Bangkok/Pattaya, Thailand – Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a growing number of Russians have looked to Thailand as their ticket to a new life.
Tens of thousands of Russians hoping to avoid the threat of conscription and the economic ravages of the war have travelled to the kingdom in the year since the invasion, many of them seeking a new home.
In Phuket, a popular resort island, Russians are buying off-plan condos with half a million dollars or more to facilitate their relocation or provide a landing pad for a future time when they may feel forced to leave their homeland.
Between November 1, 2022, and January 21, 2023, more than 233,000 Russians arrived in Phuket, according to data from Phuket International Airport, making them the biggest group of visitors by far.
Phuket has long been a favourite escape from the harsh Russian winter but property sales have surged since President Vladimir Putin in September ordered Moscow’s first wartime mobilisation since World War Two, suggesting many arrivals are intent on staying well beyond the length of a typical holiday.
“My clients are mostly young, 30-35… they’re wealthy, high-budget clients,” Sofia Malygaevareal, a real estate agent in Phuket who originally hails from Russia, told Al Jazeera.
“A lot of people have decided to move to Phuket from three to six months… to one year.”
To stay on the idyllic island, Russian arrivals need homes, schools, jobs and visas – which takes time in Thailand, where obtaining long-term residency rights can be difficult to achieve.
For many of the newcomers determined to swap a home on a war footing for a life in the Thai sunshine, money is not a problem. Realtors in Russian-dominated areas of the island say the influx of wealthy visitors, fuelled by the growing realisation the war has no end in sight as it enters its second year, has driven prices up to record levels.
Luxury condos that until recently were available to rent for about $1,000 a month can now go for three times that. Meanwhile, extravagant villas on the market for $6,000 or more are booked out up to a year in advance.
The buyers’ market is similarly red hot. In 2022, Russians bought nearly 40 percent of all condominiums sold to foreigners in Phuket, according to the Thai Real Estate Information Center (REIC). Russians’ purchases amounted to $25m in sales – several times the amount spent by Chinese nationals, the next largest group of buys, according to the REIC.
Some buyers have spent upwards of $500,000 on luxury off-plan homes by the sea, according to local real estate agents.
“The situation has changed at home,” Malygaevareal said, referring to the tough economic conditions in Russia. “People who have money come abroad and are ready to pay money for international school, which costs less than in Moscow.”
A Russian travel agent in Phuket, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said some Russians have arrived on one-way tickets and tourist visas. “[They] just do not go home… they are here to get away from conscription.”
Russians are among the biggest groups of visitors to popular Thai resort areas such as Pattaya [Vijitra Duangdee]
The mass influx of Russians is also reflected in other popular tourist areas such as Koh Samui, Thailand’s second-biggest island, and the eastern seaboard resort of Pattaya, where there has been a sizeable Russian community concentrated in the beach town of Jomtien for years.
“More Russians have moved to Pattaya since October. They’re mostly young couples who fear for their safety,” Mikhail Ilyin, the head priest of the All Saints Russian Orthodox Church in Pattaya, told Al Jazeera.
But the impact of Putin’s invasion works both ways.
Dar, a Thai masseuse in her 40s, said she left her job at a high-end spa in Moscow as the rouble collapsed and her salary – which was generous by Thai standards – plummeted in value. Dar has found new work in Jomtien, where her rare language skills win over repeat Russian clients.
“The women tell me they are desperate to get their husbands, boyfriends or children to come over here to stay,” she said, asking to be referred to by only her first name. “So they come over first and find houses and try to make visas for their men.”
Visas, though, are not as easy to obtain as they used to be after a major scandal was uncovered in November involving Thai immigration police helping the Chinese mafia bring thousands of people into Thailand through fake work and volunteer schemes.
That means Russians who can afford it are having to apply for expensive property ownership visas known as the “Elite Card”, which allows a long-term stay for a family for approximately $25,000.
“It’s not as easy as they think to do long-term living here,” said IIyin, the priest. “Some are thinking of returning as they run out of options.”
The flow of Russians and Russian money into Thailand is also generating resentment in some quarters.
On Phuket, which was hit especially hard by the collapse of global tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some local tourism businesses have expressed anger about Russians allegedly taking local jobs.
Tourism operators have complained about Russian taxi drivers shuttling their compatriots around the island and leading tour groups around Phuket’s historic Old Town, often without the required permits or visas.
Earlier this month, Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the Phuket Tourist Association, complained about the prospect of Russians cutting into locals’ livelihoods.
“If it’s true they’re taking our jobs in our own home, we can’t allow this to happen,” Ruktaengam wrote on his Facebook page.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
