| ANNOUNCEMENTS |
NEW THAI IMMIGRATION RULE
Thailand has tightened its immigration rules for tourists from 41 countries (including the Philippines, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United States) who avail of visa-free regulations, beginning 1 October 2006.
Under the old rules, tourists from these countries are given a 30-day tourist stamp in their passports at Thailand’s international airports or at the borders. Every 30 days, those who wish to remain in the Kingdom beyond the 30-day period have to leave the country and re-enter at border crossings. These old regulations provided said tourists the opportunity to stay in Thailand for several more months or even indefinitely.
Under the new regulations, these tourists may still enter Thailand without visas and stay for up to 30 days, however, they will only be able to extend their stay in the Kingdom twice (i.e., two successive 30-day stamps at border crossings or other exit points). After that, they must leave Thailand for at least 90 days before being permitted to re-enter.
ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT OF FILIPINOS TO THAILAND
The Embassy has received several reports of Filipino nationals who were recruited in the Philippines with promises of job placements supposedly in Thailand or in other countries, but were subsequently left abandoned by their recruiters in Bangkok.
Filipino individuals who fell for this deployment scam recall that the "modus operandi" of their recruiters is to entice them with promises of high-paying jobs and tales of successful "direct hire" deployment. The Embassy has received reports that the victims paid their recruiters between PhP70,000 and Php150,000 for placement fees, only to realize that the deployment was a hoax after overstaying in Bangkok with little or no prospect at all of finding jobs.
Many of the recruits who persisted were either arrested or deported for carrying false identities or tampered passports and visas. The Embassy is also verifying reports that some recruits, who became so desperate to recover their huge expenses, were subjected to further exploitation.
The Embassy strongly urges the Filipino community in Thailand to remind their families and friends in the Philippines to be extremely wary of job offers in "telemarketing" in Bangkok or in factories in Central America or South Korea. It is important to verify first the POEA accreditation of recruiters offering jobs overseas before considering any of their proposals. The PEOA hotline is (632) 722-1144 or 722-1155.
All victims of illegal recruitment are encouraged to file formal complaints at the Embassy or the POEA office in Manila so that appropriate measures could be taken.
Illegal recruitment, under Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers Act, is a criminal offense which carries a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment and a fine of PhP500,000.
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TEXT SCAM DEFRAUDING OVERSEAS FILIPINOS
Unscrupulous individuals have been attempting to defraud overseas Filipinos by pretending to be officials overseeing a Philippine lottery that the intended victim has supposedly won.
These individuals, who often identify themselves as representatives of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or Western Union®, would call or SMS the intended victim by mobile phone and demand an amount of money representing the commission required to remit the lottery prize money. The victim is usually asked to remit the commission to a Philippine bank or through Western Union®. Such lottery mobile scams have victimized other Filipino communities in the Southeast Asian region, and have only recently appeared in Thailand.
In this regard, the Embassy urges all Filipinos in Thailand to disregard phone calls or SMS of a similar nature. If you are the recipient of such calls or messages, or know anyone who is, please contact the Embassy immediately at (02) 259-0139 to 40, or email us at inquiry@philembassy-bangkok.net.
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BRINGING FOREIGN CURRENCY IN OR OUT OF THE PHILIPPINES
Pursuant to BSP Circular No. 308 dated 15 November 2001 as amended by Circular No. 507 dated 19 January 2006 (on foreign currency notes/coins/other monetary instruments) and Section 4 of Central Bank Circular No. 1389 dated 13 April 1993, as amended by BSP Circular No. 98 dated 11 December 1995:
"Any person bringing foreign currency and other foreign exchange-denominated bearer negotiable monetary instruments (including traveler's checks) in or out of the Philippine in excess of US$10,000 or its equivalent, must accomplish a Declaration Form which may be obtained from, and after accomplishment submitted to, the Customs Desk in the Arrival or Departure areas. Failure to do so is subject to sanctions."
"Also, bringing in or out of the country of legal tender Philippine notes and coins, check, money order and other bills of exchange drawn in pesos in an amount exceeding PhP10,000 without authorization by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is prohibited."
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SCENIC PHILIPPINES |
