How many times are you allowed to entry into Thailand I entered three times this year is that the limit?
Thank you for your help.
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How many times are you allowed to entry into Thailand I entered three times this year is that the limit?
Thank you for your help.
[QUOTE=Bigguy4469]How many times are you allowed to entry into Thailand I entered three times this year is that the limit?
Thank you for your help.[/QUOTE]Never noticed any limit nor ever been concerned that there would be a limit. I have entered well over 3 times in a year.
You are limited to not too long at a time, but can keep leaving and entering.
Of course I assume you are not involved in illegal activities that would bring Customs interest.
[QUOTE=Mick Licker]Never noticed any limit nor ever been concerned that there would be a limit. I have entered well over 3 times in a year.
You are limited to not too long at a time, but can keep leaving and entering.
Of course I assume you are not involved in illegal activities that would bring Customs interest.[/QUOTE]Thank you for yor help no illegal stuff just went once in Feb and then here in Sept, went to China for 4 days got bored and returned to Bkk, meet a couple of girls off asian friend finder and would like to return to see them again before the end of the year.
Thanks for your help. I will look into some plane tickets and prices.
Thai monks soothe angry spirits at new airport
BANGKOK (AFP) - The control tower is built and the luggage carousels are operating but one thing officials at Bangkok's new airport had not expected was the late arrival of Poo Ming, the guardian spirit.
After a spate of ghostly sightings and unfortunate accidents, 90 monks massed inside the shining new complex Saturday to chant rites ensuring good luck ahead of Thursday's official opening.
During the religious proceedings, a shaking man appeared crying and speaking in a strange voice claiming to be Poo Ming (Grandfather Ming), the guardian spirit of the land on which the airport was built.
He demanded a spirit house to be built at the airport -- a fixture in many homes and work places in Buddhist Thailand -- before promptly fainting.
"Even if it's unbelieveable, we will not insult something we cannot prove," said senior airport official Surajit Surapolchai. He said the authorities planned to build a spirit house soon.
Supernatural events had long been talked about at the new Suvarnabhumi international airport built on land that once been home to a centuries-old temple and a cemetery.
Workers had spoken of seeing a woman in Thai-style costume at the construction site in the evenings and were unnerved after frequent car crashes on a road parallel to a runway, the Bangkok Post reported.
Airport general manager, Somchai Sawasdeepon, said the monks chanted rites at 10 places in the airport for Saturday's ceremony.
"The rite is to help promote and lift the people's spirits before the new airport opens since there were many bad things that happened during its construction," he said.
Last week the roof started leaking. Then Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the man who had made the airport's construction a priority project, was unseated in a military coup nine days before the official opening.
Thailand's turbulent politics and repeated corruption scandals have delayed the airport's opening since it was first mooted four decades ago.
Thai officials hope the airport, capable of dealing with 45 million passengers a year, will become the new hub for regional air travel.
The Thai population is 95 percent Buddhist and a belief in ancient spirits remains strong, particularly in rural areas.
_________________
Shamas O'Dognasty
Gourmet Catering & Septic Tank Cleaning
[QUOTE=Bigguy4469]How many times are you allowed to entry into Thailand I entered three times this year is that the limit?
Thank you for your help.[/QUOTE]
No set limits for now if you are a tourist.
But starting next year, the govt have set strict limits on the number of visa runs allowed--this is meant to discourage ex-pats and others from overstaying. New limits will be 90 days allowed in LOS then you must leave the country for set amount of time before being allowed to enter again.
PT
I guess the summary would be: you can spend less than one-half of your time in Thailand using the visitor visa that you obtain on arrival.
--begin broadcast message from US Embassy
Subject: American Embassy Warden Message - Change in Thailand's Visa Policy
Attention American Citizens:
The Thai Immigration Bureau recently announced a change in Visa Regulations that is scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2006. This change will affect citizens of 39 countries, including American citizens, who are exempt from obtaining a Thai visa prior to entering Thailand. Effective October 1, 2006, American citizens who enter Thailand without a visa will be allowed to stay in Thailand for 30 days per visit as before. However, the total duration of stay in Thailand for American citizens who enter Thailand without a visa cannot exceed 90 days in any six-month period, counting from the date of first entry.
American citizens who wish to remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days during any six-month period will be required to obtain a valid Thai visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate that is authorized to issue visas. The U.S. Embassy advises all American citizens who wish to obtain a Thai visa to contact the Thai Immigration Bureau for exact visa requirements and regulations. Persons who do not comply with the new visa regulations risk being denied reentry to Thailand at the border.
The U.S. Embassy has been attempting to seek clarifications and additional information from the Thai Immigration Bureau regarding the change in visa regulations. To date the Embassy has been unable to determine whether American citizens who have been in Thailand for 90 days or longer without a visa before October 1, 2006 will be considered
to have reached their 90-day limit on October 1, 2006, or whether the 90 days will start from the first time the American citizen crosses the border into Thailand after the new regulation goes into effect. When/if the Embassy receives a definitive answer to this question we will post that information on the Embassy's web site at:
[url]http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/index.htm[/url].
I didn't know where to post this, and I'll probably get a right slagging off, but it's just a bit of humour.
I was out on my daily bike ride, and was listening to the song 'Angels' by that good old Manchester boy Robbie Williams. I hope he doesn't sue me for this, but I was thinking that when he originally wrote the song, he was in fact writing about Thai bar girls, but obviously he changed the lyrics when he realised he couldn'make 10 billion pounds from the original version.
Anyway, here's the chart-topping version and in brackets, along side it, is the version that he probably actually wrote.
The man is a genius!
I sit and wait (I sit and wait)
Does an angel contemplate my fate (Does a bar girl contemplate my fate)
And do they know (And do they know)
The places where we go (The places where we go)
When we´re grey and old (When we’re grey and old)
´Cos I´ve been told (Cos they have been told)
That salvation lets their wings unfold (That pattaya lets our wallets unfold)
So when I’m lying in my bed (So when I’m lying in my bed)
Thoughts running through my head (Thoughts running through my head)
And I feel that love is dead (And I feel that love is dead)
I’m loving angels instead (I’m loving Thai girls instead)
And through it all she offers me protection (And through it all, I do her with protection)
A lot of love and affection (A lot of love no infection)
Whether I'm right or wrong (Whether that's right or wrong)
and down the waterfall (And down the Walking Street)
wherever it may take me (Wherever it may take me)
I know that life wont break me (I know the fine won’t break me)
when I come to call ,she wont forsake me (When I go longtime, she won’t forsake me)
I’m loving angels instead (I’m loving Thai girls instead)
When I’m feeling weak (When I’m feeling weak)
And my pain walks down a one way street (And my pain walks down that Walking Street)
I look above (I look above)
And I know ill always be blessed with love (And I know I will always be blessed with love)
And as the feeling grows (And as my hard on grows)
She breathes flesh to my bones (She sucks me ‘till I blow)
And when love is dead (And when my manhood’s dead)
I’m loving angels instead (I’m loving bar girls instead)
And through it all she offers me protection (and through it all, I do her with protection)
A lot of love and affection (a lot of love no infection)
Whether I'm right or wrong (Whether that's right or wrong)
And down the waterfall (and down the Walking Street)
Wherever it may take me (wherever it may take me)
I know that life wont break me (I know the fine won’t break me)
When I come to call ,she wont forsake me (when I go longtime, she won’t forsake me)
I’m loving angels instead (I’m loving Thai girls instead)
©Petemcc 2006
Sorry I couldn't do it in colours or bold.
Pete
From what I've read the new visa rules were the first thing the military coup changed (other than taking over). The King didn't like the new rules, many rich and influential farangs didn't like them, many Thais would lose lots of money, All Samo Samo again.
Just my best rumor of the day
Shamas O'Dognasty
[QUOTE=Shamas]From what I've read the new visa rules were the first thing the military coup changed (other than taking over). The King didn't like the new rules, many rich and influential farangs didn't like them, many Thais would lose lots of money, All Samo Samo again.
Just my best rumor of the day
Shamas O'Dognasty[/QUOTE]
Yeah, the rumour mill has been spinning wildly lately (Shamas is correct in that the rumour mill in Thailand often knows what's going to happen before it happens, and I think that I heard that the head of Thai immigration under Thaksin got booted on Tuesday). On the other hand, I've been trying to get clarification ever since the visa changes were announced since the new rules, if enforced, would screw me up business-wise. As far as I know, the US embassy's broadcast message is the only quasi-official statement that I have been able to find. The embassy's statement was issued Monday, September 25 at 10:52 AM Bangkok time.
Thailand's Immigration Bureau has posted visa requirements that become effective October 1, 2006 at [url]http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/2notice/newpro.html[/url]. (I had checked the site previously on Monday, September 25 and this announcement had not been posted.) The web posting reflects the US embassy's announcement.
However, as these are uncertain times regarding entry into Thailand, and there is a difference between laws/regulations and enforcement of said laws/regulations, I would be interested in knowing if anyone else has found any other quasi-official statement or reasonable rumours (such as at [url]http://www.thaivisa.com[/url]), a non-mongering :-) farang forum that is pretty good regarding the feeling on the streets), as I just returned from BKK last week and need to go back in October. (PM me so that Jackson doesn't get bent out of shape about cross talk!)
YMMV
BD
[color=red][b]overstaying is dangerous[/b][/color]
i just found this. a warning to anyone not to overstay the visa.
it may not be done with just paying 500 per day.
story of a guy who ended up in a overcrowded 3rd world jail (thai in this case) for overstaying a single day with a ticket on hand to fly out the next day.
[quote=bangkok phil]
any guidebook that contains a visa information section will tell you that if you overstay a visa in thailand, you will be fined 100 or 200 baht for every day you have overstayed. you can pay this money to the immigration officer upon your departure at the airport.
[color=red]can you imagine a situation where a man overstays his thai visa by one day, is unlucky enough to be picked up by the immigration police doing a spot-check, and thrown into a thai jail without food and water for five days, in a cell containing 260 people with barely room to stand up. sounds ridiculous doesn’t it. let me tell you that it isn’t. because seven years ago, i was that man.[/color]
it was a saturday morning in october about 7.45 am. i had overslept due to a rather late night, and was awoken by a loud knock on the door. normally, i would have been up and dressed and on my work to my office at the silom rd gemstone company by 7.15, but it was sheer fate that on that particular morning, my routine went out the window. i opened the door somewhat groggily to be confronted by half a dozen young thai guys in plain casual clothes. my initial reaction was that they had got the wrong room. i was living at that time in a rather seedy apartment building in the soi sri bamphaen area of the city, and there were always groups of dodgy-looking thai lads wandering around. they muttered something in thai that i couldn't quite catch, and i politely told them that they had the wrong room. it was at that moment that one of them uttered the magic words "immigration, passport", and they came into my apartment.
i stood there somewhat bewildered as they proceeded to open drawers, check the clothes in my wardrobe, and flash a torch under the bed. i started to become somewhat angry when one of them grabbed my arms to check for needle-pricks. i rushed over to where i kept my passport and held it out for scrutiny. perhaps that might be the key to live me in peace.the guy who appeared to be the head man flicked through the passport until he arrived at the visa page, looked at it carefully, and exclaimed "overstay, you come immigration". i have to say that i wasn't the slightest bit worried at this point. i knew about the 100 baht a day overstay, and i also had a flight ticket to singapore for the following day. it had been my intention to pay 200 baht at the airport when i left the country. at least they knew it was my intention to leave.
i called my boss at work to say i would be late, and was escorted downstairs to the front of the apartment building. i was told to get in the back of a pick-up truck along with a young french guy and an israeli. they had been rounded up just 10 minutes earlier for not being in possession of a passport at all. we made nervous conversation as we rode through the streets to the police station on soi suan phlu next to the immigration office.
at the police station itself, i was made to fill in several forms, and generally sat around for what seemed like hours. the tension of the whole situation was heightened by a vicious argument going on between two policemen. it was something we didn't need. just adjacent to the room we were in was a large holding cell with iron bars. there were about 100 people in it just staring out into space . teenage motorcycle joy-riders, the odd prostitute and pimp, and a good handful of farangs rounded up for passport violation. i certainly didn't belong with them. i had just overstayed a visa by one day. i'll be on my way to work before too long how wrong you can be.
one of the immigration police produced a bunch of keys. you know the sort of keys that you see in robin hood films. he inserted the key in the iron door of the cell and gestured to the three of us to step inside. by now, i'm getting really worried. my thoughts were drifting toward my family back in england, and a more law-abiding family you could never meet. funny how all sorts of mental demons begin to play in your head at times like this. we were held in that cell for a further hour, just generally chatting and wondering what fate awaited us. there are several moments that i recall in this story when time stood still under the sheer weight of 'this abso-f*cking-lutely can't be happening to me' and the first of those moments came next. a copper emerges with a long chain of leg-irons, and he actually wanted the 8 farangs in that cell, including me, to put them on. after they were secured, we hobbled and shuffled the short distance from the immigration police station to the immigration detention center (idc), which is directly behind the immigration office. not in your wildest dreams could you ever imagine the degradation of having to do that in full view of the folks in soi suan phlu going about their daily lives, parents pointing us out to their kids. humiliation beyond belief.
the idc at that time had been featured in the international news. apparently, amnesty international had been campaigning to have the place closed down, and they still are to this day. i joined amnesty shortly after i was released from here. i've never really been a political person, but it fights causes that are worth fighting. but back to the story. the idc consists of an open courtyard with about 6 huge cells surrounding it. first of all you have to go through a processing system before you are incarcerated. we were divided up into three groups; farangs, guys from the sub-continent of india and pakistan, and burmese. that day the immigration had rounded up over 300 passport violators. we sat in that open courtyard for over an hour with the midday sun blazing down, while the thai police wandered around importantly, barking orders at anyone who so much as coughed. but they weren't really the ones to be feared. there were a couple of huge african guys who i later learned were in their for 10 years on drug charges and holding false passports. they had somehow been given the job of overseers by the thai police, who allowed these two schwarzenneger-like figures to carry batons and use them whenever they felt the need. watching these two guys strutting around with their psuedo-authority almost became the moment when i decided enough was enough. a little man inside me was screaming and imploring me to stand up and just say 'excuse me, but i'm british. i'm going to walk out of those gates now, and there ain't no motherf*cker gonna stand in my way'. but i sat down and remained silent.
an austrailian guy behind me could see i was starting to lose it and put a re-assuring hand on my shoulder. it's difficult in these kind of situations not to interpret that as a homosexual gesture, but i knew he meant well. eventually after being fingerprinted and weighed, we were taken to the cells. the 8 or so farangs were put in cell b, along with about 250 burmese and indians. a cell barely big enough for a 100. as it came to pass, all thoughts of sleep were out of the question. when 120 people sat down, 120 people had to stand up. that's how it continued for five days.
each prison cell was run by chinese mafia. they organized the cleaning, the distribution of food to the prisoners, and made any decisions such as when half of the cell's turn to sit down had arrived. i became quite friendly with the main-man, a chinese guy called kenny. he spoke excellent english and had lived in london for a number of years. it wasn't my place to ask him what he was there for, but i needed the guy on my side. the cell itself was third-world to the extreme. a small toilet block overflowing with [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord109][CodeWord109][/url] and excrement, and a totally window-less room with no indication of when night became day.
i learned valuable lessons in prison. lessons about how much every nationality can get along when their backs are truly against the wall. i talked politics with burmese, debated football games with germans, and laughed and joked with indians, arabs, and pakistanis. without their support i would never have got through it. i recall a thai guy approaching me, his hair shaved from having recently completed his monk hood. he basically wanted to bum a cigarette from me, but he reached out to me and grabbed my hand, and with an almost psychic sense told me that i would be leaving tomorrow. he was right, and the next day the british embassy had been informed by my boss, and they came to get me out. when the prison guard called out my name and freedom beckoned, all 260 people in that cell stood up and clapped ( a traditional prison gesture). it was an overwhelming moment that i will take to the grave. i was taken by police escort to don muang airport and put on a plane to singapore. i stank. i hadn't showered in 5 days, and the smell of prison hung all over me. i really don't know what the well-dressed woman in the next seat thought, but i was too busy tucking into the airline food.
later that evening, i was sitting in the merlion park in singapore. if you've been there, you'll know that at night the view is something else as thousands of tiny lights dance across the harbor waters. and i remember thinking about what freedom really means, and yes, i do remember tears streaming down my face. i don't suppose there is an objective to this story really. thailand lies about its visa overstay law. it says that you can pay a fixed amount for every day that you overstay, but what they don't tell you is that if the police catch you first, you're in deep shit. i've never forgiven thailand for what it did. the mental scars have never healed. 7 years later, i still get nervous when i have to go to the immigration office in suan phlu for even the most trivial reason.
on one of the last visits there, i chanced to see one of the black guys who had acted as overseer on the day i was imprisoned years ago. perhaps rather stupidly, i gave him a mouthful and then some. he stood there and took it. he just smiled, but perhaps i had exorcised one more demon. if you've read warren fellows book about his 12 years in a thai prison, he hits the nail on the head when he says that thai prisons are 'robbers of the soul'. they are not even worthy of being classed as 'third-world'. there are farangs rotting away in these places, and i'm not sure all of them deserve to be there.
[/quote]
Now lets be blunt - SOMETHING he did aroused the suspicion (IRE?) of the immigration police. For that 1 day, they must have a REASON to come down on the "Poor unsuspecting arsehole" the way they did - so anecdotal evidence aside, while it is a good idea not to overstay, this represents the "hidden agenda" portion of enforcement.
Whatever the case, Bangkok Phil certainly paints an almost surreal picture of what can happen if you do overstay. Let's face it, any rough looking lad in need of a few baht will do something to get it...
Unbelievable Story
LN..
[QUOTE=Lovesnihon]... any rough looking lad in need of a few baht will do something to get it...
Unbelievable Story
LN..[/QUOTE]Be it that or not, as he wrote he even had an office to work.
Anyway such stories are necessary to remind us that things don't always go the smooth way, be it such an extreme or not.
[QUOTE=Tiger 1][color=red][b]Overstaying is Dangerous[/b][/color]
day.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE]It was a Saturday morning in October about 7.45 am....I opened the door somewhat groggily to be confronted by half a dozen young Thai guys in plain casual clothes. ...."Immigration, passport", and they came into my apartment....I stood there somewhat bewildered as they proceeded to open drawers, check the clothes in my wardrobe, and flash a torch under the bed. I started to become somewhat angry when one of them grabbed my arms to check for needle-pricks. ... the head man flicked through the passport until he arrived at the visa page, looked at it carefully, and exclaimed "overstay, you come immigration".[/quote]
I didn't bother reading any further, it's quite clear that this guy pi**ed someone off and that someone had him 'visited'. They kept looking till they found something, IMHO he was lucky he had overstayed, if they hadn't found something who knows what they might have planted to achieve their goal. Again, IMHO this is not something your average monger, who plays by the rules is going to experience.
New Airport
I flew out on the first day it was open last week. My first impression: a big nice looking airport. A big accomplishment for Thailand and a much needed new facilities.
I arrived at the airport at around 4:00 AM and I found certain parts inside to be dark and with few or limited signs for directions. My airline had people holding signs for passengers with directions to the departure gate. In some places the atmospheric lighting works great but in others it looks like they forgot to put a light...
Looking at the detail construction of the airport it looks cheap and in a few parts not finished yet. It still looks great but you can tell that it was rushed or just not made with detail finish in mind. Also the structure material for the roof will in about 2 or 3 years look like shit and dirty. I think it will sag in some areas and will be really tough to clean up and maintain. Maybe not.
The taxi from Suk and soi 11 took 40 minutes to get there and the meter was around 250bt. I think the driver took the longer way but maybe not.