Guest luvthai Posted January 31, 2008 Posted January 31, 2008 Starting Feb 1st Penang will issue visas only to those that are in possession of an international ticket with departure from Thailand to another international destination (not malayasia or Vietnam or the like). This is aimed to prevent long term stays in thailand. Most likely all emabssies will follow along behind with these new restrictions. reported by thaivisa.com Quote
Gaybutton Posted February 1, 2008 Posted February 1, 2008 Starting Feb 1st Penang will issue visas only to those that are in possession of an international ticket with departure from Thailand to another international destination (not malayasia or Vietnam or the like). This is aimed to prevent long term stays in thailand. Most likely all emabssies will follow along behind with these new restrictions. reported by thaivisa.com I hope that is incorrect. First, there are other modes of transportation besides air. Second, what's their problem about Malaysia or Vietnam? I wonder if that would also apply to Laos, Cambodia, and Burma. It doesn't make much sense to me, but then again they never asked me . . . Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 1, 2008 Posted February 1, 2008 To be fair, this is only applying a rule that has been in existence for decades. If you arrive in Thailand by plane without a long-term visa, you must have a valid ticket out of Thailand dated not later than the last day of your 'on arrival' visa. In many dozens of trips I never had any problem - even though I rarely had an outbound ticket (because I would buy the round trips here). Then, 4 years ago I was almost denied boarding on a British Airways flight from Sydney to Bangkok. I did have a booking for a flight out 3 weeks later, but it was an e-ticket and I had no hard copy with me. It took 20 minutes of arguing plus an imprint of my credit card to finally get on board. Apparently, according to this law, if an airline flies in a passenger without an onward ticket, not only must the airline fly the passenger back to the point of departure, it also faces a heavy fine by the Thai authorities. But why that rule should disbar passengers with tickets to neighbouring countries beats me. Quote
Guest wowpow Posted February 1, 2008 Posted February 1, 2008 Cut and Paste may not be popular with all but at least you can see all that was actually written. "Stricter rules on Tourist visas issued in Penang from February 1, 2008 BANGKOK: -- The Royal Thai Consulate in Penang is expected to impose stricter rules regarding the issuing of Tourist Visas. Thaivisa.com have been advised that the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Penang as from TOMORROW, February 1 2008, will only issue Tourist Visas to those in possession of an air ticket departing from Thailand to an international destination not local in the same region. (i.e. not Vietnam, Malaysia or similar.) It is believed that the reason for the tightening of the rules is to reduce the number of foreigners using tourist visas to stay long term in Thailand, and not for tourism purposes for which this visa is intended, therefore abusing the system. Our source is from a reliable person, who normally provides us with accurate information, and we have no reason to doubt the accuracy of this information. The new ticket rule is not officially confirmed as yet. --thaivisa.com 2008-01-31" Penang has a history of making special rules which are not applied elsewhere. I would be very surprised if this spreads to other consulates even if it does take place. There is, of course, absolutely no logical reason for them to do this. They can see from your passport and their computer records if you are using this visa for long time stays in Thailand and can warn people doing this that it will not be allowed. It would be very helpful if they offer a Visa for people to stay longtime in Thailand other than for investment, retirement or working. Quote
Gaybutton Posted February 1, 2008 Posted February 1, 2008 Cut and Paste may not be popular with all but at least you can see all that was actually written. As an aside, please continue to cut and paste whether others like it or not. I have yet to ever see a cut and paste you submitted that wasn't well worth reading. Most of the people who criticize you for it never have anything to contribute beyond put-downs and snide remarks. It's rare to see any of them write anything useful. You always do your best to try to provide useful information, which is much more than most of the critics ever do. Quote
Guest wowpow Posted February 1, 2008 Posted February 1, 2008 "I'm currently in Penang and at 5.41 PM a fax arrived to the visa agents, stating that from tomorrow Feb. 1, everyone applying for a touristvisa should have an ongoin airticket out of Thailand and the region, to their home country. STAY AWAY if you cant produce this!" Zua on www.thaivisa.com 31st Jan 2008 So virtually zero working hours official notice before introducing a drastic new rule. C&P Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted February 2, 2008 Posted February 2, 2008 everyone applying for a touristvisa should have an ongoin airticket out of Thailand and the region, to their home country Ouch! That's really going to hurt most people! So it's not just a cheap ticket to Hong Kong, Singapore or Taipei, but right back to the US or Europe in many cases. Quote
Gaybutton Posted February 2, 2008 Posted February 2, 2008 Ouch! That's really going to hurt most people! That's not necessarily the case. The rule is not yet in place, which means maybe it won't even happen. But if it does happen, so far that would apply only to Penang. There is a way around that, and many of you are probably eligible. Get the retirement visa. Once you have it you don't have to worry, assuming you'll be making at least one trip per year to Thailand to get a new proof-of-income statement if you are unable to keep 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account. Even if you can't make the trip in the space of a year, and your visa expires, you can always get another one when you return. Once you have the retirement visa, figure out approximately when your next trip will be and then get a re-entry permit for a date around that time. The re-entry permit is valid until your annual visa expires. It's a bit expensive to do it that way if you are arriving on the 30-day visa-on-demand, because you'll have to get the proof-of-income statement from the embassy, which costs 1200 baht. and then pay Immigration a total of 3900 baht to have them make the conversion to a Type"O" visa, followed by an immediate conversion to the retirement visa, followed by 1000 baht for a re-entry permit. In most cases, the least expensive and most convenient way to do it would be to spend at least a night or two in Bangkok upon arrival in Thailand. That way, you're already in Bangkok in close proximity to the embassy to get the proof-of-income statement. Once you have it, now you can move on to Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, or wherever you wish to go. Immigration offices are in most major cities. If you have the retirement visa, you can stay in Thailand as long as you want. All you have to do is report your address every 90 days. Also, if you have a re-entry permit along with a retirement visa, then you will not be asked to produce a ticket out of Thailand when you arrive. Most Thai banks will allow you to open an account provided you have at least the Type"O" visa. Most Thai banks will not allow you to open an account with the 30-day visa-on-arrival anymore. However, Siam Commercial Bank, a major Thai bank, still allows it. You must have a Thai bank account in order to obtain a retirement visa. So, you're looking at spending about US $190, at current exchange rates, to do all this, but it sure beats having to make a trip to Penang or anywhere else. Just about anyone at least 50 years old will be eligible for the retirement visa. Quote
Guest wowpow Posted February 2, 2008 Posted February 2, 2008 According to reports on thaivisa - posted above - the rule started on 1st February 2008 Penang has a history of refusing Visa types for a few months and then permitting them again. I suspect that this ludicrous rule will not last long. The rule regarding returning to your own country is an incredible infringement of peoples liberty to travel and unparalleled anywhere in the world. The thing is that the whole exercise is pretty pointless in achieving the stated objective of stopping people living in Thailand for long spells on renewed Visas. The Consulate can see from the persons passport or their computer records if someone is doing that and make a decision whether to renew the visa or not. That would not effect the many bona fide applications for people who want to stay in Thailand for more than 3 months. In the meanwhile there are other places to go to get new Visas, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and maybe even Kuala Lumphur. Perhaps many will opt to get multiple re-entry Visas from their home country before travelling. The actions of Thai Immigration over the last year has been very strange. It's almost as if they hate tourists and foreigners and work to make getting into and staying in Thailand more confusing and difficult by the month. Rant over until next time! Quote
