New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

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Undaunted
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New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by Undaunted »

Farang with Alzheimer’s forced to leave because of new rules:

https://thethaiger.com/news/chiang-mai/ ... -cant-stay
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Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by Gaybutton »

Undaunted wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 2:21 pm Farang with Alzheimer’s forced to leave because of new rules
I saw something similar happening to a gentleman ahead of me when I was renewing my own retirement visa a couple weeks ago. His mother has lived with the farang family in Thailand for the past 12 years. She is in her mid 90s and could not personally go to immigration, which is why her son was trying to handle her renewal for her.

She did not have retirement income to cover 65,000 baht per month (so I have no idea how she was able to renew her extension over the years. I didn't think to ask the man), but her family had put the required 800,000 baht into her Thai bank account for her. The problem was that the money had not been in the account for the required length of time. The immigration officer was sympathetic, but said she had no authority to grant the renewal. He asked if she could make an exception in this case. She again said she has no authority to make exceptions. She sent the man to see a higher ranking immigration official.

I did not see the man again, so I don't know the outcome - but three guesses . . .
fountainhall

Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by fountainhall »

This stinks! Thai Immigration should be thoroughly ashamed - as should their superiors right up to the Prime Minister. I fully accept that rules are rules. But every good rule has room for exceptions. These people are being forced to leave partly because of a technicality. I really hope these cases get major worldwide negative media coverage.
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Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote: Tue May 28, 2019 3:35 pm This stinks!
Yes it does. I believe there is a formal appeals process available in which individual cases can be dealt with and perhaps resolved. I would hope that if the funds are available for Thailand to be assured that people in these kinds of positions can pay their bills or some sort of guarantor can handle it for them, the outcome would be positive.

I wish I knew what happened with the man and his mid 90s mother. Just a guess, but I have a feeling he is now going through the appeals process, assuming the local office passed the buck.
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Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by Dodger »

Quoted from Article:
The family have put 800,000 baht in the bank and Mrs Padgett could stay to February next year. But with worries about her condition deteriorating and being unable to move her in the future they have decided that it is now or never.
If the family deposited 800,000 in the bank for the woman and she is able to stay on her current visa until February of next year where's the problem? If the family would rather not keep 800,000 in the bank for their mother and would prefer moving to another country then that's their decision to make. The visa rules are clear; 65,000/month income or 800,000 in the bank. It's the families responsibility to find a solution - not Immigration's.

The requirement for 65,000/month or 800,000 in the bank has been in place for decades. How then was the mother getting her visa approved before?

If the family is paying 85,000/month for the mothers stay at the Care Center that certainly satisfies the monthly income requirement. One option they would have would be to arrange with a friend or family member back home to make the monthly deposits into her Thai account. Of course they would have to transfer 85,000/month from their account (foreign or domestic) to the family member delegated to make these monthly deposits for dear old mom.

I also have to ask myself...is it the family's money that's being handled (or mishandled) in this situation or is it the mothers money?

I'm not buying it and Immigration is apparently not buying it either.
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Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

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Dodger wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 8:51 am I'm not buying it and Immigration is apparently not buying it either.
The problem is the innocent person, the woman herself, is the one who will either benefit or suffer from decisions beyond her control. The questions you ask are legitimate and I agree with your point of view, but at the same time I would hate to see an elderly Alzheimer's patient become the victim of her own family's greed, incompetence, financial problems, or whatever the reason is why proper arrangements were not made for her visa status to be maintained. The woman herself did nothing wrong because she had lost the capability due to her condition.

I agree that it is the responsibility of the family, not immigration. I also believe that the immigration rules are not engraved in stone. Since all this is beyond the woman's control, I don't see why immigration cannot permit her to remain at her facility and permit her family to resolve the financial issues and take steps to make sure nothing like this happens again.

In a way, I see this incident the same way I see the recent immigration rule changes. Innocent expats who obey the immigration rules end up penalized because of the actions of other farang who lie and cheat.
windwalker

Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by windwalker »

Dodger wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 8:51 am Quoted from Article:

The requirement for 65,000/month or 800,000 in the bank has been in place for decades. How then was the mother getting her visa approved before?
As I recall, the mother was receiving a letter from US Embassy certifying her income, much as most of have done in the past.
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Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by Dodger »

windwalker wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 3:11 pm As I recall, the mother was receiving a letter from US Embassy certifying her income, much as most of have done in the past
If that were the case and she was in fact earning (or receiving) +65,000/month when she was granted her visa then why is she (or her family members) having a problem now?

I believe she was receiving enough money. I suspect that the daughter and her husband may have been creative in changing the distribution of mom's money into their own personal account. Let's face it - mom doesn't know what day it is. This can been done very easily in these situations where the mother, in her failing state, could have signed Power of Attorney giving her daughter control of her money. In summary: Mom's got enough cash - but her daughter is squandering it and now finds herself in a bind. All at her mothers expense.

From a post Undaunted started earlier this week regarding a new Care Center opening in Bang Saray, it appears as if Care Centers in Thailand (at least this one) provide visa renewal assistance for the elderly, including those who are handicapped and/or disabled. These places have to deal with this constantly. There was nothing mentioned in the article which would imply that the Care Center Services were involved at all. Very strange.

I usually don't look at situations like this as having some sinister plot - but this one has a real funny smell to it.
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Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

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Dodger wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 4:38 pm I usually don't look at situations like this as having some sinister plot - but this one has a real funny smell to it.
A sinister plot, the consequences of which will probably cause the entire family to have to move to the Philippines? That makes no sense to me.
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Re: New Immigration Rules Force Some Out

Post by Dodger »

Gaybutton wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 5:34 pm
Dodger wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 4:38 pm I usually don't look at situations like this as having some sinister plot - but this one has a real funny smell to it.
A sinister plot, the consequences of which will probably cause the entire family to have to move to the Philippines? That makes no sense to me.
If in fact the women's daughter and son-in-law have been playing games with Mom's money, and are now trying to mask their deeds by blaming Immigration, that would fall under the definition of "sinister".

If the new immigration rules are forcing someone out it's because they lack the minimum funds to reside here. It's my opinion that Mom probably has sufficient income to reside here, but her daughter and son-in-law do not without getting continued financial support from mom. They're not worried about Mom being tossed out of Thailand - they're worried about being tossed out themselves for not having adequate funds once their hands are jerked out of mom's cookie jar. That's just the way I see it.

Interesting that they apparently got this news from Immigration recently, although their mothers visa apparently doesn't expire until February which is nine months away. Why were they visiting Immigration nine months early, unless in fact, their visit was the renew their own extensions and not mom's.

This is a test to see if I'm using the "quote" function correctly.
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