Laws concerning work permit and entry fees?

[beb]

I've used my work permit in several locations to get the Thai entry fee vs tourist fee. Typically I can save 80-90% off tourist fees. For instance, last week I went into the Chiang Dao National park. At the entrance they asked for 200 baht, but with my permit I only paid 20.

But yesterday we traveled to Huai Nam Dang National Park and the woman at the gate insisted the work permit meant nothing and we had to pay 200 baht to enter.

My assumption is that she and her cohorts are simply ripping off stupid farang who don't know better (we ended up going on to Pai for the day) but wanted to see if anybody here knows what the laws are regarding this.

Do all national parks have to honor the work permit? What other places give such discounts?

Thanks!

[Soutpeel]

There are no laws, some places you will get in for Thai price others you will not

[h90]

It is a work permit, not a Thai national price permit.

If you are Thai national and have an ID card you get the lower price.

[ubonjoe]

Not directly visa related. Moved to the travel forum.

[stevenl]

In most national parks with workpermit or Thai DL you'll get the Thai price. But not guaranteed.

The law only distincts foreigners from Thai nationals, so one is not entitled to Thai price with WP or DL.

[Rhys]

Even better... if this applies... do you look Thai?

[NCC1701A]

In most national parks with workpermit or Thai DL you'll get the Thai price. But not guaranteed.

The law only distincts foreigners from Thai nationals, so one is not entitled to Thai price with WP or DL.

i show my thai DL eveytime and everytime they say "no can". all parks everywhere i have been.

one thai man got very angry and slapped down his ID card. "you must have this!"

must have thai national id card. and of course they pocket the money.

[stevenl]

In most national parks with workpermit or Thai DL you'll get the Thai price. But not guaranteed.

The law only distincts foreigners from Thai nationals, so one is not entitled to Thai price with WP or DL.

i show my thai DL eveytime and everytime they say "no can". all parks everywhere i have been.

one thai man got very angry and slapped down his ID card. "you must have this!"

must have thai national id card. and of course they pocket the money.

Must be something about you then, so far I have never been charged the foreigned entree fee at any national park.

But for the OP this link may be of help, http://www.thephuketnews.com/tax-paying-foreigners-not-entitled-to-local-price-at-national-parks-50333.php

Edited January 18, 2015 by stevenl

[Briggsy]

beb

I am afraid you are wrong and the National Parks ranger at Huay Nam Dang is right. There is no concession for foreign "residents" to enter at the price for Thai nationals. You owe her an apology. I too have become irritated at the same treatment. e.g. 400 Baht to enter Pang Sida National Park, which was the foreigner price at the time. I too did not have a (legal) leg to stand on.

The discounted Thai price is simply a kindness extended to you. I have noticed that this kindness is now extended less often as 1. there was a direct memo from Head Office to stop doing it and 2. the price difference was reduced a few years ago.

You cannot demand a kindness. Go and apologise.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Briggsy

[beb]

beb

I am afraid you are wrong and the National Parks ranger at Huay Nam Dang is right. There is no concession for foreign "residents" to enter at the price for Thai nationals. You owe her an apology. I too have become irritated at the same treatment. e.g. 400 Baht to enter Pang Sida National Park, which was the foreigner price at the time. I too did not have a (legal) leg to stand on.

The discounted Thai price is simply a kindness extended to you. I have noticed that this kindness is now extended less often as 1. there was a direct memo from Head Office to stop doing it and 2. the price difference was reduced a few years ago.

You cannot demand a kindness. Go and apologise.

I've used the permit on several occasions and always gotten the Thai price. This was the first time I was refused. The two people with me have done the same and we were all surprised by the refusal. I'm not sure what I would apologize for especially since it's about a 3 hour drive one way.

This isn't a case of me boldly making demands or acting like a jerk. I've had this honored in so many different places (Doi Inthanon gave the same discount to friends that showed their retirement visas) that I thought it was policy. I just came here for clarification and thanks to everybody for the responses.

bb

[beb]

In most national parks with workpermit or Thai DL you'll get the Thai price. But not guaranteed.

The law only distincts foreigners from Thai nationals, so one is not entitled to Thai price with WP or DL.

i show my thai DL eveytime and everytime they say "no can". all parks everywhere i have been.

one thai man got very angry and slapped down his ID card. "you must have this!"

must have thai national id card. and of course they pocket the money.

Must be something about you then, so far I have never been charged the foreigned entree fee at any national park.

But for the OP this link may be of help, http://www.thephuketnews.com/tax-paying-foreigners-not-entitled-to-local-price-at-national-parks-50333.php

Thanks for that link. Apparently I've been lucky enough to only have encountered the nice ones before this weekend.

[Tomtomtom69]

In most national parks with workpermit or Thai DL you'll get the Thai price. But not guaranteed.

The law only distincts foreigners from Thai nationals, so one is not entitled to Thai price with WP or DL.

i show my thai DL eveytime and everytime they say "no can". all parks everywhere i have been.

one thai man got very angry and slapped down his ID card. "you must have this!"

must have thai national id card. and of course they pocket the money.

If I were you I would have been very angry about the racism and stormed off. I would also have pointed out why they don't ask for IDs of all visitors, including Thais to ascertain that they are actually Thai and not other Asians, who often get in for the local price because the ticket sellers can't distinguish them from Thais and since nobody is ever asked for ID except for "non-Thai looking" individuals, Asian tourists often benefit but westerners, Africans and others are discriminated against. The practice of using racial profiling to decide if you're eligible to receive the lower price or not is almost worse than the very practice itself.

[Tomtomtom69]

beb

I am afraid you are wrong and the National Parks ranger at Huay Nam Dang is right. There is no concession for foreign "residents" to enter at the price for Thai nationals. You owe her an apology. I too have become irritated at the same treatment. e.g. 400 Baht to enter Pang Sida National Park, which was the foreigner price at the time. I too did not have a (legal) leg to stand on.

The discounted Thai price is simply a kindness extended to you. I have noticed that this kindness is now extended less often as 1. there was a direct memo from Head Office to stop doing it and 2. the price difference was reduced a few years ago.

You cannot demand a kindness. Go and apologise.

I've used the permit on several occasions and always gotten the Thai price. This was the first time I was refused. The two people with me have done the same and we were all surprised by the refusal. I'm not sure what I would apologize for especially since it's about a 3 hour drive one way.

This isn't a case of me boldly making demands or acting like a jerk. I've had this honored in so many different places (Doi Inthanon gave the same discount to friends that showed their retirement visas) that I thought it was policy. I just came here for clarification and thanks to everybody for the responses.

bb

I think the best practice is just to boycott. As long as the system doesn't change it's not worth getting upset over something which we don't know how to change and which makes us feel like second class citizens and not worth getting our blood pressure and heart rate up for no good reason. We just take our money elsewhere where we are not asked to pay more just because of the size of our noses, color of our skin, hair etc.

I generally don't even visit any place practicing dual pricing unless I am made aware in advance that I can get in at the local price by showing a Thai D/L or something like that, but my view is that I'd rather visit the much more impressive tourist attractions in countries like China and Malaysia and elsewhere, which don't practice dual pricing and then I feel much more at peace. Besides, most Thai national parks aren't very impressive anyway, they are relatively small, full of visitors and then the only attraction is like one lousy waterfall, where you have to queue up to take pictures. Not my idea of fun to be honest.

While Thailand isn't the only country to practice it, it's one of the few countries at it's level of development that hasn't either stopped the practice nor has any plans to do so (as far as I'm aware). I wouldn't be making a big deal about the practice in Myanmar or India where 1) fewer places even charge a foreigner fee and 2) the foreigner price is often much lower than similar places in Thailand and most importantly 3) most people are still quite poor.

[beb]

In most national parks with workpermit or Thai DL you'll get the Thai price. But not guaranteed.

The law only distincts foreigners from Thai nationals, so one is not entitled to Thai price with WP or DL.

i show my thai DL eveytime and everytime they say "no can". all parks everywhere i have been.

one thai man got very angry and slapped down his ID card. "you must have this!"

must have thai national id card. and of course they pocket the money.

If I were you I would have been very angry about the racism and stormed off. I would also have pointed out why they don't ask for IDs of all visitors, including Thais to ascertain that they are actually Thai and not other Asians, who often get in for the local price because the ticket sellers can't distinguish them from Thais and since nobody is ever asked for ID except for "non-Thai looking" individuals, Asian tourists often benefit but westerners, Africans and others are discriminated against. The practice of using racial profiling to decide if you're eligible to receive the lower price or not is almost worse than the very practice itself.

Meh, I don't like the tiered pricing but me getting angry (I was annoyed but not raging) doesn't hurt anybody buy myself. It's a reality that we all know exists and I don't want to give myself heartburn over it. It would be nice if they clarified it rather than leaving it up to the discretion of the person at the gate. If they have that option then they clearly have motivation to get the higher fees.

[beb]

beb

I am afraid you are wrong and the National Parks ranger at Huay Nam Dang is right. There is no concession for foreign "residents" to enter at the price for Thai nationals. You owe her an apology. I too have become irritated at the same treatment. e.g. 400 Baht to enter Pang Sida National Park, which was the foreigner price at the time. I too did not have a (legal) leg to stand on.

The discounted Thai price is simply a kindness extended to you. I have noticed that this kindness is now extended less often as 1. there was a direct memo from Head Office to stop doing it and 2. the price difference was reduced a few years ago.

You cannot demand a kindness. Go and apologise.

I've used the permit on several occasions and always gotten the Thai price. This was the first time I was refused. The two people with me have done the same and we were all surprised by the refusal. I'm not sure what I would apologize for especially since it's about a 3 hour drive one way.

This isn't a case of me boldly making demands or acting like a jerk. I've had this honored in so many different places (Doi Inthanon gave the same discount to friends that showed their retirement visas) that I thought it was policy. I just came here for clarification and thanks to everybody for the responses.

bb

I think the best practice is just to boycott. As long as the system doesn't change it's not worth getting upset over something which we don't know how to change and which makes us feel like second class citizens and not worth getting our blood pressure and heart rate up for no good reason. We just take our money elsewhere where we are not asked to pay more just because of the size of our noses, color of our skin, hair etc.

I generally don't even visit any place practicing dual pricing unless I am made aware in advance that I can get in at the local price by showing a Thai D/L or something like that, but my view is that I'd rather visit the much more impressive tourist attractions in countries like China and Malaysia and elsewhere, which don't practice dual pricing and then I feel much more at peace. Besides, most Thai national parks aren't very impressive anyway, they are relatively small, full of visitors and then the only attraction is like one lousy waterfall, where you have to queue up to take pictures. Not my idea of fun to be honest.

While Thailand isn't the only country to practice it, it's one of the few countries at it's level of development that hasn't either stopped the practice nor has any plans to do so (as far as I'm aware). I wouldn't be making a big deal about the practice in Myanmar or India where 1) fewer places even charge a foreigner fee and 2) the foreigner price is often much lower than similar places in Thailand and most importantly 3) most people are still quite poor.

Well, as I said, this was the first place that didn't give me the local price. I like to get out and see places off the beaten path and many of these parks have mountain villages at the end of the roads. Just the week before I managed to find a nice village that took an hour drive from the park entrance. That's one of the reasons I'm here. I totally get the inclination to boycott but I want to see the country!

Anyway, if you go to this particular park, expect to pay the full fare.

[Tomtomtom69]

beb

I am afraid you are wrong and the National Parks ranger at Huay Nam Dang is right. There is no concession for foreign "residents" to enter at the price for Thai nationals. You owe her an apology. I too have become irritated at the same treatment. e.g. 400 Baht to enter Pang Sida National Park, which was the foreigner price at the time. I too did not have a (legal) leg to stand on.

The discounted Thai price is simply a kindness extended to you. I have noticed that this kindness is now extended less often as 1. there was a direct memo from Head Office to stop doing it and 2. the price difference was reduced a few years ago.

You cannot demand a kindness. Go and apologise.

I've used the permit on several occasions and always gotten the Thai price. This was the first time I was refused. The two people with me have done the same and we were all surprised by the refusal. I'm not sure what I would apologize for especially since it's about a 3 hour drive one way.

This isn't a case of me boldly making demands or acting like a jerk. I've had this honored in so many different places (Doi Inthanon gave the same discount to friends that showed their retirement visas) that I thought it was policy. I just came here for clarification and thanks to everybody for the responses.

bb

I think the best practice is just to boycott. As long as the system doesn't change it's not worth getting upset over something which we don't know how to change and which makes us feel like second class citizens and not worth getting our blood pressure and heart rate up for no good reason. We just take our money elsewhere where we are not asked to pay more just because of the size of our noses, color of our skin, hair etc.

I generally don't even visit any place practicing dual pricing unless I am made aware in advance that I can get in at the local price by showing a Thai D/L or something like that, but my view is that I'd rather visit the much more impressive tourist attractions in countries like China and Malaysia and elsewhere, which don't practice dual pricing and then I feel much more at peace. Besides, most Thai national parks aren't very impressive anyway, they are relatively small, full of visitors and then the only attraction is like one lousy waterfall, where you have to queue up to take pictures. Not my idea of fun to be honest.

While Thailand isn't the only country to practice it, it's one of the few countries at it's level of development that hasn't either stopped the practice nor has any plans to do so (as far as I'm aware). I wouldn't be making a big deal about the practice in Myanmar or India where 1) fewer places even charge a foreigner fee and 2) the foreigner price is often much lower than similar places in Thailand and most importantly 3) most people are still quite poor.

Well, as I said, this was the first place that didn't give me the local price. I like to get out and see places off the beaten path and many of these parks have mountain villages at the end of the roads. Just the week before I managed to find a nice village that took an hour drive from the park entrance. That's one of the reasons I'm here. I totally get the inclination to boycott but I want to see the country!

Anyway, if you go to this particular park, expect to pay the full fare.

Thanks for the heads up but apart from my suggestion above I'd suggest taking a look at the Thai National Parks website which lists the names of national parks that cost nothing to enter. There aren't many but if anything I'd be checking out those ones.

[rupak yonzon]

I want to come thailand from india.. So what visa should i need.. Can anyone there to help me

[mogandave]

Citibank Visa works

[Langsuan Man]

When they start that crap with me I just turn around and walk away

I can vote in Thailand, I do it with my feet

[mogandave]

Short nose syndrome....

[beb]

I want to come thailand from india.. So what visa should i need.. Can anyone there to help me

you should post this question on the visa forum. This thread is about discounts for a particular visa. Good luck.

[orchidlady]

I show my Thai government university ID and get free admission to Grand Palace and most parks I've been to. The only place they said no was at Sukothai. When I was hired the director told us we get to pay the Thai price as government workers so I politely stood my ground and after the five workers called over to discuss the situation talked they gave me the Thai price and actually threw my ID card back to me. I figured then the only reason they were mad was because they had figured they could split the foreigner fee among themselves and they weren't getting it this time. Usually I get waiid when showing the card as a sign of respect--don't care if I get that but the other behavior was downright rude so I had a Thai university official call up the park office and complain about the staff's rude behavior when I returned.