By Barry Kenyon

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Pattaya misses out on “premium” upgrade

By Barry Kenyon

January 10, 2025

The prime minister’s announcement that Phuket is to be upgraded to a “premium” tourist appears to downgrade Pattaya in her personal league table. The claim seems to rest on hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists heading directly to Phuket, rather than any other city, together with add-on features such as major festivals and projects funded by the private sector.

She has instructed Phuket agencies to find ways to deal with traffic congestion, garbage problems and criminal gangs. A campaign should be started to encourage the locals to sort and recycle garbage, not to mention promoting infrastructure and promoting sustainable tourism. The president of the Phuket tourism association is understandably delighted. Yet Pattaya surely has all the above features being used to justify a meaningless label on Phuket.

The term ”premium” does not imply any formal recognition or status and is a widely abused term. There was delight in Pattaya in 2018 when the deputy leader of the Democrats, Korn Chatikavanij, said he wanted Pattaya to be a “premium” resort. However, his stated reason was to support the Democrat Pattaya candidates in a forthcoming election. Then deputy prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand should no longer promote cheap tourism, preferring “premium” high spenders.

So Pattaya should not be distressed by her exclusion from the latest honorary label. The city can certainly compete with any Thai city for the crowds, the arrests and the number of weekend festivals as well as the environmental problems relating to traffic and waste disposal. The term “premium” should be permanently abandoned. Or left to the Thai Privilege Card to announce yet another upgrade to its complex visa menu. Or to Walls ice cream to promote its latest flavour.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ade-486745

[Jun]

She has instructed Phuket agencies to find ways to deal with traffic congestion, garbage problems and criminal gangs.

Criminal gangs? I wonder who she means? I've only been to Phuket once.

However, in a certain non-premium resort that I frequently visit, it appears the biggest criminal gang wears a uniform.

As for traffic, I don't recall any public transport within Phuket. The options for tourists to get around were either walking or dealing with the tuk tuk mafia. Perhaps that has improved now it's a "premium" resort?

[Gaybutton]

I have been saying this for years - I think Thailand is making a big mistake by trying to cater to the most wealthy to the exclusion of the rest of us. The majority of expat retirees spend a great deal of money in Thailand, pay all of our bills and pay them on time, commit almost none of the crimes, help out many Thais and Thai families, and are peaceful, causing no problems for anyone.

And yet all the perks and breaks are given to try to attract the fabulously wealthy, many of whom may have yet to ever even once set foot in Thailand (Yul Brynner never visited Thailand). How much do they think those people will spend that will significantly help Thailand once they get here?

Meanwhile, most changes directly affecting farang expats have been changes that make things more difficult for us rather than easier. Even now, there is still lingering uncertainty about Thailand possibly imposing income taxes on our pensions and Social Security - and we still have not seen one word from the Thai government either way. If they ever really do impose such taxes, does anyone here believe our various embassies will lift a finger or say one word to help us? If you do believe that, please allow me about 15 minutes to finish having my little laugh.

Are you using your home country credit card to pull cash from an ATM or have a Thai bank use the card to obtain cash for you? Here's a nice clarification they recently came up with - that cash is now considered to be foreign income. All who are pleased about that, raise your hands . . .

As far as I can tell, the only change I've seen that makes anything easier for us expats was setting up 90-day address reports online, saving us trips to immigration. Of course, I'm still trying to figure out the necessity of those reports in the first place.

Powers-that-be, how about doing something substantial for us expats rather than to us expats for a change?
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Changes to Thailand’s 10 year visa don’t impact on most expats

By Barry Kenyon

January 15, 2025

The Cabinet has agreed changes to some categories of the Long Term Residence (LTR) visa which offers indefinite stays and multiple entries for 10 (actually 5×2) years. The Board of Investment, which hosts the LTR introduced in 2022, had recommended reducing some of the enrollment requirements for rich individuals in order to make the program more popular.

Wealthy global citizens no longer need to prove an annual income of at least US$80,000 a year, though they must demonstrate worldwide assets of at least US$1 million and must invest in Thailand at least US$500,000. Separately, the companies sponsoring remote workers now require annual revenue reduced from US$150 million to US$50 million. If the digital nomads work in Thailand with Thai customers, they still require a work permit.

There is a wealthy pensioner category for those aged over 50, but the minimum annual income of US$80,000 has been left untouched by the Cabinet. Rich expats wishing to retire in Thailand are sometimes attracted to the LTR as it offers exemption from any income tax from cash transferred to Thailand, avoids the need to report their address every three months and avoids re-registration with immigration on an annual basis. However, there is an audit after five years.

The vast majority of expats don’t have access to these sums, or are reluctant to make a heavy investment. The Cabinet-approved changes are unlikely to spark renewed interest in most foreign groups. The main advantage of the LTR is reduced income tax for business executives or entrepreneurs who are working here. The visa has a quick route to a Board of Investment sponsored work permit where required by the individual and the labor laws.

Immigration lawyer Jessataporn Bunnag said, “There is now a choice of visas for expats such as Elite or DTV. The LTR is really aimed at the super-rich or those needing a work permit which allows them to work independently without Thai colleagues.” The Cabinet also announced the suspension of most 4-year SMART visas for working professionals as they overlap with LTR and an increase in the number of dependent relatives able to accompany the LTR holder. The LTR enrolment fee to the Board of Investment is 50,000 baht and medical insurance is compulsory.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ats-487174

[Gaybutton]

Pattaya ignored by promoters as a gay marriage destination

By Barry Kenyon

January 19, 2025

Thailand is about to become a hot spot for gay marriage ceremonies, but the location is a different story. There are umpteen companies, both Thai and overseas based, offering inclusive luxury packages to tie the knot in the land of smiles. Yet Pattaya is almost completely ignored in their promotions.

Pure Bliss, a Thai-based company, offers plans down to the last details such as videography and flower arrangement, but the list of venues excludes Pattaya. Yet Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin etc are all there in the list of recommendations. Only one of several business competitors lists Pattaya as a possible venue to tie the knot, but seems to think that the Sunee Plaza district has a vibrant gay club scene. In reality, it is 90 percent deserted and has been for many years.

A British travel company Gracious Loves recommends Thailand as a boutique gay wedding destination, but has hotel booking options only for Bangkok and Phuket. Its detailed price list includes even “cake cutting” and “sacred beads” charges with a choice of expensive champagnes, but dismisses Pattaya as having too sordid a reputation to be the basis of a longlasting relationship. It is obvious that the Tourist Association of Thailand has a long way to go in marketing the new and reformed Pattaya to gay marriage providers.

Those who are tired of Thailand can book their same sex registration elsewhere in many European capitals including Paris where, one company says, you can actually sign your marital paperwork within sight of the Eiffel Tower. But there are unexpected locations too. The tour operator Pink Iceland offers a door to door service to marry on the island with a choice of locations by a waterfall or in an ice cave or even on top of a glacier. Gay marriage has been legal in Iceland since 2010.

Same sex marriage is apparently a big deal in Puerto Rico. However, the process is extraordinarily bureaucratic with the additional requirement for each individual to pay US$150 for an internal revenue stamp which has to be obtained from the Demographics Office before or after the ceremony. Haiti is then offered amongst the choices for a honeymoon which could be difficult as civil flights were withdrawn many months ago. However, just for the record, quickie divorces in Port au Prince are a distinct possibility.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ion-487669

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Jomtien immigration unusually busy

By Barry Kenyon

January 27, 2025

The headquarters of Chonburi provincial immigration, based in Jomtien, witnessed queues on a particularly busy Monday morning. A power cut lasting about an hour the previous Friday was partly responsible, although Chinese new year (not a public holiday) is a particularly busy period for immigration in tourist-orientated areas.

The Jomtien office underwent large modernization last year which included the extension of facilities to occupy the former carpark and the installation of a computerized ticket system. As a result, queues are a rare phenomenon. Officers said that many of the customers today were reporting their local address on the TM30 form which provides a receipt to be included in the visitor’s passport. Other busy sections included the 90 days reporting and applications for a certificate of residency to open a bank account or to renew a driving licence.

Although the forthcoming weekend will see booze bans in place for the local elections, there are no public holidays until the Makha Bucha observance on February 12. Immigration offices close only for weekends and public holidays. The nationwide local elections will see political parties fielding candidates for Provincial Administrative Organizations.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... usy-488584

[Jun]

The headquarters of Chonburi provincial immigration, based in Jomtien, witnessed queues on a particularly busy Monday morning.

Now is that a chance for those who live out in the boonies, to meet so many people?

[Gaybutton]

The Indian tourist surge isn’t just in Pattaya

By Barry Kenyon

January 27, 2025

The Indian phenomenon in Pattaya is well known by now. The “new” Walking Street has a whole section devoted mostly to Indian-style entertainment venues, although the luxuriously upmarket and heavily marketed Jalwa night and dance club has been turned into a late-hours drinking establishment. That’s according to Stickman’s weekly internet blog.

There are at least 80 Indian restaurants in the Pattaya area, although they are mostly concentrated on the Second Road district with a cuisine doubtless geared to the international market in general rather than to the home country in particular. Not to be overlooked is that Pattaya has a long-established Indian and Hindu community with several restaurants which date back to the 1980s, amongst them Ali Baba and Layla.

Thailand attracted over two million Indian tourists in 2024, although Japan welcomed slightly more. Pattaya City Hall estimates that 700,000 Indians visited the resort last year, encouraged by Thailand’s visa-exempt policy which, however, does not extend to Pakistan and Bangladesh whose citizens still need a prior tourist visa before travelling. Research via Agoda suggests that an increasing number of Indians are now vacationing abroad twice a year.

Indians are currently the eight largest global tourist spenders and, according to Booking.com, will be the fourth from the top in the league table by 2030. A third of Indians are already designated middle-class (many retailers and business people) with that number set double within the next few years. Thailand is usually placed fourth or fifth in the list of countries most favored by Indian tourists, but the data is complicated. For example, neighboring Sri Lanka claims to be number one for actual arrivals as does the United States. However, numbers in America are distorted by the large number of Indian students there.

Several of Thailand’s tourism rivals in south east Asia are keen to join the expansion. An original top-of-the-range Disney Cruise Line seaborne vacation, based on Singapore, created fantastic interest in Delhi even though the sailing date isn’t until December 2025. Regional flights to and from India doubled last year, especially as direct flights from an increasing number of Indian cities are becoming possible. Later this year, Cambodia will open Phnom Penh’s new high-tech airport which will be the largest in the world and able to accommodate the largest airplanes.

Malaysia has copied Thailand in admitting Indians visa-free, but only for 30 days, and Indonesia has a straightforward visa on arrival immigration system. Vietnam, which welcome half a million Indians last year, has an e-visa in place which is valid for 90 days. The Philippines is working on a visa waiver program to improve its 2024 total of 80,000 Indians taking a vacation there. Given the current trend for many Chinese to prefer to take domestic holidays, the pressure to attract more and more Indians will be a dominant theme in south east Asia throughout 2025. Not to mention beyond.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... aya-488592

[Jun]

There are at least 80 Indian restaurants in the Pattaya area, although they are mostly concentrated on the Second Road district with a cuisine doubtless geared to the international market in general rather than to the home country in particular.

Most of those restaurants are empty when I go past. I wonder when and where the Indian tourists eat. Judging by their size, eating is one of their main hobbies.

My favoyrite is Tarka, which seems popular with Europeans.

Cambodia will open Phnom Penh’s new high-tech airport which will be the largest in the world and able to accommodate the largest airplanes.

I don't believe it will be the largest. Other sources suggest 9th largest.
Also, the current Phnom Penh airport is small, pleasantly quiet and very efficient. It wins my "best airport" award.
Replacing a small and under used airport with the 9th largest makes no sense. It will be like some of these new Thai railway stations. Hopelessly oversized and so large they are far less convenient to use.

[Gaybutton]

DTV extension looks more of a hassle than a new border run

By Barry Kenyon

January 29, 2025

The published criteria for the 6-months extension of the Destination Thailand Visa at Bangkok Immigration (Division 1) are not binding on provincial offices nationwide. But they are likely to be followed “more or less” and confirm what has long been speculated: it will be more straightforward to leave the country every 180 days, no matter briefly, in line with the Ministry of Tourism’s recommendations last July that holders are much less likely to face issues at airports and borders than at local immigration offices.

A review of the popular and informative Facebook group, Destination Thailand Visa, suggests that about 75 percent of holders who have commented on the issue think exiting Thailand is the better response during the five-year validity of this tourist visa with a designated “activity”. Indeed, the emerging picture suggests that a local immigration extension is likely to require considerably more documentation than the original DTV visa granted outside Thailand.

The Division 1 guidelines have several common requirements for digital nomads and soft power holders. Certainly, they need renewed and detailed proof that there is a minimum 500,000 baht bond (around US$14,000) still available, together with a bundle of evidence concerning the Thai address: the ownership blue book and ID card, proof the applicant is paying rent or has some other basis for living there, TM30 (residence proof) and TM 47 (90 days report). This concentration on proving your precise location in Thailand reflects ongoing government concerns about tracking foreigners lest they are up to mischief.

There must also be new evidence about the “activity”. In the case of remote workers and digital nomads this will be updated overseas employment verification and examples or portfolios of work clearly demonstrating that the DTV holder is not working in the kingdom. Soft power extenders should also have updated documents, perhaps with “activity” photos, to show they really are adult skill learners howbeit part time. It is perhaps revealing that those using the “art and music exhibition” category need to have an invitation certificate from the government’s Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. Boxing academies and cookery schools need ongoing approval from the relevant government department.

The basic point is that a local immigration extension will depend on continually updating documentation over the five years duration of the DTV. How will someone who started a cookery course in 2024 going to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he or she is still learning in, say, 2027? In the medium term, it will become apparent that DTV is a five-year validity tourist visa requiring leaving Thailand at least twice a year – or once a year if local immigration can be persuaded to turn 180 days into 360.

The separate but over-arching issue is the potential personal income tax liability – on some overseas remittances to Thailand – of anyone Thai or foreigner (including DTV holders) who resides in Thailand for 180 days or more in a calendar year. A review of comments in the DTV Facebook group suggests that many holders are either completely unaware or totally confused by this subject. Some are asking what on earth is a TIN (Tax Identification Number issued by the Thai Revenue Department)? There is bound to be a debate in forthcoming months about whether a modest DTV holder needs to restrict his or her residence in Thailand to 179 days, or less, in a calendar year to be totally free. That’s the jackpot question for the future of DTV.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... run-488705

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Elite visa enthusiasts and DTV supporters flog their differences

By Barry Kenyon

January 29, 2025

The Thai Privilege Card (TPC) president has publicly expressed concerns that alternative visas are eating into the company’s international Elite market. Manatase Annawat admitted that the Destination Thailand Visa in particular was cheaper even though it offered no perks such as concierge and airport services plus discounts at luxury venues. He recently suggested that the Cabinet establish a committee to oversee the pluses and minuses of Thailand’s various longterm visas.

But Elite critics say that TPC only has itself to blame. The Elite structure is complex and the so-called perks, such as fast track immigration, are not uniform. There is currently a discounted, five years “bronze” Elite which costs 650,000 baht or US$19,000 which appears excessive when compared with DTV registration costing a minimum of 10,000 baht or US$285. However, DTV aspirants cannot apply from within Thailand.

Companies sponsoring Elite or DTV often give out misleading or wrong information such as claiming that one or the other requires medical insurance. In fact, neither does. One promoter suggests that DTV holders (but not Elite) benefit from Thailand’s favorable tax regime which “forbids taxation on foreign income”. That suggests gross ignorance of the current policy of the Thai Revenue Department.

Some DTV advertorials claim that, unlike Elite, holders can work even if based in Thailand. In fact, both categories can only work in Thailand with contracts or customers abroad. They must not touch the Thai economy in their professional dealings, or risk arrest. Elite supporters counter that the DTV lasts only 180 days before having to leave the country. In fact, we know that some DTV foreigners have already managed to persuade their local immigration office to turn 180 days into 360.

In reality, the main attraction of Elite is that the online application system is more or less standardized, whereas the dozens of embassies controlling DTV each have their own rules about required finances and precise documentation. A recent Bangkok immigration bureau circular for the first time advised those seeking a soft-power DTV extension to show photographs or videos of themselves learning Thai boxing or advancing their cookery skills in the nominated academy.

Both Elite and DTV are essentially multi-entry tourist visas. If cheapness is the main criterion, DTV wins the day. But Elite triumphs for those who prefer less hassle and want to avoid a future guessing game with embassies abroad and immigration officials here in Thailand. If one or the other wants a real game changer, offer serious discounts for inpatient medical treatment or announce exemption from personal income taxes. Great ideas and also pie in the sky.

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