The day's most relevant stories from the Philippines and Asia's major countries. Links to original sources.
Chinese students filed complaints with Thai police yesterday, October 20, over an alleged condo scam that has affected around 70 people, with reported losses approaching 10 million baht. The students’ representatives, accompanied by lawyers, visited the Central Investigation Bure
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered a nationwide crackdown on nominee land ownership in Thailand, setting a December deadline for investigations into high-risk cases and demanding the compulsory sale of land found to be illegally held on behalf of foreigners. Anutin an
A UK visa refusal has put a British baby’s planned Christmas trip from Koh Tao in doubt after officials rejected his Myanmar-born mother’s application, preventing the family from travelling together to meet the child’s seriously ill great-grandfather in Lancashire. The refusal ha
Five African women have been arrested at a hotel near Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui after immigration officers discovered they had overstayed their visas by up to 799 days. Surat Thani immigration police announced the arrests today, October 16, following a tip-off that foreign women
Thai immigration police arrested an American company director at a residence in the Sukhumvit area yesterday, October 15, over allegations of unpaid wages and failure to comply with a labour inspector’s order. The man, identified only as Michael, was wanted under two arrest warra
Twenty Thai workers in Taiwan were arrested for overstaying and working illegally after immigration officers used a woman’s viral TikTok videos to track down their secluded accommodation in Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency announced yesterday, October 15. The inves
A Chinese man was arrested in Phuket over a visa overstay of 1,793 days, nearly five years, after immigration officers tracked him to a secluded rental room in Karon on Wednesday, October 14. Police also seized passports belonging to other people, mobile phones and knives during
Having health insurance doesn’t necessarily mean your insurer will pay every hospital bill, even when the treatment seems to fall within coverage. If your health insurance rejected a claim, the explanation may be more specific than simply having no coverage. You could visit a pri
Thai police arrested 39 suspects and seized assets worth more than 500 million baht in raids across 11 provinces as part of an investigation into an alleged online investment scam and cross-border money-laundering network. The operation, announced yesterday, October 13, targeted
Police arrested 11 foreign suspects and seized assets worth more than 6 billion baht (US$179 million) yesterday, October 10, in raids on four luxury housing estates in Bangkok. The operation targeted foreigners accused of using Thai nominees to own houses and land. It was the eig
A French national was arrested after tourist police raided a Chiang Mai hostel allegedly operating without a licence for more than five years, with investigators also suspecting that a Thai shareholder was being used to conceal foreign ownership. The raid took place yesterday, Oc
Highgate International School Thailand, established through a collaboration between Siam Motors Group and Highgate School UK, has officially opened its first campus outside the United Kingdom. Palakorn Suwanrath, privy councillor, president of the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation under
At many private hospitals in Thailand, choosing a specialist is easier than working out what your outpatient insurance will pay for. The online appointment system gives patients two options: ask the hospital to recommend a doctor or choose the doctor yourself. Some hospitals also
Phuket has launched the “Phuket Licence Lab” to help small and medium-sized accommodation businesses overcome building and regulatory problems that have prevented many from obtaining the licences needed to operate legally. Five organisations from the professional, academic and to
A delivery rider and amateur footballer has been arrested over the theft of more than 3.69 million baht in cash and property from two foreign residents’ homes in Phuket. The 23 year old suspect, identified by the pseudonym A, was arrested at a checkpoint in Mai Khao subdistrict,
A British woman detained in Cambodia says she was unknowingly used as a drug courier after 34.5 kilogrammes of cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage at Techo International Airport. British media identified the woman as Tamara Martins, from Croydon, London. The 31 year old
Frozen UK pensions mean British retirees in Thailand receive a State Pension that stays at the same weekly rate for as long as they live in the Kingdom, however much prices rise. A campaign group is now urging those affected to register to vote in the UK, arguing that organised p
Bangkok residents have begun stocking up on food and drinking water after Governor Chadchart Sittipunt declared all 50 of the capital’s districts disaster zones this morning, September 26, as flooding continued to disrupt roads and daily life. The order widens an earlier designat
Anutin has told the Interior Ministry to re-examine how Thai nationality is granted and to check past grants, after nominee crackdowns found foreigners holding it. The story Thailand reviews citizenship rules amid foreign nominee concerns as seen on Thaiger News.
Thailand’s revised Destination Thailand Visa (DTV) rules have left overseas applicants facing different published residency requirements depending on the Thai embassy or consulate handling their application. A nationwide change that took effect on August 31 replaced the requireme
Thailand ends its 60-day visa exemption on September 15, replacing it with 30-day and 15-day schemes, a shorter Visa on Arrival list and tighter limits at land borders. Thailand’s revised tourist entry rules take effect today, September 15, 2026, changing how long millions of for
A new regulation frees eight service businesses from Foreign Business Act licensing. Officials deny claims that it opens hotels, restaurants and tour firms to foreigners. The story Hotels and restaurants are not in foreign business licence exemption as seen on Thaiger News.
The Excise Department has launched an investigation after a Lao worker accused one of its officials and his wife of assaulting her, taking her passport and detaining her for more than six hours over 190,000 baht missing from their restaurant in Nonthaburi. The alleged attack took
Police have no policy of demanding traffic fine payments through SMS links or QR codes, the Deputy Government Spokesperson said. The story Government warns motorists over fake traffic fine SMS as seen on Thaiger News.
A House committee wants a system-wide fix for foreign nominee firms, as officials count 36,277 foreign-invested companies holding 305,838 land plots. The story House committee presses crackdown on foreign nominee property in Pattaya as seen on Thaiger News.
The Edo Eats Wrong page showed an expat pulling the plastic pouch out of its paper bag and stabbing a straw through the side. Thai commenters explained the straw goes in the top. The story Expat left baffled by traditional Thai tea bag packaging as seen on Thaiger News.
Immigration Bureau 3 says the 58-year-old will be deported and blacklisted once his case at Phahon Yothin Police Station concludes. The story Canadian man to be deported after sexual assault of saleswomen in Bangkok as seen on Thaiger News.
If you moved to Thailand around 2021 and decided health insurance was not worth the money, most likely, you made that choice based on healthcare costs, visa rules and whatever your health record looked like at the time. That does not automatically mean the decision was wrong. You
Thailand’s 60-day visa-free stay will end next week, with new entry rules taking effect on Tuesday, September 15. The current scheme covering 93 countries and territories will be replaced by a more targeted system that gives travellers different entry periods depending on their n
If you are staying in Thailand on any form of temporary permission, and you have been here continuously for close to 90 days, there is a good chance you need to file a TM.47. Thailand’s 90-day reporting requirement is one of the most commonly misunderstood obligations for long-st
Employers face 10,000 to 100,000 baht per worker for a first offence under the 2017 alien employment decree, the government says. The story Thailand clamps down on illegal foreign work, warns employers as seen on Thaiger News.
Twenty-one years ago, a young unmarried British mother and her six-year-old son stepped off a longtail boat onto the shores of Thong Nai Pan, on Koh Phangan’s northeast coast. Two decades later, Nicola Bunchuay’s journey, from marrying a Thai local who later adopted her son to op
The rule only applies where a sign says so. Without one, you must wait for green, even if the road ahead is completely clear. One of the most common misunderstandings on Thai roads is the belief that you can always turn left on a red light provided the way is clear. Plenty of dri
Thai authorities have moved against a scheme that allegedly turned civil-registration records into a production line for fake Thai citizenship. Roughly 5,000 migrants are believed to have obtained ID cards they were never entitled to. Investigators arrested 20 suspects in raids o
Thailand has built a strong reputation as one of the world’s most popular destinations for digital nomads and remote workers. The infrastructure, cost of living and quality of life draw tens of thousands of location-independent professionals each year. What the country offers far
Anutin Charnvirakul has signed an order naming six offences that trigger deportation of foreign nationals, effective from August 28. The story Thailand deportation regulation takes effect today as seen on Thaiger News.
Thailand allows limited work permit exemptions for SMART-S startup founders, diplomats, short-term specialists and some remote workers, but most foreign employees still need formal permission. Foreigners can legally work in Thailand without a standard work permit in certain circu
An international hospitality partnership is bringing a globally recognised hotel management platform to a new residential development in southern Phuket, with Radisson Hotel Group set to manage a dedicated serviced apartment building at Next Point Condominium & Radisson Serviced
Surat Thani officials are moving to revoke land rights held by companies on Koh Pha Ngan after an investigation found 112 entities with foreign shareholdings exceeding the legal limit. Surat Thani Governor Jumpot Wannachatsiri has ordered officials to proceed with action against
Thai police have widened a nationwide investigation into so-called “pink card” fraud, in which foreign nationals allegedly pay brokers to be added to household registers to access state benefits, with checks now set to stretch back 10 years. The Royal Thai Police is working with
The Department of Provincial Administration’s special operations unit raided three locations in Pattaya on August 21, working alongside the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and Royal Thai Police to dismantle a suspected nominee network accused of using Thai citizens to i
Surat Thani officials are seeking the visa revocation and deportation of an Israeli and a French man after a dispute involving a Palestinian flag escalated on Koh Samui. Colonel Thitiphong Inwasa, deputy director of the Internal Security Operations Command in Surat Thani, said ye
Pattaya’s condo market has two stories running at the same time, and most coverage only tells you one. The oversupply headlines are real, but so is the fact that Chon Buri province still accounts for roughly a third of every condo sold to a foreign buyer in Thailand, and Pattaya
There is a document in Thailand that most people have never heard of and almost no one thinks about until it is too late. It is called a หนังสือแสดงเจตนา, formally translated as a Declaration of Intent, though most people refer to it as a Living Will. It lets you write down, whil
Expats gave Thailand the highest happiness score of the 31 countries surveyed, but ranked it last for environment and climate The story Thailand ranks 3rd for expat life in global 2026 survey as seen on Thaiger News.
Police and Interior Ministry officials have uncovered sixty illegal nominee businesses on Koh Samui, ranging from unlicensed nurseries to a luxury hotel built on land allegedly hidden behind Thai shareholders. More than 300 police and officials carried out the raid on Saturday, t
A single night in a private room at Bangkok Hospital can run past 25,000 baht before any treatment is added to the bill. Most expats assume their health insurance handles that kind of cost without a second thought. But the truth is, the exclusions section of the policy, the part
No, not in the way most listings suggest. Renting out a condo unit for stays under 30 days puts you squarely inside Thailand’s Hotel Act, regardless of what a platform’s booking calendar allows. The reality of Airbnb Thailand-wide is a lot narrower than most listings let on, and
A housing development manager in Rayong called for an investigation into a group of men who introduced themselves as immigration police, demanding 2,000 baht charity donations from Chinese residents and stealing property from homes when occupants were away. The manager, Thammapor
Western YouTuber warns of foreigners going broke in Thailand after underestimating the cost of living A video by a Western content creator warning people against moving to Thailand without a financial plan has struck a chord among expats and tourists online. In it, he argues that
Police arrested 13 foreigners during a crackdown on a nominee network today, August 10, after they were found to be illegally owning pool villas and properties in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan, through a nominee scheme. More than 200 police and government officials launched an ope
The Ministry of Interior is investigating the Thai citizenship of an Israeli national in Phuket and a business reportedly linked to him after questions over the legality of his citizenship. Phuket Times reported yesterday, August 9, that the Israeli national had obtained Thai cit
Summaries link to the original story. ArchipelagoExpat is not the source of these news items; each article belongs to its author and outlet.