No more visa Runs

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No more visa runs as

The honeymoon seems to be over. Anyone relying on the Thailand’s easy boarder run policy to stay in the country for an extended period of time will not be able to from 13th August.
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The one day visa runs to the neighboring countries borders to gain an additional 15 – 30 days has been a very popular and cheap way for many long term residents in Thailand to extend their stay here without the need of long stay visas, but this is about to change.
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Anyone wishing to stay longer must now leave the country in order to apply for a visa at consulates and embassies in other countries, something many are complaining is very inconvenient.
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The Immigration Bureau have already told the officials to refuse entry to foreigners on visa runs as a measure to stop the exploitation of tourist visas and visa exemptions to live or work here.
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Tourists wishing to extend their stay in Thailand must now need to exit the country and apply for a proper tourist visa or they will need to fly out of the country every thirty days to obtain a new stamp. However, the ‘fly in – fly out’ option will not last for very long as visa runs by air will be prohibited from August 13th.
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Immigration Bureau website says: “Leniency will be granted until August 12, but only for passengers arriving by air. Foreigners who come to Thailand must seek a proper visa in line with the purpose of their intended stay here.”
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These moves have come about to prevent people from simply coming in and out of the country without having to apply, and pay for, the proper visa required to stay in the country. This means that tourists will now have to secure a visa from a consulate outside of Thailand whether that is in their own country before they travel or in nearby countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos or Singapore.
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The issuing of visas from nearby countries is down to the discretion of the consulate used and the rules regarding the issue of tourist visas change on a monthly basis. Those who have already had several tourist visas may find their application is refused or they may receive a single rather than a double entry visa.
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Pol Colonel Thirachai Dedkhad said: “We have made it clear that if they want to work in Thailand, they must seek a work permit and get the right type of visa.”

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Source: Love Pattaya Thailand

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Thailand Intrusive Immigration Form

THAILAND’S Immigration Bureau now requires foreigners nationwide to provide extensive personal information. In the widely criticized ‘Foreign National Information Form’, foreigners are asked to provide bank account details, social media accounts, frequently visited places, and other details.

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The form, which up until now was only used in certain areas, “is being rolled out nationwide”, reported ThaiVisa News on Wednesday.

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The requirement applies to longer-stay visitors, including those filling out their 90-day report, visa extensions, or re-entry permits. Tourists will not be required to fill out the form at point of entry.

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SEE ALSO: Thailand: ‘Intrusive’ immigration form now mandatory for foreigners in Phuket

Last month, the Immigration Bureau’s crime suppression unit Deputy Commissioner Maj Gen Chachaval Vachirapaneegul told The Phuket News that it was “mandatory” for foreigners to fill out the form.

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“If a foreigner doesn’t want to fill in their information by themselves, they will be questioned for our records anyway. If they don’t fill in the form, we will suspect their reason,” he said.

However, not all details are required, apparently, as Chachaval added that people would not be forced to include their social media accounts.

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The Immigration Bureau’s reasoning behind the necessity of the form, despite an outcry from foreigners in Thailand, is due to the fact that “in the past, immigration lacked information about foreign nationals living in Thailand when problems happened. This updated information will help us catch foreigners faster,” said Chachaval. 

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SEE ALSO: Thailand: Foreigners vexed by ‘intrusive’ immigration forms

The form was first introduced back in April at the Immigration Division 1 office and the One-Stop Service Center at Chamchuri Square in Bangkok, followed by Phuket, and is now reportedly used in Samut Prakan and Jomtien.

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 Among the information the form asks “aliens” to submit are:

• Full name, date of birth, and passport number
• Full names of father and mother
• Full address and telephone numbers in home country
• Full address and telephone numbers of residence and workplace in Thailand
• Social media accounts and email address (optional)
• Make of car/motorcycle, as well as its model, color, and license plate number
• Frequently visited places such as clubs, restaurants, shops, hospital
• Emergency contact details (one of Thai nationality and one of foreign nationality)
• Bank account details such as bank, branch, account name and account number (only required for certain visas).
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  Understandably, many foreigners are reluctant to share their private information with Thai authorities, as they have their doubts regarding how securely their details will be kept – it was only in March when a couple of online data leaks revealed foreigners’ sensitive information.
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  But for those of you thinking of just winging it and putting in false information to stick it to the man, the form readily informs that those “providing false information to an officer shall be punished under [the] Penal Code”.
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  Source: Asian Correspondent

Soldiers and municipal workers clean up Khao San Road area after #Songkran

 

Soldiers and municipal workers clean up Khao San Road area after #Songkran

 

 

 

Some pictures from: BangkokPost

 

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AMAZING THAILAND

Myanmar pair guilty of Koh Tao murders, get death sentence.

KOH SAMUI, Thailand (AP) — A Thai court has sentenced two Myanmar migrants to death for murdering two British backpackers on a resort island last year.

In its ruling Thursday, the court said it found Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, both 22, guilty of killing David Miller, 24, and raping then murdering Hannah Witheridege, 23, last year on the island of Koh Tao.

Andy Hall, an activist working with the defense team, said the two men were found guilty on all counts. The pair faces the death penalty, but they are expected to appeal.

 The battered bodies of Miller and Witheridge were found Sept. 15, 2014. Autopsies showed that the young backpackers had both suffered severe head wounds and that Witheridge had been raped.

 The defendants had pleaded innocent, saying they were tortured by police to make initial confessions to the crimes. Human rights groups repeatedly called for an independent investigation and raised concerns that the men might be scapegoats.

Source: Pattayamail

The battered bodies of Miller and Witheridge were found Sept. 15, 2014. Autopsies showed that the young backpackers had both suffered severe head wounds and that Witheridge had been raped.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
- See more at: http://www.pattayamail.com/worldnews/myanmar-migrants-found-guilty-of-killing-british-backpackers-54211#sthash.NZSHUQmD.dpuf

KOH SAMUI, Thailand (AP) — A Thai court has sentenced two Myanmar migrants to death for murdering two British backpackers on a resort island last year.

In its ruling Thursday, the court said it found Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, both 22, guilty of killing David Miller, 24, and raping then murdering Hannah Witheridege, 23, last year on the island of Koh Tao.
Andy Hall, an activist working with the defense team, said the two men were found guilty on all counts. The pair faces the death penalty, but they are expected to appeal.

- See more at: http://www.pattayamail.com/worldnews/myanmar-migrants-found-guilty-of-killing-british-backpackers-54211#sthash.NZSHUQmD.dpuf

Junta reminds landlords to report all foreign tenants to Immigration Bureau, #Thailand

A junta announcement last Wednesday reminding property owners to notify the Immigration Bureau of all foreign tenants within 24 hours ruffled feathers in Thailand’s expat real estate community, but the little-enforced law has been on the books for decades.

The National Council for Peace and Order’s televised address on Sept. 2 at noon requested “Homeowners and owners of hotels, apartments, and accommodation buildings where there are foreigners staying in the accommodation to inform officials at nearest immigration bureau or the local police station within 24 hours of the foreigner's arrival at the premises."

The announcement caused consternation in the Bangkok rental property scene.

“I hadn’t noticed Wednesday’s announcement on this so I’m in trouble for not reporting my own tenant,” an executive at Colliers International Thailand told real estate website Dot Property.

“This regulation has always been on the books but not enforced,” said Simon Landy, Chairman of Colliers International Thailand “In the wake of the arrest of the Erawan suspect in a rented apartment someone decided it should be enforced.”

The other real estate firms contacted were either “unaware of the announcement, or were not prepared to comment on it.”

It appears that the little-known-about law has been around for decades, but was only re-emphasized in the wake of the Erawan bombing.

According to the 1979 Immigration Act, “House owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national.”

One official at the Government Contact Center told Coconuts Bangkok that the investigation into the bombing opened up the eyes of the government about how little the law has been enforced.

“The NCPO only encouraged landlords to notify the immigration office as accordance to the law," Yingsak Dechyuwawech said "After the bombing, authorities found out through investigation that many landlords do not report their foreign tenants."

NCPO commented on their televised address Wednesday that reporting foreign tenants was “another method of building security and promoting safety for tourists.”

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Coup leader calls for Immigration to relax ‘out-in’ visa clampdown.

Thailand’s coup leader and prime minister-in-waiting, Gen Prayuth Chan-Ocha last night (August 22) called for the Immigration crackdown on “out-in” tourist visas to be rolled back.

 

 During his weekly TV briefing to the nation, aired on all channels, the general said he had ordered the Immigration Police to be “more flexible” in its application of the law.

Immigration recently cracked down on the number of times a foreigner may cross the border into a neighboring country, turn around and re-enter the country on a new tourist visa.

Many of the people doing multiple out-in tourist visas were believed to be working in the country illegally, often as teachers or tour guides.

According to the English subtitles of his speech, the general said he was concerned that the clampdown – whereby people doing out-in visas are required to prove they are genuine tourists, or be barred from entry – was affecting schools and the tourist industry.

“This is an ongoing problem that needs to be resolved, as it can lead to a shortage of English teachers and guides,” he said.

The statement will shock many in the bureaucracy, on several levels. First, it is illegal to work while in Thailand on a tourist visa. Second, people working illegally pay no tax. And third, foreigners may not be guides in Thailand; that is a profession reserved for Thais only.

The crackdown was launched by the then-national commander of Thai Immigration, Lt Gen Pharnu Kerdlarpphon, who told The Phuket News on May 13, just nine days before the coup, that multiple out-in visa runs would no longer be tolerated. He has since been sidelined.

The question of foreigners working as tour guides has long been a troubled one. Although Thais alone may be tour guides, there are very few Thai guides who speak, for example, Korean or Russian, for which there is great demand. This fuels the number of people working illegally.

Even if Immigration now turn a blind eye to out-in visa runners, it will not solve the problems of unqualified foreigners teaching languages or foreign guides knowing nothing about the island’s history and making it up as they go along, leaving the tourists they instruct with a twisted understanding of Thai culture and history.

Thousands of foreigners in Phuket will be watching this issue with great interest.

Source:  Phuketnews

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