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Visa runs indefinitely still a possibility?

 
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Master Shake



Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 10:42 pm    Post subject: Visa runs indefinitely still a possibility? Reply with quote

Hi All,

I used to teach in Thailand in '08-'09. I remember meeting teachers whose passports were chock full of used visas. They'd do border runs every three months to Cambodia, and some had been doing this for several years.

I heard the government has 'cracked down' on this sort of thing, but I'm not sure how true this is. Like a lot of things in LoS, it may be more for show than anything. What have you heard?

I'm coming back to LoS for some short-term work in a week and may have to do a visa run myself, so that's why I'm interested.
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EFL Educator



Joined: 17 Jul 2013
Posts: 988
Location: Cape Town

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 12:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Visa runs still apply...nowadays its best to come to Thailand with a multiple entry tourist visa rather than visa on arrival. Work possibilities are endless here in the Land of Smiles...enjoy your retun to the Land of Amazing Smiles!!! Very Happy
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

EFL Educator wrote:
Visa runs still apply...nowadays its best to come to Thailand with a multiple entry tourist visa rather than visa on arrival. Work possibilities are endless here in the Land of Smiles...enjoy your retun to the Land of Amazing Smiles!!! Very Happy


No.

Get a single entry tourist visa (gives you 60 days + 30-day extension).

For 3000 baht you can run up to Laos and do it again or spend 1500 and just do a run to the nearest border for 30 days.

Multi entry visas mean you still need to exit every 60 days (so you pay for the border run) and now they cost 5000 baht (or local equivalent) instead of 2000 baht AND you need to show a bunch of money in the bank (200k baht or local cash equivalent).

There was a clampdown on visa runs last fall (Aug - Oct) with people being refused entry if they had too many tourist stamps but they have quit enforcing things again.

There is talk of having a 90-day limit out of every 180-days on tourist stamps and deportation/banning for overstays have become law with enforcement beginning in late March (after the 20th?).

.
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Master Shake



Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the reply, suphanburi. That's useful info. For some odd reason, most of EFL Educator's posts don't fill me with confidence.

That's interesting about the 90 out of 180 limit possibly coming into effect in March. They have the same thing in Eastern Europe, where I used to teach.

I wonder how people keep up with all the regs in Thailand, since most of this stuff is not exactly clearly signposted to the public. Guess that's what Dave's is for. Wink
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sigmoid



Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 1276

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 3:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is a website dedicated to the complexities of visas in Thailand. Just search for "thai visa" and skip down past the ads. Scroll down and look for "Thailand visa info" on the right hand side of the page.

Anyway, friends of mine still living in Bangkok seem to be doing OK with continuous visa runs (not border runs) to Vientiane and Phnom Penh. Another friend of mine used to go to Savannakhet as well.

BTW, I see you're in Colorado. Are you in Boulder by any chance?
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Wed Feb 24, 2016 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Master Shake wrote:
That's interesting about the 90 out of 180 limit possibly coming into effect in March. They have the same thing in Eastern Europe, where I used to teach


Bans for overstays are now law and enforcement begins in March.

The 90/180 or 180/year is just under discussion by the leadership but if they decid, "Yes," it won't take long for the Junta to make it law (days as opposed to months) under section 44.

It wouldn't be the first time they have done it. I think the last time was back in 2006 or 2008.

It was only as recently as last fall that border runners were being denied entry after their run and were essentially kicked out of the country (most going to Cambodia and Myanmar where enforcement is lackadaisical at best)

Thai Visa is a good place to try to stay abreast of events if you aren't in regular contact with immigration officers.

.
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Master Shake



Joined: 03 Nov 2006
Posts: 1202
Location: Colorado, USA

PostPosted: Fri Feb 26, 2016 4:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sigmoid, I was in Boulder today teaching a comic book workshop at an elementary school. Boulder's a nice place, though I'm not a fan of the trustifarians. I live in Fort Collins.

I'll give Thai Visa a look. Seems like Thailand never closes a door (or border) without opening a window.
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plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 2:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Even another stamp at Ban Laem at Cambodia where you would get a permit for 30 days, stops after about 6 - 10 visits. There is an immigration system alert that goes on, and this apparently occurs everywhere. This is from a professional. I doubt that you can stay in Thailand for even a year without a work permit.
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Hermosillo



Joined: 17 Jun 2014
Posts: 176
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

PostPosted: Tue Mar 08, 2016 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I live in Chiang Mai on a Retirement Extension. I'm barely over 50 yo, and put 800K in a Thai Bank. I did my first extension a few months ago. 1900 THB and I'm good for another year. I compared notes with an old timer about how much more difficult it is for non-retirees than it used to be. We both agreed that if we weren't 50+; we wouldn't be here dealing with the hassles. He said he would be in Myanmar. Perhaps, Cambodia for me, or even Mexico. I'm an experienced Math Teacher, and generally, we are in great demand. Much more so than TEFLers. You can't work on a Retirement Extension, but I did actually submit a resume a few days ago, for the first time in at least a year. Nothing has even remotely tempted me to give up a perfectly good visa for a flimsy job, with massive paperwork headaches. I might consider 60K per month in BKK, but the salaries in CM are more like a bad joke, and have clearly drifted down in the past 10 years.
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plumpy nut



Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 8:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The staying in Thailand situation makes me wonder about the Master's program I attended when I was in Thailand. The program could not provide an education visa. A person studying in the program would have to find another visa means. You could get an education visa by spending additional money and studying Thai in addition to taking the Master's degree classes. It's hard to tell what would happen really.
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Hermosillo



Joined: 17 Jun 2014
Posts: 176
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

One of the most notorious people in the TEFL Thailand industry has surfaced through a Filipino College. It's suppose to get you a B.Ed....they have already spun off from the original school, and the complaints are starting to mount. He's banned from some sites, a paid advertiser on others (protecting him), and spends a lot of time threatening people with defamation/libel suits. Up to you.
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Prof.Gringo



Joined: 07 Nov 2006
Posts: 2236
Location: Dang Cong San Viet Nam Quang Vinh Muon Nam!

PostPosted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 6:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hermosillo wrote:
One of the most notorious people in the TEFL Thailand industry has surfaced through a Filipino College. It's suppose to get you a B.Ed....they have already spun off from the original school, and the complaints are starting to mount. He's banned from some sites, a paid advertiser on others (protecting him), and spends a lot of time threatening people with defamation/libel suits. Up to you.


Links? Wink
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