Announcement from PATTAYA Immigration Police

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in the PATTAYA CITY NEWS:

_____

 

(Note from GB: This is not the entire article. Another part of this article deals with the arrest of Cambodians working illegally in Thailand and is irrelevant to this issue.)

 

. . . an announcement was made by the Colonel who clarified the new visa regulations for foreigners which came into force on 1st October. Pattaya City News has obtained a copy of a Royal Thai Police Order no. 608/2549 dated 8th September 2006 and signed by the National Police Commissioner, Police General Kowit which confirms regulations which many foreigners are already aware of.

 

The main change is for those who reside in the Kingdom for long periods of time on 30 day entry stamps. From now on you will only be allowed to enter Thailand on no more than 3 consecutive 30 day stamps at which point you will not be able to re-enter Thailand again for a period of no less than 90 days at which point a further 3 consecutive 30 day stamps will be permitted.

 

One easy solution to this problem is to obtain a multi- entry Tourist Visa from your Thai consulate or embassy in your native country which, if utilized fully, will allow you a total of 9 months stay in the Kingdom after making two border runs to renew the Tourist Visa during the 9 month period.

 

There are other options available to you including a combination of 30 day stamps and single entry tourist visas should you not wish to return to your country of origin and wish to remain here in Thailand without conducting business for which a business visa would then be required.

[Gaybutton]

The most obvious solution to the whole thing is to obtain the one-year retirement visa if you are eligible for it. Most gay "farang" who choose to reside in Thailand are eligible for it The majority of cases in which one would not be eligible for it would be for those under age 50. How about that? Under-age "farang"!

 

In any case, if you are under 50 years old or are otherwise not eligible for the retirement visa, then I believe this article makes it clear that you still can reside permanently in Thailand under the current regulations if you follow the procedure outlined in this article.

 

Whtever you do, don't get involved in trying to over-stay your visa. That would be literally begging for trouble. Simply follow the rules and all should be well, although it may be more of a pain-in-the-butt process than it used to be.

 

[Guest wowpow]

Here we are 8th October and the new rules apply from 1st October. I can't find a single official website with any information regarding them. I have tried.

 

Embassy London

Consulate Hull UK

Embassy Washington

The Immigration Police - under construction

Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Pattaya Immigration

Phuket Immigration

 

zilch!

 

It really is time that some reliable clear information was supplied to the world for visitors to Thailand.

 

Pattaya City News is not the most reliable source in the world and the Immigration Officials seem almost as confused as the public.

 

From various sources the 30 days permission to visit for tourist purposes visa free is extended to 41 countries and is now either:

 

1) You are allowed 3 visit back to back = 90 days and then no more for 90 days - as above. This strikes me as very silly.

 

2) The more sensible, clear and logical - this permission is granted only three times within 180 days.

 

The vast majority of visitors to Thailand are holiday makers here for a matter of weeks and often visiting neighbouring S E Asian countries. These are the ones likely to not know about th revised rule and there is a potential for many to find themselves being refused entry into Thailand after having checked their local Embassy or Consulate site.

 

[bkkguy]

Here we are 8th October and the new rules apply from 31st October. I can't find a single official website with any information regarding them.

 

try the official Immigration Bureau web site:

http://www.immigration.go.th

(and click on English in the top right corner!)

 

they have a translation of Order 608/2549:

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/ba...&section=notice

 

 

From various sources the 30 days permission to visit for tourist purposes visa free is extended to 41 countries and is now either:

 

1) You are allowed 3 visit back to back = 90 days and then no more for 90 days - as above. This strikes me as very silly.

 

2) The more sensible, clear and logical - this permission is granted only three times within 180 days.

 

both wrong - there is no limit on the number of entries, the limit is on the number of days

 

from the order:

 

"shall be permitted for multiple entry into Thailand, by permission of which must not exceed 30 days per entry with a total period of stay not exceeding 90 days within 6 months from the date of the first entry into the Kingdom."

 

I have seen this translation posted on many of the forums (including I thought here but search seems a bit broken?) so I am surprised that everyone still seems obsessed with limits on number of entries

 

there was even a post (I think here) from some Immigration offical suggesting the new visa run habit will be 3 border runs/entry stamps then a trip to Penang to get a toutist visa which gives 60 days entry and can be extended by a month in the country then your 6 months is up so start again with three border runs .... risnse and repeat ad infinitum

 

bkkguy

 

 

 

[Guest wowpow]

bkkguy - congratulations on finding the actual translated text. I had stopped looking at that site as it is mostly written in Thai.

 

However, I think that my point still stands that nearly all the official Thai websites dealing with Visas are not up to date on the new rules which have been in operation for 9 days already.

 

" shall be permitted for multiple entry into Thailand, by permission of which must not exceed thirty days per entry with a total period of stay not exceeding ninety days within six months from the date of first entry into the Kingdom.

It will be effective on 1 October B E 2549" quote

 

I can see where you are coming from in interpreting these words to mean you can enter as often as you like but must not actually 'stay' more than ..etc.

 

I am pretty sure that what will happen is that they will issue 30 day permissions when you enter and you will be only allowed 3 in a period of six months. If you only actually 'stay' one day it will still count as 30.

 

It is reported today on Sawatdee that persons getting a 30 day permission are having the stamp marked with a number 1.

 

Either way it seems that the Pattaya Colonal, as reported in Pattaya City News, is not totally clearly explaining the true situation.

 

I wonder if you have been able to find any information, in official sources, of the other changes announced such as the Visa on Arrival, Retirement Visa and Investment Visas?

 

[Guest wowpow]

"TOURIST VISA EXEMPTION

 

According to the Interior Ministerial Announcements dated 1 October B.E. 2545 (2002), 20 December B.E. 2545 (2002), 18 October B.E. 2547 (2004) and 6 May B.E. 2548 (2005), passport holders from 40 countries and 1 special administrative region