New Visa Rules = Increase Of Overstayers

[astor]

I make a quick estimate of the yearly costs that an individual has to support do to the new visa rules.

-Trip to Penang ( average cost of a package trip by air ) between 15 / 20.000 baht x 2 = 30 /

40,000 baht ,plus all the extra not included in the package.

-Cost of extension of tourist visa from 60 to 90 days 1.900 baht x 2 = 3.800 baht

(in the case Penang issue visa only for 60 days and not for 90 days . There is still some

confusion about that)

So an individual has to support an increase of his yearly visa costs of about 35 / 45.000 baht , and all of this only for the pleasure to stay in sacred thai soil.

[Firefan]

Those 6 months covered by the penang visa-flights would have cost 6 x 2000 Baht if were the traditional visa-bus-run to cambodia. So deduct that cost. Still at least Baht 20k more expensive for the 6 months.

Total visa costs pr. year then Baht 12k + 35K(using your lower end as believe one can do cheaper by booking own Airasia flight+arrange oneself) - so close to 50k/year in total.

So a 1 year "over-stayer"(not recommended! and illegal) would be 30k in the plus - and a 5 year "over-stayer" would be 230.000 Baht in the plus...(unless have to pay them in fines/bail/prison food.. ).

Cheers!

[visarunner]

The Consulates around Thailand have been advised to issue only one Visa per year to a person , so you have to change places.

And their is no confirmation if they will allow this practice.

[lopburi3]

A tourist visa allows a maximum stay of 60 days for most; but for some it is only 30 days. Both can be extended to a total of 90 days.

Air Asia end of next week, from Bangkok, shows 4,000 baht r/t including departure tax. One night in good hotel adds 1,000 baht. Total 5,000 baht plus visa and taxi fees.

[The Coder]

The Consulates around Thailand have been advised to issue only one Visa per year to a person

Source?

[h5n1]

there will come a day when overstayers (long term offenders) will be png and given perm. boot (at least until new pp is procured -imo.

The Consulates around Thailand have been advised to issue only one Visa per year to a person , so you have to change places. And their is no confirmation if they will allow this practice.

this is utter rubbish and the type of stuff that is allowed by board nannies to apear far to often.

first off - thailand does not host its own consulates (ie thailand does not have a consulate for thailand in khon kaen).

second, i follow this matter fairly closely and have at thgis juncture heard nothing of the sort and i always front up and procure my own visas. i have lived in or visited ever country in south and east asia except brunei.

to astors point: yes, even before these new "guidelines" were in place, living on double tourist visas made little sense when one could x to cambodia, get a stamp and a liter of johhny walker...and this was years ago.

i totally agree and when i return will spend far more time out of thailand as i simply do not need what is offers. i am quite happy traveling and there are remote parts of cambodia, lao and n.vietnam i have not seen. i have not been to myanmar in over a decade and have a free ticket that might get me to india where i have a ten year visa - so.... to thai authorities: i know you care not a wit about the poor, but in 2007 there will be one mroe free room (which is now 65% empty in low season) in my block and 100s of thousands of baht i wont be spending in the kingdom. i dont take it personally anymore, my love for thailand has entirely vanished given this last spate of xenophobia cum law.

i urge all of you to get out and see asia. its already looking far too modern so see it while each country is somewhat distinctive. you owe nothing to thailand.

Edited November 23, 2006 by h5n1

[h5n1]

one final point: you note budget by air, it doesnt even make sense to do it by train! finally - i would not count on that 30 day extention!! if it looks pretty clear you are extending merely to drag visa out, this skirts the spirit of the law and i think people will start to be denied.

of course, if you are a real tourist - no.

but just like lopburi3 said - some are only given 30days now on their 60 day tourist visa. dark days indeed.....

[astor]

Those 6 months covered by the penang visa-flights would have cost 6 x 2000 Baht if were the traditional visa-bus-run to cambodia. So deduct that cost. Still at least Baht 20k more expensive for the 6 months.

Total visa costs pr. year then Baht 12k + 35K(using your lower end as believe one can do cheaper by booking own Airasia flight+arrange oneself) - so close to 50k/year in total.

You right. But only if someone can get seat with Air Asia or other cip arlines in time. And if he can book a cip hotel in Penang ,in time.

Otherwise you have to get Thai airline and no cip hotel.

At the next december many people have to go to Penang.

So a 1 year "over-stayer"(not recommended! and illegal) would be 30k in the plus - and a 5 year "over-stayer" would be 230.000 Baht in the plus...(unless have to pay them in fines/bail/prison food.. ).

Cheers!

I agree with you and I can realize what you saying. I think that anyone wish to became an overstayer , but when you put a person with his back to the wall ,someone could to opt for the extreme solutions .

Because they cannot to think, that can to upset the life of the people changing the rules from a day to another without to get consequences

[Richard-BKK]

I’m sure that people will see overstaying as an option to stay in Thailand; personally I cannot remember when I was asked to show my passport/visa in 8 years in Thailand.

O, I remember one time I was asked for my passport at Khaosan Road area, of course I had my passport not with me. The gold helmet police officer said, next time bring your passport with you, I said okay, he got on his motorcycle and drove away.

The cost of having maximum overstay is so little compared to the small fortune of staying in Thailand on 1, 2 or 3 months tourist visa’s.

[astral]

The cost of having maximum overstay is so little compared to the small fortune of staying in Thailand on 1, 2 or 3 months tourist visa’s.

The trouble is that if you do get caught you face time in the hole at Suan Plu and deportation.

Also you may find yourself black listed when you try to come back.

[Firefan]

One could imagine an effort to check more passports of foreigners in the country sometime after Jan 1st. That would certainly make sense.

Also; unless the over-stayers sneaked over the border the emmigration should already hold their full names and passport details - so hunting them down could become a priority too?

Cheers!

[importford]

So again the majority will be the victim of the mistakes of some criminals???

1) I don't want thailand to be a police state.

Thailand should be and stay the land of the smiles.

2) most of the police in the country side can't even read or passport or driving license.

3) simply wait because those criminals will get in problems again sooner or later. That is the time to punish them.

Stop criminalizing the farang in general and especially don't make a police state of this country. It is already tough enough that we have military rulers now

[h5n1]

this is sort of off topic but i will say that i have some sympathy for all this crackdown non-sense...

there are some really nasty criminal elements holing up in thailand these days. often operating faux business for money laundering - so we all suffer.

but if you overstay long term on purpose you deserve jail.

no one has their back against the wall - from decent country. ok, if you are african or from some dire nation...