Immigration officers told to increase screening of foreigners in Thailand

[wealthychef]

Is there any evidence that poor airport screening has anything to do with these bad actors?  Wouldn't the rampant police corruption and bribery be a more logical place to start looking than slowing everyone down at the airport?  Smells like security theatre. 

[crazykopite]

The headline should be extra screening on Russian and Chinese visitors oops I forgot Russia China and Thailand are in bed with each other

[Scouse123]

15 minutes ago, 2baht said:

How many hubcaps is that???

 

 

Too many to count at my age.

[sqwakvfr]

14 minutes ago, Martin71 said:

 

The immigration officer could have asked them ''Are you going to be naughty in Thailand'?

Depending on their answer he could then decide to admit them or reject them...

"Slippery Slope"?  ff an IO at a port of entry does not have an objective reason to deny entry then this type of discretion could impact all of us who enter LOS. 

[soi3eddie]

• Expect longer processing times on entry/exit to/from Thailand with possible questioning leading to ever longer queues.
• Expect long processing times for extensions of stay - especially Non-O. They will be looking through every line on bank statements multiple times and will thumb back and forth through passport at least 6 times going forward. Just looking for something.
• Any slightest discrepancy will be questioned and likley rejected.

In related news. Jomtien immigration finally broke a record for queues. Now you can sit on the beach while waiting your turn for interrogation!

Of course, using an agent for fee will not change, and will expediate your application as always 🙂

 

[FruitPudding]

2 hours ago, reefsurfah said:

Rightfully so, need all these bad foreigners out.  Clean up the place already.🧹

 

It won't really change much.

[baansgr]

45 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

And yet mysteriously they never go after agents ...

Why should they, retirees and married persons are not the ones usually committing crimes

[crazykopite]

Up until a certain fugitive returned to the Kingdom everything was okay since then it seems to have become a hate campaign towards farang even tho the fugitive enjoyed his freedom around the world without any hassle , after 19 years living here I’ve recently started to look at more welcoming countries where I can enjoy spending my money and rid myself of all the unwelcome rules that are thrown at us dirty farangs 

Edited March 19 by crazykopite

[Dogmatix]

1 hour ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

coming soon  money in the bank  for visas quadrupled!!

 

 

Probably coming soon anyway.  The last time cash in account/ monthly income for retirement visas was increased was about 20 years ago, if I recall correctly, and the lump sums were increase by several times. The fee for PR was increased from 50k to c180k at the same time.  But the old timers who had been on retirement or marriage visas continuously for a few years before it went up were grandfathered in and still only have to make the old rates, if they are still alive.

[motdaeng]

37 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Hmm? What exactly could have been done to bar the Swiss guy in Phuket or the two Kiwi's who assaulted the police officer from entering LOS?  If one has a valid passport, a valid visa, no criminal record in LOS or in their home country then what other criteria could be applied? ....

i highly doubt that the two swiss and the two kiwi guys don't have any criminal records!

they are thousands of scumbags foreigners with criminal history in there home country, who enter thailand every year without any problems ... 

Edited March 19 by motdaeng

[BE88]

Sure they're going to piss us off even more now.

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Why should they, retirees and married persons are not the ones usually committing crimes

I'm not saying they should or shouldn't. 

My point is that people who fake being financially qualified with payoffs are by definition more suspect than those that follow the letter of the law.

So in a REAL crackdown, they would stop the agent game.

Yet they never do. 

[Parker2100]

I don't disagree with the sentiment but Thai Immigration will interpret this as 'make it harder for foreigners to enter and be extra suspicious'

 

Not sure how these new measures would have prevented the Swiss and NZ foreigner incidents.

 

Btw, I have seen a man from China attack airport police as well hearing similar stories about other Chinese, Indians, and Russians.  No fuss was made about that.  The Chinese man was even helped book another flight and wasn't even punished.

 

But Non-Russian Westerners make Westerners look bad and they have to crack down!

 

Same Same

Edited March 19 by Parker2100

[Parker2100]

10 minutes ago, BE88 said:

Sure they're going to piss us off even more now.

Yes, that is how Immigration works in Thailand.

[Excogitator]

All for them cleaning up the place and getting rid of the thrash, but can't help but wonder how this all will affect the rest of us living here legally, peacefully and without acting like total aholes.. Increased screening might very well result in higher fees, new demands, and more paperwork that will further complicate our lives here..

[Scouse123]

43 minutes ago, gravity101 said:

Used wife as a nominee shareholder, not filed income taxes, drank a beer in the car, bought fake Nike shoes, smoked a vape. Driven too fast, didn't yield for zebra crossing, taken boat out with an expired licence, circumvented taxes by paying rent from offshore. Watched porn.

 

That's just this week.

 

Next week I'll be paying an agent to pay under the table just to get my effin extention done. Isnt that bribery?

 

 

Well,

 

If you are going to break the rules, you might as well go the whole hog and not do things by halfway.

 

Well done!

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Newly-issued instructions include…

• All foreigners entering and leaving the kingdom to be strictly screened. Enhanced screening will also apply to those seeking extensions of stay, visa stamps, and any change in visa status.

Deep joy to be had at the IO later this year.

[Parker2100]

13 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

i highly doubt that the two swiss and the two kiwi guys don't have any criminal records!

they are thousands of scumbags foreigners with criminal history in there home country, who enter thailand every year without any problems ... 

 

They are not checking criminal records in the home country.  They are just broadly making it harder for everyone else.

[Scouse123]

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I'm not saying they should or shouldn't. 

My point is that people who fake being financially qualified with payoffs are by definition more suspect than those that follow the letter of the law.

So in a REAL crackdown, they would stop the agent game.

Yet they never do. 

 

 

They can't stop their income stream, that would be very Un-Thai.

[BestB]

Wait, just to clarify, 3 out of 30 million and lets get even more idiotic? while screaming we need more foreign tourist?

 

Its a good thing those with brain are in power and decision making😂

[mokwit]

Big question is if Anutin as Interior Minister is going to look at the 1979 act as was suggested by Big Joke after the motorcycle gang murder.

 

All of you applauding tightening up, be careful what you wish for, it will be a collective punishment of all falangs. You seem to think your self awarded status of "good" falang exempts you.

[Excogitator]

23 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Up until a certain fugitive returned to the Kingdom everything was okay since then it seems to have become a hate campaign towards farang even tho the fugitive enjoyed his freedom around the world without any hassle , after 19 years living here I’ve recently started to look at more welcoming countries where I can enjoy spending my money and rid myself of all the unwelcome rules that are thrown at us dirty farangs 

Lol, blaming this on the return of thaksin is beyond ridiculous and smells of conspiracy-theories..

[Brickleberry]

How much of the 'bad foreigner' blame will the PM accept for this?

 

He's the moron who thought it would be a good idea to give long term tourist visas & visa free access to Chinese & Russian mafiosi.   

[Thumbs]

Step 1 arrest all immigration officers working in cahoots with visa agencies 

[ryandb]

As others have stated, if there is no criminal history for the people involved in these 3 incidents, how exactly would this help stop them? For tourists, this would be a huge sod that moment, we will go somewhere else.

[cmjl]

39 minutes ago, IamNoone88 said:

If they stop letting in the bad guys in the fisrt place, then it would far better for all of us.

How do 'you' define the bad guys,nobody is going to admit that they are going to misbehave

[Scouse123]

There is only so much screening that can be done, and the rest is the luck of the draw.

 

As I said before, they can't expect massive revenue to come through the airports and spend trillions in the country without some hiccups, and that is all these things are Hiccups.

 

A young kid playing with a horse, A Swiss that kicked a woman on some steps, and a couple of Kiwis that subdued an overzealous policeman?

 

These are hardly mass shootings, murders or bombings, are they?

 

There was even one poster on here last week advising that every person should have their luggage checked on arrival at the airport!!!! .............Could you honestly imagine that?

 

Way too many knee-jerk reactions here, by a sensationalist press corps with too much time on their hands!

[BE88]

I think it's all government manipulation for some cases of criminals living in Thailand and is now well amplified by the news that is now all of a sudden being publicized throughout the country while previously ordinary news was almost hidden in the country.

 

Why all of a sudden this change in government?

 

What exactly do they want to do by saying that now everything we own and do in Thailand will be under close observation. Because why this rapid change of government against us foreigners, there is perhaps an international change with this increasingly evident conflict of military confrontation between the West and Russia/China.

 

I ask myself this question personally, are we still welcome in Thailand or not?

[Scouse123]

2 minutes ago, ryandb said:

As others have stated, if there is no criminal history for the people involved in these 3 incidents, how exactly would this help stop them? For tourists, this would be a huge sod that moment, we will go somewhere else.

 

Without a doubt.

 

Clowns on here want to inconvenience thousands of incoming travellers for a few silly mishaps.

 

As you say, the offenders have not even got any criminal history, so how would 'screening' help?

 

Nothing but soundbites from an empty head in a government press office.

[Rampant Rabbit]

1 hour ago, AAArdvark said:

Yes and then only rich a-holes will be allowed in and not the everyday average a-holes. 

stinks of the "new"  tax  rules, dont to help the  poor  yet  you can buy an LTR visa  showing a lot  fo  money = no tax to pay.............how does that help the poor, stiff  the poor imo, many are  poor  by their own doing