steffi Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 It is ridiculous that people are being jailed for these offences. Ultimately the Thais are just pissed that effectively these people didn't cough up the fees required to stay legal however they didn't think they were doing anything wrong and even so this offence compared to most is pretty minor. re: 15 Britons jailed for Visa fraud. These people are the kind of people Thailand's tourist industry lives off. I hope there's a backlash against this kind of treatment with tourists choosing to travel to more "welcoming" locations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 ...If someone were to overstay their visa, knowingly purchase fake passport stamps, etc. in either the UK, US or pretty much any other country, they'd be well fooked too. In jail for some time and them escorted out of the country not to come back. What makes LOS any different? Any why would the Thais like them? They are scofflaws who obviously did not have the money to make a visa run. Either that or not enough respect to abide by the rules in their host country. Either way no good. My wise ol' mammy once taught me "Their house, their rules. Don't come cryin' to me!" It's people like that that give all tourists/expats a bad name. :onfire: JMHO, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lembeh Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 >who obviously did not have the money to make a visa run I am not even sure its that. My personal feeling is that a lot of people (not only backpackers etc) seem to have the feeling that "laws" in another country (especially underdeveloped ones) are not, like, "real laws", and as such can be avoided or ignored with impunity. Imagine the shock threfore when they are applied! Would these people do thngs like this in the US or Europe? Would they as f*ck. I suppose there should be some sympathy for anyone who *really* thought it was OK to use these services, but, well, then thats just Natural Selection at work.... -j- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 i am not very surprised about the crackdown about the fake stamps, that has been going on since many years with less publicity. people got all along into trouble because of that. it is clearly against thai law. if the courts would apply the fine for faking official documents to the letter, those people can find themselves in prison for two years. a lot more serious i would see the new visa and workpermit regulations in terms of minimum income. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palatkik Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 >My wise ol' mammy once taught me "Their house, their rules. Don't come cryin' to me!" I agree with your wise ol' mammy, but locking up the gullible foreigners who have been scammed by the Thai agents selling these services seems harsh to me as some, but obviously not all, are clearly victims of fraud. From another web site on Chiang Khong: "Instead of travelling all the way here, staying over night, waking up and going through the Thai customs office to leave the country, taking the boat to the Lao side (Huay Sai city), getting a Lao entry and departure stamp, coming back across the river to the Thai side and being stamped again, you can extend your visa from anywhere in the country via mail for only Bt3,000," one tour operator explained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torrenova Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 Says Palatkik: >My wise ol' mammy once taught me "Their house, their rules. Don't come cryin' to me!" I agree with your wise ol' mammy, but locking up the gullible foreigners who have been scammed by the Thai agents selling these services seems harsh to me. But aren't these "services" illegal ? Break the law, go to jail, seems simple enough to me. I don't want any law breakers in my country and i suspect the Thais don't want them anyway. If it is a financial thing, then would you really want people staying in your country who did not have the money to pay a couple of thousand baht to personally go for a border trip / visa run ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 ...traffic citations in several countries. That excuse did not play then either. Basically, the police & judge rightly said: "Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Pay the fine." Here is the same thing Mom said, but more to the point: it is *YOUR* responsibility as a visitor to understand and obey the laws of your host country. If you do not, you have no right to complain when you get into trouble. And your Embassy will rightly do *nothing* to help you. How about this cliche: If it is too good to be true, then it usually is. Or another: Darwin was right! LOL! I do not mind intellight enforcement of laws. This visa stamp thing is a area where there is no gray, even in Thailand. Just My Humble Opinion, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robaus Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 I have done all my visa runs by the book, not least because I wouldn?t dream of handing my passport over to a complete stranger for several days, and I also enjoy a change of locale now and then. My visa runs are never simply day trips to the border. I stay in Cambodia for about a week, or India for 6 weeks, because I have a bloody good time in both places. But I can understand where some busy folks who can?t afford the time (or as you say, can?t be bothered affording the time) are coming from. Just a thought. But couldn?t Thai immigration stop shooting themselves in the foot, and make some bloody good revenue while they?re at it. For say 750 baht?? for a ?non visa run? 30 day extension plus a tiny bit of red tape proving I don?t work here (like providing recent currency exchange receipts) and agreeing to a checkable address, I?d probably stay in Pattaya. But 1,900 baht for 15 days on a non immigrant O visa and I?ve still got to leave at the end of it, and they can shove it up their arses! I?d rather go to Cambodia for a week and actually make a profit on the trip in saved expenses and buying a few ciggies, and some French wine. Why don?t they work out a happy mean? Probably wouldn?t stop me from going to Cambodia ? I?ve got a taste for it now - thanks Taksin! But it might discourage a few other people from breaking the law. Some farangs have moved base are already paying US$250 (10,000 baht) for an annual business visa in Cambodia (come and go as you please) where you can own property and run a business in ?your own name?, unlike Thailand, and just pop back to Thailand reluctantly to buy a few things they can?t get hold of in Cambodia. Thanks again, Taksin, says Cambodia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haltest Posted September 21, 2003 Report Share Posted September 21, 2003 These visa services have been advertised in the Bangkok Post for as long as I can remember. Visa agents advertised these services freely and also gave the impression that it was a legal grey area. If it's such a problem they should not blame the poor sods who used the services, they should shut down the people who provided the visa service in the first place and prosecute them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted September 22, 2003 Report Share Posted September 22, 2003 "It is ridiculous that people are being jailed for these offences. Ultimately the Thais are just pissed that effectively these people didn't cough up the fees required to stay legal however they didn't think they were doing anything wrong and even so this offence compared to most is pretty minor." Naw, they are just closing the barn door after the horses are gone. Now that they have been embarassed, they are doing everything they can to look like they are doing their jobs, and to make sure they dont' get caught sleeping again. The Brithsh embasssy cant' do much beasue the people who have been detained were parties to violation of the law (from what I read). RickF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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