Foreigners Feeling No Long Welcome In Thailand

[jamie46]

So Sad now about Thailand.

extensions and visa fees gone up by 400%. no long 3 million investment enough. no lon 400,000 in a thai bank for them to keep when we die enough.

Then the 30 day visa kickout.

Next more bad news, more unwelcome messages.

I'm not really welcome here.

[backflip]

Well, you certainly are the Gloomy Gus today. Perhaps you should go where you feel welcome.

[sabaijai]

If you feel that you're unwelcome here ... you probably are.

[zeusbheld]

Well, you certainly are the Gloomy Gus today. Perhaps you should go where you feel welcome.

i heard a rumor singapore's accepting guests right about now... thaksin's wife for example...

Edited September 20, 2006 by zeusbheld

[the swagman]

Many places would possibly welcome you. Bye.

[Thaising]

Don't feel lookdown, the sky are still very unclear for the time being.

[steveromagnino]

So Sad now about Thailand.

extensions and visa fees gone up by 400%. no long 3 million investment enough. no lon 400,000 in a thai bank for them to keep when we die enough.

Then the 30 day visa kickout.

Next more bad news, more unwelcome messages.

I'm not really welcome here.

No, you probably are not. Have some more cheese to go with your whine. (joke na)

[Sing_Sling]

So, the OP voices his concers and cites examples of how he feels that Thailand is making it more difficult for non-Thai residents to live in the country and all he gets is crap . . . nice people we have here on TV.

Would you not care to address the issues he raises or are you completely comfortable with the situation? I guess answering that would cause you to think too much.

[ilyushin]

Sorry about your position.

I feel more welcomed in Thailand each day.

Good luck!

[Donz]

So Sad now about Thailand.

extensions and visa fees gone up by 400%. no long 3 million investment enough. no lon 400,000 in a thai bank for them to keep when we die enough.

Then the 30 day visa kickout.

Next more bad news, more unwelcome messages.

I'm not really welcome here.

bye bye

[Pepe']

So, the OP voices his concers and cites examples of how he feels that Thailand is making it more difficult for non-Thai residents to live in the country and all he gets is crap . . . nice people we have here on TV.

Would you not care to address the issues he raises or are you completely comfortable with the situation? I guess answering that would cause you to think too much.

I was kind of feeling the same way. Cold, careless and crude mood I have seen on the board these days. Too badd.

I expressed some concerns about retiring in Thailand the other day and some A.H. had me diagnosed as being depressed. I'm far from that.

OP does have valid concerns. Hopefully the future will be better.

[Sing_Sling]

So Sad now about Thailand.

extensions and visa fees gone up by 400%. no long 3 million investment enough. no lon 400,000 in a thai bank for them to keep when we die enough.

Then the 30 day visa kickout.

Next more bad news, more unwelcome messages.

I'm not really welcome here.

bye bye

Ah yes, Donz from far away commenting on tax and residency regulations - well done, mate.

[Donz]

No I wasnt commenting on anything, I thought it would be rude of me not to say bye before he leaves.

[Tornado]

I think the OP is right in many ways. It is getting a lot harder.

I also think it is geographical. If you travel throughout Thailand, you feel a lot better in some areas than others.

Many times on this forum, you get people telling you how wonderfull it all is, but many hardly venture beyond the bar scene or from there farang friends or they live in Bangkok, which is just another big city.. Business in Thailand (Phuket for that matter) is corrupt and it is very hard to be successful, you are constantly scammed, stolen from and you cannot do much about it. It comes with education, when your trying to do business with an un educated person, how can they possibly know what, why and how to achieve - thats where the problems lie.

In Bangkok, you have many well educated Thais, competing in world business and are a pleasure to deal with, compared to the rural areas, where they think 1 million baht is the be all and end all and will scam/steal and cheat to get it.

Like the rest of the world now, we are ALL driven by money and the Thais are just like the rest of us - greedy.

Dont get downhearted OP, life is shit, then you die.

[jdinasia]

So, the OP voices his concers and cites examples of how he feels that Thailand is making it more difficult for non-Thai residents to live in the country and all he gets is crap . . . nice people we have here on TV.

Would you not care to address the issues he raises or are you completely comfortable with the situation? I guess answering that would cause you to think too much.

Because it IS all crap .....

The OP is whining ... You can still stay here long term <get a visa!>

The 3m investment visa is NOT over <yet> so take advantage and you have unimited visas.

the Non-O visa for support is still at 400k

and the retirement visa is still cheap ... a one time deposit of 800k and then top it up annually .....

oi!

[Barefoot]

I think that a lot of people aren't being realistic when they talk about "all they have given to Thailand." Sure, there are people here who actually pay taxes, and they are to be commended, but many others do not, including me. I spend about 70-80 days/year here, and sure I spend money, but little of that ever makes it way into government coffers, yet I use the country's infrastructure every day. The government is making it clear that if you spend a lot of time here, you need to start paying for that infrastructure. Sure, at a selfish level, I don't appreciate the new attitude, but it is perfectly logical. We have so-called tourists who come here and stay for ten years, and their contribution really isn't that significant. Just my two cents.

[camerata]

It's funny how people these days demand instant gratification - everything must be given to them exactly the way they want it, immediately. They compare the visa situation now with how it was just last year or the year before and feel they're being deprived of their rights when things change.

When I first came to Thailand there was a 1-month tourist visa and 15-day transit visa. You could only get 10-day extensions on the tourist visa up to a maximum of 90 days. In the mid-80s, there was a tax clearance certificate required by anyone who spent more than 90 days in Thailand in one year. You had to get a Thai guarantor to help you apply for the certificate and couldn't leave the country without it. If you claimed to be a long-term tourist and didn't have a good record of foreign currency conversion, they would simply assess you on what they thought a foreigner needed for a comfortable life, and assumed that you worked illegally. You had to pay this "assessed income tax" to get the certificate.

The tax clearance system was abolished by Anan Panyarachun in the early 90s. Increased revenue from tourism brought welcome changes to visa regs which have apparently been abused by some who are not bona fide tourists. If the new regulations have a significant effect on the economy, you can be sure they'll ease up again either officially or unofficially. You just have to be patient.

[the swagman]

Cheers to both Barefoot and Camerata.

I have been thinking along the same lines.

Alot of people on TV expect he world because they have chosen to live in Thailand.

I too have been here since the early 80's and there was all kinds of visa regulations, tax clearances, fees to be paid, bribes to be done. But that was a long time ago. Thailand has grown, so must the rules and regulations that are need for a growing community.

Thailand and particularly Bangkok is now a much more cosmopolitan city. The amount of foreigners working legitimately has increased 50 - 100 times. I remember I had to pay an extra 10 baht for the air and radio in a taxi. An the taxi was as old as the driver. The tallest building was 7 storeys high.

Now there is a subway, an overhead rail system, two international airports, a tollway, road system that can take you anywhere far quicker than before. Cultural events that were only read about in the past. Cuisine from all over the world. One of the tallest buildings in Asia and 60 million people to feed and take care of.

Someone has to pay and we do pay in taxes.

I think also, many of the long time 'tourists' in this country, overevaluate the real imput they give to the Thai economy.

A TV set here, a fridge there, maybe a house, a car, furniture, 6 bottles of beer a day, cigs Ok it all adds up. But you really don't pay into the economy a significantly larger amount than most of the population of Bangkok.

[atlastaname]

I have to agree with sing_sling.. the OP did make some valid points and in any case , he deserves to be treated with respect. There are an amazing number of miseries on TV who make the most stupid posts, usually consisting of one word answers which, by their very nature , do not address a long post by the originator.

Comments like sling your hook and goodbye and stop whineing don't address the OP's original questions or points and don't contribute to the discussion in any way.

Whether you agree with him or not , he did make some points and was asking for comment. If you can't be bothered to give a reasoned reply , why bother giving one?

From my point of view i think he has made a couple of mistakes but also a couple of good points and i hope the resultant downturn in tourism and people choosing to live in Thailand will, one day, force the authorities to stop introducing new laws which make it more difficult for people to stay here.

I expect the miseries will now shoot me down , with a one word post of course, but its a chance i'll take.

To the OP, sorry you were treated by some here so rudely , but that is part of the TV experience.

[Ulysses G.]

I love Thailand, but don't feel like it "owes" me anything. It is a privilege to live here and I am lucky as heck to have discovered it.

My peeve is with many of my fellow foreigners who come here and try to change the Kingdom into a carbon copy of the same sh*tty countries that they are all running away from!

[Pakboong]

When we no longer have unknowns in our lives other than health and weather, we are clinically senile.

[john1000]

Yet to stay in LOS but negative posts are pointless.

If someone is not happy and decides to post, then he/she is looking for reassurance or a different opinion. The first few replies were really just pointless.

[atlastaname]

I love Thailand, but don't feel like it "owes" me anything. It is a privilege to live here and I am lucky as heck to have discovered it.

My peeve is with many of my fellow foreigners who come here and try to change the Kingdom into a carbon copy of the same sh*tty countries that they are all running away from!

I agree if you live in Thailand it owes you nothing , but by the same logic you also owe it nothing. Its a two way thing , what you get is a different and better way of life and what you give in return is your money , money in the sense of you spend your living expenses here instead of at home .

But i don't understand your second point..why would anyone want to change Thailand into a copy of their own country. Surely people come here to get away from all the PC bullshit you get in the USA and the West, the last thing they want is for Thailand to start becoming another conrtolled country where everywhere you go is on CCTV.

Unfortunately Thailand has changed for the worse over the last 6 years or so, and is starting to move away from the free for all it was in the nineties and towards a controlled county that it is now fast becoming e.g. the nightlife scene over the last 6 years is very different.

[buddhafly]

I love Thailand, but don't feel like it "owes" me anything. It is a privilege to live here and I am lucky as heck to have discovered it.

My peeve is with many of my fellow foreigners who come here and try to change the Kingdom into a carbon copy of the same sh*tty countries that they are all running away from!

this is really an important point. its very true.

[jdinasia]

lol ... ###### ... the nightlife scene has changed ....

what a sad comment

[atlastaname]

lol ... ###### ... the nightlife scene has changed ....

what a sad comment

I would have put money on one of the key miseries on TV , jdinasia, being the one to reply. Typical lack of depth post from him with alm ost no meaning . Anyone understand the point of his last post?? Why is it a sad comment...VAST numbers of people come here for the nightlife and its a lot lot tamer than it was just 6 years ago. An accurate comment .....why sad ??

[Ulysses G.]

I love Thailand, but don't feel like it "owes" me anything. It is a privilege to live here and I am lucky as heck to have discovered it.

My peeve is with many of my fellow foreigners who come here and try to change the Kingdom into a carbon copy of the same sh*tty countries that they are all running away from!

I agree if you live in Thailand it owes you nothing , but by the same logic you also owe it nothing. Its a two way thing , what you get is a different and better way of life and what you give in return is your money , money in the sense of you spend your living expenses here instead of at home .

But i don't understand your second point..why would anyone want to change Thailand into a copy of their own country. Surely people come here to get away from all the PC bullshit you get in the USA and the West, the last thing they want is for Thailand to start becoming another conrtolled country where everywhere you go is on CCTV.

Please read my post more carefully. We agree.

You are preaching to the choir.

[simon43]

The OP makes some good points. I consider Thailand to be my home. I have a Thai wife and family, and have taken many steps to try to integrate into Thai society and culture. My Thai friends say that I am a Thai person! That gives me a very good feeling

But regardless of how much I try to integrate, and how much money that I invest into Thailand, I am still treated as a second-class citizen by Thai rules and regulations.

Eg - I bring over 20 million baht into the country, but cannot get a credit-card. My Thai friend gives the local bank a bribe and his 17 year old son is given a Visa card.

I try to borrow money for my little hotel project, using a land Chanote from my Thai company as security. No way, says the bank. But if you transfer this chanote into your Thai wife's name, then we will give HER the loan immediately.

I want my name on the hotel company so that I can get a WP and pay taxes - and then use this to support my PR application in the future. No can do they tell me, because it's almost impossible to form a ltd company now that engages in real-estate. Better off just putting it all in your wife's name....

I stay in Thailand for 4 years now with my business visa. But because I travel back to the UK to visit my family every 3 months for 1 week, my 4 years of stay and investment in Thailand counts for nothing in my quest for PR and I have to start the 'clock' from 'scratch'.

And so it goes on and on.....

I trust my wife 100%, so don't have a problem putting businesses in her name. But this only benefits her!! (ie - I don't appear on these businesses, so cannot get any kudos or have any 'leverage' etc from setting them up, investing etc etc).

I want to integrate 100% and be as 'Thai' as my Thai neighbours. But this is proving very difficult to achieve

Simon

[crockett]

Eg - I bring over 20 million baht into the country, but cannot get a credit-card. My Thai friend gives the local bank a bribe and his 17 year old son is given a Visa card.

Simon

This is strange simon43.

I invested nothing, just work here but could easily get a credit card.

[simon43]

Crockett - i think the problem is that the banks here don't understand what 'the big boss who owns the company and invests money, but doesn't need to actually work here' means - as opposed to 'the lowly employee who has a WP'