By Barry Kenyon

[Gaybutton]

another one I suspect has been there much, much longer.

It is not unusual to see news articles about overstayers who were finally caught after 10 years and longer. Of course, we have no way of knowing how many have been overstaying, possibly much longer, and have not been caught.

When it comes to overstayers from adjacent countries, I'm wondering why they do it. They have no problem about returning to their home country and getting a new visa. That is what most do. Perhaps they figure as long as they are working in Thailand illegally, they might as well just overstay too.

As far as I can tell, when those overstayers get caught, no truly serious consequences result. Most news articles I've seen simply say they were sent back to their home country. I almost never see anything about fines, jail time, blacklisting, or much of anything else happening to them. I could be totally wrong, but it seems to me overstayers from adjacent countries are not taken very seriously and from the point of view of the caught overstayer, getting caught is more of an inconvenience than anything else. Many are right back in Thailand, some as soon as the next day.

I think everyone reading this is fully aware and understand when farang overstayers are caught, the consequences are a little different . . .

[gerefan]

The point I was trying to make was that if the EU was to allow any Thai visitor, without a Visa, as mentioned in Barry Kenyons article, then the Authorities should be very cautious about any illegal Asian overstayers (including Thais).

As he says in his article “ the obvious downsides for the host countries are overstayers ….taking advantage of the flexibility.”

If I know of a few Asian long term overstayers in Thailand then there must be thousands of them. A known Asian problem.

[Jun]

Let's compare with Japan, as I spotted an article in the BKK Post recently.

11472 Thai overstayers in 2023.
Compared with 3500 in 2013, when the visa free policy was implemented.

Japan is considering revoking the visa free policy.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... stay-issue

At current exchange rates, wages in some EU countries will be quite a bit higher than Japan, so possibly even more incentive to overstay.

Having said that, the main immigration problem in the EU and neighbouring countries appears to be excessive numbers of middle Easterners who want to live in Europe without adapting to European standards of behaviour.

[Dodger]

A bit baffling to me.

With all the effort being applied to get tourists to come to Thailand - including incentives to get them to then extend their stays as long as they can so they can continue spending $$money$$ - one would think "Overstayers" would be the least of their concerns.

[Jun]

A bit baffling to me.

With all the effort being applied to get tourists to come to Thailand - including incentives to get them to then extend their stays as long as they can so they can continue spending $$money$$ - one would think "Overstayers" would be the least of their concerns.

There are at least two separate topics here.
Visitors to Thailand
Thai visitors to Europe. Illegally working in high income countries can be more lucrative than working at home.

Incidentally, I see lots of talk about encouraging long stay tourists to Thailand. But what action has been taken? More or less none.

In the case of New Zealand, visa fees for visiting Thailand have been increased substantially. That's a clear deterrent.

Whilst putting the visa process online was an improvement, it is still unnecessarily clunky. The website is difficult to use. They ask for information they already have and information they probably don't need.
We also cannot rely on prompt processing.
So this year, when arranging a trip at short notice, I chose a side trip to Cambodia, instead of risking not having the Thai visa in time.
I'm quite glad they nudged me in that direction, but it's hardly helping long term tourism to Thailand.

If they must have visas, my idea of an application process goes like this:

"HI Jun. We already have your passport details, multiple photos, your fingerprints and see you have complied with our immigration rules on past visits.
Please select the number of days you want a visa for and proceed directly to payment"
"Your application will be processed within 2 minutes of payment"

[Gaybutton]

First signs of concern about visa exempt mass tourists

By Barry Kenyon

March 20, 2024

A top national policeman has raised the alarm about foreign tourists breaking the law and behaving disgracefully. Police general Roy Ingpairoj, deputy police chief, has ordered the immigration bureau to toughen up law enforcement.

In recent months, there have been alarming reports about foreigners attacking Thai nationals, gambling in illegal casinos and working without authorized permits. Equally worrying to law enforcers is the apparently widespread practice of owning real estate or establishing business enterprises via use of Thai nominees which is an illegal practice.

The latest concerns appear to be a result of tourists from more and more countries being allowed to enter Thailand without a visa. The Thai government has recently extended the privilege of visa exempt status to China, Russia, India and several smaller nations. Between 85 and 90 percent of arriving foreign tourists no longer require prior documentation.

The deputy police chief has mandated the immigration bureau to look for foreigners with mafia-like connections, those staying or overstaying here for no good reason and persons who bring shame on Thailand by their behaviour. In such cases, cancellation of visas or formal charging in court should be the order of the day.

Thai commentators on social media say that there is a contradiction between Thailand wanting to expand seamless travel, come what may, to boost income on a grandiose scale with a traditional approach to law and order. Moreover, there is now a wad of evidence to show that much cash-based abuse by foreigners is made possible by police corruption or favouritism.

https://www.pattayamail.com/news/first- ... sts-455625

[Jun]

The deputy police chief has mandated the immigration bureau to look for foreigners with mafia-like connections

I suppose he doesn't want any competition.

[Gaybutton]

British pound hits 46 baht

By Barry Kenyon

March 21, 2024

To the delight of British tourists and expats, the UK pound touched 46 on the early morning of Thursday March 21. This translates to a tourist rate of slightly above 45 and a half baht in most Thai currency exchange shops.

The pound’s improvement – it is now at its highest level against the baht for several years – is mostly attributed to the weakness of the Thai economy according to financial commentators. Kasikorn Research Center points to sluggish exports, public investment and domestic consumption. Revenue from international tourism still lags behind pre-covid levels.

The public disagreement between the Thai premier and the Bank of Thailand about whether to reduce interest rates is a further worry to financial markets. The central bank authorities are concerned about the effects on inflation if interest rates are reduced to improve domestic consumption.

The British economy, meanwhile, is viewed as broadly neutral present. The March 2024 budget contained no surprises, whilst the cut in national insurance contributions and the freezing of duty on alcohol and fuel had been anticipated by international markets. Kasikorn also points out that the Thai currency is falling against the US dollar as the Federal Reserve declines to reduce borrowing rates for the time being.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... aht-455726

[Undaunted]

[Gaybutton]

Cambodia needs to imitate Thailand and introduce visa-exempt tourism

By Barry Kenyon

March 27, 2024

Thailand is riding high on its new visa-exempt policy which allows most international tourists to enter the country without prior approval or payment of a fee. China, India, Russia, the UK, EU, US, Australia, Asean partners and a bunch of other countries all currently have the privilege for a 30 days free tourist entry (90 in the case of Russia and South Korea). With overall numbers now almost at pre-covid levels, over 85 percent of actual arrivals at Thailand’s airports are covered by the visa-free policy.

Meanwhile, Cambodia still imposes a US$30 entry tax on almost all international tourist arrivals, the exceptions being neighboring states. This means that even Cambodia’s biggest short-haul market – the Chinese – all have to pay the tax for a maximum of 30 days stay. The Cambodian premier Hun Manet frequently boasts that once the newly-opened Siem Reap Angkor International Airport and the under-construction Phnom Penh Takhmao International Airport are fully operational in 2025, Chinese arrivals will swell further.

The fly in the ointment could be the strong possibility that Thailand could have legal casinos in operation within two years. The opposition to that notion is now much weaker than, say, 10 years ago. But Daniel Li, a gaming expert and senior consultant to the Cambodian regulator Naga, says the Phnom Penh government needs to introduce a visa-exempt policy now to anticipate stiff competition from Thailand.

“After Covid, we have seen a sharp drop in flights and arrivals,” said Mr Li. “ If a visa-free policy is introduced between, initially, Cambodia and China, we can expect more visitors coming from the world’s second-most populous country.” Based on data from NagaCorp’s annual financial results, direct flights from the Greater China region to Cambodia have only recovered 26 percent compared with 2019.

The pressures on Cambodia to abandon its tourist entry free structure on a wider scale are growing anyway. The Thai premier Srettha Thavisin is busy promoting the idea of a mini-Schengen regional agreement whereby international holidaymakers will be able to visit Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos and Vietnam without additional documentation once they have an initial entry stamp to any one of these five partners. Cambodia’s current US$30 entry fee is a significant obstacle in the way of freedom to travel across the Asean region. The prospect of casino gambling in Thailand could be the significant arm twister on Phom Penh.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ism-456379