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Anutin orders faster deportations of foreign offenders

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has instructed governors across Thailand to act quickly against foreign nationals who break the law, exploit Thais or engage in what he described as undesirable behaviour.

Speaking at the Interior Ministry at about 8.30am on 17 September, Anutin said foreigners who earn an honest living, respect Thai law and do not take advantage of local people remain welcome. He specifically mentioned Phuket and Surat Thani, but said similar action was needed nationwide.

Deportation action without delays

For foreigners living in, investing in or visiting Thailand, the immediate message is not a change to legal immigration status or visa rules, but a tougher enforcement approach where authorities believe there is evidence of wrongdoing.

Anutin told governors and district chiefs to stop handling cases one at a time and use their full legal powers. He said he had signed an Interior Ministry deportation announcement and that officials should act immediately when a case met the criteria.

He told provincial authorities not to delay an expulsion because of uncertainty over the cost of an air ticket. Provinces could pay first and later arrange reimbursement, he said.

"If their conduct is undesirable, there is only one option: leave. That is all," Anutin said, adding that appeals would not be a problem.

He said keeping offending foreigners in Thailand for legal proceedings could leave the authorities responsible for food, water and accommodation, whereas deportation would remove them from the country.

Focus on land, nominees and illegal work

Anutin ordered closer monitoring of offences involving foreign nationals, including the use of Thai nominees, landholding, fraudulent business activity, working without permits and using Thailand as a base for crime.

He said the cases did not concern one nationality alone, referring to foreign nationals from Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and Africa.

The prime minister also told governors to investigate premises displaying signs barring Thai people from entering. Thai people should generally be able to enter establishments across the country, he said, with private residences the exception.

Even then, he said a private homeowner should not display a sign saying Thai people were not welcome. Anyone prepared to erect such a sign should face closer scrutiny for other possible offences, he added.

Religious sites and cemetery request

Anutin also raised concerns about foreign nationals establishing religious sites without approval, saying such places must respect Thai society and culture.

Referring to a recent request to establish a private cemetery, he said: "If they are going to die, they should go die back home, not here."

He also said a business licensed as a restaurant could not operate a religious site inside the premises. Thailand remained willing to welcome tourists and investors where the relationship benefited both sides, he said, but spending money in the country did not give anyone the right to exploit others or carry out illegal activities.

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18 September 2026

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Jingthing Legendary Member

Jingthing

Advanced Member
10 minutes ago, Rinato said:

"referring to foreign nationals from Asia, the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and Africa"

He forgot USA, Australia and new Zealand.

And who will define what is undesirable behaviour?

Could be anything that he dislike?

Signs stating "Thai people are not welcome"?

I didn't hear anything about it.

Any way a xenophobic attitude could be perceived here?!

Every way.

It's classic.

spidermike007 Star Member

spidermike007

Advanced Member
2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I guess we're allowed to die by suicide or murder, but it's strictly forbidden to die of natural causes here now. Thank you for clarifying that Mr. Anutin. I must be very careful to make sure that I don't die, and upset you.

So I wonder if the PM thinks it's okay for us to die here as long as we're cremated rather than buried? Go ahead and die just don't take up any Thai land in the process.

Yellowtail Star Member

Yellowtail

Advanced Member
55 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

I am thinking that the long awaited tourist tax could usefully be used as a deportation tax. They don't really intend to use any of it to actually benefit tourists so at least it would be better than simply lining someones pocket.

How would deporting undesirables not benefit tourists?

Tourist2 Gold Member

Tourist2

Advanced Member

Good luck for the next few years.

You guys are getting cooked!

Mark it.

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

he displayed very ugly racist tendencies


In truth the MAJORITY there do

but when it becomes out in the open

socially acceptable

& government approved

as it seems to be now

things may get

complicated
for you guys

baansgr Platinum Member

baansgr

Advanced Member
4 hours ago, sambum said:

"........stay for 5 years without contributing one satang to the economy."

Do they eat out of tins and bring their own water tankers then?

Tell me how they contribute?

cynic1 Silver Member

cynic1

Advanced Member
7 hours ago, NemoH said:

The cemetery was a zoning and licensing issue - it was never a foreigner vs local issue. If it had been a Thai cemetery, it too will be removed but this did not happen because Thai cremates their dead. In any event, I am beginning to see Anutin's frustration and him breaking into irresponsible and immature comments serving only his political base and enraging all the long term foreign residents. He should not complicate matters.

I would like to add a bit of history regarding the thousands of dead soldiers from Australia, Britain and USA who paid the ultimate price to help Thailand keep it's sovereignty in WWII. There are many cemeteries here where they are buried. He repays the sacrifice with this?

If it wasn't for these soldiers Thailand would most likely be speaking Japanese and Anutin would not exist!

Ray60 Explorer Member

Ray60

Member
3 hours ago, sambum said:

I agree with a lot of what you say - you don't see boatloads of illegal immigrants rolling up on the beaches here!

One of the things that spoiled his rhetoric was his tasteless comment about not dying here - merely confirmed that he hates farangs anyway.

agree, but the illegal immigrants over here don't really need a boat, the just come over fm Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. However, most people coming to Thailand are tourists and expats spending good money to buy properties, supporting Thai families and pissing them off is definitely a short sighted approach. Anutin is just stoking xenophobia to distract from his own mess and he doesn't realize that he hurts the Thai economy most and sustainably.

baansgr Platinum Member

baansgr

Advanced Member
(edited)
3 hours ago, connda said:

If you buy anything in Thailand, you pay a 7% Value Added Tax. Everyone who is a consumer purchase goods in Thailand supports the Thai tax base.

And so do tax paying Thais, most go to government hospitals which are funded by Social Security payments. Nah...all these leeches do, is take, take take

Edited by baansgr

ronnie50 Platinum Member

ronnie50

Advanced Member
8 hours ago, Jim Waldron said:

Thailand has tens of thousands of long‑term retirees, and every province is full of older expats who’ve bought homes, married locally, and contributed to the community for decades.

Yes, it was a pretty stupid thing to say. Then again it keeps with his persona and dislike of foreigners in general (particularly westerners). Having said that, he was reacting to the misguided, but increasingly, self-entitled Israeli community here. The Chabads are impersonating religious venues - or even pretending they are Israeli territory (like an embassy) - yet licensed as restaurants. Then to claim the community needs a 1,200 plot cemetery sends a further signal that they are intent on growing and further isolating and ring fencing themselves in some kind of false entitlement. So that was the context of his remarks. Still, not very wise. While Buddhists cremate, Muslims in Thailand burry their dead, many Christians do too. Foreigners of all walks have made Thailand their home, contributed to the economy, and one day will die. Few plan the location of their passing. So he insulted all of us.

sambum Ruby Member

sambum

Advanced Member
26 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Tell me how they contribute?

They have to eat and drink and live somewhere don't they?

Sir Dude Gold Member

Sir Dude

Advanced Member

Well despite it not boding well, as who knows who they'll come for next once these natioalists get their way, it is easy to see why it's has transpired into this territory. The Thai government is the maker of all this by flinging the gates open after Covid to any and all as they are terrified about their economy and the spending holiday makers do in all areas.

However, it's never as simple as that because they now have all the problematic nationalities that just are toxic wherever they go and don't care about anything like the law or respectful behaviour and the P has truly been taken. Now, there is a demand for a knee-jerk correction and all the normal foreigners and expats that follow the law and just want to live somewhere they love to be, are as usual, the ones to suffer from the actions of the morons.

If Thailand wants better tourists and them spending more, then you need to bar certain nationalities from swarming in and releasing chaos. Trouble is, that that would require a period of adjustment where revenues would fall and the locals would get the hump about it and become politically problematic... it's the devil or the deep blue sea really, and will not be solved anytime soon, as you can't satisfy high-revenue outcomes and only accept the bigger spenders because perceptions, reputation, and sentiment has to change for the better to attract them and that takes time and effort from the country.

Also, this is all happening at a time when the current government coalition is fractured and under serious flak/pressure for their failings and misdeeds... and they need a distraction boogie-man to punch, and foreigners are the easy option as it costs them nothing to be like that. Letting in all the Russians, Israelis, and Indians etc. was a mistake.

ronnie50 Platinum Member

ronnie50

Advanced Member
22 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

. it's the devil or the deep blue sea really, and will not be solved anytime soon, as you can't satisfy high-revenue outcomes and only accept the bigger spenders

Fully agree on the problematic nationalities (or at least the sense that those nationalities have disproportionate numbers of problematic visitors). But I don't think Thailand has any choice, financially, but to let in tourists from a wide range of countries. Thailand has failed repeatedly with campaigns to attract well-healed, high-income earners for long stay tourism. Simple fact is that those people can go wherever they want, whenever they want. Why would they stay for a long time in Thailand? They might come for a few weeks, then go to Europe, then the Caribbean. Sure some will stay and maybe buy a place - but still travel elsewhere too. Thailand is lovely place for most of us, great people, nice beaches and relatively good value. But it is not a high-end place like some other parts of the world. It's just not. This is not billionnaires' row.

spidermike007 Star Member

spidermike007

Advanced Member
(edited)
57 minutes ago, cynic1 said:

I would like to add a bit of history regarding the thousands of dead soldiers from Australia, Britain and USA who paid the ultimate price to help Thailand keep it's sovereignty in WWII. There are many cemeteries here where they are buried. He repays the sacrifice with this?

If it wasn't for these soldiers Thailand would most likely be speaking Japanese and Anutin would not exist!

I'm not sure if we're reading the same history text but Thailand was occupied by Japan during World War II. They were basically given a choice by the Japanese to be occupied or colonized and they chose occupation as the lesser of two evils. Thailand was actually considered an enemy of the allies and there were several bombing raids that took place over Bangkok. It wasn't until mid to late 1944 that Thailand grew large enough cojones to stop cooperating with the Japanese, as they were already on their knees due to their massive and multiple failed campaigns in Burma and throughout the Pacific.

A little known fact is that for every ton of food, clothing and medicine supplied to Allied soldiers in Burma by the middle of 1944, the Japanese were receiving just one kilo. That's just how desperate things were for Japan by the middle of 44.

However if you skip forward to the 1960s America plowed billions of dollars into Thailand to help build its railways, highways and other infrastructure and an argument could be made that without that investment Thailand might still be a relatively insignificant backwater. Obviously America had its agenda due to the Vietnam War but it was still a massive investment nonetheless, and it was done at a time when Thailand was still quite primitive and undeveloped.

Fool's like Anutin tend to forget that kind of thing, as it's very likely he's never read a history book.

Edited by spidermike007

ronnie50 Platinum Member

ronnie50

Advanced Member
11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Thailand was actually considered an enemy of the allies and there were several bombing raids that took place over Bangkok. It wasn't until mid to late 1944 that Thailand grew large enough cojones to stop cooperating with the Japanese, as they were already on their knees due to their massive and multiple failed campaigns in Burma and throughout the Pacific.

That's my understanding too. Pretty well documented - though the Thais would rather forget it. I don't know of any allied solders' graveyards in Thailand.

Sir Dude Gold Member

Sir Dude

Advanced Member
9 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

I don't know of any allied solders' graveyards in Thailand.

Well, one of the most famous ones is in Kanchanaburi with the Bridge Over the River Kwai cemetry. I visited, and the oldest soldier's grave I found was a 38-year old British captain.

JimGant Ruby Member

JimGant

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

How would deporting undesirables not benefit tourists?

.... or those of us who've lived here for many decades -- and have gotten tired of farang trash allowed to remain, and further repeat their antics. No, send them home...even if that means paying for their airline ticket. Anutin seems to be a pretty stalwart leader, from many aspects.....

ronnie50 Platinum Member

ronnie50

Advanced Member
15 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

Well, one of the most famous ones is in Kanchanaburi with the Bridge Over the River Kwai cemetry. I visited, and the oldest soldier's grave I found was a 38-year old British captain.

Ah yes, of course. Forgot about the allied POWs in Thailand under Japanese rule. But certainly there was no fighting in Thailand by allied troops - there was no house to house fighting etc. Bombing, some shot down, captured, brought over from Burma, etc.

Burma Bill Diamond Member

Burma Bill

Advanced Member
14 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

"If they are going to die, they should go die back home, not here."

No problem in caring Cambodia.

Foreigners can die with dignity within the country.

Another anti-foreigner comment from an obnoxious Thai man - just like his reaction about COVID and dirty foreigners! This man does not like foreigners - just their MONEY!!

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