Thailand: Immigration confirms the end of border runs from October 1, 2006
Immigration confirms the end of border runs from October 1, 2006
Thailand tightens visa rules for tourists to cut illegal workers
BANGKOK: — Thailand will tighten entry regulations for tourists in a bid to crack down on illegal foreign workers, the Immigration Bureau said.
The move, which takes effect October 1, would affect tourists from 41 countries including Australia, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the US, said Suwat Thamrongsrisakul, the head of the bureau.
Currently, tourists from 41 countries can enter Thailand without visas and stay in the kingdom for up to 30 days.
They can extend their stay by checking out of the country, mainly by crossing the borders of neighboring Cambodia and Laos, and returning with new entry stamps.
‘Under the current rules, people from those countries can stay in Thailand as long as they want. Some even stay here for one year,’ another bureau official said.
The bureau had learned that a growing number of foreigners from the 41 countries worked illegally in Thailand, Suwat said, adding many were employed in bars and restaurants in the popular seaside resort of Pattaya, east of Bangkok.
‘Tourists are taking advantage of the visa exemption law. Instead of sightseeing, they are doing business here,’ Suwat said.
From October, tourists from the designated countries can still enter Thailand without visas and stay for up to 30 days, but their entry stamps will be renewable twice at most for a maximum stay of 90 days.
Tourists who stayed for 90 days must leave the kingdom for at least 90 days before being permitted to re-enter Thailand, Suwat said.
–forbes.com 2006-09-10
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News from the new regulation:
This is coming from the Chief of Immigration.
1. Retirement Visa extension. If you have a foreign married spouse who is a dependent they will be able to get this dependent visa now. ( change of what has been happing the last couple weeks)
2. Retirement visa extension: If you have children under 20. They will no longer be able to get a dependent visa based on you having an extension of stay on retirement. They want these kids to get it based on education so they go to school.
3. Investment Visa extension: Will no longer be available after Oct 1st for new applicants on 3 million Baht.
4. Investment visa extension. For existing extension of stay holders of 3 million Baht, we are now being told this will now be grandfathered in and they will be able to get the extension forever as long as they renew. (Yes I know reversal from several hours ago but the government is aware that people bought condos before on this scheme and now will allow it.)
5. Now the news for frequent visitors: We have checked this upwards and backwards all day and it has been confirmed by a copy of the new regulation we have. If you have a visa on arrival more than three times in six months, you cannot come into Thailand without a visa from an Embassy/Consulate. When you enter Thailand, even if you are here just 1 hour, this counts as 30 days. If you come back 6 weeks later for 2 days, this again is 30 days. If you arrive a month later for 4 days, still counts as 30 days. When you leave, you cannot enter Thailand for 3.5 months without coming back with a visa. The reason is to force people who are supposed to have work permits to do so and pay tax.
Another example; you arrive for a week, this counts as 30 days, One month later 3 days and its 30 days, two months later and its for a two week period, still another 30 days. You can reenter Thailand in 6 weeks without having a visa.
6. On extension of stay based support of a Thai national (Marriage visa), before if you applied for this extension of stay, you would get a 30 day consideration stamp. Once you return in 30 days you would get the one year extension. Now it will be the same as an extension of stay based on business with the norm of three 30 day consideration stamps. Immigration will go out and check to see if it’s a real marriage or a sham before issuing the one year.
7. On an extension of stay based on being a Monk. No dependents will be allowed to get an extension of stay based on being a dependent.
http://www.sunbeltasiagroup.com
Royal Thai Police
Order No. 608 / 2549
Subject: An authorization for permission to foreigners that are exempted from the Visa requirements to stay temporarily in the Kingdom of Thailand.
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As the Interior Ministerial Regulation has stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the Visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002) and the Ministerial Regulation (Volume 2) B.E. 2546 (2003) dated on 28th March B.E. 2546 (2003) prescribed the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the exception in the Visa requirements pursuant to the Article 12 (1) of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979).
For supporting the approval permission to the foreign nationals who are exempted from Visa requirements when entering to temporarily stay in the Kingdom of Thailand to be in order pursuant to the intention of the Thai Government, under the virtue of the Article 35 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979) and the Article 11 (4) of Royal Thai Police Act B.E. 2547 (2004), the authorized Immigration Officer shall be lawfully appointed and authorized to permit the foreign nationals who get the exemption of Visa requirements for entering to temporarily stay in the Kingdom of Thailand in accordance with the following types of exemption:
1. Passport holder of the country that has made an agreement with the Thai government, according to the Interior Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the Visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), Article 13 (1), shall be permitted to have the right to stay in Thailand according to the period which is mutually agreed between the government of Thailand and the government of the passport holder.
2. Passport holder from the country which has no Royal Thai Embassy or the Royal Thai Consulate located in that country as the Minister of the Interior has stipulated under the consent of the Cabinet, according to the Interior Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), Article 13 (2), shall be permitted to stay in Thailand not exceeding to 30 days from the arrival date.
3. According the Article 13 (3) of the Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), within six months period, the holder of passport or substitutive documents which issued by any country that is approved by the Minister of the Interior, under the approval of the Cabinet, to enter to temporarily stay in Thailand for tourism purpose, shall be permitted to enter Thailand several times. Each permitted time shall not be exceeding 30 days period, and the total period shall not be exceeding 90 days from the first day that the passport holder arrived in Thailand.
4. According the Article 13 (4) of the Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), the holder of passport or other substitutive documents who enter to temporarily stay in the Kingdom of Thailand for the conference or the international sport contest shall be permitted to stay in the Kingdom not more than 30 days from the day arrived in the Kingdom of Thailand.
5. According the Article 13 (5) of the Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), the holder of passport or other substitutive documents of the country that is the member of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and holds the APEC businessman passport who enters to temporarily stay in the Kingdom of Thailand for business purpose shall be permitted to stay in the Kingdom not more than 90 days from the day arrived in the Kingdom of Thailand.
6. This Order shall be supersede to all other rules, regulations and orders that are conflicted with this Order.
This Order shall be in full force commencing from this 1st day of October 2006
Order dated on 8th September 2006
Signed Signature
(Police General ———)
Royal Thai Police Commandant