90 Day Crap Again

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

[Warning: Gonna rant a bit, don't want to hear me complaining, don't read it ]

 

Noticed last night that my 90 day renewal was due on the 21st, so not only was I too late, I was beyond the 7 day grace period. Went today and of course they nailed me with a 2,000 Baht fine. I got pissed off and bitched about it. Fuck all good that did of course

 

Told them this crap serves no purpose whatsoever and was told that the embassies won't let them stop doing it and that it helped after the tsunami. Both of those sound like utter bullshit to me. While I don't claim to know what embassies request of the Thai gov, I can't imagine they would care about these address reports (a good percentage of which are likely false anyway). The tsunami reason is also bullshit as the majority of foreigners who died there were almost certainly tourists and thus would not have done the 90 day stuff.

 

Oh, and why is the fine so high? My wife got a ticket for speeding a few months back and that was only 400 Baht. I am a few days late letting them know I am still living at the same address I've lived for the last 10 years and get to pay 5x the fine for speeding. Totally out of whack if you ask me.

 

I love this country, but I absolutely despise the Thai government (regardless of 'color'). It is crap like the above that makes me feel they really do not want us in their country

 

Sanuk!

[WorldFun]

KS,

 

thanks for the rant serves the bastards right & while at it the immigration lines at airport are much worse since those iranian dumb fucks imploded themselves

 

well more to the point I've said it numerous times before & I'll happily say it again - there's a secret code to entirely bypass this 90day bullshit & they even know about too:

 

1) get your (yearly) permit to stay at immi (day 0)

2) wait till within 90 days of permit expiry...(day > 275)

3) travel to your desired destination outside LOS (easily doable on less than 2k fine/budget)

4) travel back to beloved bkk/LOS with a (free) reset 90day counter (day 0)

5) go back to immi (repeat cycle from step 1) ( 275 < day < 365 )

 

easy peasy

 

p.s. feel free to make additional travels above is simply the minimum requirement to avoid fines/90day reporting

p.p.s. yeah sure there's a snowball chance in hell of getting shaked down & asked to show your 90 day reporting while messing with the BIB, but pls come on...

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

How is that easier? Instead of spending 4 times ~1.5-2hrs, I'd have to fly out of the country and spent easily an entire day. Also, the cost of doing the 90 day crap is only 2K IF - like me - you fuck up and forget to renew it; normal renewal is free, just annoying. Doubt I could fly out of the country and back for less than 2K, add travel cost to / from airport and I think it'll end up costing quite a bit more.

 

Sanuk!

[Mekong]

Whilst I agree that the 90 Day reporting is not only a pain in the arse, but also surplus to requirements, I have no sympathy for you.

 

As you said you have been doing it for over 10 years now, it is not as if it is something new for you. You sit in front of a computer most days so setting a reminder to pop up on your screen 2-3 days before your due reporting date only takes a few seconds to set up.

 

You know the rules and as much as you don't agree with them you have to accept them. You get 7 days leeway which is longer than a tourist visa would get before being hit with an overstay fine and have no real cause to complain (apart from having a good whinge)

 

Set a reminder for Monday 28th May now so you don't forget next time.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

I did have a reminder on my desktop (well a little notepad file anyway), but I forgot. It happens you know.

 

The thing that pisses me off is that I need to do this at all, and I think the fine is totally out of whack with the 'crime'.

 

Sanuk!

[Flashermac]

I remember when this all began. My university was completely puzzled by it. I carried an ID card saying I was a temporary civil servant and signed in at work 5 days a week. Why should I have to report every 90 days too? Yet all of us had to comply. At first Immigration allowed us to sign a form allowing someone from the department staff to do it for us, but after a year or two Immigration change its collective mind and decided we had to do it ourselves. It is a waste of time and money for something totally pointless.

 

The story at the time was that while the head of Immigration allegedly was away, a police colonel browsing around discovered and obscure and archaic regulation saying foreingers working in Thailand had to report every 90 days. It was meant to apply to private businesses, not people employed by the Thai government. But the colonel gleefully announced he was enforcing the assinine regulation, thinking his boss would be happy with him. When the boss came back and found out about it, he was shocked - needless work for everyone. But rather than embarrass the colonel, he allowed it to proceed.

 

p.s. It has fark all to do with the embassies, and it started long before the tsunami.

[radioman]

 

It is crap like the above that makes me feel they really do not want us in their country

 

Sanuk!

 

That just about sums it up I think.

[gobbledonk]

I would qualify that - they want Farang in Thailand, they just don't want Farang earning baht and generally having a good time without paying exorbitant prices at a hi-so mall. I suspect that the 'perfect' Farang checks into a 5-star hotel for 2 weeks, spends upwards of 100k baht then heads straight back to the airport.

 

Edit: of course, the last thing they want are Farang who 'know too much' and dare to question the way things are done. You lot need to start drinking the Kool-Aid and grinning inanely at such trivial inconveniences. After all, dont you live in the greatest country on earth ?

[Flashermac]

In the VN War and Cold War years, the military controlled government bent over backwards to get Yanks to stay here. I've met folks who were almost handed permanent residents' visas on the spot, and there was none of the jumping through hoops every time Immigration of the govmt came up with a new idea. Several times I was shown life-time driving licences that GIs with Thai wives had been given when they were here.

 

Those days are long gone, and Thaksin quite openly only wanted millionaires setlling in "his" country. The requirement of making 65,000 a month for a visa/work permit is one of his measures. His wonderful one million baht card is another. Quite simply Thaksin hates everyone who is not rich, unless they are rural Thais who promise to vote for him. The rest should be sent to the gas chambers.

[gobbledonk]

If Takky was the only Thai who felt that any Farang coming into the country (including tourists) should be subject to an assets test, I would be stunned. I suspect that Stick may be overstating the number of Farang vagrants on the streets of BKK and Patts, but it does our cause no good when these people are so visible, 24/7. Why the Thais allow them to live like that for so long is a mystery when they seem so keen to throw overstays into the monkey house.

 

Ran into an English teacher about 18 months ago who told me that he had been in Thailand for 2 years without a valid stamp in his passport. When I asked him if he would face jail, he claimed that he would simply have to pay a large overstay fine. I had to admire his optimism - not sure I could sleep with something like that hanging over me.