Want to be treated more fairly? Write to your ambassador!!

[jgold]

I constantly read about foreigners complaining about the way we are treated here be it for immigration, business or simply buying a house.

 

If you think you are being treated unfairly write an email to your embassador, only they have the power to put some pressure in the Thai government if you want change.

 

I constantly hear about not being able to fully own a business or buy a house under your name. If your country extend these rights to Thai people and enough people complain they will start to think and hopefully say "hey this is not fair". 

 

Thai people come to your country and we let them buy land, own a business, right to work if they marry and citizenship after 4 yrs. 

 

Do you get the same treatment here?? 

 

 

[agudbuk]

I constantly read about foreigners complaining about the way we are treated here be it for immigration, business or simply buying a house.
 
If you think you are being treated unfairly write an email to your embassador, only they have the power to put some pressure in the Thai government if you want change.
 
I constantly hear about not being able to fully own a business or buy a house under your name. If your country extend these rights to Thai people and enough people complain they will start to think and hopefully say "hey this is not fair". 
 
Thai people come to your country and we let them buy land, own a business, right to work if they marry and citizenship after 4 yrs. 
 
Do you get the same treatment here?? 
 
 

Well the UK government does very little for it's expats.
Expat pensioners even get their state pensions frozen.

Sent from my Grand using Tapatalk

[OJAS]

As far as we Brits are concerned, the problem is more likely to be with the shabby way we expat retirees in particular are treated by our "beloved" government back home - e.g. the permanent freezing of our State pensions and a ridiculous passport renewal system under which we are required to make 2 physical trips from whatever far-flung corner of LOS we live in to an office building with an exceedingly silly name somewhere in deepest darkest downtown Bangkok.

 

Emails of complaint to our ambassador (or to anyone else in the corridors of power back home) invariably hit a brick wall - as, I am sure, do any relating to our treatment at the hands of the powers-that-be here as well.

Edited February 20, 2017 by OJAS

[OJAS]

6 minutes ago, agudbuk said:

Well the UK government does very little for it's expats.
Expat pensioners even get their state pensions frozen.

Sent from my Grand using Tapatalk
 

Great minds think alike!

 

You didn't mention the dreaded "With-It Tower Passport Renewal Experience", though!

[agudbuk]

Great minds think alike![emoji3]
 
You didn't mention the dreaded "With-It Tower Passport Renewal Experience", though!

I have that pleasure next year.

Sent from my Grand using Tapatalk

[BKKBodhisattva]

1 hour ago, jgold said:

Thai people come to your country and we let them buy land, own a business, right to work if they marry and citizenship after 4 yrs.

Comparing apples and pears

How many Thais could get a visa to the UK without a sponsor or even afford the plane ticket?

How many do you think could afford to buy property in the UK?

 

OTOH, a lot of Brits can afford visas, flights and the cost of land here (if they were allowed to own it).

The Thais are right to restrict foreign ownership of land otherwise we'd have farang proles owning chunks of Thailand because it's very affordable when measured against Western currencies.

I find that it's most often people who were priced out of the property booms in their own countries that complain most vociferously about restrictive land ownership laws in Thailand

Thailand does not owe you a second bite at the real estate cherry because you missed the boat at home.

Why should they give farangs an advantage over their own people?

 

[jgold]

51 minutes ago, BKKBodhisattva said:

Comparing apples and pears

 

Why should they give farangs an advantage over their own people?

 

That's the same question I have for my government. I am not from a developed country, not US or EU. We are considered third world and still we offer Thais opportunities that are not offered to us here. 

Just because a few Thais can afford is not an excuse, they have a right and Thais don't offer the same rights to us.

I tell you if every british, US and Australian expat jam their embassy email and phone lines they would put pressure to loosen some policies here. 

[agudbuk]

How many Thai premier division football teams are owned by UK born citizens?

Sent from my Grand using Tapatalk

[kannot]

"they will start to think" therein lies your  fatal flaw

[fruitman]

Just let Trump (and soon the European Trumpies) take care of it. Be patient.

[The Dancer]

2 hours ago, jgold said:

That's the same question I have for my government. I am not from a developed country, not US or EU. We are considered third world and still we offer Thais opportunities that are not offered to us here. 

Just because a few Thais can afford is not an excuse, they have a right and Thais don't offer the same rights to us.

I tell you if every british, US and Australian expat jam their embassy email and phone lines they would put pressure to loosen some policies here. 

I think you answered your own question there. Your home is a 3rd world rat hole while Thailand is a country which draws 30 million visitors a year and has millions more plotting single-mindedly in their respective countries how to move and make this place their home. Ain't no symmetry, buddy.

 

Ain't no symmetry even with first world rat holes like the US and UK. Make your money there and move here. Which I and thousands of others did. On the other hand, in my dozen years living here I haven't met a single Thai saving up to move to the US (study, yes, and then hotfoot it back).

 

Deal with it. It's not fair but it's the way the world is. The pretty girl gets to choose between the Tom Cruise lookalike and the kid who drives a Lamborghini, while plain Jane either stays home and reads a book or goes out with the pimply nerd who's going to spray spittle at her from between buck teeth while talking about equations and stuff.

[chickenslegs]

5 hours ago, jgold said:

If you think you are being treated unfairly write an email to your Ambassador...

There is a sarcastic phrase often used on this forum and most apt on this topic...

 

"Good luck with that!"

Edited February 20, 2017 by chickenslegs

[BKKBodhisattva]

2 hours ago, jgold said:

That's the same question I have for my government. I am not from a developed country, not US or EU. We are considered third world and still we offer Thais opportunities that are not offered to us here. 

Just because a few Thais can afford is not an excuse, they have a right and Thais don't offer the same rights to us.

I tell you if every british, US and Australian expat jam their embassy email and phone lines they would put pressure to loosen some policies here. 

And then you'd wake up

[dotpoom]

Allowing foreigners to buy houses and land willy nilly in my own country was not a good thing for the local population....it just drove the prices so high they can bearly afford to buy one themselves.

    I'm saying that as the owner of a house here myself in Thailand.

[nontabury]

15 hours ago, BKKBodhisattva said:

Comparing apples and pears

How many Thais could get a visa to the UK without a sponsor or even afford the plane ticket?

How many do you think could afford to buy property in the UK?

 

OTOH, a lot of Brits can afford visas, flights and the cost of land here (if they were allowed to own it).

The Thais are right to restrict foreign ownership of land otherwise we'd have farang proles owning chunks of Thailand because it's very affordable when measured against Western currencies.

I find that it's most often people who were priced out of the property booms in their own countries that complain most vociferously about restrictive land ownership laws in Thailand

Thailand does not owe you a second bite at the real estate cherry because you missed the boat at home.

Why should they give farangs an advantage over their own people?

 

 One of the nationalities that buys most houses in London,are the Thais,and I!m not talking 5million bht houses, many are £10 million. As for Thai tourist,I do not know the figures, though I did notice on my last visit to the UK, a large group of Thai tourist in York,and in Oxford 100-200 Thai school children entering one the collages. My Thai wife spoke to a few of them and they confirmed they were in fact part of a school holiday group. 

  What many farangs fail to notice is that approximately 10-15 % of Thais are very,very rich,far more so than the majority of farangs.

[Orac]

Would be interested to know what the UK govt required for a Thai to retire permanently in the UK so we can get a reasonable comparision on immigration rules.

[Kabula]

Don't waste your time writing as nothing will change.

 

You are a visitor, and if you are unhappy, leave.

 

I will never understand why some people leave their own country because they are unhappy and then go to a foreign country, and try to change everything?

[meatboy]

35 minutes ago, nontabury said:

 One of the nationalities that buys most houses in London,are the Thais,and I!m not talking 5million bht houses, many are £10 million. As for Thai tourist,I do not know the figures, though I did notice on my last visit to the UK, a large group of Thai tourist in York,and in Oxford 100-200 Thai school children entering one the collages. My Thai wife spoke to a few of them and they confirmed they were in fact part of a school holiday group. 

  What many farangs fail to notice is that approximately 10-15 % of Thais are very,very rich,far more so than the majority of farangs.

does that include those dressed in orange robes,and own more land in bkk.than any city in the world. which is more expensive than most in london.

[Ace of Pop]

As far as we Brits are concerned, the problem is more likely to be with the shabby way we expat retirees in particular are treated by our "beloved" government back home - e.g. the permanent freezing of our State pensions and a ridiculous passport renewal system under which we are required to make 2 physical trips from whatever far-flung corner of LOS we live in to an office building with an exceedingly silly name somewhere in deepest darkest downtown Bangkok.
 
Emails of complaint to our ambassador (or to anyone else in the corridors of power back home) invariably hit a brick wall - as, I am sure, do any relating to our treatment at the hands of the powers-that-be here as well.

Thank Forgers and Ilegals for the Passport Dump of a Place,I hated my visit anyway,awfull Dony Airport ,big expense.Last P/port I popped into Chaing Mai Consulate,nice Thai Lady did the lot for me,lunch at Red Lion and drove home.,those days are gone.New one came from BKK Embassy via EMS in a few days ,4i Tink.?

[malt25]

This is either a comic or troll post.

Do you really think your embassy will take up your plight with Thai officials ? Why should they ?

We all knew the rules & regs before we settled here, or at least should have done some research to enlighten us in what we were getting into.

[55Jay]

Interesting to be on the outside of the entitlement rat race looking in, eh?

 

I recognize not everyone is in same situation as me, but it has allowed the freedom to, for the most part, adhere to the golden rules:

 

• "Don't spend more than you're willing to walk away from"
• "When it makes sense, rent, don't buy" 
• "Don't get tangled up with Thais in business arrangements"
  • And that includes wife's family members

I prefer a change in tax handling for expats abroad, and have engaged lobbying groups in the past few years.  However, expats abroad are a relatively small, disconnected niche group, and so elected officials don't give a shit.  For the same reason, Thais don't care if the relatively few number of farangs who live here full time, are happy and "feel secure".  There's simply nothing in it for them.   Stir in a dash of protectionism, xenophobia and nationalism with a flag waving military Junta government in charge, and you're as irrelevant as it gets.  And if the naked truth makes you feel bad, tough, that's the way it is. 

[Berkshire]

13 hours ago, The Dancer said:

I think you answered your own question there. Your home is a 3rd world rat hole while Thailand is a country which draws 30 million visitors a year and has millions more plotting single-mindedly in their respective countries how to move and make this place their home. Ain't no symmetry, buddy.

 

Ain't no symmetry even with first world rat holes like the US and UK. Make your money there and move here. Which I and thousands of others did. On the other hand, in my dozen years living here I haven't met a single Thai saving up to move to the US (study, yes, and then hotfoot it back).

 

Deal with it. It's not fair but it's the way the world is. The pretty girl gets to choose between the Tom Cruise lookalike and the kid who drives a Lamborghini, while plain Jane either stays home and reads a book or goes out with the pimply nerd who's going to spray spittle at her from between buck teeth while talking about equations and stuff.

Good one.  The OP is pretty delusional if he thinks Ambassadors exists to change laws of sovereign countries.  Imagine if the Thai Ambassador were to approach US lawmakers to change US laws and allow Thai retirees to reside in America indefinitely....with the rationale that Thailand allows American retirees.  Yeah, right.     

[NoshowJones]

"Do you get the same treatment here"? 

Of course not, unlike a lot of Thaivisa posters, I do not think we get a fair deal from immigration, ie what happens if you reach your eighties and nineties and are not well enough or fit enough to do border hops? So if you are a member of the "if you don't like it go home brigade" your comments are not welcome as Thailand is still a better country in many ways than the UK.

 

[NoshowJones]

17 hours ago, BKKBodhisattva said:

Comparing apples and pears

How many Thais could get a visa to the UK without a sponsor or even afford the plane ticket?

How many do you think could afford to buy property in the UK?

 

OTOH, a lot of Brits can afford visas, flights and the cost of land here (if they were allowed to own it).

The Thais are right to restrict foreign ownership of land otherwise we'd have farang proles owning chunks of Thailand because it's very affordable when measured against Western currencies.

I find that it's most often people who were priced out of the property booms in their own countries that complain most vociferously about restrictive land ownership laws in Thailand

Thailand does not owe you a second bite at the real estate cherry because you missed the boat at home.

Why should they give farangs an advantage over their own people?

 

If the Thai government were fair, they could allow you to own one small average family house on a small plot of land, not buying up large mansions and acres of land.

The Thai government are only interested in our money, nothing else.

[Altalake]

Ambassadors? The Canadian ones are as hopeless as the Brit ones (we have dual citizenship).

 

In the 2004 Tsunami who was conspicuous by their absence at Don Muang. The Canucks.....The ambassador was on hols, and, as it was Boxing Day, the Embassy was not manned. It created a slight fuss in Canada, but - as always - it was swept under the carpet.

 

Good luck Bwana jgold - hope you do not need it, as you are on your own here.

[Enoon]

 

This is a sovereign nation and may make it as easy, or as difficult, for foreigners as they like. 

 

Do people expect to find everything the same as in the safe, soft "open" West that they fled from?  Do they see themselves as new Colonists/Imperialists laying down laws to suit their imported preferences?

 

I do hope that the people complaining about the complexity/cost of procedures to visit/stay and the property ownership restrictions in Thailand are not the same people who voted for/support Britains departure from the EU.

 

Where someone from England may, with ease, travel, stay and if they choose, own a property in a picturesque and pleasant part of mainland Europe and vice-versa...............for the moment anyway.

 

That would be ironic, to say the least.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2017 by Enoon

[Jonmarleesco]

If you've written to your ambassador about such issues, without recourse to the sort of language I needed to employ in order to get a response to a visa issue, and actually received a reply, let us know.

[Jonmarleesco]

2 minutes ago, Enoon said:

 

I do hope that the people complaining about the complexity/cost of procedures to visit/stay and the property ownership restrictions in Thailand are not the same people who voted for/support Britains departure from the EU.

 

Where someone from England may, with ease, travel, stay and if they choose, own a property in a picturesque and pleasant part of mainland Europe ...............for the moment anyway.

 

That would be ironic, to say the least.

 

 

As can those from the EU in the UK. So your point is?

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, malt25 said:

This is either a comic or troll post.

Do you really think your embassy will take up your plight with Thai officials ? Why should they ?

We all knew the rules & regs before we settled here, or at least should have done some research to enlighten us in what we were getting into.

"We all knew the rules & regs before we settled here", perhaps, but did the immigration rules not change drastically over the last ten years?

I personally know one chap who lived here on tourist visas and bought a house for himself and his girlfriend, in her name of course, he did not want to get married, he is now living in a neighbouring country having lost his house. Like thousands of others at that time, he had no idea that he would no longer be allowed to live on tourist visas.

 

I am not saying that people should be allowed to live permanently here on tourist visas, but this chap should not have been forced to lose his house, there should have been other options open to him, and I don't want to hear rubbish like if he cannot afford to have 800.000 Baht in his bank, he should not have been here in the first place.

[Enoon]

7 minutes ago, Jonmarleesco said:

As can those from the EU in the UK. So your point is?

 

If they are those same people they are demanding the "open" world that they want to shut down in Europe.

 

Rank, self-absorbed hypocrisy.

 

Edited February 21, 2017 by Enoon