Time up for some 30 day visa runners

[OCgringo]

I think the same thing can happen in Baja California , Costa Rica or other places where people want to move to for their retirment,

 

The locals get pissed that these retires do not spend the same $$$$ as holiday makers ,

 

Plus they are taking their jobs, women , houses or any other excuse,

Got to get rid of them.....

 

I think you have to look hard at putting your retirement money in ANY country that you do not hold a passport too,

 

If Austalia wanted to do these rules they could too , and not much you can do about it ,

What does it take for a European to get a retirement visa to the USA ?

 

OC

 

retired and working harder in Sunny cold California

[elef]

What I've heard the only reason for the new rules is the new rules for Schengen for thais and all other who need visa.

If a TG comes to Schengen on a 3 months tourist visa, she gets 3 months extra and after that returns to Thailand. After that she can't return to Schengen for 6 months on a tourist visa, but she can return 3 days later on an other visa, for example a 12-month au-pair visa.

 

Thailand has unofficaly asked for a special treaty with Schengen (and probably other countries as well), so if thais are exempt from Schengen rules, Schengen citizens will be exempt from the new thai rules. What they demand is same treatment for thais in other countries as the foreigners get in Thailand. All according to a friend working for swedish government.

[WINEDINE69]

From my experiences working for Thais and general logic from the Thais I know they don't appear to do things as logically or well thought out as in more developed countries.

 

My Thai boss was an idiot in the way she handled things with the bottom line the only thing that ever counted. They pushed the teaching to staff to breaking point and when the teachers left in droves they finally granted the pitiful pay rise that was supposed to come into effect 6 months earlier.

 

They attempted to screw me out of my pay when i left and they did that to every single member of the staff regardless if u followed the guidelines perfectly.

 

It took the aussie head of the school to step in and things were instantly fixed. When I left the school I came back to collect my pay and the Thai staff lied to me saying it was somewhere else and I needed to wait for it. in the meantime they were checking up to see i'd completed everything (i had and the farang head teacher had already signed off on it) but 1 and a half hours later i demanded my pay and she pulled it out of the drawer in front of her where it had been all along.

 

All very uneccessary and stupid behaviour with dumbass rules. all the farang teachers wanted was to be paid properly, on time and treated with transparent rules rather than having to play games and make demands just to get the basics taken care off.

 

when they start running the country without corruption (yeah rite), when they simplify laws for business owners and farangs who want to work there that will provide more revenue and more jobs. how many of us would like to start a business in thailand and employ the locals? and maybe they'll get over their racist ways and learn to treat foreigners with a bit of respect.

 

if u really want to get rid of sex tourists and illegal workers by changing the visa laws then do it properly. close doen the girly bars for thais and farangs (yeah rite), clean up the streets, and police things properly. no more cops with their hands out no more corrupt prime ministers showing everyone its ok to be corrupt and act immoral

 

[Flashermac]

Remember the short lived Thailand Teachers Forum? A certain group of private schools got it shut down by threatening legal action -- because so many Farang teachers were telling tales like this about it.

 

I could also name a private "university" that always seemed to short change its teachers -- and even closed one teacher's bank account when he resigned early. (Don't ask me how they could close someone's private bank account .. but they did.)

 

Then there is Bangkok2Night, whose school cancelled his visa and work permit when he resigned, but didn't bother to tell him. He got burnt for quite a bit by Immigration when he went down to renew his now cancelled visa.

 

Beware of private schools in Thailand. From the tales I hear, too many are like this.

 

p.s. The author of "Bangkok Exit" -- just published by Bangkok Books -- has a similar story, only his old school actually tried to get him fired from his new job.

 

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

"Then there is Bangkok2Night"

 

That's a website , the person you are referring to goes by the handle of 2knight1

 

Sanuk!

 

[Flashermac]

Oh, well ... I know his real name but could only remember something about a night/knight.

 

 

 

 

[ChristianTroy]

I am not so much concerned about these new immigration laws.

 

Thai govt. strategy seems to be "learning by doing" They thought it was a good idea to tighten the measures with the USD and lost 300 billion in 1 week (if I am informed correctly), now they have eased the measures again because it didn't work out as they had expected.

 

It won't work out with the new immigration law either, they will loose money again, loads of money and when you tell someone long enough that he isn't welcome then one day he will say "fuck it"

 

The numbers on the real estate market are decreasing already. Many projects are on hold right now and thai construction workers have no job and no income. The airtravel industry will be the next who suffer, Thailand cannot afford this, they need increasing numbers if they want to take their chance that this airport ever makes a profit. At the end it will hurt thai people directly, it is always the small people who will suffer.

 

The thai embassador in Karlsruhe Germany, a tennis friend of my dad (rip) told me recently that he is in pain over the decissions that were made. This law is supposed to filter good from bad but he was afraid that the good people will be angry more quickly and in the end you only have those you don't want in your country and the dependance on them will grow! He expects the law to be eased again because the embassies wouldn't be able to handle the visa requests especially after so many embassies abroad got closed after the coup. That will make people more angry and this and the loss of money will increase times X.

 

For me the government is trying desperately to proof something to the world and they will desperately ask everyone to come back when the presure from the multinational investors gets too big. After all it is about money and when the people from the outside can't bring it inside then they are stuck.

 

 

 

[Khun_Kong]

I am not so much concerned about these new immigration laws.

 

Thai govt. strategy seems to be "learning by doing" They thought it was a good idea to tighten the measures with the USD and [color:red]lost 300 billion in 1 week[/color] (if I am informed correctly), now they have eased the measures again because it didn't work out as they had expected. ...

 

 

Tee Hee. It took less than 24 hours. Although a small regain has been had.

 

But just today, the 89's (average Thai IQ) are talking about tightening up on the easing back :doah:

 

[robaus]

I've live in Thailand almost 7 years now, and it's very easy for me to get an annual visa in my home country Australia at the very friendly little consulate in Perth just 6 hours (Thai direct) and (12,000 baht atm Royal Brunei- longer) flight away. Several British friends have had no trouble getting a non immigrant O visa there either, although regulations may be tightening. I highly recommend a trip there - godzone country - I'd never leave the place if they had gogos on every corner like Pattaya. Come on down we need the money!

 

My British friends tell me that Penang and Singapore are no longer issuing multiple entry visas. One mate in particular (call him Fred) simply cannot afford to go back and live in UK, without throwing himself at the mercy of Social security. Fred sold his house to his daughter on the understanding there'd always be a bed for him on UK trips. She's since divorced and the house has been bought out by her ex husband.

 

Fred's not a sex pat like me, although he gets an occasional legover from his cleaning lady. He lives on a modest pension. He doesn't make a satang out of Thailand, and just spends all his money here. It's quite a large slug out of his income to have to go back to UK, stay in hotels while he renews his visa.

 

I can't understand the Thai authorities. If someone is working illegally, OK then pursue them (I'm sure the police know exactly who's running which bar), but don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

 

I reckon all farangs living here on high or low incomes are winners. Better than waiting in the ante room of death down at the Darby and Joan club.... shit.. but think of all the bingo nights and whist drives I'm missing out on! ï�

 

 

[Flashermac]

<< The other piece of the puzzle that is in place, but does not seem to be *fully* activated yet is the "minimum wage" required for a work permit. With the exception of one or two occupations (e.g teacher) you need to have a minimum salary (60K for Americans) or you cannot get a work permit. >>

 

 

Is it up to 60K now? I remember when this crap started maybe 5 years ago. It was 40K then. Since govmt university pay is still just 17,580 plus 8,000 housing, some of the Farang archans though, "Great! Now they'll have to increase our pay." Yeah, right. What happened was the government decided to exempt teachers from the requirement.

 

Trink had a column back then about the retirement visa, asking what sort of gratitude it was of the Thais to pay teachers' crap wages, "retire" them at 60 (without benefits) and then tell them they had to have 800,000 baht in the bank if they wanted to remain in Thailand.