Visa crackdown to stay

[colt1911]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/specia ... wn-to-stay

This article talks about the 800k and the illegal methods of obtaining Visas.

[Lone Star]

That article pretty much mirrors what my Immigration contact in BKK said. It's a purge, plain and simple. The good are having to jump through hoops because of the pirates.

No issue for me. I'm a guest and will comply with their laws.

[Giggle]

I think we should band together and start making demands. I'll go home only if they give me US$50,000.

Migrant group demands U.S. pay them $50K each to turn back

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/20 ... h-to-turn/

Think it'll work?

[newtovillagelife]

By law, foreigners are required to report to authorities within 24 hours after they check in to their accommodation. Usually, hotels will do the job for them, but in case they have to report to authorities...

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/specia ... wn-to-stay. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post Public Company Limited. All rights reserved.

So does this mean if you are on a two week holiday touring Thailand, you have to check in every day to let immigration know you current accomodation.

[saint]

If your moving hotel or apartment , then yes . Ive never seen a town in Thailand that didnt have a police station , or i guess you could stop at the traffic police stations on route to tell them where you intend to stay that night .

[Giggle]

Ahh paradise. These "easy money" clauses are everywhere. It's what happens when corruption is institutionalized.

[sometimewoodworker]

So does this mean if you are on a two week holiday touring Thailand, you have to check in every day to let immigration know you current accomodation.

If you stay in a hotel or guest house, no, as by law they have to report your stay every day. They can get into deep dodo if they don't report.

[saint]

Ive stayed in plenty of hotels all over the country and many times not even been asked to see my passport or I D .
Check the wifes I D and thats all.
Even stayed in a resort in Sa kaeo owned by plod , Even he didnt bother .
Its one of those laws that becomes a money spinner if they can be bothered to check i guess .

[newtovillagelife]

So if You are here as a tourist and stay in a different place and hotel everyday, you have to check in to a police station everyday also. That should help tourism, hope they advertise that. Or is just for us suckers that are here on legal visas.

[tamada]

I think we should band together and start making demands. I'll go home only if they give me US$50,000.

Migrant group demands U.S. pay them $50K each to turn back

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/20 ... h-to-turn/

Think it'll work?

I reckon a bit of UM crowdfunding should get us shot of you fast enough.

[Giggle]

I'll be back in a month when my hunny runs short.

[saint]

So if You are here as a tourist and stay in a different place and hotel everyday, you have to check in to a police station everyday also. That should help tourism, hope they advertise that. Or is just for us suckers that are here on legal visas.

Good point . If your here on a long stay visa , then they have a permanent address for you and phone number , so why would you have to register somewhere else if you travel ? Doesnt make a lot of sense .
You do your 90 day pulse check , so that should be sufficient .
Personally i dont even travel with a passport around Thailand anymore , use the I D they kindly gave me
Dont think they care about western tourist , they have the Chinese to prop up their tourist industry .
You know the quality tourist they keep barking on about .Kids running round the hotel corridors at all hours , banging doors , screaming at each other . Destroying the breakfast buffets cuz their animals , smoking where ever they like , pissing where ever they like , gobbing where ever they like . That sort of quality is what the TAT is looking for in the future i think . I sincerly hope that wasnt too racist for any of you .

[udonfox]

I work in Phnom Penh,but my family home is in Udon,where my wife and 3 daughters live.I arrive back in Udon on the 22nd.Dec.for 2 weeks hols.Does this mean I will have to report to Immigration.Never had to before.Cheers !

[Old Grumpy]

Every one seems to be missing that WE do not have to do anything it's the owner of the accommodation whether it's hotel or house that is responsible for reporting our presence, we are not committing the error so can not be held responsible for it, although if it's in a private residence you might feel inclined to pay the fine for them, especially if it's 'The Wife".

[sometimewoodworker]

I work in Phnom Penh,but my family home is in Udon,where my wife and 3 daughters live.I arrive back in Udon on the 22nd.Dec.for 2 weeks hols.Does this mean I will have to report to Immigration.Never had to before.Cheers !

Technically your wife should do the report.

However in practice, since you will have no interaction with Udon immigration, there is almost certainly no need to do anything at all.

[tamada]

Every one seems to be missing that WE do not have to do anything it's the owner of the accommodation whether it's hotel or house that is responsible for reporting our presence, we are not committing the error so can not be held responsible for it, although if it's in a private residence you might feel inclined to pay the fine for them, especially if it's 'The Wife".

That's completely logical but fundamentally incorrect. In lieu of the hotel, guest-house or friend in outer Bahn Nawk failing to fulfill their legal responsibilities in reporting the presence of a foreign guest, the onus is always on the itinerant foreigner to personally report their presence to the local police instead. If you know or even suspect that the hotel, guest-house or friend won't do the reporting, then legally the onus falls on you to report. Now I agree that such a flagrant disregard for their ancient Immigration rules is unlikely to bite you on the bum, for the sake of clarity, you have been warned that legally, they can and will bite.

Arcane and bizarre as it is, it's basically the same caveat that catches some visitors when they check their passport stamps after-the-fact and find that the incoming Immigration Officer applied an incorrect 'stay until' date. The onus is always on the foreign visitor to check their date stamps and if in error, get them corrected (or leave the country) ASAP. Expecting to get an apology and a free pass if the error is detected at an IO or outbound Immigration is on a hiding for nothing. They can screw up but foreigners can't.

But I do agree with compensation when the 'The Wife' is the miscreant although instead of calling it a fine, I would say, "Here's your money for the lottery, good luck!" instead. You know, face and all that hokum.

[udonfox]

Thank you stww.That's what I thought.Cheers !......A Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

[Rayq81]

I can see nothing in the article which suggests that anyone with a Visa is under any threat, what Thailand is doing is exactly what the UK, Australia and America and other countries should be doing and that is ensuring that people who live or work in the country are doing so legally, its very simple in that if you are doing nothing wrong you have nothing to fear.

[Giggle]

Your visa (or visa extension) has nothing to do with it. Technically, you are responsible for letting immigration know EVERY TIME you stay overnight at a place other than your residence listed with immigration. Yes, YOU are responsible for this, not the hotel. Usually hotels take care of this reporting, but not always. The foreigner is ALWAYS responsible for reporting.

It is an utterly unworkable, unenforceable, and ridiculous law -- but one that can be applied whenever the foreigner is caught out and immigration feel the need to make an example. This is where the "intentional vaugeness" comes into play.

what Thailand is doing is exactly what the UK, Australia and America and other countries should be doing

Really? These countries require legal foreigners to report to immigration every time they stay overnight at a residence not listed in the immigration database? Yeah, right...

Some local immigration offices also require foreigners to check-in after returning from trips abroad -- even after passing through Swampy immigration hours earlier. They enforce this law infrequently, but will exercise it at their pleasure and at the extreme displeasure of unaware legal, well-intentioned completely legal visa holders.