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dirtydog

The Thai consulate in Penang will now only issue 3 tourist visas back to back, on your third Thai tourist visa it will state that you cannot apply for another tourist visa in Penang, what you can do though is go to any other country, ie Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and get a tourist visa for Thailand there, or just do a border run and come in on a 30 day stamp, after this you can then do another 3 visa runs to Penang to get your Thailand tourist visas again.

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watterinja

Falangs are most welcome. TiT.

buriramboy

(This article from Siam expat, or something like that, can't remember)

Visa changes at Thai Penang consulate

News for visa runners & married men

The Royal Thai consulate general in Penang, Malaysia, has indicated that officers there will now limit applications from foreigners applying to visit Thailand as tourists to just three 60 day visas. A travel agent in Penang, who handles applications on a daily basis, said “The consulate is now counting the number of times they have issued a single entry 60 day visa to an individual. The new limit is three and there will likely be a note in the applicant’s passport from now on.”
This is not the first time there has been such a crackdown on repeat applications for tourist visas. The logic seems to be that visit visas are not designed for foreigners seeking residency. It is argued that bona fide retirees with money in the bank or pension income, foreigners working legally in the kingdom and those with Thai wives and dependants can apply for one year visas at Thai immigration offices provided they have the requisite documentation and cash back-up.
The current squeeze seems to be aimed at long stay foreigners in Thailand who don’t otherwise qualify for long stay visas, typically men on limited incomes who rely on renewing their visa time and again at Cambodian border posts or Thai consulates in nearby countries.
Penang has recently grown in popularity as a visa “haven” and the town has a growing number of bars catering for visa runners. This trend is now under threat after the recent ruling. Other Thai consulates and embassies in the region are unlikely to offer more generous visa extensions than Penang. Those in Cambodia, the Philippines, Laos and Singapore – to name but four – are known to be just as restrictive if not more so.
An official source said, “There seems to be a progressive squeeze against foreign men with very limited resources trying to live in Thailand. If they don’t qualify for one year visas in Thailand, their options of going repeatedly to a Cambodian border post (30 days on arrival) or getting numerous prior visas in Penang (60 days) are disappearing.”
He added that he advised people in this situation to return to their home countries, usually in Europe, to obtain multiple entry non immigrant visas which are valid for a year at a time. “But we all know,” he explained, “that many can’t afford the trip or are reluctant to fly home in case they come to official attention at the airport.”
Another consequence of visa squeezes is that some foreigners go into overstay in Thailand as they can’t find a way to renew cheaply. The number of arrests for visa overstayers in Pattaya is rising, but there are no published figures.
But there is better news from Penang for foreign men married to a Thai woman. They can now obtain a multiple entry non immigrant “O” visa, valid for a year, provided they take 1. Their original passport (copy of ID page) and two passport photos; 2. Signed copy of wife’s Thai ID card; 3. Signed copy of marriage certificate signed by both parties (original needs to be shown too); 4. Copy of personal Thai bank book showing at least 400,000 baht (original also needs to be produced); 5. Confirmatory letter from bank, not more than one week old.

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a. boozer

It was my understanding, that if you previously held a Retirement visa, you could not now change it for a Marriage visa, am I correct or not?

buriramboy

Why would you want to change it??? If you are currently on a retirement visa and don't want to renew it for whatever reason when it expires, just apply for a marriage visa. I've had 2 one year non-o multiple entry visas based on marriage issued from Penang no problem. Because of 1 certain requirement that i can't fulfil since they changed the laws last year, i can't obtain a 1 year visa inside Thailand anymore, but going to Penang once every 12-15 months is no great hassle, plus i prefer being on a multi-entry visa, always a good excuse to get away from the wife for a few days every 90 days.

stroller

And, more importantly, typically those who are not married and under 50 years of age with more than enough money to support themselves and a Thai family.

- TWATS!

Thetyim

Have I read that right.
You can get a one year multi entry visa if you are married and have 400k in the bank but you cannot get an extension with 400k you must show an income of 40k pcm

buriramboy

Correct that was my problem, before you could get a 1 year extention inside Thailand with 400k in the bank but they changed it on October 1st last year.

corvettelover

Brisbane Thai Consulate. marriage visa 12 months multiple entry, extension not permitted $255
required
1.Copy oh wifes house papers
2.Copy of marriage cert.
3.Copy of her ID card.
4.Letter from wife inviting me to come to thailand.
5.Copy of my passport.
Hand over money good bye
No requirement for $s
Still have to go out every 90 days. Yeah
easier to go home every 12 months and renew.

Interesting letter to postbag on bangkok post on visa renewals the man makes $ a reality

so imagine there are 100,000 falang living in Thailand.
in thailand spending 20,000 baht a month on average
equals 20 million a month x 12 = 240 million. baht
nice earn and thats a low average
Evidently malaysia reduced their falang staying rules so more moved there a couple of years ago and other countries followed suit.

So once again the thai gov cant thing out side the square.
TITS

Thormaturge

Presumably because three is as far as some Thais can count without a calculator.

Frankenstein

There's probably many who disagree with me about this, but I think the main reason is that Thailand does not want permanent booze, drug, and sexpats living here on tourist visas. In part it is a control thing, in part it is a monetary thing as they want to make some money off the visa process.

They don't seem to mind temporary booze and sex tourists much, but they exercise the right to be more picky about people for long term stay, who needs to have at least a minimum amount of money (high for Thailand, but not for most Western countries) and who are at a minimum willing to get married, and who are willing to work if they are under retirement age.

It's a rigid system, but I think that is what they are trying to do. Better try to set yourself up so you can fulfill the minimum requirements if you want to stay longterm.

Troubled

I agree with a lot that you say and certainly the general tone but i disagree in your stating that it is a rigid system.
The goalposts appear to move constantly. no thought appears to be given to the impact on rule changes.
The consstant tinkering or appearance of tinkering makes it difficlult for many to plan ahead.
Those wishing to follow the rules think twice and strongly consider alternatives.
ie 10 year retirment visa in malaysia
Those that don't care about the rules still stick around

watterinja

I believe that the long-term effect of the constantly shifting goalposts will see the falangs looking for a more permanent arrangement, moving to alternative destinations.

Basically, the only difference in LOS & many surrounding places is the apparent availability of ready flange. Facts are, if folks did settle & stabilise in surrounding countries, the local flange would be attracted anyway.

I really don't see the major attraction in Thailand, compared to say 5 years ago when it was more free & easy.

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Frankenstein

^^I didn't really clarify what I meant by rigid, which is that they do not make exceptions for people who make enough money by non-conventional but still legal means. Perhaps I should have used another word.

You are certainly right that they change the rules often and create a lot of uncertainty and confusion every time. Not only for foreigners, but also for the staff of immigration and consulates/embassies who appear to apply their own interpretation of the rules.

buad hai

Which is exploited by certain web forums and law firms much to their financial gain.

stroller

Not only that, but as I pointed out earlier, it doesn't matter whether you have income or money in the bank if you're not married and under 50, there just isn't a visa category for long-stay.

johnbkk

corvette lover: your math is slightly off. By those figures it's 2 billion baht a month, 24 billion baht a year.

I agree they probably don't work the numbers. Even if they did, I don't think they could get over their huge egos and nationalism long enough to see the benefits.

The way the immi laws are set up, most of the money you spend chasing long stay visas still goes out of the country on plane tickets, hotel rooms, and the like. It isn't like they're capturing that money by shutting down the 30 day runs to the Cambo border, or the 60 + 30 day visas from regional consulates.

If things were more logical, you could just buy a B visa downtown for a varying fee depending on what your situation is. Could use that money to build schools or buy lambos or whatever.

I see the retirement and marriage visas as just barely tolerated exceptions to the general rule of 'you can't stay here'. That rule itself is based more on emotional / political considerations than rational ones.

johnbkk

Yes, exactly.

dirtydog

Penang are now taking the visa rules a bit more seriously, ie if you had a non immigrant visa issued in Penang in 2006 and in 2007 go to Penang to apply for a tourist visa, they will give you the first one, the next time you go they will give you your next tourist visa but will stamp the visa in red ink saying, "DO NOT APPLY NEW VISA AT PENANG AGAIN", whether that is for life or a few months I have no idea, so keep a few of those 30 days spare cos you may just need them