> And then the story invariably will say that the actual number of people doing this thing is not really known, or is pretty low.
I think some people are also using the wrong types of visas and not wanting to make their identities public to avoid trouble. Especially the "tourist visa" people in the article. I knew people (pre-pandemic) who would participate in "visa runs" in Thailand. I tried a visa run once, but suspect that I did it repeatedly it would arise suspicion. There are also longer educational visas in Thailand, and some educational programs advertise how little time commitment is required (since actual learning didn't seem to be the point).
At least in Thailand visa runs are commonplace for a whole host of different folks. Some people I knew got into a little trouble, however by and large it wasn't frequent.
That being said, in Thailand there would be no need to for retirees as they have a retirement visa scheme that allow for renewal in country.
The system is a bit odd in Vietnam due to its nominally communist status. You generally talk to a visa agent who goes to the relevant government department to sort it and you are in theory part of a tour group though it's a bit of a loophole. In practice once you have your visa they let you in without problems - I've know people staying on repeating 3 month tourist visas for years.
I think some people are also using the wrong types of visas and not wanting to make their identities public to avoid trouble. Especially the "tourist visa" people in the article. I knew people (pre-pandemic) who would participate in "visa runs" in Thailand. I tried a visa run once, but suspect that I did it repeatedly it would arise suspicion. There are also longer educational visas in Thailand, and some educational programs advertise how little time commitment is required (since actual learning didn't seem to be the point).