Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushdoctor
It sounds like this could become a very serious problem. Let's hope not, time will tell. What will people under 50 who have been living in LOS for years do? Their whole lives could be up-rooted. Has any one made contingency plans? What are the options? Go back home? Stay out of the country for 3 months out of the year, and if so where? Move somewhere else? Where would the next best alternative be, the Philippines? I know I have lot's of questions and no answers.
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Obviously, the laws were originally created with the intent of preventing people from becoming permanent residents of LOS, except during the time they are employed there or if they are married to a Thai.
And, just as obviously, the enforcement policy for the laws has been very lax, so as to make it convenient for those who wish to circumvent the original intent of the laws.
But the laws were never changed, because they want them there. So that by tightening or loosening the enforcement policy, they can maintain some control over how many foreigners take up residence in their country.
This just makes good sense. If you have a house, need to generate some cash flow, and, to achieve that end, you take on boarders, when your cash flow position improves(or if you simply don't like them), then you want to maintain your ability to get rid of some or all of them. Therefore, you give them a lease that limits the amount of time they may reside on your premises. In a situation where there is no written lease, their rights to stay are always subject to termination in 30 days, if you choose to give them notice to vacate.
As I see it, the situation in LOS is not much different. How anyone ever got the idea that they had carte blanche approval to spend their lives there on 30-day visa renewals is something that I will never figure out.
The exception for the over-50 crowd is not likely to be pulled. Why, you ask? Because they have more money, spend more money, make less trouble, do not displace Thai workers, and will only be there a limited amount of time, since many will succumb to cirrhosis of the liver from too much time spent at ladybars, or heart failure, due to consorting with the employees at the ladybars! But while they are still alive they provide steady cash flow for bars, their employees, and the hospitals. That is a winning combination for LOS. Do to people's increased life expectancies, however, someday maybe we would see the over-50 exception become an over-60 exception.