Difficult Or Near Impossible For Thai People To Get Visas To Foreign Countries

[MrHammer]

Maybe if so many people didnt bring 'bad girls' with them home who overstayed and/or worked illegaly, it would be easier for the rest.

[dumbnewbie]

By the way whenever I fill out any of these poxy forms and it asks my nationalality I allways put in capitals ENGLISH even though their option list only offers Europeon or UK citizen

European? (or -peon, haha!)

But seriously, 'European' is a nationality according to official British forms? What is their official definition of European then?

[dumbnewbie]

Most of my friends have quite a bit in the wawy of assets, so they have had no problem at all getting a visa. However, over the last 6 years or so, I have had 5 people without many assets apply for a visa to travel with me to the US for varios reasons (attending trade shows to simple tourism.) Only one was turned down, a woman who was so nervous that she forgot her address and phone number when asked during her interview. They others were all approved, with three of the four getting 10-year multiple-entry visas.

I have also had two employees apply for visas to man booths at trade shows, and both received their visas without problem.

Were you "sponsoring" these people somehow? Is that why they were all approved? I mean, you sound like a credible businessman, so I'm wondering if their connection to you is why they were given visas?

[dumbnewbie]

sometimes the immigration officers even came to the cumpus and they don't ask Uhm, you ar Thai? Will you work illegally? No? Really, are you small liar or big liar anyway?

Ha!

It's the same there, poor foreigner they don't like, rich one is OK

Probably right. But something else is going on, and it's a bit of a mystery. Why are these governments so paranoid about keeping out poor Thais (for example) when the doors are wide open to dirt-poor, even illiterate illegal or criminal immigrants from other countries - Mexico & Central American countries for the US (& Canada?), some other countries for the UK? (And I'm not saying all or even mostLatinos are these things - clearly they're not. I'm just pointing out that in contrast to the rigorous vetting of applicants at embassies in Thailand, nobody at all is checking who's walking across the US-Mexico border - anyone can and does just walk across, and everyone knows that the so-called efforts to patrol the border, or build a few miles of fence here or there are a total joke and just for show).

My theory is that these governments are deliberately building a class-structure stratified along racial and ethnic lines. I think the reasoning might be that this kind of society would be more stable than one strictly based on class, whether homogeneous or heterogeneous. They seem to want people to confuse class with ethnicity. (But to what purpose? To reduce class mobility, and thus make society more "stable"?)

I haven't really thought this through, so I could be way off, but I've noticed that for the most part, the US only allows in highly educated and/or entrepreneurial Asians, whereas the floodgates are open to the peasantry of Latin America. Each ethnic group tends to find its own niche in the economy. Persians & Indians = doctors or computer engineers. Sikhs = 7-11 owner/operators. Chinese (from whatever country, including Vietnam, Thailand, etc.) = restaurant and other small business owners. Philipinas = nurses. Mexicans & other Latinos = gardeners, farm labor, maids, etc.

In this way, people come to identify different ethnic groups with different rungs on the socio-economic ladder. I mean the truth is, most Asians, even today, are uneducated farmers, just like most Westerners were before the industrial revolution. But because of selective immigration policies, people in the US increasingly think of Asians as geniuses, when the truth is that the government only lets in Asian geniuses (or at least with education, money and the ability to rapidly adapt and become upper-middle class).

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this.

Edited August 18, 2009 by dumbnewbie

[LaoPo]

Here you go: What countries can Thai citizens go to w/out a visa?

"What countries can Thai citizens go to without a Visa?"

Answer

the countries or regions that grant visa-free or visa-on-arrival to personal Thailand passport holders are:

90 days for all passport type.

* Andorra

...just found a hole in European's "Schengen" gateway.

for those who never heard of Andorra: it's a mini landlocked state high in the Pyrenees mountains (840 > 2.945 m) between France and Spain, the only two countries one can access Andorra from; both Schengen countries and there's NO airport in Andorra. Andorra is more Spanish than French

LaoPo

[dumbnewbie]

Andorra: a mini landlocked state between France and Spain, the only two countries one can access Andorra from; both Schengen countries and there's NO airport in Andorra.

LaoPo

Haha - yeah I thought of that too! You don't need a visa to enter, but you need a Schengen visa to get there via France or Spain.

[Carmine6]

I can't speak for any country other than the US or Canada, but our country's officials are paranoid. Their left hand doesn't know what their right hand is doing. We ALL understand the reasons WHY they MIGHT keep young Thai and Philippines women tourists from entering Canada or the US, but if EVERY Thai visitor slipped off never to be seen again it wouldn't affect the system one bit. It's a whole bunch of hypocrisy written up by petty officials with no sense of balance. Our countries waste more money on stupid things then we could possibly imagine. I have a US friend married to a Thai woman who owns a viable laundry business with several staff. After several years of applying they are still trying to jump through all sorts of legal hoops just for a simple tourist trip. And, the woman is 40 and has never been a sex trade worker. I know at least 4 Canadian friends who tried bringing Thai girlfriends to Canada and it was a no go. I haven't even bothered because of the expense and red tape.

With my ex-girlfriend I literally considered having her fly to Mexico and bringing her back across the the border to the US. That's how daunting the tourist visa criteria seems. The only real requirements are:

1) Show you can pay for your trip - hotels, food, touristy stuff, etc.

2) Prove you're going home.

Well having tens of thousands of baht in the bank isn't usually enough for #1. No one is going to believe that someone is going to blow their entire savings just for a touristy trip to the US, so more is normally required. The exception being those who have good enough jobs or job prospects (students from the top tier universities) that they could conceivably use credit cards and pay them back or have rich enough families.

For the 2nd requirement, it's all up to the ICE agent. Lots of assets, good jobs, etc. are normally enough. But nothing guarantees a visa. I've heard that the only real estate that carries weight is Bangkok real estate. That's because they know someone can own land out in the country, but their family can live and work it while the owner goes off to make money elsewhere. Same is true for having children. Doesn't prove someone won't overstay a tourist visa since people are willing to work somewhere else and send money back.

I've seen places were the US government claims a high approval rate of about xx% for tourist visas from certain countries. But the last part of your comment where you don't even bother having friends try is what is missing from the stats. It just boggles my mind that it's easier for illegal immigrants to get into the US to stay permanently than it is for Thais to get a tourist visa to stay for a few weeks.

[mickylonster]

By the way whenever I fill out any of these poxy forms and it asks my nationalality I allways put in capitals ENGLISH even though their option list only offers Europeon or UK citizen

European? (or -peon, haha!)

But seriously, 'European' is a nationality according to official British forms? What is their official definition of European then?

My Thai G/f visited me in the UK last christmas ,on a tourist visa , part of her holiday was a trip to Paris, we both thought that being as we are a member country of the EEC her visa would be valid in all eec countries, Not so, Even though we were only staying in Paris 24 hours and we had the return tickets to London , She was refused entry , We were taken to a side office and questioned about the reason for ou trip , This was all very undignified , and I got the impression that they thought I was " delivering her into some sort of shady deal ! We were both very P----d off , at this situation , not to mention the three hundred + quid lost ! Are we members off the EEC or What ??

[oldsparrow]

dumbnewbie,

"...nobody at all is checking who's walking across the US-Mexico border - anyone can and does just walk across, and everyone knows that the so-called efforts to patrol the border, or build a few miles of fence here or there are a total joke and just for show)..."

****

aha, this is too hard for the late Bill Jordan to swallow...

[bonobo]

Most of my friends have quite a bit in the wawy of assets, so they have had no problem at all getting a visa. However, over the last 6 years or so, I have had 5 people without many assets apply for a visa to travel with me to the US for varios reasons (attending trade shows to simple tourism.) Only one was turned down, a woman who was so nervous that she forgot her address and phone number when asked during her interview. They others were all approved, with three of the four getting 10-year multiple-entry visas.

I have also had two employees apply for visas to man booths at trade shows, and both received their visas without problem.

Were you "sponsoring" these people somehow? Is that why they were all approved? I mean, you sound like a credible businessman, so I'm wondering if their connection to you is why they were given visas?

Yes, for each of them, I also submitted a letter of support. (And as evidence of my citizenship, I also submitted a copy of my passport as well as a copy of my Marine Corps ID--which shows me as a reserve colonel and which certainly didn't hurt any of the applications, I am sure.)

For one of my friends, the one with perhaps the least in the way of assets, her visa stated that she would be traveling with me.

I have a friend who worked in the visa office at the US consulate in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and he gave me the bottom-line qualification for a visa to the US.  The person must be going for legal reasons, must be returning to the home country, and must have assets or have someone with assets to cover expenses while in the US.  Period.  And it is a judgement call by the officer at the embassy/counsulate if he or she believes the applicant. If he or she believes the applicant, then the visa gets approved.  If they are suspicious, it probably won't get approved.

I have found the people working in the US embassies to be good, conscientous people overall, and I have never had a problem in any embassy or consualte worldwide.  If things are legit, they will go out of their way to help.

[oldsparrow]

I have personal experience of the UK and USA not welcoming Thais. In both of these countries, Thais are assumed to be potential illegal workers. In both countries, Thais have relatively large support networks to assist and sustain visa over-stayers. Most of these, like the Chinese, will help and support Thais simply because they are Thais. I cant speak for Aussie and NZ, or even for the rest of Europe, and am not going to go off on tangents such as eastern europeans coming to UK. One question though. Nothing in life is accidental and there is no such thing as coincidence. If the UK and USA assume Thais are dishonest and will breach the terms of their entry privilege, why would that be? Kev

HAHA, it can be your hapiness thinking like this but your gov. seems to have different theory. No criminal/terorist record and lot of money and thai's it. My brother in law (now back to TL) even got Brit. citizenship after studying there for many years. I got VISA extension easily in Croydon sometimes the immigration officers even came to the cumpus and they don't ask Uhm, you ar Thai? Will you work illegally? No? Really, are you small liar or big liar anyway? It's the same there, poor foreigner they don't like, rich one is OK The UK VISA application is standardised for any foreigner. I don't think they specifically want to ask a Thai "Have you been member of the German NAZI party?"

What I didn't say, but what is true, is that I had a nice cat with a senior guy in the Home Office when I wanted to bring a Thai lady to UK to get married, after which we were to fly out again to live in Thailand. Which we did. She was a professional lady in her 50's, not a young scamp from a bar. Even so, the HO was very askance. Now this may not fit your experience but it is official UK policy (or way in 2004 anyway), to consider all Thais an over-stay risk. For the very good reason that many of them did. Also, when we flew to the US for a holiday, she went through a separate entry queue from me, based on passport country. When I asked why this was, I was told that... you guessed it: Thais are considered a serious over-stay risk because so many of them did. So there you go. Kev

Especially to the Thais, old or young Thai women with Westerner is auto. being suspect of foul play. And especially when she has the look that Farang like.

It's the natural cost everybody know but not all speak out. My hiso-look friend made joke on other Thais eyes toward her when she went to pick up her farang BF at the airport.

[dumbnewbie]

Especially to the Thais, old or young Thai women with Westerner is auto. being suspect of foul play. And especially when she has the look that Farang like.

It's the natural cost everybody know but not all speak out. My hiso-look friend made joke on other Thais eyes toward her when she went to pick up her farang BF at the airport.

Could you explain what you mean? I'm having a hard time understanding what you wrote. What foul play, and what natural cost? Also, what does "hiso" mean? Thanks.

[cdnvic]

I know at least 4 Canadian friends who tried bringing Thai girlfriends to Canada and it was a no go. I haven't even bothered because of the expense and red tape.

Dead easy for me. The Thai staff at the Canadian embassy can be pitas, but as far as immigration back home they couldn't have been nicer or easier to work with.

[longstebe]

Myself being English and the wife Thai.The wife had no trouble obtaining a H4 visa but this goes together with th H1B visa.

Still, there were no problems entering the U.S.A.

[oldsparrow]

When Thai people see Thai girl with farang they suspect that the girl have relation with farang for money/living not genuine intimation. The Thai girl also know that being with farang can lead to such image. Normally my friend's appearance (fashion, confident move etc) show that she is a girl of rich high status Thai family but when she was with farang boyfriend she realised that she also assumed such image. It's the "socail cost" in Thai perception.

[clausewitz]

I just went to a thai movie (dragged along by mia noi)showing at SFX today, that is about two brainless Thai girls (uni dropouts) who go to Europe and work illegally everywhere they go- aided by a network of other Thai illegals and business people.

Not that the story is about them being illegal; that is just background and apparently perfectly normal.

[Heng]

When Thai people see Thai girl with farang they suspect that the girl have relation with farang for money/living not genuine intimation. The Thai girl also know that being with farang can lead to such image. Normally my friend's appearance (fashion, confident move etc) show that she is a girl of rich high status Thai family but when she was with farang boyfriend she realised that she also assumed such image. It's the "socail cost" in Thai perception.

With no age difference, and the Thai gal or guy looking/acting/speaking like mainstream folks and his/her significant other the same, I wouldn't assume anything.

[eurozhongguo]

The list of countries to which Thai nationals can go visa-free is quite impressive, including some pretty well-off ones. My girlfriend is Chinese and I can tell you that she can hardly go anywhere without a visa, except some Pacific Islands that don't have many Embassies although she can get a visa on arrival in some S E Asian countries and in Africa. Even Singapore refused her a visa. When we travel, we always seem to go to the same countries : Thailand and Malaysia in particular because they issue visas on arrival or a pre-arranged visa is free of bureaucracy if she uses an agent. Having said that, the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh refused to issue her with a visa so that we had to fly into BKK so that she could get a new visa on arrival even though our intention was to travel back to Thailand overland. Maybe I should trade her in for a Thai girl. Any offers?

Edited August 19, 2009 by eurozhongguo

[thaihome]

dumbnewbie,

"...nobody at all is checking who's walking across the US-Mexico border - anyone can and does just walk across, and everyone knows that the so-called efforts to patrol the border, or build a few miles of fence here or there are a total joke and just for show)..."

****

aha, this is too hard for the late Bill Jordan to swallow...

I believe that since January 2007, you are required to show a passport to enter the US from Mexico and Canada. That is not to say that many illegals manage to get accross by going around the POE's, but still sounds to me like you are engaging in a bit of hyperbole to support your political agenda.

The border patrol caught some 700,000 making illegal crossing in 2008. That is not exactly nobocy checking.

Link

TH

[dondraper]

When Thai people see Thai girl with farang they suspect that the girl have relation with farang for money/living not genuine intimation. The Thai girl also know that being with farang can lead to such image. Normally my friend's appearance (fashion, confident move etc) show that she is a girl of rich high status Thai family but when she was with farang boyfriend she realised that she also assumed such image. It's the "socail cost" in Thai perception.

I should walk around with my pants unzipped so they really know why she stays with me.

[oldsparrow]

When Thai people see Thai girl with farang they suspect that the girl have relation with farang for money/living not genuine intimation. The Thai girl also know that being with farang can lead to such image. Normally my friend's appearance (fashion, confident move etc) show that she is a girl of rich high status Thai family but when she was with farang boyfriend she realised that she also assumed such image. It's the "socail cost" in Thai perception.

I should walk around with my pants unzipped so they really know why she stays with me.

ํYou should also tag it "For Thai only" otherwise some may think you date a Thai because you could not find partner in home country.

[LaoPo]

When Thai people see Thai girl with farang they suspect that the girl have relation with farang for money/living not genuine intimation. The Thai girl also know that being with farang can lead to such image. Normally my friend's appearance (fashion, confident move etc) show that she is a girl of rich high status Thai family but when she was with farang boyfriend she realised that she also assumed such image. It's the "socail cost" in Thai perception.

I should walk around with my pants unzipped so they really know why she stays with me.

ํYou should also tag it "For Thai only" otherwise some may think you date a Thai because you could not find partner in home country.

LaoPo

[mca]

What I didn't say, but what is true, is that I had a nice cat with a senior guy in the Home Office when I wanted to bring a Thai lady to UK to get married,

Aha. So that's the way forward. Bribe the official with an attractive feline pet. Sneaky.

[dumbnewbie]

dumbnewbie,

"...nobody at all is checking who's walking across the US-Mexico border - anyone can and does just walk across, and everyone knows that the so-called efforts to patrol the border, or build a few miles of fence here or there are a total joke and just for show)..."

****

aha, this is too hard for the late Bill Jordan to swallow...

I believe that since January 2007, you are required to show a passport to enter the US from Mexico and Canada. That is not to say that many illegals manage to get accross by going around the POE's, but still sounds to me like you are engaging in a bit of hyperbole to support your political agenda.

The border patrol caught some 700,000 making illegal crossing in 2008. That is not exactly nobody checking.

Link

TH

I don't have a political agenda here. I'm really pretty ambivalent about the whole "illegal immigrant" situation in the US. I'm just making an observation that there are 10s of millions of illegal immigrants in the US who got there by merely walking across the border. Those 700,000 caught? They were instantly released back into Mexico. All they do is try again. Almost all of them make it in w/in 2 tries. Thus, the "enforcement effort" is a huge waste of money, a joke and just for show.

[dumbnewbie]

When Thai people see Thai girl with farang they suspect that the girl have relation with farang for money/living not genuine intimation. The Thai girl also know that being with farang can lead to such image. Normally my friend's appearance (fashion, confident move etc) show that she is a girl of rich high status Thai family but when she was with farang boyfriend she realised that she also assumed such image. It's the "socail cost" in Thai perception.

I should walk around with my pants unzipped so they really know why she stays with me.

ํYou should also tag it "For Thai only" otherwise some may think you date a Thai because you could not find partner in home country.

LaoPo

But surely you guys realize that this line of thought is demeaning to Thai girls - it implies that they are less desirable, or less valuable somehow than Western women. I don't think any of us believe that?

[dumbnewbie]

What I didn't say, but what is true, is that I had a nice cat with a senior guy in the Home Office when I wanted to bring a Thai lady to UK to get married,

Aha. So that's the way forward. Bribe the official with an attractive feline pet. Sneaky.

[mahtin]

' Large cats can be dangerous, but a little pussy never hurt anyone.'

[dondraper]

When Thai people see Thai girl with farang they suspect that the girl have relation with farang for money/living not genuine intimation. The Thai girl also know that being with farang can lead to such image. Normally my friend's appearance (fashion, confident move etc) show that she is a girl of rich high status Thai family but when she was with farang boyfriend she realised that she also assumed such image. It's the "socail cost" in Thai perception.

I should walk around with my pants unzipped so they really know why she stays with me.

ํYou should also tag it "For Thai only" otherwise some may think you date a Thai because you could not find partner in home country.

If they see me in a Chinese restaurant will they assume I don't like Korean food?

Edited August 19, 2009 by dondraper

[cdnvic]

I should walk around with my pants unzipped so they really know why she stays with me.

Comedic value?

[sassienie]

I was once involved in a friendly argument with a Thai official at the Thai embassy in London where my wife worked.

The guy told me that is it easy for Farangs to get into Thailand, but difficult for Thais wanting to visit or have long stay in England.

I replied; yes this is correct to a point, but the difference is that once Thais actually obtain entrance into the UK, than they are able to stay with hardly any hassles. I as an Englishman can very easily visit Thailand, but the trick is trying to stay there and cut through all the barriers of the strict Immigration laws imposed by Thai Immigration.

Nevertheless, European, UK and American authorities do have stringent policies regarding Thai visitors, students and possible immigrants entering their countries for good reasons. Below are some examples:

I first met my Thai wife in London, England, at the Thai embassy where she worked. We married in England 1987.

For a while after my wife left the Thai embassy she worked at a patisserie in London owned by a Swiss who mainly illegally employed young Thai female staff with no work permits . He always gave the best looking girls an option to live in his many apartments free of charge.

In time I discovered that most of my wife's Thai friends were able to remain and work in England indefinitely because they had paid a standard fee of £2000 to £3000 to an underground Thai agency with farang partners operating in the UK for arranged marriages of convenience. After 2 years the girls applied for a quickie divorce. All they had to do was get the so-called husband to sign and agree and that was it. If the girl lost contact with the marriage partner, she just got someone else to forge a signature on the divorce agreement.

The scam worked like this:

The agency would arrange for the Thai girl to enter England mainly London as a student of English language at specially chosen English language schools around London. The girl paid the agency £3000. This included the agency fee, airfare and 1 year school fee. Once in the UK on a 1-year student visa, the girl worked at specially selected work places as cheap labour and the school created bogus records that she was in attendance learning English language.

Before the 1 year visa was up, the agency would arrange a marriage of convenience to a British subject for another fee of between 2 to 3 thousand pounds. After 2 years a quickie divorce and she could stay in the UK forever.

Once established in Britain many Thai girls gained connections with corrupt home office and council officials who were then given council accommodation in prime London locations, such as Covent Garden and able to claim social security benefits, while working cash in hand. With the government's right to buy scheme, they could later purchase the council property at a bargain price, raking in huge profits for them and their gangs. Some moved on to becoming front owners of Thai restaurants and massage parlours enabling them to bring over more Thais as employees with work permits. Once in, these girls could be used for any purpose.

At the time these girls were always on the look out for mugs to marry them as a favour so as to give permanent residence in Britain. Some guys fell for the con.

Some scammers were reported, but the metropolitan police gave this low priority and only very few were ever deported.

I know now of Thai women living in London, who would prefer to return to Thailand, but have young children, living in council accommodation, on social security benefits and stay in Britain for this reason.

This was all in the late 1980s, early 1990s. After that the Thai economy much improved and Thai applicants for visas abroad decreased. But now the economy has slumped again, I am sure this practice will continue.

Farangland governments are aware of this, therefore creating stricter and a tightening up of Immigration regulations for Thai nationals.

Edited August 20, 2009 by sassienie