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A Decade Ago: Visa runs and the 'Ranong 12'
Phuket Gazette


Do you remember these headlines? Well, if not, we're sure you'll notice some trends. Photo: Gazette graphics

PHUKET: -- Phuket is changing at exponential speed. The transformation from what this little island looked like ten years ago, to the traffic-congested mayhem we now see on our roads, is dramatic to say the least. But some things never change, or at least they don’t change for long.

‘Visa runners released after four nights of fear’ reads the sub-headline on page one of the February 18-24, 2006 issue of the Phuket Gazette. Thankfully, the extreme measure of jailing and preparing to deport a tourist for somewhere between one and six days of overstay doesn’t seem to be a real possibility anymore, but then again, would you be surprised? Outraged, of course, but surprised?

Quickly coming to be known as the ‘Ranong 12’, a group of 12 foreign tourists were arrested for overstaying their visas. One of them had received advice that many a regular tourist and expat has heard before: do a visa run tomorrow and pay the fine.

The fine back then was just 200 baht a day. It has since been raised to 500 baht a day. Things have also become a bit more strict; blurred rules about overstay blacklists, tourist visa limitations and permit to stay limitations often lead to on-the-ground rulings made by officers who may or may not be swayed by some tea money.

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/A-Decade-Ago-Visa-runs-the-Ranong/63233?desktopversion


-- Phuket Gazette 2016-02-24