Visa Runs in Trouble??

[Pom_Pom]

Non-Immigrant Visa

LA Thai Consulate Website

"*** Non-immigrant visas will not be issued for such purposes as tourism, seeking employment opportunities, looking for a school for teaching or studying purposes, etc.

*** The Consulate will consider the application on a case-by-case basis and may ask for additional documents."

 

OK, what the hell is the Non-Immigrant Visa good for? can't work, can't be a tourist, can't seek any employment, can't look for a school to teach or study in...looks like you can only chase pussy???

 

Non-Imigrant visas are good for lots of things. Just because LA is being stroppy about giving them out doesn't mean other consulates are. Shop around - each consulate interprets the rules the way they see fit.

 

[cavanami]

The Thai consulates list the states in the USA that they service, so I doubt that if you live in LA you can get the Thai consulate in Chicago to issue you a visa.

 

I know that the Chicago office is worse than the ffice that serves the Denver area.

 

Why??? TIT, is guess

[Mekong]

And here was me thinking Non Imm visas were:-

 

diplomatic visa (D) is for those employed by an embassy,

 

a business visa (

 

or a mass media visa (M) are for accredited business or press representatives,

 

a dependent visa (O),

 

an expert visa (EX) are for those performing skilled or expert work,

 

an investor visa (IM) is for foreigners who set-up their companies under the Board Of Investment BOI

 

and a study/education visa (ED) is for teachers.

 

Official ( F). Performance of official duties (involving the Thai government).

 

Capital Investment ( IM )Investment (with concurrence of the ministries and departments concerned).

 

BOI ( IB ) Investment subject to the provision of the laws on investment promotion.

 

(ED). Educational study or observation.

 

( R ). Missionary work.

 

( RS). Scientific research or training, or study in an educational institution in the Kingdom.

 

( EX). Performance of skilled or expert work.

 

( S). Participation in an officially recognized sports event.

 

 

Hmm.... I'll tell you what I will do you myself a favour and just keep my Opinions to myself, after all I have only been using non imms since 91.

[Khun_Kong]

1. Passport holder of the country that has made an agreement with the Thai government, according to the Interior Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the Visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), Article 13 (1), shall be permitted to have the right to stay in Thailand according to the period which is mutually agreed between the government of Thailand and the government of the passport holder.

 

Anybody have a list of those mutual agreements and what countries they apply to?

[Encore]

On Saturday night Sabah Cafe & Cinema had a semi-formal visit from Immigration Police Major Suppachai Paladech, Inspector of the Immigration Detention Centre and Secretary to the Commissioner of Immigration; technically the second in command at Immigration. The intended purpose of the visit was to clear up some rumors and ally fears that many long term 'tourist' are having regarding the implementation of updated immigration regulations on the 1st October 2006.

 

To avoid confusion and in the interest of clarity, questions and answers were discussed by a few before the process was repeated with an adjudicator and Police Major Suppachai Paladech addressing an audience.

 

Questions and Answers:

Question: It is obvious that the present border runners will change into visa runners to other countries. What are the Department of Immigrations thoughts on this?

Police Major Suppachai: From October 1st you can travel to the border and re-enter 3 times using the system of waiver of a visa. After that, if you get a single entry tourist visa from abroad you can stay here for 60 days, after that you can get a visa extension for 30 days, so it is already 6 months. Each time you leave the country you can come back with the visa extension again, so the tourist visa intervenes.

 

Question: So if we buy a tourist visa and extend it for 1 month can we leave buy another tourist visa and back, can we continue to do that? Police Major Suppachai: Yes, you can do that. We don't want some people staying on visa extensions for ever. Some people stay for 10 years. The main thing at the moment is that now people that come to Thailand for 10 years are not getting screened. With the tourist visa the police now have a chance to check the people that are not on the blacklist. That is the main thing of this new law.

 

Question: When does the new rule effecting 90-day maximum wavered visas come into affect?

Police Major Suppachai: It means that the person who has been staying on visa extensions for years, you can depart. If your visa ends on the 30 September, you leave the country and come back on the 30th September, you still can use that 3 times. There was misinformation on the Internet, it doesn't count by stamps, it counts by days. This is very important, it counts by days not stamps. Yeah counts by days.

 

Question: This is going to effect the airlines. How is Immigration going to handle this? How does an airline know when a passenger comes to their stamp quota? The airline is responsible for their passenger?

Police Major Suppachai: Your question is a very good question. OK we know that from the first of October it counts from 90 days and the problems will come back. Many people will be stopped at the border, right. So within 90 days we will try to do something. Because we are thinking about the electronic visas. We will use that kind of visa where the airline will have to submit the name of the person to our office before to issue the ticket, similar system to the US. It needs at least 1 year. We don't want people using that kind of system (visa waiver) to stay in our country forever, we have to use the tourist visa to intervene in that system to screen them, to screen the people who are staying in our country.

 

Question: We have heard that there will be a 3 month visa you can buy here in Bangkok. Is this a new rule, if so when is it in place, is it already in existence, can you explain?

Police Major Suppachai: It is not a new visa, it is a new regulation for foreigners who don't have a visa, but visa extension, it means you can apply for a non immigration type B and O at the Immigration Bureau.

 

Question: In Thailand right?

Police Major Suppachai: Yes. But it means that you have to have at least 3 weeks, I mean visa. It means when you come in right, you have 4 weeks. In the first week you have to contact immigration, in Bangkok in Suan Phlu and submit the papers that you want to change your visa. You have to have a visa. Before we could change the category of visa from tourist to non-immigrant, but this time we can issue the visa as well.

 

A summary of points that were discussed in more detail: The reason for the new regulations are twofold:

1. Try to eliminate known foreign criminals from entering Thailand. It is desired by the authorities that those staying longer term in Thailand should be screened through a more thorough computer system available at Embassies, Consulates and Immigration offices. Hence the reasoning of forcing people into applying for longer stays after a maximum of 90 days by obtaining 3 consecutive free 30 day waivers of a visa at entry points. Border crossing checkpoints are currently limited to screening out undesirables on the 'Blacklist' and high profile undesirables.

2. Persuade foreigners that are on the incorrect visas or stamps to correct their paperwork in line with the law. By making the trip to an Embassy, Consulate or Immigration office necessary within 90 days from 1st October 2006, it is hoped that foreigners who are disrespecting Thai law rectify the situation by applying for the correct visa. To aid this, Non immigrant B and O visas will be issued inside Thailand at the Immigration Office in Bangkok. IMPORTANTLY, to apply you have to have at least 3 weeks remaining on your current stamp and obviously the correct paperwork. The visa needed to apply is yet to be clarified.

 

The Department of Immigration controls borders and The Department of Foreign Affairs controls Consulates and Embassies. There has been no official orders to tighten controls on issuing visas abroad. It is at the discretion of the issuing officer. It is business as usual. There is and never was a guarantee that you would be issued a single, double, etc visa. At borders the 90 day max of 'waivers of a visa' will be enforced once your 90 days FROM 1st October have been utilized within the period of 180 days.

 

Days in country are counted and NOT number of stamps. There is an issue here with airlines and the Department of Immigration understands this. It is their wish that a system similar to something like the US where passenger list are checked electronically before departure will be installed in the future to eliminate problems. This may take some time.

 

The Department of Immigration understands that their will be problems with the new regulations and will review as necessary.

[samak]

holy shit! this is going to be more and more complicated!

and it opens the door for any immigration officer to interprete and collect tea money!

[cavanami]

It always comes back to $$$.

 

Are the immi folks at the airport slick enough to collect tea money, as it is out in the open???

 

Like the Poi Pet crossing, easy for them to collect the tea money!

 

Interesting that they willl issue the visa in Bangkok. This makes some sense!

Why do the stupid visa run and pay Cambodia the $20 USD every time? I am OK to pay Thailand and save a day wasted doing the visa run.

 

Also, good that they count days and not stamps...now if all the immi folks abide by these rules, that will be the HUGE issue!!!

[limbo]

Here's a link with a bit more/similar info to that Immigration press conference that ikkrang posted.

 

It looks OH will be fine leaving and entering the country at will.

[cavanami]

>The Department of Immigration controls borders and >The Department of Foreign Affairs controls >Consulates and Embassies. There has been no >official orders to tighten controls on issuing >visas abroad. It is at the discretion of the >issuing officer.

 

Things sure have changed in Penang, Malaysia and in some of the consulates in the USA, so this guy sure doesn't know what is going on outside the country!

[limbo]

That was my impression as well, however, the immigration guys seem to insist that the consuls have been urged to issue singel entry tourist visa. Pitfull here may be that those said conusl are under juristriction of the Ministry of Foerign Affairs, so a classic tale of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.