Non Imm O Hull Through The Mail

[Maestro]

How are they going to "clamp down" on a person with a legal Visa? Don't think so.

Strictly speaking, a visa only allows you to travel to Thailand. It does not automatically allow entry into the country; that permission is given by the entry stamp upon arrival, which remains at the discretion of the immigration officer. Nevertheless, I, too, consider it unlikely that immigration officers will be instructed to decide on whether to grant a visa holder entry based on which consulate issued the visa. I think immigration would not like to receive and carry out such instructions.

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Maestro

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Yes I wonder when consulates like Hull and Olso and suchlike will be banned for their very lenient issuing of visas. The less said the better I guess (oups). It wasn't my fault, I didn't do it...

Actually honorary consulates - such as Hull - have a great deal of discretion. As long as they keep their forms and stamps up to date, they can issue visas in almost any way they see fit. Unlike Thai-national consuls, who are employees of Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they are non-Thai 'freelancers' who received their box of stamps, etc, as a tribute to connections to Thailand, whether business or social. I don't think the MFA actually has the authority to revoke their consular status, which has typically been conferred by other entities (not infrequently, Thailand's royal family). I'm not 100% sure about this notion that they can't revoke, but in the 30+ years of my association with Thailand, during which I've met perhaps 10 or 11 honorary Thai consuls, I've never heard of an honorary Thai consulate being closed down for being too lenient.

MFA booted the Hon Consul-General and closed the Post in Pakistan a couple of years ago.