1 hour ago, chrisinth said:

By marrying a Thai national? Unless you are talking about access to Non-O multi entry visa based on marriage, not many.

 

It does open the doors for extension of stay based on marriage though which I think is what the scam is all about.

 

Not sure........................

you are right because for an extension...as I am fully aware....you have to come up with some solid paper work..and photos supporting the marriage is still legit

2 minutes ago, halloween said:

It sounds like someone was paid to approve it, which is all very well until that guy gets busted. Then the excreta hits the rotary cooling device.

 

I can remember when smarties were paying to have their passports taken on border runs. turns out they were using a faked stamp, and suddenly there was an outbreak of "lost" passports.

Obtaining the extension through an agency for a "fee" has been around as long as I've been in Thailand, and that's 8 years. No one has been busted yet otherwise the practice would stop.

2 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Obtaining the extension through an agency for a "fee" has been around as long as I've been in Thailand, and that's 8 years. No one has been busted yet otherwise the practice would stop.

As Grubster pointed out, it is both common and illegal. IF it goes pear shaped (and it may never) don't be surprised if you get a knock on the door.

7 minutes ago, halloween said:

As Grubster pointed out, it is both common and illegal. IF it goes pear shaped (and it may never) don't be surprised if you get a knock on the door.

I have more than enough in the bank, I don't need to go down that road. Not sure they could hold the passport holder responsible. He only has to say that he asked a well publicised agency to arrange the extension for him.

4 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Just listen to yourself, Grubster. You ever hear the expression 'Driving while black?' Following your reasoning blacks justifiably rouse suspicion when they are working/earning money. There are many African school teachers, merchants, businessmen, import/exporters here. If you don't believe me, just google African expats in Thailand and you can see for yourself. It is a myth that the majority are involved in illegal activities.

 

And to all the posters going on about how all these Africans are ruining immigration for all the law abiding white people here, do you seriously think that marriage visa fraud is only commited by non-whites in Thailand? And, tell me, when a gang of nasty white retirees gets busted for transfering 800K from one account to another in order to circumvent immigration rules, what will you say? Will they be equally excoriated here? Somehow I suspect they'll be treated like folk heroes, used as an example to further illustrate how Thailand hates farangs.

Where did I say they would make money illegally? I said most African blacks come here to make money, how many do you know that came here to retire?  I said most Whites come here to spend money that they have made elsewhere, what percentage of whites do you think come here to make a living? The Thai government is suspicious of those coming here to make money. Therefore I am saying that the fact that most African Blacks are here to earn a living means they will be looked at a little closer.   If that makes me and them racist then so be it.  I really think all people are racist in some way, if you truly think race makes no difference good or bad then you should never use the word race, its description of people should be taken out of the dictionary.

12 minutes ago, giddyup said:

I have more than enough in the bank, I don't need to go down that road. Not sure they could hold the passport holder responsible. He only has to say that he asked a well publicised agency to arrange the extension for him.

I think you are correct, immigration would not penalize you but they may well inform you that you will need to really qualify for you next extension, Or worse yet you will not be able to find anybody to do it for you and will be booted out the day of you renewal of extension with no time to get your things in order.

1 minute ago, Grubster said:

I think you are correct, immigration would not penalize you but they may well inform you that you will need to really qualify for you next extension, Or worse yet you will not be able to find anybody to do it for you and will be booted out the day of you renewal of extension with no time to get your things in order.

Once that particular loophole has been closed I can see a mass exodus of falangs from Thailand.

1 minute ago, giddyup said:

Once that particular loophole has been closed I can see a mass exodus of falangs from Thailand.

Yes I do to, but I wouldn't blame Thailand to much for not wanting people here that don't have that minimal amount of money.

The Daily News was being too nice. I could think of a few more names that would better describe them.

4 minutes ago, Grubster said:

I think you are correct, immigration would not penalize you but they may well inform you that you will need to really qualify for you next extension, Or worse yet you will not be able to find anybody to do it for you and will be booted out the day of you renewal of extension with no time to get your things in order.

The "loophole" is obviously folk making money on the immigration end and the agent....How far up does it go...

The rules are clear, if "agents" can "fix" stuff then it is obviously fraud from the customer, agent and whoever approves it...

 

5 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

"Daily News called them a "nasty black skinned gang" in their headline."

 

Thailand 4.0.

 

 

Remember the outrage when some football players used the term "slit eye" ?

1 minute ago, Grubster said:

Yes I do to, but I wouldn't blame Thailand to much for not wanting people here that don't have that minimal amount of money.

They do give you two options, either the 800K in the bank or sufficient pension/income to satisfy the requirements. There's even a third option for Aussies, a statutory declaration from the embassy that says you meet the financial requirements.

3 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Everything wrong with racism. 

I remember a Sydney Morning Herald article which referred to a London black taxi driver. All the politically correct armpits were screaming complaints about the relevance of the colour of the driver's skin, until it was pointed out that black referred to the taxi, not the driver.

30 minutes ago, Grubster said:

Where did I say they would make money illegally? I said most African blacks come here to make money, how many do you know that came here to retire?  I said most Whites come here to spend money that they have made elsewhere, what percentage of whites do you think come here to make a living? The Thai government is suspicious of those coming here to make money. Therefore I am saying that the fact that most African Blacks are here to earn a living means they will be looked at a little closer.   If that makes me and them racist then so be it.  I really think all people are racist in some way, if you truly think race makes no difference good or bad then you should never use the word race, its description of people should be taken out of the dictionary.

I interpreted your earlier post as an attempt to rationalize and justify why Africans are viewed with suspicion in general, a view often voiced on these forums. If I unfairly characterized what you said, I apologize. With that said, there sure are an awful lot of white people walking around downtown Bangkok in suits and ties and wingtips who don't seem to be suffering from excessive scrutiny from the government.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

"Dark skinned gang"

I like this words...

What nationalities get an exemption? I can state that Australians, UK, NZ and Dutch citizens do not.

Transam and I were talking about Non Immigrant O multiple entry visas issued at a specific nearby consulate on the basis of being married to a Thai. That consulate has recently, apparently, started asking some, but not all nationalities, to show a bank book with a specific amount of money (ThB 200,000). We ( Transam and I) were wondering whether that was not entirely unconnected with the "marriage to gain a long term visa" scam described in the OP.

18 minutes ago, halloween said:

I remember a Sydney Morning Herald article which referred to a London black taxi driver. All the politically correct armpits were screaming complaints about the relevance of the colour of the driver's skin, until it was pointed out that black referred to the taxi, not the driver.

I wasn't one of them.

 

And that wasn't what happened here.

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

Words to the wise, if the authorities will dig deeper, the y will find that those

'dark skinned men ' are up to their necks in all sorts of shady and illegal

activities in this country, and they're numbered by the thousands....

are you listening wise men and women of the government? probably not....

 

 

When I was a backpacker, I would meet all sorts on the Khao San road, Israelis travelling often to certain South American countries and doing 'business' in Japan. Also Iranians being smuggled in to Japan after either being chucked out or no longer eligible for visas.

People of all colours were as dodgy as.... 

The point being is that you might see low level people on the street, but you never known quite who is behind an operation.

 

As we know, white and olive skinned foreigners are also up to their necks in dodgy activities. Much bigger and shadier than a few dark skinned low level criminals.

 

So why the outrage? Not so keen to shop your own kind?

 

 

Good work!!   Deport FOREVER

1 hour ago, halloween said:

That scam was around a few years ago. I have been told it now requires a letter from the bank saying the deposit has been there for 3 months before the visa is issued. And I know of a Dutch guy refused an retirement visa because his money was in a fixed deposit, unavailable for daily use. 

The 'scam' is very much alive throughout the enchanted kingdom and, depending on your immigration jurisdiction, the fee for the service varies between 20,000 baht and 40,000.

love it when the folks on here feign indignation when confronted by thai bigotry.

 

31 minutes ago, halloween said:

I remember a Sydney Morning Herald article which referred to a London black taxi driver. All the politically correct armpits were screaming complaints about the relevance of the colour of the driver's skin, until it was pointed out that black referred to the taxi, not the driver.

Refers to a decent pint as well.

 

Their reputation proceeds them

Must be hard for legitimate Nigerians to do business on the Internet

 

Thailand is also getting its own Reputation... Easily obtained, difficult to shed

11 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Refers to a decent pint as well.

 

Not just racist, but pachyphobic as well I see! 

50 minutes ago, NoBrainer said:

The Daily News was being too nice. I could think of a few more names that would better describe them.

Sure , you must be snow white.....Not! 

Blame the girls marrying in paper for 5000 or not ?

 

Anyway money works here at every corner, even the wedding registration would not happen without insiders taking money.

 

Baht and sold!

6 hours ago, baboon said:

What action was taken against the women, I wonder? It takes two to tango after all...

 

Wash with soap and change the underwear!

32 minutes ago, JamJar said:

 

 

When I was a backpacker, I would meet all sorts on the Khao San road, Israelis travelling often to certain South American countries and doing 'business' in Japan. Also Iranians being smuggled in to Japan after either being chucked out or no longer eligible for visas.

People of all colours were as dodgy as.... 

The point being is that you might see low level people on the street, but you never known quite who is behind an operation.

 

As we know, white and olive skinned foreigners are also up to their necks in dodgy activities. Much bigger and shadier than a few dark skinned low level criminals.

 

So why the outrage? Not so keen to shop your own kind?

 

 

Let's be honest. There are no white skinned people. Unless you are suffering from an extreme form of albinism and even then it's impossible to be white. Just injecting some science into this conversation. 

 

The next 'crackdown' is in the pipeline........thanks boy's.............yak.

6 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I wonder if such a song and dance would be made about the matter if Thai people had been behind it?

Wouldnt have mattered only difference would be the Thai's involved would be overlooked shall we say