Enormous shakeup of visa and immigration rules
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beer monkey
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from Thaivisa djlest wrote : BEWARE!!!!
90 DAY TOURIST VISA FROM PHOM PENN WILL COST YOU DEARLY!!!!
HELLO ALL....
jap.gif
Reporting my Oct 13th 60/90 day Visa trip to Pnohm Penn (PLEASE DON'T DO IT!)
With regards to the the new shake up of VISA laws... read this and be fully aware!
Everytime you leave THAILAND don't count on getting back in,
or getting any VISA from the Embassy either,
at least not in ASIA anymore! for certain!
Its tried, tested and proved now that its entirely based on how they feel and your luck on the day!
So always take extra money, credit cards, and a phone wherever you go!
and be prepared for an expensive waste of time too...
BE fully prepared to not get what you expect!
and possibly a 3 month wait to get back into Thailand!
Sorry to say this but i believe Thailand has BIG plans for us Farang...
So before your VISA RUNS
kiss your GF and dog goodbye, prefereby not at the same time.
And make sure your rent is fully paid 3 months in advance and everything is locked away safe, and that your GF does not have any Keys or access into your beloved Hut.
MY ADVICE IF YOU HAVE BEEN HERE A WHILE ON VISA RUNS!
DO NOT under any circumstances fly to (Cambodia) PNOHM PENN for the new 90 day tourist VISA....or the 60 + 30 Tourist visa, whatever they really issue these days!
its still a blur with what is actually available...
OKAY! the story.....
I myself have been doing the 30 day poipet visa run for the last 15 months...
When we heard about the new Visa laws restricting the ammount of border runs to 3, we thought...
We would play safe and take a trip to PNOHM PEN by air.
And appy for a 60 day tourist visa, then extend it 30 days.
Then we can return back to the 3X30 day trips if the need to do so around DEC time!
giving us 6 months, right?
Thus, giving us a window of opportunity to see if this VISA shake will infact die down and return back to normal, as this is Thailand afterall.
or if not!
At least it might give us more time to work something out and get some more facts....
anyway....
My particular facts below were learnt the hard way!
and since very few are actually posting facts here, which are tried and tested and derived from reality instead of rumours, be very aware!
so, you are expecting to get your 90 day visas in DECEMBER?
after your 3x30day stamps have ran out huh?
well read on...
Arrived at PNOMM PENN EMBASSY Tuesday morning!
(applications must be before 11am) failure to do so and you need to stay another day.
So we stayed another day before applying. Wednesday morning!
Applied for the 60 day tourist VISA and paid 25 dollars fee...
Embassy took my passport with a smile and told me it would take 2 working days to process the 60 day visa.
Ofcourse i had a prebooked flight for friday morning, which was lost as a result and non refundable. ofcourse this is my mistake entirely and i don't blame the embassy whatsoever for the 11am deadline for VISA applications as stupid as it may be.
So, 3 days waiting in Pnomm penn, not too mention another flight for 79 $ for Sat morning...
but my fault i guess! and at least i was going to get a 3 month visa out of all this.
WOW! Without anymore border runs, so i was still saving money anyway, or so i thought!
So, 3 days and 30 girls later
I return to the Thai Embassy, excited to get my new 60 day VISA with a 30 day possible extension.
When i get to the desk the THAI guy laughs at me as he throws my passport back and says
"NO VISA"
i say politely, oh! why? what do you mean? i waited 3 days and i paid $25...
he says to read the attatched note inside my passport....
So i did!
and i quote!
YOUR VISA IS NOT APPROVED
YOU HAVE LONG STAY IN THAILAND
SINCE AUG 2005 UNTIL 9 OCT 2006
WITH EXCEMPT VISA 15 TIMES WHICH IS NOT THE CORRECT WAY
THE PURPOSE OF EXCEMPT VISA IS FOR TOURISM ONLY(NOT FOR LONG STAY IN THAILAND)
Ofcourse we know this already, hence why would i apply for a genuine tourist visa?
isn't that the correct way to stay in Thailand?
what the F?
Isn't this the whole purpose of me going out of the country to apply for the REAL tourist Visa?
Isn't this so that checks can be made to ensure i am not blacklisted and dont have any 9 year old boys in my suitcase?
Incidently the 25 dollars was NON REFUNDABLE and they were happy to not mention beforehand that i didn't stand a chance in hel_l to get the VISA anyway.
SO, they are happy to accept money and to make you wait 3 days, then just to add a further insult to injury!
They will give you your passport back with,
wait for it.....
My passport now has THE OFFICIAL 90 DAY TOURIST VISA paid for!
and a BIG RED X WITH 10 VOID VOID VOID stamps all over the page!
Isssued from the exact same embassy...
And Thai hand writing saying i have stayed in Thailand too long in the incorrect way! PERIOD!
Obviously this looks awful in my passport!
And it scared me sensless when flying back to BKK the following morning hoping to get a 30 day entry back...
I seriously thought any re entry would be forbidden based on my Embassy VISA declination as a tourist. And that i would be stranded in some inbetween place with my entire belongings and credit cards still in Thailand!
Anyway, as luck would have it! and only cos i look the innocent type!
They did let me through because i dont think they noticed the VOID stamp as it was 2 pages ahead of a blank page used for the re entry stamp, and i managed to go unoticed!
PHEW!
But i was seriously expecting a refusal since it looked rather obvious that the THAI EMBASSY was not my friend anymore, and they wanted to prove that with a whole page of my passport and $25 + 3 days cambodia penalty kick to my nads.
TOTAL PRICE 25 000 BAHT for absolutely nothing but hel_l!
And God help me!
On the next Visa run in 24 days.
i may well be refused entry due to the stamp.
unless i remove it ofcourse! THE WHOLE PAGE!
Which could get me into no end of trouble if found out...
so guys, if you see a scrawny twisted white farang on 14 NOV pleading 1 baht, 1 baht,
towards his flight back to the UK from cambodia. chances are its me!
so say Hi, and remind me that Thailand loves me just not my Nationality.
so....................
why did this happen? yes ive been asking that a lot....
Well if we want to try and be logical about it... not really a Thai trait, but we can try!
another theory i have is the following!
If it was indeed a 90 day TOURIST VISA they gave me
(as someone did mention above are now being offered in PENANG right now....)
and NOT a 60 day + 30 day (despite that was what i applied for) on the application form!
IF, IF, IF....
And since the Thai embassy has officially stated that it doesnt matter how many border visa runs you have had in the past. the new law will only start on oct 1st.
then it starts to count... and you have 3x
BUT DONT FOGET THIS!
BECAUSE THIS MAY BE THE REASON I WAS REJECTED!
(and not because i am a fat bloated pink pervert farang covered in tatoos!)
It actually counts by days and not VISA runs....
Make sure you understand that... it actually counts from OCT 1st
NOT the time your last entry finishes after Oct 1st
otherwise why did i get refused?
it is 90 DAYS from OCT 1st....?
bringing us nicely up to
and i applied on 13OCT for a 60 day VISA
but maybe they dont exist anymore and it was actually a 90 day visa given to me
The VISA itself says 90 days valid.... so......???? im not sure, was that including an extension? or just a real 90 day visa? or were they just bastardos?
any ideas? any comments?
Will new years be one hel_l of a day for kicking us all out!
Will there be a new Nationalistic order for Jan1st 2007!
I personally think...
We are not safe!
We are living on borrowed time!
We are merely guests regardless of what we think we own anymore
We cannot even obtain investment VISAS now
ironically since the 1st oct also, so what is this new plan?
& what does it say exactly?
FARANG GET OUT!
listen to the National anthem at 6PM and read its translation!
it says it all!
Ofcourse i am one of the bad farangs whom have stayed here on a 30 day visa for 15 months
And all of you good moral standing farangs, whom have jobs and your school is good enough to issue you a Visa. well you are all as safe as houses and will always be welcome in the land of smiles for ever and ever!
But did i mention that i work for the No 1 university of Bangkok on the weekend for 16 hours a week. and guess what?
they wont even issue us with a letter to get a NON B or any form of document to help us in anyway... despite the shake-up!
and thats the No1 university of Thailand? ahem!
Make the most of these uncertain days is all i can say!
Buy an extra packet of condoms on the way home tonight, and make that final spasm last!
Don't waste your money on Chang beer anymore, start investing in Heineken again.
save yourself the pain in the morning and dont feed the hand that spanks you!
By the way..... met a lot of guys in Cambodia who are selling up business from Thailand to move to Pnohm pen, simply because they are sick of the ups and downs in Thai laws and feel they would be better investing there.
The word is that we can own property in Cambodia, and dont have to marry anyone to stay there.
And god does it need a boost right now to its economy.
So if you want to actually feel valued again in a country that you reside, and not so dispensable.
my advice is to go and take a look. Its not so bad, rather a fun place actually!
and the doors are WIDE OPEN with oportunity!
Goodluck guys....
See you in 3 worlds from now.
Heres a letter submission ,I think is right on![quote]If you can't get a legal visa for extended stay, then you probably shouldn't be here
Re: "Visa rules will separate families, cause a cash exodus", Letters October 23.
Steve P comments that "the press is not willing or able to publish readers' letters on the new immigration laws". Maybe it's because most believe that Thailand is finally doing the right thing when it comes to visa rules.
I have many farang friends in Thailand and very few are even remotely concerned about the latest rules. That is because they're all here legally! There are various means available for a foreigner to reside in Thailand legally. Fact is, if you can't find one, then you shouldn't be here.
And he brings up the same tired argument about how the country would be hurt by the financial exodus. He is seriously overestimating his importance. It's a drop in the bucket and, when you consider that the ones leaving don't belong here in the first place, the minuscule loss is more than offset by getting rid of the undesirables. Besides, money isn't the driving force. If it were, then we should be putting out the red carpet for the Colombian drug lords, Russian mafia, money launderers, Imelda Marcos
Two more letters of the same persuasion 
Exodus of expats will have little impact on Thailand
Re: "Visa rules will separate families, cause a cash exodus", Letters October 23.
Steve P alludes to the fact that he owns property, has millions of baht in the bank and a family in Thailand. Despite his good fortune, because of some new draconian immigration laws he will have to now abandon his family and move to Cambodia. He attempts to play on the reader's humanity by saying that there will be a "massive exodus of expats", and that the new visa rules will be "upsetting tens of thousands of Thai families". This simply is not the case.
I wonder where his empirical data is coming from regarding the number of expats affected and the money that will be lost to Thailand. Any expat who has been a long-term guest in this country knows of or has seen the abuses by other expats throughout the country. Many of these expats that the new visa rules affect are the ones who have little or no money and little interest in contributing positively to Thai society or culture in any way.
While it is true that the new rules will affect thousands of expats in Thailand that are here on semi-permanent, recurring 30-day tourist visas, the rules are put forth by the government in an attempt to properly control immigration into this country. Anyone with a family, enough money and the desire to remain in this country can get a proper visa. It may require a trip to your country of origin but a year-round stay is far from impossible.
David Barkdull
Bangkok
If you want to stay, follow the immigration rules
Re: "Visa rules will separate families, cause a cash exodus", Letters October 23.
Most countries in the world have limits on the length of stay on a tourist visa. There are many different types of visas here in Thailand, one of which is for foreigners who are married to Thais and would like to stay here. If all your papers are in order, and you can prove you can support your family without working in Thailand, you will probably be granted such a visa.
However, most of those expats Steve P refers to, who stay here on tourist visas or even transit visas, either work here illegally or run businesses illegally. They do not pay taxes, they compete with legal businesses that do pay taxes and actually exploit Thailand, not support it. I think the main purpose of this new law is to get those working or doing business here to get their act together, apply for the correct type of visa and start supporting Thai society instead of just using it.
I have been living in Thailand for about 16 years. Once I realised that it's the place I wanted to be I got my act together, applied and got the correct visa. I don't need anyone to explain to my family why I have to leave as I don't have to. If at any point in time I either have to or decide to leave, my family members will be part of the decision-making process and will definitely come with me, not be left behind.
JJ
Bangkok
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laphanphon
yikes, that's about 60% of usa population, and i'll be nice and say 40 % of the rest of non asian/african nations.overweight
saw the smiley face, so i'll leave that one alone.
but have to agree with letter, if can't qualify for visa, then maybe you shouldn't be here...................slow down................let me finish..........and yes, unfortunitely, some worthy of staying are going to fall thru the cracks. which i believe immigration may have noticed, as someone mentioned, a revision of the revision is in the works.
now if they are interested in raising money, VOA, why is it free, ok, i know, motivate people to come here, but if paying, 800 - 1500 USD just to get here, i don't think people would not come just because visa (voa)might cost 1000 baht. it isn't free in most places, especially asia. th illegal worker issue, more neighbor countries than farangs i'm sure, not really sure the local would want to do what the illegals are doing. as in the usa, immigrant workers, long, hard hours, minimum wage, not many americans signing up for strawberry pickers in california.
Guys,
I've just been on the website for the Thai Consul in Hull.
Theres a new section headed visa changes from 1st October 2006.
It says that there is NO CHANGE for the criteria to obtaining Retirement,Non-Immigrant and Marriage visas.
The ONLY CHANGE is for the Visa Exemption (30 day visa on arrival) rule.
As from 1st October you cannot do 12 visa runs per year like before.
You are limited to 3 visa runs every six months.
Also my interpretation of this (which may be wrong) is that you cannot do 3 continuos visa runs,then exit Thailand for 3 months,then come back again.
You have one month,then have to exit Thailand for one month,then come back to Thailand after a month etc.etc.
But I think that those on Retirement,Non-Immigrant and Marriage visas should be unaffected by the changes.
Obviously those who have done the monthly visa runs for years are going to be hugely affected.Thailand doesnt look to be a viable permanent option for them now.I guess people will have to start thinking about the Phillipines,Cambodia,Laos,Vietnam and Malaysia as alternatives.
I've just been on the website for the Thai Consul in Hull.
Theres a new section headed visa changes from 1st October 2006.
It says that there is NO CHANGE for the criteria to obtaining Retirement,Non-Immigrant and Marriage visas.
The ONLY CHANGE is for the Visa Exemption (30 day visa on arrival) rule.
As from 1st October you cannot do 12 visa runs per year like before.
You are limited to 3 visa runs every six months.
Also my interpretation of this (which may be wrong) is that you cannot do 3 continuos visa runs,then exit Thailand for 3 months,then come back again.
You have one month,then have to exit Thailand for one month,then come back to Thailand after a month etc.etc.
But I think that those on Retirement,Non-Immigrant and Marriage visas should be unaffected by the changes.
Obviously those who have done the monthly visa runs for years are going to be hugely affected.Thailand doesnt look to be a viable permanent option for them now.I guess people will have to start thinking about the Phillipines,Cambodia,Laos,Vietnam and Malaysia as alternatives.
Just when I thought our chance had passed,you go and save the best for last.
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oldfield
Give Stan a break - he leads a sad little life, and the only pleasure he has is laughing at other people's misfortunes.wickder wrote:Yes,they have no automatic right to be here,but for Stan to appear to take pleasure from the misfortune of others is a little sad.Such happiness appears on all the forums eminating from the older community,hence my light hearted dig.
Only kidding Stan - I'm sure you lead a busy and wholsesome life.I take it it you don't like older people,you don't like overweight people that sweat! You have a very interesting value systemwickder wrote:I little self righteous i would say.Maybe one day they will focus on all the overweight sweaty pensioners and i for one will crack open the bubbly.Stan wrote: Heres a letter submission ,I think is right on!
Misfortune?What misfortune are you talking about?You must be some kind of sad fu*k,if all you have to do is worry about Stans thoughts or feelings,which you are not qualified or capable of knowing.It seems your best aptitude is ''digs''!wickder wrote:Yes,they have no automatic right to be here,but for Stan to appear to take pleasure from the misfortune of others is a little sad.Such happiness appears on all the forums eminating from the older community,hence my light hearted dig.
I don't appreciate your form of kidding,nor do I see you reason for it.It is obvious ,you have no understanding of me at alloldfield wrote:Give Stan a break - he leads a sad little life, and the only pleasure he has is laughing at other people's misfortunes.wickder wrote:Yes,they have no automatic right to be here,but for Stan to appear to take pleasure from the misfortune of others is a little sad.Such happiness appears on all the forums eminating from the older community,hence my light hearted dig.
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businessman
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- Joined: July 15, 2005, 10:58 am
- Location: Udon
I went to Nong Khai immigration this morning to hear from the horse's mouth,whether or not Nong Khai will "grandfather" married to a Thai extention applications for those who had an extention before 1/10/2006.
"For my next extention,can i still use 400,000 Baht in the bank to apply?"
"Yes you can"
"So money in the bank is fine?"
"Yes,put money in early three months"
"For my next extention,can i still use 400,000 Baht in the bank to apply?"
"Yes you can"
"So money in the bank is fine?"
"Yes,put money in early three months"
One possible problem I see is; when you need to extend, you get someone else, and they say "No, you need 40k income"businessman wrote:I went to Nong Khai immigration this morning to hear from the horse's mouth,whether or not Nong Khai will "grandfather" married to a Thai extention applications for those who had an extention before 1/10/2006.
"For my next extention,can i still use 400,000 Baht in the bank to apply?"
"Yes you can"
"So money in the bank is fine?"
"Yes,put money in early three months"
TIT 
I guess you then open another bank account and transfer 40k each month
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laphanphon
