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arai wa
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I went to Aranyapathet Saturday..asked Thai Immigration what is going to happen next month regarding visas for foreigners:
The answer was as following: We farangs are allowed three consecutive 30-days entries, whereafter we must go to make a "real" visa. (Tourist, Non, etc.)
Now comes the REAL QUESTION (which we didn't ask, sometimes it's not "polite" to ask too many questions of the officials, especially not a the border points)
After having three consecutive 30-days entries, and after having made a visa (i, e Tourist, Non) - will we then be able to make 3 MORE consecutive 30-day entries (and then a visa again) ????
From the answers we got from the (female 3-star) Immigration officer, we think that that the above scenario will be possible... there was no talk about requirement of returning back to our home countries, after a 6 month total stay.
... again, all is still guess work, rules can be changed from day to day in "Official Thailand".
anyone know any more?????
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:39 am on June 28, 2004
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LivinLOS
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The word from Nong Khai immigration (thaiimmigration.com) is that you can have as many 30 day stamps as you like but after 3 times you must prove how you live in Thailand. This means carrying ATM reciepts and or bank books showing transfers into the country.
This is obviously designed to stop any farangs working inside Thailand illegally on the 30 day visa's and I dont have a problem with this at all if it is executed as stated.
At the same time they have stopped issuing Non imm B's (multi entry) unless you can prove your income tak / minimum wage payments !!! This is a PITA s being under 50 and not married to a Thai I cant qualify for a non-O.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 8:00 pm on June 28, 2004
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dirty guru
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Basically just dump enough money in an account that totals more than 6000 interest a month, and your fine. Thats 72,000 a year. (declare as income) An account at 5% earns that. So 1.5 million baht (about $50,000 australian ) will get you safely off their case.) But alot more can add to the problem, especially if you move it quickly I am told.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:06 pm on June 28, 2004
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LivinLOS
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and what does that get you ??? Still cant get a real visa ???
Also show me a Thai savings account paying 5% !!!!
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 8:44 pm on June 28, 2004
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Abrak
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Quote from http://www.thaiimmigartion.com
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Answer from Thai Immigration:
No, “visa-runs” are not directly illegal, but they are a violation of the intentions in Thai Law on Immigration.
The Law doesn’t say anything specific about it, but there is a regulation from 1997, which has never been enforced due to lack of resources, saying following (in plain English) :
“You are only allowed 3 entries in a row on a Tourist Visa. After the third time you must leave the Kingdom and will not be allowed to return for 6 months”.
Since most foreign passports now are electronically readable, and the Royal Thai Police, under which the Royal Thai Immigration belongs, now got a nice, huge server set up in BK, things are going to change. All Immigration checkpoints are today online with HQ in BK, and within short time they will all get the equipment to electronically read passports. It has been tested at BK Airport for about one year, and we are now ready to implement it countrywide.
What will happen is following:
When you approach the Immigration checkpoint the third time in a row, you will be taken a side, your picture taken, you will be interrogated about what you are doing in Thailand, and how you are financing your stay here. And it won’t help you to show THB 20-30.000 in cash, it’s far from enough. You will have to prove that you have been transferring not less than THB 30-40.000,00 a month from abroad to cover the costings of your stay, going back up to 3 months depending on your visa (3 months or 30 days permit-to-stay). If you fail to do that, you will only be granted a 5-10 days permit-to-stay to give you time to pack your things and leave Thailand (again notice how fair we are). Further you will be prohibited from entering the Kingdom again within a period of not less than 6 months.
If you after those 6 months want to re-enter the Kingdom, you must on arrival prove that you got sufficient funds to finance your stay.
Now you might ask, “What's the meaning of this”? Well, Thailand got an extremely liberal Law on Immigration, and we for sure don't mind foreigners staying here. We do consider them a valuable contribution to our society. But we do mind having foreigners working illegal and/or running illegal businesses. They are not welcome at all. And them we want to catch, and believe us we will. Foreigners staying under such conditions in the Kingdom better start counting their days here.
Finally you are asking about deportation. To get deported from Thailand your offence must be very serious. It’s mostly for people doing serious crimes like overstaying long term, shooting their neighbours, a.s.o. In the case about visa-runs we’ll give you 5-10 days after which you’ll have to leave. But if you don’t do that, if you misuse our fairness in that regard, then you’ll be blacklisted and prohibited from ever returning. Other consequences: If you have been asked to leave the Kingdom, and prohibited from re-entering for a period, you’ll probably find it extremely difficult to obtain a visa at a Thai Embassy again, even after the mentioned period is passed.
Source: Thaiimmigration.com
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The rules dont exactly seem draconian to me.
1. Anyone who has a valid 'work permit' can stay here as long as they want.
2. Anyone who is bringing in money (Bt30-40k) from abroad to finance their life can live here as long as they want (even BIGD would struggle to live on that).
Ohhh and anyone who cant be bothered with either of these requirements, can always by an 'elitecard' for Bt1m and get continuous 5 year multiple entry visas.
I certainly wouldnt want any foreigner living in my country who couldnt meet these minimum requirements. With a bit of luck it might even get rid of a few 'farang ki-nok' like this guy....
http://bkkx.com/cgi-bin/forum/topic.cgi?forum=23&topic=453&start=70
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 11:02 pm on June 28, 2004
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LivinLOS
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Agreed IF thats how the implentation goes I have no issues with it either...
The thing is it seems the border offices dont understand the rules the same way as Nong Khai.. Looking at Thaivisa.com shows lots of people (on multiple tourist 30 day stamps) being told simply.. Last one, no more good bye.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 2:49 am on June 29, 2004
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DrLove
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Even there is confusion from the authorities themselves.... a tourist visa (code TR) is the 2 month visa) while the 30 day (where they refer to) is actually a Visa On Arrival (VOA) or transit visa....
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 2:25 pm on June 29, 2004
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BKK Banger
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It was going to come eventually.
There is a growing awareness amongst Immigration officials that some foreigners who qualify for VOA have been taking the piss with multiple visas.
If you are coming for two or three weeks vacation the VOA scheme is designed for your convenience and you are most welcome.
If you decide to stay longer, say 3 to 6 months, then you should present yourself at your nearest Thai embassy and obtain a proper visa for your stay. This will work out cheaper than visa runs anyway and will avoid any problems.
If you decide to live and work in Thailand then be prepared for a struggle.
A work permit is obtainable on certain conditions. It is not issued by Immigration but by the Labour Department.
Many farang seem to choose the route of self-employment and form a small company to obtain the right to one work permit. There are pitfalls within this and it is quite expensive but to live openly then this may be the best route. Alternatively work for a company which has a quota (BOI etc).
Others choose to work illegally. This is not strictly speaking Immigration's problem.
My work permit was withheld for nearly a year during a dispute with a govt. agency as a bargaining chip but I appealed to a very senior official at Immigration when my visa expired. He was so incensced by the injustice that he stamped in a renewal himself.
However they are not idiots and if you are applying for a long term visa they will want to know what you are intending to do in Thailand and how you will support yourself. These are the same questions the UK, Aus, Schengen States etc. ask.
If you cannot show you can do this legally and with sufficient funds then you will be refused.
If you want to retire here the Thais will welcome you with open arms if you are rich enough. They have enough poor people already and don't want someone living here who becomes unable to support themself. This is not racism but an attempt to avoid future problems for all concerned.
There are other methods such as becoming a Permanent Resident (pricey and requires a basic knowledge of Thai) or a Thai National (I do know one who managed it) but for most farang visas are the obvious choice.
Visas and work permits in Thailand for long term residents requires some thought and care. The days of the visa run are numbered!!!!!
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 9:09 pm on June 29, 2004
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LivinLOS
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except for one vital fact you are missing.
There is no legal long stay visa available to anyone that is under 50 and not married to a Thai !!!
You used to be able to get a B on the basis of looking for work.. leaving every 90 days.. They now wont issue multi entry B's unless you can prove your work permit and tax paying history (about 6250 baht per month tax)...
So riddle me how someone like me who simply benefits Thailand by bringing in millions of baht per year and spending it freely into the local economy can stay here and have some rights eg drivers licence, vehicle ownership, bank accounts and net banking, phone line installation, etc.. None of which are technically (though sometimes you can) possible on a tourist visa ???
I am purely a net gain to Thailand and spend 52 weeks a year pretty much as much as tourists spend in thier 2 week times.. Thailand loves tourists but makes it near impossible for me to be legal.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 12:06 am on June 30, 2004
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Manuel bkk
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You are still able to get a non immigrant B multiple entry on the basis that you are conducting business in Thailand. An example is that you are sourcing products in Thailand for export. This is just a simple example but it works. I am not an expert but there are people around who can assist you in this. This is perfectly legal as long as you are not actually working in thailand (gainfully employed?). Sourcing, advising etc is still possible with a non immi B.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 2:13 am on June 30, 2004
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