Expat Thailand News

20 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expat retirees in Thailand still scared of more rule changes

Chaos still rules in Thailand’s immigration requirement for long-stay expats. Whilst tourists and other visitors are now covered until late September by the junta government’s latest edict, other sectors of the expat community may be left out in the cold. Having made a sensible decision based on helping trapped visitors on tourist visas, the government seems to have left out other expat sectors which continually contribute to the country’s economy. The decision to allow another amnesty, for want of a better description, was...

17 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Hope springs eternal for expats and visitors trapped in Thailand

Expats trapped in Thailand and threatened with deportation on the expiry of the visa amnesty are waiting with bated breath after several local English language media outlets suggested there’s now hope for another extension. Thousands of business travellers, tourists and expatriates whose visas had expired during Thailand’s strict lockdowns have been stuck in the country for months, unable to leave due to border closures and an almost total lack of international flights. Yesterday’s flight listings from Bangkok’s international...

15 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Trapped expats in Thailand now dumped by their embassies

As if things weren’t bad enough already, Bangkok embassies are now refusing their trapped expats the necessary visa extension letters. For those expats trapped for months in Thailand and now under threat of fines and deportation as the visa amnesty ends, the last hope of an embassy letter supporting another extension of stay has now been snatched away by their own people. Both the British and USA embassies have now dumped their troubled citizens in the mire, as the letter is a mandatory requirement for trapped foreigners needing a...

14 Jul at 6 PM 2020

What now for unlucky expats and visitors trapped in Thailand?

As the end of the month approaches, thousands of expats and unlucky visitors trapped in Thailand due to the pandemic are fearing being thrown out of the country once their visa amnesties end. Many of those affected will simply have nowhere to go as their countries’ borders are also closed. What threat to Thailand and its excellent handling of its pandemic do these trapped visitors and expats pose? They’re been here for months and are virus-free, yet are about to be thrown out like unwanted rubbish with many as yet having no way of...

14 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Dual pricing in Vietnam is now outlawed

Vietnam is now committed to ending its dual pricing policy in order to create more transparency for international tourists and would-be expats. As the furore over Thailand’s dual pricing policy continues on social media, Vietnam has been quick to announce it’s banning the practice forthwith. The issue has been a hot potato in Thailand both with long-stay expats and visitors, but the Thai authorities have promised to investigate and possibly ban the practice. However it’s no surprise that Vietnam took the ball and ran with it,...

13 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Japan to allow expats trapped overseas to return in August

Expats and students trapped outside Japan will be allowed to re-enter in August. Expat residents and students who left Japan before April 3 and are now stranded overseas will be allowed to re-enter in August. In a majority of world countries, sudden governmental reactions to the grim reality of the coronavirus have left literally millions of travellers, expats and students locked out of their countries of residence and unable to get back to their home countries. Japan is no exception, with some 90,000 still stranded all over the...

10 Jul at 6 PM 2020

Expats on Facebook protest dual pricing at Thai national parks and attractions

One long-term issue roundly disliked by Western expats as well as tourists in Thailand is the long-term practice of charging non-Thai visitors to attractions and national parks at least twice the amount paid by Thai citizens. Known in the country’s large expatriate community as ‘farang price’ – ‘farang’ being the Thai for Western foreigner – the practice has always caused controversy as well as anger as it’s been seen as discriminatory at best and indefensible at worst. Many tourists as well as expats living and...

30 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Expats trapped outside Thailand can now return home

Expats trapped outside Thailand by the anti-coronavirus measures have been exchanging information via their own Facebook page. Now that the long wait is almost over, Western expats with jobs as well those with Thai wives and families will be permitted to return to their homes. Some have been trapped outside the country since the first measures to control the pandemic were introduced almost six months ago, guilty of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Facebook ‘Farangs Stranded Abroad Due to Lockdown in Thailand’...

26 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Expat owned Thai tourism businesses unhappy about government strategy

Expat SME owners and locals in Thailand's tourism sector are unhappy at government plans to target big-spender tourists. Thailand’s hospitality sector has been more than hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, losing up to 75 per cent of its annual visitor totals and forcing the permanent closure of large numbers of mid- and lower-range accommodation and eateries as well as top-end hotels and restaurants. The bulk of tourists who arrived before the outbreak were from China, travelling on package tours and using Chinese-owned...

26 Jun at 6 PM 2020

Expats with Thai wives now allowed to re-enter Thailand

Thailand is finally lowering the bar and letting expats with Thai wives and families come home. A recent report from the Thai government has finally designated the classification of groups of foreigners to be allowed into the country. To the relief of thousands expats married to Thais and with young families, they’re finally to be reunited with their loved ones after months of separation simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Others in the same group include wellness and medical tourists, permanent residents,...