Visa runners arrested

[Flashermac]

Malaysia, sorry to say, does not have its head up its arse the way Thailand does. One gets a 90 day tourist visa FREE on arrival. Want to renew it? Fine ... just go to Immigration and do so, no need to bugger off out of the country. Once again its 90 days for free.

 

The Malaysians' logic is quite clear headed: "Tourists spend lots of money in our country, so we should encourage then to stay longer." The Thai reaction is that all foreigners are somehow sinister and need to be treated as undesirable aliens.

 

Consider this: legal residents on one year visas STILL have to report to Immigration every 90 days, as though they were reporting to their parole officer. And even though I have lived here for decades, I occasionally get asked when I am "going home" to my "own country".

[Flashermac]

<< So why should the Thais modify the rules for the broke or the lazy? >>

 

 

You're missing the point of the article.

 

1) Yes, they broke the law.

 

2) The fine for an overstay is 200 baht per day.They should have been asked to pay that.

 

3) Instead, the cops tried to shake them down for FIVE THOUSAND BAHT EACH, not for 200 baht.

[Flashermac]

p.s. Even if you have a permanent resident's visa, you still have to get a re-entry permit to travel abroad -- or you will lose your visa the instant you leave the country. If you opt for Thai citizenship, you MUST adopt a Thai name but still cannot vote in elections for something like 10 more years. There is xenophobia behind the smiles.

[Guest]

Question;

 

If you overstay your visa, you pay the 200b/day fine at exit point and conitnue happily on your way. Regardless of how long you have overstayed, even if it is months, you still only pay the 200b/day or max 20,000b fine, and then are free to leave. An immigration exit point will never lock you up for overstay, as you have declared it. But the MIB will, however, if they catch on overstayer away from a border.

 

My question though is this;

 

Whilst they will not lock you up at a border, they do preserve the right to blackslist you, should you have taken the piss (i dunno, 6 months over) or are a serial overstayer (lets say 10-20 overstays in your passport). So when trying to re-enter, they could tell you to fuck off. Has anyone actualy ever heard of this happening to anyone? Ever heard of a guy making it safely to the border and leaving after paying fine, only to be told he cant re-enter, because of previous overstays? I have heard this is feasable, and apparently the immigration dept are cracking down on multiple overstayers....but have never heard of this happening to anyone!

 

I stupidly overstayed many times in my first two years. One time, as stupid as it is, i overstayed 6 weeks. I did slightly overstay last month, but have vowed never to do so again. Bugget that, im warey of it now. The reason have never been financial, although the reasons are stupid and inexcusable.

 

Further more, what would stop someone who has overstayed big-time simply 'loosing' passport and getting another?

[Guest]

what about those 5 baht pork balls? hey you are rich man maybe you and i can get together for a little boom boom sometime. i will love u long time>>>>for a price

[..]

Not defending Thai immigration policies, you are mostly correct on all accounts and I agree that they suck.

 

However, if you get caught on the streets in an overstay condition, you are taken to the IDC, *not* just asked to pay a fine as you would at a border. That is what the coppers were trying to get paid for: not arresting the people. Ya, the people in question were heading to the border to make good on their problem (so the coppers *could* have let them go...no obligation to do so), but they were still caught on the streets, not at the border.

 

If you break the law (and I have in Thailand since shagging whores is not necessarily legal), then be perpared to suffer the concequences. I just hate whiney bitches -- like those saying how unfair it all is, after they get busted, when they know full well they are in the wrong!

 

Cheers,

SD

[Mentors]

Neo said:

I think when over 1/3rd the passengers are overstayers you've got to do something like this.

 

 

Thats the point! Overstay is overstay.

[cavanami]

> I often wonder why there is not a simple way to get another 30 >days , say go back to airport pay 2000-4000 baht,

 

Good idea!!!

 

I get a Cambodia visa = $20 USD.

Casino bus > Poi Pet = free

Poi Pet bus > BKK = 100 Baht.

 

I would much rather pay 1000 Baht, here in BKK and get a renewed visa.

 

Thailand is losing out on easy $$$ to Cambodia.

[whosyourdaddy]

Well, that settles it for me. Not gonna do another run until the new airport opens, and then I'll pay the 20k max

 

 

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Had an old workmate with that additude also. Someone tipped off the police and they came knocking on his door and found him a year over his visa. He was escorted to the airport, fined 20K put on a plane at his expense and sent off never to return. Too bad for his life and girlfriend in thailand.

[pe7e]

Neo said:

I think when over 1/3rd the passengers are overstayers you've got to do something like this.

 

Why have you got to do anything at all in a situation like this? All the people involved were in the process of declaring their overstay, paying the fine and becoming legal again. It's technically against the law, OK, but it's hardly a threat to national security is it? IMO it was nothing more than an abuse of power exercised by a corrupt police force to extort money from an easy target, instead of tackling the real crime problems that exist in Thailand. The police were the criminals who deserved arrest in this case.