News Forum - Deputy PM plans to meet with foreign ambassadors to discuss 10-year visa

[mickkotlarski]

14 minutes ago, Benroon said:

If you really don't understand the comparison you are correct there is no point in debating it, especially as we are far closer to the same side than you think. I was not in support of banning farangs buying land, I've never come even close to saying that, but I UNDERSTOOD why it was in place. Very different.

The comparison is that the UK government bought in heavy CGT laws in 2015 to stop Russians buying up London with their immense wealth, subsequently the markets went nuts and everyone put their prices up accordingly as word got around there was shitloads of cash in town. The ripple effect across London then meant hard working Londoners, incl the likes of doctors, accountants etc couldn't afford to buy there. It became a big problem and the government had to step in.

Exactly the same situation would happen if anyone could buy land in Thailand, it's an absolute direct comparison but as SD noted only on a larger, wealthier, scale but the outcome would be the same.

So the UK can pass laws to prevent foreigners taking advantage of what is for them cheap deals but the thai government can't ? That's hypocrisy. Like I said I didn't say I agree with it, but I can understand it.

Ahhh. Now that makes sense and after reading this message along with a few others that you replied to Tuk Tuk and Soidog we are far closer than originally thought.

To be honest I am/was very sympathetic towards Thailand not wanting to sell land to folk from overseas.

My only grey area is that there are exceptions such as those with family and certain businesses under regulation. In my case (horrible thought) but should my wife depart my last will and testament would see my estate pass to my Thai niece. The land ownership actually stays local. I don't have any family left apart from my Thai family (will spare the the details.. long and sad truth).

I also see your point about the UK and see very similar consequences back home. Without trying to sound bigoted or racist but London in particular along with several English cities have lost their sense of character in some ways. Some firm but polite regulations could have helped.

In the end most if not all of the hot air was totally unnecessary and I was wrong to spit the dummy in a reactionary stance rather than hearing all aspects before making an argument in which we both had valid points.    

I hope you accept my apologies Ben. The rudeness should not have happened but if you are still upset I can understand. I'm burying the hatchet old boy. There's no point in arguing with someone that has a valid stand.

Have a good night. Thank you for the message.

[Soidog]

48 minutes ago, Benroon said:

We are in complete agreement  - but oddly I think your second paragraph more or less answers the question in your third. It's just about balances I guess and the first job of government, any government anywhere is to put their people first, the people who pay the taxes, I'm not saying the thais have with their monumental abortion of a vaccine rollout, but that is their job however much a mess they may make of it. 

Yes I agree. The primary role of every government is to protect its people in every sense. The U.K. simply won’t change its policy of foreign land ownership for all the reasons the Thai government are now looking how they can do this, while maximising the amount of money they can get from it. As ever, I think the Thais are looking at this through a a drinking straw. They need to see the bigger picture and the bigger benefits to its people and it’s economy by relaxing such rules. I’m not advocating an “open to all” policy which allows property speculators to come in and suck up all the prime real estate. But some basics as ownership of the land and house you have paid for and intend to live in is a small small step to take. 

[mickkotlarski]

On 11/5/2021 at 3:34 PM, Swissguy said:

They have to talking about for normal residents retired make a 5 year visa. 

So they can keep alot of work and burocrazy and money, and more normal farangs will be come. 

And forget the 90 days Report, that is a joke, online even never works, try 10 times only one time it works. 

Rich people can go anywere and have not to work in a country who the politic is not stabile and with this corruption

Unfortunately the online registration every 90 days is disfunctional. I believe that it may be intentional.

[Soidog]

5 hours ago, mickkotlarski said:

Unfortunately the online registration every 90 days is disfunctional. I believe that it may be intentional.

100% correct @mickkotlarski  The Thai government, like many governments are incompetent at times and they exhibit some strange behaviour when it comes to planning, but they are far from stupid. As with many things that affect daily life and we know they could be resolved and made to operate better, there is often a deliberate reason. Either follow the money trail, or in this case the nationalistic policy to control foreigners, and you will find the truth. Of course the Thais could fix the 90 day reporting and the Thailand Pass issues. The reason they don’t is because they don’t want to. 

[Benroon]

On 11/9/2021 at 3:24 PM, mickkotlarski said:

Ahhh. Now that makes sense and after reading this message along with a few others that you replied to Tuk Tuk and Soidog we are far closer than originally thought.

To be honest I am/was very sympathetic towards Thailand not wanting to sell land to folk from overseas.

My only grey area is that there are exceptions such as those with family and certain businesses under regulation. In my case (horrible thought) but should my wife depart my last will and testament would see my estate pass to my Thai niece. The land ownership actually stays local. I don't have any family left apart from my Thai family (will spare the the details.. long and sad truth).

I also see your point about the UK and see very similar consequences back home. Without trying to sound bigoted or racist but London in particular along with several English cities have lost their sense of character in some ways. Some firm but polite regulations could have helped.

In the end most if not all of the hot air was totally unnecessary and I was wrong to spit the dummy in a reactionary stance rather than hearing all aspects before making an argument in which we both had valid points.    

I hope you accept my apologies Ben. The rudeness should not have happened but if you are still upset I can understand. I'm burying the hatchet old boy. There's no point in arguing with someone that has a valid stand.

Have a good night. Thank you for the message.

No worries at all mate - sometimes posts and especially texts can get misconstrued (the amount of times I've sent what to me is a perfectly reasonable text to the Mrs only to find she's fuming cos she's taken it the wrong way !!) 

Still in a couple of hours time I'll be embarking on the Thailand Pass rat run back to Thailand, perfectly timed as it's getting bloody cold here - flights tomorrow morning and I'll be arriving at the airport with more paperwork than a librarian !

Fingers crossed !

 

[mickkotlarski]

5 hours ago, Benroon said:

No worries at all mate - sometimes posts and especially texts can get misconstrued (the amount of times I've sent what to me is a perfectly reasonable text to the Mrs only to find she's fuming cos she's taken it the wrong way !!) 

Still in a couple of hours time I'll be embarking on the Thailand Pass rat run back to Thailand, perfectly timed as it's getting bloody cold here - flights tomorrow morning and I'll be arriving at the airport with more paperwork than a librarian !

Fingers crossed !

Have a good trip Ben. 

[mickkotlarski]

8 hours ago, Benroon said:

No worries at all mate - sometimes posts and especially texts can get misconstrued (the amount of times I've sent what to me is a perfectly reasonable text to the Mrs only to find she's fuming cos she's taken it the wrong way !!) 

Still in a couple of hours time I'll be embarking on the Thailand Pass rat run back to Thailand, perfectly timed as it's getting bloody cold here - flights tomorrow morning and I'll be arriving at the airport with more paperwork than a librarian !

Fingers crossed !

Forgot to ask Ben. What airline are you using for the trip?

Hope all goes well on your arrival. Simply getting into Thailand (and most of Asia Pacific) is nuts right now.

[LoongFred]

On 11/10/2021 at 3:57 PM, Soidog said:

100% correct @mickkotlarski  The Thai government, like many governments are incompetent at times and they exhibit some strange behaviour when it comes to planning, but they are far from stupid. As with many things that affect daily life and we know they could be resolved and made to operate better, there is often a deliberate reason. Either follow the money trail, or in this case the nationalistic policy to control foreigners, and you will find the truth. Of course the Thais could fix the 90 day reporting and the Thailand Pass issues. The reason they don’t is because they don’t want to. 

My io asks for an updated bank book every 90 day report. It not a problem but I use the income method so I don't understand. I do however have always also met the bank deposit limits. Maybe she wants to see how much I'm worth. She's really sweet and a looker so I could care less, but my wife sometimes comes in so I'm on good behavior. She calls me uncle.

That said the requirement to see the bank book means I have to go in person. It's not the far so ok,, but some people must travel for an hour or more.

[gummy]

3 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

My io asks for an updated bank book every 90 day report. It not a problem but I use the income method so I don't understand. I do however have always also met the bank deposit limits. Maybe she wants to see how much I'm worth. She's really sweet and a looker so I could care less, but my wife sometimes comes in so I'm on good behavior. She calls me uncle.

That said the requirement to see the bank book means I have to go in person. It's not the far so ok,, but some people must travel for an hour or more.

Maybe she sees how much you are worth and is after your body. Or perhaps you think she is a she but actually it's a Ladyboy, have you checked or maybe not bothered either way  ?

[Soidog]

9 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

My io asks for an updated bank book every 90 day report. It not a problem but I use the income method so I don't understand. I do however have always also met the bank deposit limits. Maybe she wants to see how much I'm worth. She's really sweet and a looker so I could care less, but my wife sometimes comes in so I'm on good behavior. She calls me uncle.

That said the requirement to see the bank book means I have to go in person. It's not the far so ok,, but some people must travel for an hour or more.

Nice story but I’ll let you sober up first and then come back to me. 

[JohninDublin]

Would I be right in presuming that this is not about TH granting 10 year visas, but that Deputy PM is meeting the Foreign Ambassadors, to see if any of them can get him a 10 year visa for their country?

[NidNoi]

On 11/6/2021 at 6:01 AM, Soidog said:

I’m currently in the U.K. but not stuck. I was stuck when the pandemic hit, but now the only things stopping me returning are the unwillingness to jump through so many hoops (until recently) and a piece of work which will conclude end of the year. After that I shall return to beautiful, amazing, wonderful, outstanding Thailand. 
 

My point was to acknowledge I am wasting my breath on trying to get rights for British in Thailand changed. I was suggesting that what should happen; as they won’t change, is apply parity on key issues such as business ownership for Thais in the U.K.  if I can’t own a business 100% in Thailand, then why should a Thai National be able to own one in the U.K.   I’m happy for all things being fair and equal. In both directions. 

Parity of rights and obligations should be the norm between two countries. Where is the main problem?  Western countries (Europe and North America) have built in their constitutions so many articles about human rights which apply to anybody, even non-nationals, legal or illegal, that any infringement of these rights would raise a storm of protests in the media, supported by associations, immigration lawyers, religious activists and even tree huggers who would argue that the forests are sanctuaries. Have you ever seen such a demonstration of solidarity in Thailand? In my opinion never.

I do remember about a law drafted during the Shinawatra government to give land ownership to foreigners (one or two Rai maximum) to avoid speculative operations, attached were the rights to parents to give the property in inheritance to their heirs which would have maintain a constant flow of revenues inside the kingdom. This law never went in front of the parliament after the coup.

Edited November 14, 2021 by NidNoi
Typo

[Soidog]

1 hour ago, NidNoi said:

Parity of rights and obligations should be the norm between two countries. Where is the main problem?  Western countries (Europe and North America) have built in their constitutions so many articles about human rights which apply to anybody, even non-nationals, legal or illegal, that any infringement of these rights would raise a storm of protests in the media, supported by associations, immigration lawyers, religious activists and even tree huggers who would argue that the forests are sanctuaries. Have you ever seen such a demonstration of solidarity in Thailand? In my opinion never.

I do remember about a law drafted during the Shinawatra government to give land ownership to foreigners (one or two Rai maximum) to avoid speculative operations, attached were the rights to parents to give the property in inheritance to their heirs which would have maintain a constant flow of revenues inside the kingdom. This law never went in front of the parliament after the coup.

Spot on comments there mate. It begs the question of why Thailand won’t follow a similar path. Is it lack of understanding of what will happen?  Fear of what will happen? Implications which could have implications to those ultimately in power? Nationalism? Racism? Naivety? Stupidity? Something else? 

[gummy]

2 hours ago, Soidog said:

Spot on comments there mate. It begs the question of why Thailand won’t follow a similar path. Is it lack of understanding of what will happen?  Fear of what will happen? Implications which could have implications to those ultimately in power? Nationalism? Racism? Naivety? Stupidity? Something else? 

Any country when you have, let's say for argument sake, one person who believes it is his or her right to own everything in the country, all monies earned by the country are for the sole purpose of his or her extravagances and all people of that country should be controlled and that person may act, unlike others, in a depraved, immoral and lawless manner with those perceived rights maintained by sycophants carrying murder or such other forces as instructed as necessary, then until that is curtailed nothing will change.  North Korea comes to mind also .

[Stardust]

There is another session today in the German ambassador.

One got shot is in the hospital the bullet got straight to the lung and the incident was filmed

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/2-bangkok-protesters-shot-german-embassy-officials-accept-rally-leaders-letter/

 

The incident

 

 

[Stardust]

10 minutes ago, Stardust said:

There is another session today in the German ambassador.

One got shot is in the hospital the bullet got straight to the lung and the incident was filmed

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/2-bangkok-protesters-shot-german-embassy-officials-accept-rally-leaders-letter/

The incident

Victim is in the Chula hospital and one Doctor said the bullet went through the lungs and liver.

[Soidog]

7 hours ago, gummy said:

Any country when you have, let's say for argument sake, one person who believes it is his or her right to own everything in the country, all monies earned by the country are for the sole purpose of his or her extravagances and all people of that country should be controlled and that person may act, unlike others, in a depraved, immoral and lawless manner with those perceived rights maintained by sycophants carrying murder or such other forces as instructed as necessary, then until that is curtailed nothing will change.  North Korea comes to mind also .

What you describe is Dictatorship @gummy . We’ve seen it in Libya, Iraq, Uganda, and many other places throughout the world. 

[Benroon]

On 11/14/2021 at 12:58 AM, mickkotlarski said:

Have a good trip Ben. 

Cheers - well I survived !

I have to say all the hassle was at the UK end who just aren't up to speed at all with all this TP stuff but yeah a few moments and very deep breaths so not to explode when I thought the bastards aren't going to let me on. They kept insisting on a return ticket, and no matter how many times I told then I wasn't a tourist, they weren't having it, she then got her supervisor who said the same, so I thought I'm screwed here even though I knew they were wrong. I then insisted on getting the supervisors supervisor which was last chance saloon, they made me wait 2 hours for him and he basically told them they were idiots thank god ! (They also said because I only had 2 days left on my visa that was also a problem, even though that's absolutely sod all to do with them !)

Fast forward to swampy and it honestly couldn't have been slicker - very impressed tbh - it helped that Swampy was the most deserted I have ever seen it in probably 50+ visits but yeah pretty good.

About 25 metres from the actual immigration, there are long lines of plastic chairs and you sit on one in the order you get to them, within seconds staff walk along them asking for TP, PCR test and passport, they check everything and scan the code, then off you go no more than a minute later, walk straight to immigration, who then aren't interested in any of the paperwork because it's been done, stamp your passport and you're through ! 

There is an area for pick ups to go to hotels at gate 10 which was busy but it went ok - though they take dozens of pictures of your luggage and you, I guess to cover their own arses, but you need to keep an eye on your luggage there !! 

However I'm not travelling anywhere until all this shite is over and done with and especially not back to the UK! 

[Benroon]

On 11/14/2021 at 4:10 AM, mickkotlarski said:

Forgot to ask Ben. What airline are you using for the trip?

Hope all goes well on your arrival. Simply getting into Thailand (and most of Asia Pacific) is nuts right now.

Finnair - they allow an insane amount of luggage that other airlines would ask a fortune for. I checked Thai Air economy and it was pushing £600, then on the advice of a mate looked at Finnair BUSINESS class who wanted £818 for limitless changes etc which I wanted due to TP issues (though the entry business seat was only about £640 I think) but then with Finnair you get 74kg as standard - then only £59 every extra 32kg bag whereas Thai Air and other wanted $1500 per bag (roughly $50 per kg)

The flight was good too, though they are a bit cheeky on the first leg, on the short one you are sat in an economy seat ie no beds but they are happy to drown you in as much booze as you can take!) - never been to Helsinki airport before but impressed with it, absolutely spotless, food very good in the lounges but eerily quiet. 

Would happily recommend them and would use them again.

[gummy]

Just now, Benroon said:

Finnair - they allow an insane amount of luggage that other airlines would ask a fortune for. I checked Thai Air economy and it was pushing £600, then on the advice of a mate looked at Finnair BUSINESS class who wanted £818 for limitless changes etc which I wanted due to TP issues (though the entry business seat was only about £640 I think) but then with Finnair you get 74kg as standard - then only £59 every extra 32kg bag whereas Thai Air and other wanted $1500 per bag (roughly $50 per kg)

The flight was good too, though they are a bit cheeky on the first leg, the short one you are sat in an economy seat ie no beds but do drown you in as much booze you can take!) - Never been to Helsinki airport before but impressed with it, absolutely spotless but eerily quiet. 

Would happily recommend them and would use them again.

Helsinki is one of my favourite airports for cleanliness. In the days when I had to go back to the UK often on business Finnair was one of my favourites. Loved a night or two in Helsinki, but guess it helped I had a Finnish friend. 

[Soidog]

6 minutes ago, Benroon said:

Finnair - they allow an insane amount of luggage that other airlines would ask a fortune for. I checked Thai Air economy and it was pushing £600, then on the advice of a mate looked at Finnair BUSINESS class who wanted £818 for limitless changes etc which I wanted due to TP issues (though the entry business seat was only about £640 I think) but then with Finnair you get 74kg as standard - then only £59 every extra 32kg bag whereas Thai Air and other wanted $1500 per bag (roughly $50 per kg)

The flight was good too, though they are a bit cheeky on the first leg, the short one you are sat in an economy seat ie no beds but do drown you in as much booze you can take!) - Never been to Helsinki airport before but impressed with it, absolutely spotless but eerily quiet. 

Would happily recommend them and would use them again.

Great updates Ben. Glad you got back and managed to keep your cool with the people in the U.K.  Some real jobsworths at check in desks. 
 

I forgot to ask. Did they ask if you were a tourist when you arrived in BKK? If not then I’ll be sure to email TAT and ask them to reduce their “Tourist arrivals” number by 1

Edited November 15, 2021 by Soidog
Added a question

[Benroon]

13 hours ago, NidNoi said:

I do remember about a law drafted during the Shinawatra government to give land ownership to foreigners (one or two Rai maximum) to avoid speculative operations, attached were the rights to parents to give the property in inheritance to their heirs which would have maintain a constant flow of revenues inside the kingdom. This law never went in front of the parliament after the coup.

I never knew that - that would be a great idea.

As nice as it sounds, it would be a never ending minefield to get even close to parity across the globe. Just one that's come into my head, if you go to Bahrain petrol is virtually free, or certainly use to be, so does that mean when Bahrainians come to the UK they should get ours for free because we took theirs ? In America you can shoot burglars, well it seems you can shoot anyone, but should you be able to shoot people in the UK who looked at you funny etc etc. The list of things would run into the millions and who's going to keep it updated ? Every time there was a budget you would have to look at how that affects what the other 200 countries are doing. Completely impossible.

 

[mickkotlarski]

16 minutes ago, Benroon said:

Finnair - they allow an insane amount of luggage that other airlines would ask a fortune for. I checked Thai Air economy and it was pushing £600, then on the advice of a mate looked at Finnair BUSINESS class who wanted £818 for limitless changes etc which I wanted due to TP issues (though the entry business seat was only about £640 I think) but then with Finnair you get 74kg as standard - then only £59 every extra 32kg bag whereas Thai Air and other wanted $1500 per bag (roughly $50 per kg)

The flight was good too, though they are a bit cheeky on the first leg, on the short one you are sat in an economy seat ie no beds but they are happy to drown you in as much booze as you can take!) - never been to Helsinki airport before but impressed with it, absolutely spotless, food very good in the lounges but eerily quiet. 

Would happily recommend them and would use them again.

Brilliant. Thanks for that Ben. I had some issues with Thai as well as many others I spoke to lately. Good choice on your part as I've heard some good words about FinnAir. Glad to hear the flight was good.

[Benroon]

12 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Great updates Ben. Glad you got back and managed to keep your cool with the people in the U.K.  Some real jobsworths at check in desks. 
 

I forgot to ask. Did they ask if you were a tourist when you arrived in BKK? If not then I’ll be sure to email TAT and ask them to reduce their “Tourist arrivals” number by 1

haha no - I even got a happy immigration official which was a bit of a first - they're normally grumpy sods !!

[mickkotlarski]

28 minutes ago, Benroon said:

Cheers - well I survived !

I have to say all the hassle was at the UK end who just aren't up to speed at all with all this TP stuff but yeah a few moments and very deep breaths so not to explode when I thought the bastards aren't going to let me on. They kept insisting on a return ticket, and no matter how many times I told then I wasn't a tourist, they weren't having it, she then got her supervisor who said the same, so I thought I'm screwed here even though I knew they were wrong. I then insisted on getting the supervisors supervisor which was last chance saloon, they made me wait 2 hours for him and he basically told them they were idiots thank god ! (They also said because I only had 2 days left on my visa that was also a problem, even though that's absolutely sod all to do with them !)

Fast forward to swampy and it honestly couldn't have been slicker - very impressed tbh - it helped that Swampy was the most deserted I have ever seen it in probably 50+ visits but yeah pretty good.

About 25 metres from the actual immigration, there are long lines of plastic chairs and you sit on one in the order you get to them, within seconds staff walk along them asking for TP, PCR test and passport, they check everything and scan the code, then off you go no more than a minute later, walk straight to immigration, who then aren't interested in any of the paperwork because it's been done, stamp your passport and you're through ! 

There is an area for pick ups to go to hotels at gate 10 which was busy but it went ok - though they take dozens of pictures of your luggage and you, I guess to cover their own arses, but you need to keep an eye on your luggage there !! 

However I'm not travelling anywhere until all this shite is over and done with and especially not back to the UK! 

Sometimes the airlines like to think they are Immigration officials. They have to claim some responsibilities but have no common sense right to refuse boarding unless suspected of terrorism. I've had similar experiences in London and Houston but fortunately the head supervisor had an understanding and common sense. Good on you for giving em some stick.

Sometimes an open return ticket and good refund policy helps a lot. But you can still fly if 6 months or more on the passport and visa ( or evidence of entry permit).

Traveling during covid sucks but good to hear you got through OK after the nonsense you had to contend with.