News Forum - Thai actress faints at the wheel, crashes into 9 motor vehicles & a shop in Pattaya
By
Thaiger,
in Thaiger News
-
-
Latest Posts
-
2
News Forum - Police bust Belarusian man in Phuket for allegedly stealing cash and crypto from Russians
They have the same brain as their leader. They think they can bully anyone. Hope the go inside for a while. -
2
News Forum - Woman accuses police of seizing her car for personal use
It seems as if the back story is that the car was seized from a suspected drug dealer. Assets are often seized and only returned when the owner can prove the asset was not bought from the proceeds of crime. She cannot do this or prove that she paid for the car so the car remains impounded at the cop shop who will, of course, use it and deny using it. -
23
News Forum - Thai police admit extorting money from Taiwanese actress
This is next level of shameless behaviour from RTP -
6
Staying Thailand with TR. How long is too long ?
I did. But the clearing the border control was far from smooth. And my experience is perhaps of little reference value to you and people from other nationalities. As a frequent visitor of Thailand I have been keeping track of of the news among the Chinese community there. Before I flew to Bangkok from London in the beginning of Dec. last year, I learned from them that because Thailand is cracking down on the Chinese who works in semi-illgal industries (In Chinese 灰产 or grey industry) in Thailand, they became more strict on issueing ED visas , and crack down on the retirement visas of the people who bribes the officials to get the visa without depositing the money required in a Thai bank (most Chinse people do that, because even if most of them have the funds in China, China's control on currency exchange and outflow became insane these years and it is just impossible to move the 80,000 Baht fund from China to Thailand legally for individuals), and at border control they question and invesigate the every Chinese national, no matter leaving or entering, just like criminals (provided that they don't pay and go through the "priority entry service" that I later will explain). Some frequent Chinese visitors are also regarded abusing the tourist visa or VOA and taken into custody. They are not allowed to go to other coutries where they have residency or other kinds of visa and be deported to China and be forced to pay the very expensive ticket. My trip was already planned but I definitely didn't want to end up like that. Fortunately (or shall I use this word?), the corrupt Thai border officials and the "resourceful" Chinese agents who collude with them have always been advertising a "priority entry service" to the Chinese customers -- with a small fee of 4,000 baht, they would guarantee your entry, with no investigation at all and extreme hospitality from the happy immigration staff, provided that you don't have overstay and other criminal records in Thailand. I contacted an agent used the service and it was almost as described. I was shocked at how welcoming and humble that a Thai immigration could look in front of me. Oh just except that with that humble and smiling face, the gentleman kindly asked me for an additional 5,000 on top of that 4,000, saying "it's an extraodinary time for the Chinese" and "you have visited too often"; "please understand". Well I fully understood that despite his humble and smiling face, he has all the power and I am but a fish on his chopping board, but I did not easily agreed to pay that and started bargaining with the official like a typical Thai person would do when they received a fine or something. Finally I we agreed on the total price of 7,500. Of course I have to pay another 2,200 for my VOA. It should be 2,000 but they just charged 200 more. I was greeted by other immigration staff like a king. However, this period of Thailand's de-facto sanction on Chinese visitors ended by the end of last year. By the time I traveled back to the UK in January there was no longer additional questions and requests of seeing all kinds of documents at the Thai departure immigration control, even if I am Chinese. I heard from other Chinese people that when they enter Thailand they were also no additional investigation. Despite that I travelled to Thailand a bit often and stayed a bit long in 2022, I am an honest tourist and went to thailand to enjoy the beaches, food and local culture, and I did not stay as long as many border runners. In 2020 and most of 2021 (until December) I did not go to Thailand at all due to Covid. I consider myself unlucky to travel to Thailand during this "extradinary period of time" and my experience has little reference value to people from other countries. That said, what I can say for sure is that 4000 baht "priority entry service" is still there. It is mainly advertised and operated by the Chinese agents, but the service is not only restricted to Chinese citizens. As long as a person doesn't have overstay records and other criminal records in Thailand, they can use the service for 4000 baht or so. I would strongly advise against using this, for reasons that I don't need to explain. I will not use this service ever again in the future. -
8
News Forum - Bangkok’s New Chinatown comes back to life as Chinese tourists flock back
Lots of delicious food in Yaowarat.
-
-
-
New Topics
-
-
-
-
Tell a friend
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.