By Barry Kenyon

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Visa exempt 45 days is back to 30 days at Thai airports and border crossings

By Barry Kenyon

April 1, 2023

Notwithstanding intense lobbying by the Tourist Authority of Thailand, citizens of the 60 or so visa-exempt countries will no longer receive 45 days on entry. Tourists from mainland Europe, the UK, the US, Australia, Saudi Arabia etc will receive from April 1 only 30 days if they choose to arrive without a prior visa. However, they will be able to extend for a further 30 days just once at Thai immigration. This is a return to the situation prior to October 1 2022 when the 45 days rule was brought in as a temporary measure to boost tourism until March 31 2023.

In other words, nationals from visa exempt countries now will have a maximum of 60 days rather than 75 before their time expires. However, they will still be able to leave the country, however briefly, and repeat the procedure for a further 30 + 30 days. But land border runs are limited to a maximum of two in a calendar year. There is no formal restriction on entries by air, though immigration officers can refuse admission if they feel a formal visa from a Thai embassy should be obtained in advance. “Don’t try to live in Thailand on short permissions of stay,” has long been a common refrain in the country’s immigration halls and border posts.

Citizens of a further 19 countries, wishing to enter without a prior visa, are categorized as visa on arrival. They pay 2,000 baht on entering the country and are mostly from China and India. In the period October 1 2022 to March 31 2023 they received 30 days on arrival, but this has now been replaced by 15 days which was the situation until the end of September last year. Nationals from visa on arrival countries can now receive only a seven days extension at immigration bureaux provided they can show a return airticket to the home country. They cannot extend their stay by a border run.

No official announcement was made by immigration or the government about the reversion to historical precedent. The decision to liberalize the rules for six months only was agreed by the Cabinet last autumn and thus, technically, required no termination notice. Most Thai embassies abroad, including those in the UK and the US, have long had notices on their websites about the March 31 truncation. From April 1, foreign tourists were subject to the new entry rules at both Thai airports and land crossing points.

One reason for the decision not to renew the scheme is the belief in some government circles that Thailand is seeing a welcome rebound in international tourism without special measures. Some visa gurus say that abuses in the system may also have played a part. Last December, immigration commander police lt gen Pakpoompipat Sajjapan promised to tighten visa rules after mainly Chinese tourists were shown to have corruptly obtained visas to which they were not entitled.

Thailand has various other bilateral agreements with several countries. Citizens of South Korea and four Latin American nations receive 90 days on arrival and are unaffected by the latest changes. Russia allows visa free, short-term travel for Thai nationals and, in return, Thailand for the past six months has awarded 45 days on Russian passports, though without the 30 days bonus opportunity at Thai immigration. From April 1, the 45 days becomes 30 once again for Russians amongst other nationalities. No extensions internally, but they can do a border run to receive a new 30 days. The nationals of about half the countries in the world, including most of Africa, cannot have any sort of visa free travel to Thailand and must obtain a prior visa at their nearest Thai embassy. Nobody said immigration rules are a quick read – anywhere in the world!

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ngs-428264

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Small print dooms Brits’ travel insurance in Thailand

By Barry Kenyon

April 8, 2023

This year looks like becoming a record-breaker for badly injured Brits who are stranded in Thailand and unable to pay their medical bills. Whilst the British foreign office and even the Tourist Association of Thailand thunder away at the importance of buying accident and illness cover, the reality is that most travel insurance is not designed to cover life-saving operations or expensive repatriation. Total bills are typically GBP 100,000 and much more if an air evacuation service is needed.

The Association of British Insurers says that 17 percent of all overseas claims are rejected, mostly through lack of documentation, and adds that the average payout for successful claims is just over GBP 1,000. In other words, insurers are mainly paying out on small issues such as lost luggage or booking cancellations rather than medical emergencies. The award-winning blog Travelbunny stresses that most failures come down to the small print in the policies which is there to protect the funds of the insurance companies rather than you.

A review of charity crowdfunding sites, notably GoFundMe, reveals that no fewer than 23 Brits (or their families) have appealed for cash in the past six months to pay for traumatic incidents in Thailand and/or to fund repatriation. Most cases involved traffic accidents, usually on motorbikes or mopeds, with falling from buildings and being mugged the runners-up. The amounts requested in public appeals ranged from GBP 25,000 to GBP 300,000 with the average income received being around 10 percent of the advertised target. At best, charity crowdfunding is a peripheral partner rather than a principal funder.

The reasons for failed insurance policies are sometimes specified in crowdfunding entreaties. In 10 detailed traffic accidents, five injured Brits were refused cover because they were not wearing a crash helmet, two were relying on British driving licences (only international or Thai-issued are lawful here), two were participating in hazardous sports (elephant trekking and bungee jumping) and one had had been out of the UK for more than 30 days. Some reports were ambiguous, for example “Amex let me down” or “repatriation not allowed”.

Not surprisingly, not a single GoFundMe appeal mentioned alcohol or narcotics as an insurance denial reason – even though most of the road accidents occurred late at night. Some Thai hospitals are reluctant to perform such as tests as they don’t want to ruin the chances of a successful insurance payout. However, insurers in a big claim will want clear evidence there was no alcohol or substance abuse. The warning clauses most used in the small print are “must take reasonable care” or “must observe national laws”. For example, it is technically compulsory in Thailand for back seat car passengers to wear safety belts which, of course, creates issues when they have not been fitted.

Informal surveys in Thailand suggest that only about half of incoming tourists have any kind of insurance. Of those who do, most rely on travel insurance which may charge them five percent of the total holiday cost. Apart from being aware of the small print, the best advice is probably to stay away from renting a vehicle at all costs. If something nasty does occur, you can be assured your insurance company will leave no stone unturned. That’s guaranteed.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... and-428796

[Jun]

I always have travel insurance.

The one bit of small print that really bothers me is the part that requires me to phone them and get approval before getting hospital treatment, or something similar.
How do I do that if I'm run over by a bus and in bad condition ?

Also, for the majority of the population, insurance costs very little in comparison with the cost of the trip. So I'm not getting the wallet out to contribute to any crowdfunding appeals.

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How do I do that if I'm run over by a bus and in bad condition ?

If it is an emergency or you are not in any kind of condition to contact them first, I would have thought they would make it clear in such a circumstance you would be covered. I don't know how they can expect someone incapacitated to contact them before going to a hospital. However, knowing how many insurance companies work, once you are able they will want all kinds of documentary information before paying out anything at all. Meanwhile, the hospital wants its money or an acceptable guarantee of payment from the insurance company - meaning if they are not getting what they need from the insurance company, guess who they are going to hold financially responsible.

People need to know what will and will not be covered and it's their own responsibility to find out. For sure nobody wants to find out the hard way they are not covered or it's going to take forever before the insurance company parts with any money.

Remember, you might have perfectly adequate coverage from a reputable insurance company, but even so, for certain aspects you are still at the mercy of the insurance company and how long it's going to take them before they do whatever they're going to do.

[Jun]

Remember, you might have perfectly adequate coverage from a reputable insurance company, but even so, for certain aspects you are still at the mercy of the insurance company and how long it's going to take them before they do whatever they're going to do.

Yes and if I'm in hospital needing a lot of ongoing work, it's cheaper for them to let me die than pony up the money for the treatment.
If I survive, litigation is an option.
If I don't, I doubt anyone else would go after the insurance company.


I don't have a great deal of trust in insurance companies.

I noticed a particularly pointless and inconvenient clause in my home insurance, just before renewal. So I phoned them up to discuss it. The verbal explanation was tolerable, so I asked them to confirm that in writing. I was promised a letter within 48 hours.
It didn't arrive, so I phoned up to chase.
The letter was sent and the content didn't match what they told me.

I found another insurer and exercised my right to cancel within the 14 day cooling off period.
I had a similar phone discussion with the other insurer and was promised a letter within 48 hours.
In this instance, the letter didn't arrive and there wasn't even a record of it on their system.

I made a strong complaint and asked them to get a supervisor to listen to the recording of the previous conversation.
A letter arrived within 24 hours and included what I considered to be very satisfactory wording.

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I made a strong complaint and asked them to get a supervisor to listen to the recording of the previous conversation.
A letter arrived within 24 hours and included what I considered to be very satisfactory wording.

The sad part is having to go through that to get what should have been included in the first place. Everything seems to help the insurance companies instead of the people they are supposed to be insuring. Much of their staff is employed to do everything they can to avoid having to pay out. Insurance should bring peace of mind. It does. Theirs!

This is one of the reasons I am very pleased with Cigna Global's expat insurance. For me, they have always been right there when I've needed them and there has never been any problems or delays about them paying and/or sending the hospital acceptable guarantee of payment. I have never had any out-of-pocket expense at all other than the deductible. Based on your story and many more I've heard from others, I'm very fortunate to have Cigna Global. I highly recommend them for anyone who is, or will be, an expat, whether in Thailand or anywhere else.

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Smog issues in Pattaya won’t be affected by Songkran

By Barry Kenyon

April 12, 2023

Naive hopes that smog issues in Thailand will be temporarily alleviated by the Songkran water fest have been dashed by comedians and experts alike. A running joke in Chiang Mai, the northern capital where air quality is many times higher than the government’s safe target, is “Let’s wait for Songkran” which is Thai lunar new year broadly starting with the start of the rainy season. A prankster on Jomtien’s beach road was wearing a hat proclaiming, “Squirt for health,” before being warned by police that the fun is supposed to start tomorrow.

The Thailand Clean Air Network (TCAN) said that the country’s most acute environmental disaster, the haze season February through April, is essentially caused by the smoke-carrying harmful particles caused by the harvest slashing and burning of land for cash crops such as sugar cane, maize and rice. Spraying water into the air and seeding clouds from military aircraft, hoping to wash away the nastiness, is next to pointless.

IQAir, the Swiss air quality firm, says the daily limit advised by the World Health Organization is sometimes 15 times worse than that in northern cities. TCAN points out that macro-Thai businesses and influential families ignore the health issues to protect their export businesses, whilst Thailand’s neighbors do very little to curb smoke excess. Indonesia and Laos are key offenders whilst many of Myanmar’s border regions are the center of a civil war and impervious to the needs of the environment. As the haze season ends in a few weeks, the whole subject will likely disappear from the daily news. Until next year.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ran-429093

[Jun]

IQAir, the Swiss air quality firm, says the daily limit advised by the World Health Organization is sometimes 15 times worse than that in northern cities. TCAN points out that macro-Thai businesses and influential families ignore the health issues to protect their export businesses, whilst Thailand’s neighbors do very little to curb smoke excess. Indonesia and Laos are key offenders whilst many of Myanmar’s border regions are the center of a civil war and impervious to the needs of the environment. As the haze season ends in a few weeks, the whole subject will likely disappear from the daily news. Until next year.

Thailand also does almost nothing to curb excess smoke.
As far as I can tell, Thai government policy does more to encourage air pollution than to discourage it.

For example, I wonder how their budgets for road building and subsidizing diesel compare with the budget for pollution reduction ?

[Gaybutton]

the budget for pollution reduction ?

Do they even have a budget for it?

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Retiring British honorary Pattaya consul a consummate diplomat

By Barry Kenyon

April 17, 2023

Bert Elson, who is diplomatically retiring after a 10-year stint in the part-time hotspot, handled a very difficult job with real flair and spectacular modesty. With his military background which included the Coldstream Guards – the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British army – and substantial experience as an advanced caseworker trainer for the Royal British Legion, Bert was always an obvious choice.

He was appointed in 2013 after a rather turbulent period for the British embassy in Pattaya. My own honorary consul retirement in 2010 at age 70, after 14 years which coincided with the British tourist numbers boom in Pattaya and the accompanying themes of unusual deaths, almost daily arrests and awkward scandals, had somehow led to a succession of replacements who failed to last longer than 12 months. On top of that, the Pattaya consular office which had opened in 2007 and was conveniently located near the Jomtien immigration bureau, had been closed as part of the British foreign office policy to terminate all provincial offices throughout Asia as a cost-cutting exercise. The Chiang Mai office later suffered the same fate.

Bert became honorary consul at a time when frontline embassy services everywhere were being reduced. There was much talk in foreign office documentation about the need to avoid “overservicing the customers” and to encourage those in distress to use social media and websites rather than to expect personal counselling as a matter of course. Particularly unpopular was the decision by Bangkok, in reality by London, to stop issuing letters of guarantee for UK pension income which was part of the procedure at immigration to obtain some kinds of annual extensions of stay. The problem, apparently, was that some Brits might be lying about their true cash.

From day one, Bert was destined for success. Always loyal to his superiors and already holding the BEM or British Empire Medal (not to be confused with the MBE), he carried out specifically the instructions of the consular section in the Bangkok embassy to contact distressed Brits – defined by them – and to represent the embassy in whatever contexts they saw fit. Never a media figure, he was rarely publicly photographed with police officers or politicians and largely avoided public speaking, even when pressed to do so. But he did maintain a useful commentary on Facebook covering such issues as the covid pandemic and how to stay out of trouble as a British tourist or expat. Sensibly, he never reacted to the public criticism on the internet and elsewhere that the embassy was/is “useless”.

As a director of Tropical Bert Holdings, Bert ran (and runs) a popular UK-style restaurant on Pattaya’s so-called Darkside for around 30 years with his energetic wife Pu. I seem to remember the very first eatery base they opened was in Duck Square. Bert has done a remarkable job as honorary consul as the role is now officially perceived. He has kept his head down and, for the first time in local history, has actually received a written retirement appreciation on the internet by the British embassy in Bangkok. His skillful combining of the resources of the Royal British Legion and the embassy has perhaps been the secret key for his success. To say he will be a hard act to follow is a serious understatement.

https://www.pattayamail.com/news/retiri ... mat-429350