country as an amusement park or the visas as "entrance tickets". What a disdainful way to refer to a country that everyone else wants to get into and live in. The Thai's are clearly playing games with visas at a number of Embassies across the world. I'm calling them out on this. Yes, with disdain, because it pisses me off and I'd like to make that very clear. I bother to post things like this because I know that 'they' read what we post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themechanic Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I think most of you are missing the point. Regardless of the OP's 'slightly off' attitude Are there too many tourists for Thailand to handle so they've started turning people away by refusing to sell the entrance tickets ? Very disappointing post from a senior and otherwise helpful member. The OP's attitude is not just "slightly off", it's disgusting. In his own words the Thai visa officer is a "joke" and an "annoyance" just because he is convinced that she will never make as much money as the cost of his boat in her lifetime. I'd like to remind the OP that in most cultures historically, the trading class was not a respectable one to belong to, nor was money as omnipotent as it is perceived to be today unless you belonged to nobility. You should read a history book or two, it may humble you and teach you more about human behavior and how very little changes. And you, ukrules, I don't think that the Thais like to think of their country as an amusement park or the visas as "entrance tickets". What a disdainful way to refer to a country that everyone else wants to get into and live in. The Thai's are clearly playing games with visas at a number of Embassies across the world. I'm calling them out on this. Yes, with disdain, because it pisses me off and I'd like to make that very clear. I bother to post things like this because I know that 'they' read what we post. How can you say that this lady was playing games? Her response seems to have been completely justified and reasonable. You're not going to get a visa anywhere if you insult the visa officer. Not very bright OP. And if you really were as big of a shit as you claim to be you wouldn't be waiting in line to talk to a visa officer. Even the Americans and EU nations will send out someone to collect and return your passport for the stamp if you are a real VIP, or if you go the consulate will give you a seat and beverage while they return with the stamp.No questions about funds or intentions. See, you aren't really a VIP. Money isn't everything. It can go a long way but you don't have enough of it to be taken seriously. You have a boat, not a yacht. Humility, you need to learn some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 How can you say that this lady was playing games? Her response seems to have been completely justified and reasonable. Actually she started playing power trip games with the opening line "says I've come to Thailand too many times". She's exactly nobody to judge on that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themechanic Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) How can you say that this lady was playing games? Her response seems to have been completely justified and reasonable. Actually she started playing power trip games with the opening line "says I've come to Thailand too many times". She's exactly nobody to judge on that. It's called abusing visas. It (detection and questioning) happens in every country in the world, except maybe absolute destitute shitholes like Cambodia and Sub Saharan Africa. A typical B1/B2 (Tourist) visa issued by the USA is good for 10 years and and the i-94 (arrival/departcure card) is stamped in for 90 or 180 days. See what happens if you keep visiting America on that visa (valid for 10 years!) back to back, or even too often. They will revoke it. The visa is for tourists, not immigrants. Amazing the double standards that people have. Fix your own countries first. Edited October 22, 2014 by themechanic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveB2 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) As difficult and time wasting as it for my staff to prepare the Non-Imm-B extension paperwork in Thailand every year culminating in me wasting a couple of hours signing a 2 inch stack of papers plus a trip to show my face at the local Dor Mor...I do not miss my visits to the Singapore Thai Embassy at all. A 'rumble in the jungle' at '4-floors-of-<deleted>' is well over rated. Singapore's previous reputation as 'Sin-Galor' is now but a vestige of its former self - unless you have a spare S$500 for a half decent night out and don't mind ST rooms at Hotel-81 where when you open the door it hits the bed. I recollect my last non-imm-B application at the Thai Embassy on Orchard Road Singapore watching a long queue of back-packer types facing off with this super officious Embassy admin officer. The 'dreaded lady in a head scarf' succeeding in ruffling the feathers of every single applicant in the queue. No one got a visa - or got the visa they wanted. Tempers flared. Security was called in... to clear out a dozen or so annoyed applicants waving their paperwork in the air with noses against the window who had their travel plans or lives suddenly messed up by her decision. I successfully looked the other way as the queue rapidly reduced in size Make no mistake, this women does wield some power. I noticed that security were always ready to pounce at her slightest glance or wave of her hand. My application for non-imm-B went through OK. I wore a business suit. Cleanly shaved. All paperwork in order. No problems. But the official was plainly very tense and was having a really bad day. In the end, I guess it’s not all her fault - it must be really hard being at the sharp end of implementing Thai immigration HQ's latest changes. Edited October 22, 2014 by metisdead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) It's called abusing visas. It happens in every country in the world, except maybe absolute destitute shitholes like Cambodia and Sub Saharan Africa. It's called applying for a visa, based on the same kind of information you've been seeking with your repeated inquiries in this forum in the past months. The rest of your posting just goes downhill from the insults above and the preceding rants against various countries and races, so I will not even quote it. Edited October 22, 2014 by paz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themechanic Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 It's called abusing visas. It happens in every country in the world, except maybe absolute destitute shitholes like Cambodia and Sub Saharan Africa. It's called applying for a visa, based same kind of information you've been seeking with your inquiries in this forum in the past months. The rest of your posting just goes downhill after the insults above and the preceding rants against various countries and races, so I will not even quote it. Are you really saying that a visa officer is "exactly nobody" to judge how many times he has been to Thailand without being a resident or citizen? If you abuse the category of visa that you hold, which the OP blatantly admits to doing, they have every right to question if not revoke your visa and deny you further entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 In the end, I guess it’s not all her fault - it must be really hard being at the sharp end of implementing Thai immigration HQ's latest changes. Not Thai Immigration. Embassies and Consulates are under Minister of Foreign Affairs and set their own policies with little consideration to what Immigration Bureau does. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ukrules Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 In the end, I guess it’s not all her fault - it must be really hard being at the sharp end of implementing Thai immigration HQ's latest changes. Not Thai Immigration. Embassies and Consulates are under Minister of Foreign Affairs and set their own policies with little consideration to what Immigration Bureau does. Getting a tourist visa to come on holiday should be like using a vending machine. Insert the passport in one slot, insert the money in another slot and a rubber stamp wielding automaton should stamp the passport with a visa. It should be that simple if they want tourists yet we have these situations with the 'bad egg' embassies in Singapore and Paris. I've noticed an increasing number of French people complaining about Paris lately. A visa doesn't grant access to the country, that's up to immigration at the port of entry. Why do certain embassies behave this way when others don't ? The 'woman with the scarf' sounds like a broken machine to me. Broken machines need fixing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSpade Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I'm not arrogant....and my visa would have been accepted had I been willing to give her a copy of the boat registration papers and wait 4 days for processing. She just wasn't used to people travelling by boat so she could not approve me without further documentation. My point is that she thought she could deny me when in reality, anyone can just buy a visa with 500,000. So the truth is that they can't keep anyone out that has money. Why even bother having visa approval people when visas are simply for sale? No other country I know of sells visas...you have to be approved based on a whole list of factors and is not just your willingness to pay 500,000. Only in Thailand. Actually even some European countries allow you to buy a visa / citizenship if you have the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimn Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 To those Brits who were worried the that the arrogant OP is a Brit then don't worry he is a rich arrogant Canadian with his own sailboat, just search his other posts. Sorry mate you asked for it, I cannot remember in all my time on TV having come across anyone who has sparked such a negative reaction from other TV members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suitcase Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 All this talk about going to Singapore for a tourist visa. Last year I came into Thailand on a 30 day visa exempt. For what it costs for a plane ticket to another country I was able to purchased a 90 day extension, in 2 days time, without even leaving the country. Not sure what you "purchased" and for how much, but there is no such thing as 90 days extension. A 30 days extension, the only one available to everyone that has entered visa exempt, cost Bt. 1,900, that is more than a single entry tourist visa, about 1,000 Baht. I know there is no 90 day extension on the books. But if you have the coins, which I did, I purchased 90 extra days on top of the 30 days visa exempt that I was given at the airport. I did not have to leave the country, did not have to buy a plane ticket, did not have to stay in Singapore overnight, and did not have to go to immigration, all for $200 in two days time! Passport stamp says, "Extention of Stay Permitted Up To_____". (90 days past visa exempt date) Also was given a receipt from immigration in the amount of 1900 baht. They did not even bat an eye at the airport.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWorldwide Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 To those Brits who were worried the that the arrogant OP is a Brit then don't worry he is a rich arrogant Canadian with his own sailboat, just search his other posts. Sorry mate you asked for it, I cannot remember in all my time on TV having come across anyone who has sparked such a negative reaction from other TV members. It's relatively rare in this forum but not so in GT - plenty of snipers and attack dogs lying in wait there. I particularly love the fact that some dont even read the actual text of a given OP before launching into a tirade - this forum exists purely for them to vent their spleen in many cases. I guess its the cyber equivalent of old men shouting at the TV when the rest of the world long since ceased to listen to them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabaisabai1 Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 I'll admit that my passport looks pretty bad....20 pages of Thai tourist stamps and I should have been on a spousal visa for the first 5 years of marriage until we separated. She just questioned why I'm living in Thailand as a tourist. I no longer maintain a residence in Canada so I should have the proper visa....the only problem is other than an elite visa...there isn't one. Under 50, married to a Thai but not living together, tired of studying Thai and no need to work. There are a lot of people in my position and we each contribute millions of baht a year to Thailand, consume minimal public resources and create a lot of Thai employment in construction, services, and so on. As far as pissing other posters off, you often see jealousy and spite in Thailand when the teacher types encounter comfortable, well off expats. It sort of rubs them the wrong way when someone is successful and they are confronted with their own personal shortcomings. I've tried becoming friends with these types with limited budgets and it just ends in frustration. No car, no home, limited money to party.....what do we have in common? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Under 50, married to a Thai but not living together, tired of studying Thai and no need to work. There are a lot of people in my position and we each contribute millions of baht a year to Thailand, consume minimal public resources and create a lot of Thai employment in construction, services, and so on. Since you are still legally married. You should beg or plead with (or bribe) her to sign and date copies of her ID card and house book so you can get a multiple entry non-o in Savannakhet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me313 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 His flippant attitude got him a lot more than the poor people who have been denied tourist visas due to their lack of investment in Thailand and lack of luxury items they can flaunt as extraneous visitation pleasures at the border. I agree with him that money is what it takes to impress Thais now, as always, but the price is rising to pay for this sense of superiority. They want "World Class" farang now, so pay attention you jealous plebs out there. I'm not wealthy, I don't personally share this man's opinion, I miss the lower rents the great buffets that have now been replaced by higher cost restaurants and in a few years Phuket is going to become an electrified artificial paradise. I'm merely reflecting his sentiment, because he's demonstrating what it will take to get past the border guards. Rich only need apply, which is the zeitgeist now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimn Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 As far as pissing other posters off, you often see jealousy and spite in Thailand when the teacher types encounter comfortable, well off expats. It sort of rubs them the wrong way when someone is successful and they are confronted with their own personal shortcomings. I've tried becoming friends with these types with limited budgets and it just ends in frustration. No car, no home, limited money to party.....what do we have in common? Nothing to do with jealousy. Just read your original post again and I think you will realise why you sparked off the reaction on this topic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamariva1957 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I am going to agree with most of the responses to this posting. This person is well worth keeping out of Thailand for, frankly, there are enough of these people that actually think that money can buy anything or anyone who are Thai and we, as Farangs, do not need to add to those numbers. Simply being someone who has been successful is no excuse for rude behavior or actually believing that you are in some way better than anyone else. It really is as simple as that. I too have made enough money to live well and not have to worry about either myself or my kids wanting from anything. Though I have never wanted to buy a boat, which to me is nothing more than a money pit, unless you really enjoy floating out at sea and seeing the cost of each fish you might catch as costing $100 each... cost of the boat, supplies, mooring, equipment, fees, fuel, etc. Okay, I get the romantic notion of sailing. But in those waters? Have you not read the recent UN report on Piracy? Do us all a favor and sail away for other shores. Individuals with lots of money that they seem so eager to point out to the rest of us and their attitudes that just because they have it they can get anything they want or, in your post, talk to anyone the way they want to is beyond myopic! Jive Ho..... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RTH10260 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 /* snip */ Why even bother having visa approval people when visas are simply for sale? No other country I know of sells visas...you have to be approved based on a whole list of factors and is not just your willingness to pay 500,000. Only in Thailand. Why buy a visa when you can directly go for citizenship? Like Malta that gives a person unlimited access to the EU and Schengen nations.The tiny nation of Malta recently came under fire when it announced plans to allow wealthy foreigners to obtain a passport for a 650,000 euro investment with no residency requirement, which would have made it the cheapest European Union (EU) nation in which to purchase citizenship. Same same some Carribean mini states. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27674135 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldthaihand99 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 "Why buy a visa when you can directly go for citizenship?" Many people would prefer a visa to Thailand, even for just 2 months, over being a citizen, even a King, in the EU. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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