Expats
Thailand expat news, visas, work permits, property, and healthcare—stay informed with essential updates and insights for foreign residents. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for expat news in Thailand.
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Sponsored Limited-time deal: Save 20% on Cigna's expat health plans forever
Starting a new life abroad is exciting—new culture, new lifestyle, and new chances to grow. But living far from home also means taking steps to protect your health in unfamiliar surroundings. Without the right coverage, even small health issues can...
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Video of foreigner’s road rage in Pathum Thani gets mixed reaction from Thais
A video of a foreigner lashing out after a motorbike accident, yelling and hitting a Thai motorbike driver for pulling out in front of him and causing him to crash, has gotten a mixed reaction from Thais (you MUST watch it… below). The incident also caught media attention and Thairath made a post on Facebook pairing the clip from the…
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Ban on sales and promotion of alcohol online starts December 7
From December 7 you’ll no longer, officially, be able to purchase alcohol online in Thailand, according to a posting in the Royal Gazette back in September, the Thai government will prohibit the sales and promotion of alcoholic drinks on every online platform from December 7. The ban includes direct sales, promotion and introduction of alcoholic products online, but will not…
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Finally! TAT partners with hotels, airlines, to offer travel stimulus package for expats
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is partnering with airlines and over 300 hotels around the country in another domestic tourism stimulus scheme, this time aimed at expats. It’s understood all foreigners and their families, living in the Kingdom, are eligible to avail of the scheme. The “Expat Travel Bonus” offers a 1,000 baht per night discount on hotel accommodation at…
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Expat awaits trial for drug charges, mother in England worries and works to pay the bills
While 27 year old expat Louis Bentley awaits trial in Thailand for drug charges, his mother back in England is working 12 hour shifts to pay her son’s bills. For his mother, Michaela, the anticipation of waiting for the her son’s February court date, in a country so far from her with laws she’s unfamiliar with, has been “horrendous.” Louis…
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Expat says he was almost deported over Facebook posts
With the ongoing pro-democracy protests, some have raised question: What could happen to foreigners who get involved or speak out against Thai politics? Or post their thoughts on social media? Well, they could possibly get deported. Expat Yan Marchal says he almost got kicked out of the country for posts he made on Facebook. Many of Yan’s recent Facebook posts…
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Pattaya residents accuse Greek expat of throwing sewage, threatening neighbours, and damaging property
Residents of a housing estate in the district of Banglamung in Pattaya, have filed a police report against an expat they accuse of threatening and damaging behaviour. According to The Pattaya News, neighbours say the Greek national has threatened them, as well as “throwing sewage” at their homes, and damaging their fences. They add that, despite filing a police report…
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Thai hotels to offer 1,000 baht discounts for expats
To stimulate domestic tourism and help revive the economy after the pandemic, hotels plan to offer expats a 1,000 baht discount on rooms until the end of the year. A debt moratorium, put in place to help businesses hurt by the pandemic, is ending this month and hotels need a boost. The Thai Hotels Association, or THA, says they will…
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Complete Thailand Travel Guide (October 2020)
Latest update – October 21. If you are overseas and wish to come to Thailand your FIRST port of call must be the Royal Thai Embassy in your country before you make any bookings. Thailand Longstay is also a valuable resource of information at this time. First ‘tourists’ arrive in Thailand under the Special Tourist Visa In 2019, almost 40 million tourists…
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Expat shift drives changes in Bangkok’s condo market
Thailand’s dominant working expat nationality in past decades has been Japanese, currently making up 18% of expatriates in the country. But, while Japanese expatriate numbers are decreasing, a CBRE report notes that Chinese and Filipinos are on the rise. There were 28,560 Japanese expats in Thailand as of Q3 2020, just ahead of the Chinese expat contingent at 25,811. As China’s manufacturing has…
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News of American sued over bad Koh Chang hotel review has everyone talking
After news hit of an American being arrested and sued for defamation over leaving a bad review about a Koh Chang hotel on TripAdvisor, many are taking to the internet to voice their opinions on the issue. The Sea View Resort owners say it tried in vain to negotiated with Wesley Barnes after he posted the reviews, but he continued…
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Koh Chang resort sues American over bad review
A Koh Chang resort is fighting back and, reportedly, suing an American citizen after posting a nasty online review on TripAdvisor. After recently visiting the Sea View Resort on Trat province island in the Gulf of Thailand, American Wesley Barnes wrote an unflattering, almost bitchy, account of his stay prompting the owner to file an official complaint over the ‘unfair’…
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Elderly Dutch man’s body found floating near Pattaya Beach
An elderly Dutch man’s body has been found floating near a Pattaya beach in South Pattaya after telling his wife he was going to go swimming. The 74 year old man’s wife Ms. Sukjai Bungutum, a 41 year old Thai woman, was found by rescue workers crying near his body. “My husband told me he was going to go swimming.…
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Thai cabinet adds 2 more 4-day long weekends
A holiday-led economic recovery. That appears to be a part of the government’s agenda following yesterday’s meeting of the Thai cabinet. 2 new holiday weekends have been created, one in November, one in December, in efforts to further stimulate the economy. In both cases the extended weekends will be 4 days each, adding the Thursdays and Fridays before the weekend.…
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Russian in Pattaya offers 100,000 baht reward for missing cat
A Russian resident in Pattaya is offering a hefty reward for anyone who finds her missing 9 month old cat. The woman, 46 year old Oksana Kobzar met with Associated Pattaya Press today to send out the message of the reward for finding her beloved white Main Coon furry friend. Kobzar says her treasured pussy left her house in Bang…
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Phuket’s ‘Boat Splash’ welcomes everyone for some fun in the sun
Disabled Sailing Thailand are organising Phuket’s first Boat Splash on October 21 off Phuket’s east coast. An on-water meet-up that’s open to everyone, Boat Splash will take place in the waters between Rang Yai Island off Phuket Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina, and Cape Yamu. What originally grew from an idea to offer people with disabilities a safe opportunity…
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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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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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Wow! TAT says they’ll give expats 500 baht to boost tourism
Where would you go with 500 baht? Probably not very far. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says they’re going to hand out 500 baht discount for each trip they take. TAT says they hope that the 2 million baht budget scheme will help stimulate domestic tourism. The 500 baht is expected to encourage the expats to “travel in the country…
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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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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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Expats should be able to share in the government’s tourism incentive programs
by Expat Life Newly elected President of the Thailand Hotels Association and Vice President of Sukosol Hotels, Marisa Sukosol, was asked what her thoughts were about the Thailand Together government travel stimulus campaign. Although close to 5 million people have registered, only 600,000 hotel rooms have been booked at this stage, well below initial estimates. “The project would have more bookings if…
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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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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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Leading Thai epidemiologist warns against opening borders
A leading epidemiologist on the faculty of medicine at Chulalongkorn University is calling for the government to suspend any plan to allow foreign tourists for 6-18 months. Dr Thira Woratanarat, who makes daily updates on his Facebook in the Thai language and is well followed in the Thai media, has been delivering regular warnings about the risk of Covid-19 to…
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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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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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