Expats
Stay updated on the latest expat news and insights in Thailand with The Thaiger. Our all-inclusive coverage brings you vital information on residency, visas, work permits, property, healthcare, and other expat-related issues. Adapt to the Land of Smiles seamlessly with our advice, guiding you through various aspects of life as a foreign resident in this enthralling country.
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Sponsored Why is Bangkok's air quality so bad?
Imagine waking up early in Bangkok and you see all the beautiful morning fog from your balcony, but as you sip your coffee you realise it's just Bangkok's air pollution that's making the sun rise aesthetic. Ranked as the 36th...
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Samui charity battles to feed island’s remaining residents
by Ann Carter As around 2,000 Thai workers have reportedly left the island of Koh Samui due to the Covid-19 economic fallout, ‘Sisters on Samui’, the island’s largest charity is changing up the way in which to help feed those remaining residents. Keyt Topcu, co-president of SOS, says the effort involves cutting out bags as the organisation realised that they could save over 500 USD…
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Belgian arrested after living and working in Thailand without a passport for 4 years
A 49 year old Belgian man has been arrested by Thai immigration police after being discovered living in the Kingdom without a passport. The man was reported to be living in an apartment at Wang Thonglang, a north east suburb of Bangkok. Officials started an investigation into a “good looking European man” that spoke fluent Thai and discovered that the man has…
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Tourism officials look to end dual pricing for expats
“The key factor is we have to treat expats like locals, without discrimination or a negative attitude towards foreigners.” Admission fees at national parks and tourist attractions are often drastically higher for expats than they are for Thai nationals. Foreigners sometimes even pay 10 times more than Thais. Tourism officials say they might put an end to dual pricing for…
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A glimmer of hope for expats unable to satisfy minimum income requirements
September 26 looms as a dark day for many foreigners who have been unable to sort out a way to either leave the country or stay in Thailand. But at least one Thai immigration office appears to be discussing some leniency in this crazy time. Phuket Immigration has specifically addressed the issue for foreigners on a non-immigrant B (Business) visa…
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90 day Thai Immigration reporting deadline passes
Today was the last day to update your 90 day report if you weren’t doing the reports during the visa amnesty Thai immigration set the end of today as the deadline for foreigners, with current visas, to do their 90 day report. Otherwise fines will be imposed. You had to report, or update, your residential address before the end of…
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Should foreigners go to protests and get involved in Thai politics?
Should foreigners get involved in the Thai protests? Is it any of our business? Is there a danger of being targeted and thrown out of the country? Most foreigners, certainly the vast majority, will say they’re uncomfortable even discussing local politics with Thais, especially THAT other big topic. Most are happy to walk the beaches, explore or sit in the…
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CCSA considers another 2 groups of foreigners for return to Thailand
The next batch of returnee categories is now being considered by the CCSA. This time, foreigners with permanent residences who have been stranded overseas for the past 6 months, and long-term foreign residents, will receive priority when the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announces the next date for the next phase of lifting the shutters on Thailand’s borders. The chairman…
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I flew home to get a new visa – one person’s experience with the “new normal” in Thailand
Theo, from The Netherlands, flew back from Thailand to arrange a new visa in his home country. When he returned he had to stay in an Alternative State Quarantine hotel in Bangkok. What were his challenges? How much did it all cost? I am from the Netherlands, I am 44 years old, married with my Thai wife for over 5 years…
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Separate licence to be required for big bikes
The Cabinet yesterday approved rules on the issuing and renewal of drivers’ licences as proposed by the Transport Ministry, agreeing that “big bike” motorcyclists will require a different licence from those of smaller, less powerful motorbikes, and applicants will need to pass special training and a test before being granted a licence, according to a government spokesperson. “The details of…
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Richard Barrow is dusting off his luggage in case he can’t renew visa
Yesterday, Richard Barrow, a popular British blogger and school employee in Samut Prakan, who has been living and working in Thailand for decades, says he had a surprise visit from the immigration bureau in regards to the renewal of his visa. Kapook reported the incident on their page saying that many Thai people admire the work he does for Thailand…
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Thai minister encourages hotels to stop price-gouging expats
The thorny issue of dual pricing has raised its ugly head again, this time with the current offerings for hotels as Thailand slowly winds up its tourism industry again. Tourism and Sports Ministry, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, is asking hotels to offer “fair packages to expats and resident foreigners, and avoid price discrimination”. He said that there are 2 million foreign residents who…
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Pattaya’s Walking Street. Will it return to high rents and high heels?
Now that Pattaya’s infamous Walking Street is open to traffic along with parking for the first time in many, many years, what’s next? Thai officials and the local constabulary have long had a love-hate relationship with the red light district. It has attracted tourists but perhaps to the tourists the bosses in Bangkok were hoping for. It was a hive…
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Bangkok Midnight Marathon 2020 bans foreigners
It’s official. The Bangkok Midnight Marathon 2020 is closed to foreigners. Popular blogger and Samut Prakan school employee Richard Barrow posted the news last night saying… “For some reason, the organisers of this year’s Bangkok Midnight Marathon have decided not to allow foreigners to run. I hope this doesn’t become part of the ‘new normal’.” Unsurprisingly, the social media outrage was…
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No current plans to extend list of foreigners allowed back into Thailand
There is no immediate plan to extend the list of foreigners being allowed to come to Thailand at the moment. Specifically still excluded are retirees with valid visas, homes and families in Thailand. The directive comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Thailand’s experience with Covid-19, it has closed its borders to tourists and visitors, stranding both Thais and…
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Europe bans US travellers for 2nd time in a month
The EU extended its travel ban on Americans yesterday for the second time in a month, as Covid-19 continues to ravage the US. The EU began lifting its travel restrictions on July 1, welcoming visitors from 14 countries, including Canada, South Korea and Australia. The US was left off of that list, and the EU extended its ban on travellers…
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Ukrainian man in fatal fall from abandoned Surat Thani hotel
A Ukranian fell to his death from the roof of an empty hotel in the central business district of the southern province of Surat Thani this morning. The 36 year old man, identified by Matichon as Tomak Mykola, was found lying face up on the ground in front of the abandoned Southern Star Hotel on Chon Kasem Road. Police were…
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Foreigners on short-term visas warned they must leave Thailand by September 26
Don’t overstay your welcome… Thai Immigration officials are warning foreigners on short-term visas that they must make arrangements to leave the country before September 26. A visa amnesty in place as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic was recently extended until that date, but it looks like authorities want to make clear there will be no further extension, except in…
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CCSA clarifies requirements for entering Thailand
With the Covid-19 crisis in Thailand under control and as the nation begins gradually reopening its borders, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration yesterday clarified the following guidelines on entering Thailand for travellers and non-Thai residents: Before departure: Travellers must contact the Royal Thai Embassy or consulate to obtain an entry visa and a certificate of entry, which will be…
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2 foreigners found hanged in Chon Buri
2 foreigners are dead in Chon Buri following 2 apparent suicides in the space of 3 days. In the most recent, a British man was found hanging at a condominium in Pattaya yesterday. Pattaya City police were notified of the incident, at a condominium in Central Pattaya, at 1pm. Police, rescue workers and reporters rushed to the scene at a room…
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Association urges easing visa restrictions for foreign teachers
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is being urged to relax stringent visa restrictions for foreign teachers and students. The Association of Private School and Non-Formal Education delivered a letter to the government with the request, as many schools, colleges and universities find themselves without foreign teachers due to the burden of paperwork. If the move is successful foreign teachers and students already…
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Video catches Thai immigration officials asking for a bribe
Officers from an immigration office near Bangkok have been “suspended” after a Facebook video showed an immigration official asking for money to help “speed up his visa process”. The caption read… “This is real, such a shame, when will the cheating stop”. “Thailand is good, foreigners get Visas to work in the country. They go to the Nonthaburi Immigration for…
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Bangkok university professor says no “travel bubbles” for at least 6 months
A professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says Thailand’s “travel bubble” plan, which would allow small groups of foreign tourists to visit Thailand, should be put on hold for at least another 6 months. In a Facebook post yesterday, he said that the global Covid-19 situation remains “of serious concern”, as new infections are still surging, with more than 200,000 new…
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Thai Cabinet extends the visa amnesty for foreigners
The Thai Cabinet has extended the visa amnesty for foreigners so they can remain in Thailand during the Covid-19 global pandemic. This is the second extension to the visa amnesty and will be a huge relief for tens of thousands of people who have been in a visa limbo, some without many other options other than staying in Thailand whilst…
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Visa amnesty extension “very likely”. Decision this week.
Only 11 days to go until we reach the end of the current visa amnesty, which has allowed people with expired visas to remain in the Kingdom during the midst of Thailand’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak. But even today Immigration officials say that a proposal to extend the visa amnesty, or some similar alternative, is before the government for…
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Poll: vast majority fear second virus wave, support foreign arrival ban
A recent opinion poll by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll, showed well over 90% of respondents fear a second wave of Covid-19 and want a complete ban on foreign arrivals in Thailand. The poll, taken July 14-18, gauged the concerns of 1,459 Thai adults of various education levels and occupations, about the possibility of a second outbreak,…
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In reversal, Australian embassy will provide visa extension letters
A number of embassies in Bangkok are saying that they won’t issue any further visa extension letters for their citizens when Thailand’s visa amnesty expires on July 31. Both the US and British embassies announced that their citizens in Thailand will have to decide “whether to stay or go,” and that such letters will “no longer be possible.” But at…
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Transit passengers must have health certificate before buying ticket: CAAC
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has ordered the implementation of new regulations for any international flights entering Thailand – All passengers must have a medical certificate showing that they are free of Covid-19 before booking their ticket. The move follows China’s decision to temporarily ban Thai Lion Air from flying the Bangkok-Guangzhou route and Thai AirAsia X from flying…
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More details on visa amnesty “grace period” proposal
The Thai Immigration Bureau has provided more details on a proposed visa amnesty extension. The proposal, expected to go before the Cabinet at its regular meeting on Tuesday, is being presented as more of an application for a grace period than an extension. The proposal would essentially provide a grace period for those on amnesty without a valid visa, to…
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Proposal being ‘examined’ by authorities for a possible visa amnesty extension
Today the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has briefly addressed the issue of the current visa amnesty, which is due to finish on July 31. The issue was mentioned today as part of the daily briefings. The visa amnesty was announced, then extended, in April to allow foreigners with lapsed visas, to stay in the country without having to…
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All transit passengers must now show Covid-19 certificate: CAAT
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand will enforce a new rule requiring all passengers, even on Thai-owned chartered flights or special flights transitioning through Thailand, to have a valid Covid-19 clearance certificate. CAAT has probibited all transit flights with Covid-19-infected passengers following China’s temporary ban of 2 Thai registered airlines after several passengers tested positive upon arrival in China. In…
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