Immigration Crackdown in North-East Thailand

[samran]

but won't all this be relaxed regarding citizens of neighbouring countries when AEC comes into force?

No. The Thais only care about Thais having the possibility to go to other ASEAN countries, but will implement whatever ways they can think of to prevent the others coming to work in Thailand. The whole free movement idea will be watered down to nothing.

Many hospitals in Thailand are desperate to hire good quality nursing staff. You would think that a well qualified nurse, from say... The Philippines (of which there are many, most of whom speak good English to boot), would be able to fill those postiions when the AEC comes into effect. They probably think the same, but will have something of a shock when they find out that the application includes a written and oral test, which has to be taken and passed in Thai... Amazing Thailand...

Geez last I saw the official language of Thailand was Thai.

[samran]

Thai companies employ a lot of illegals because they are cheap and do not dare to complain about the harsh working conditions. It is all about money. I have seen it in nearby condo construction site.

First, they were quite many raids by the police and Cambodians/Laotian people were taken away often but all of sudden those raids stopped! Wonder why...one has to remember Thailand in the Transparency International corruption index is in the same category with countries like Mexico and Jamaica.

I guess you've been totally oblivious to the huge campaign to register migrants from neighboring countries under the migrant labour scheme? Ever thought that those workers might not be illegal anymore?

[The Usual Suspect]

If you are here illegally, working illegally, or gaming the system with tourist visas or ED visas, you get no sympathy from me. Do like the rest of us do. Take the time to do it right and you will sleep better at night. I only hope that immigration really does toughen up.

David

I agree with you on this one. Sham marriage visas have also become a major problem here. As a result, my wife and I have had to do a lot of extra work to validate our marriage and my connections to our family and village. The immigration officer who knows us and usually handles our case said they may send an officer to our village to investigate me. He also said that once I had been vetted, that it should be smooth sailing from there on out. This is all fine in my book. The fewer problems I have with immigration, the better. Besides, staying here illegally is way to much work and worry for me. I'd rather spend my time working on our house, tending my garden and raising chickens.

[Genericnic]

If you are here illegally, working illegally, or gaming the system with tourist visas or ED visas, you get no sympathy from me. Do like the rest of us do. Take the time to do it right and you will sleep better at night. I only hope that immigration really does toughen up.

David

You might consider following the great advice in your signature line:

"A desire not to butt into other people's business is eighty percent of all human wisdom." — Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)

There's all kinds of people, and they all have situations, and reasons for what they do. And we will all have to answer for our respective individual actions and pay the price. If immigration really does "toughen up", how does that affect you?

If immigration does toughen up, I doubt that I will be effected at all since I run fully legal. If they make it so that I can't be here legally, I will head somewhere else. No big deal.

David

[JoeLing]

So what are the risks for a foreign person having this description/status:

1. He is a European, age 38 and he lives here in Bangkok... He is unmarried, he rents a nice apartment, he does not own anything here (no condo, no car) He has no kids, no permanent girlfriend, etc.

2. He is semi-respectable for a resident "sex-tourist" type... he is very clean-cut, dresses conservatively, no tattoos, no piercings, he does not drink or smoke, and he's never been in any trouble for anything. He presents a very 'clean' image, perhaps almost unusually so for a European guy his age.

3. He is independently wealthy and he does not work.

4. He goes in and out every 30-days, VOA, and he always flies in and out through swampyboom, and he always stays over night offshore one-night or two-nights where ever he goes, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, etc.

Technically, he fits the definition of a foreigner who lives here in LOS on tourist visas. However, he is squeaky-clean and he does not work here. Additionally, he is not making "border runs", per se... (there is always a one-day or two-day offshore break between the exit and the re-entry visa stamps)

However, I'm wondering, what are his risks? On the one hand there is the literal reading of the Thai immigration rules versus how we think it is being enforced.

Comments? Advice?

If this person is "independently wealthy" then it should be easier for him to get a Non-O visa for Thailand

in the embassy in his own country then making border runs every 14/30 days.

The posting is about people entering Thailand without visa and making border runs every 14/30 days.

VOA is not the same as Visa exempt.

[outsider]

But, but, but... did they discuss with TAT about this? This crackdown will affect 'tourist arrivals' in a negative way, no? And TAT need those figures, don't they?

[pantareiyingluck]

But in the mean while we have great difficulties finding Thai employees at our + 1000 staff factory. For the more simpler jobs we need people from neighboring countries. So that's a dilemma and challenge......

[Kularion]

There is a labor shortage in Thailand and real wage inflation. These laborers are doing work that Thais are either unavailable to to or refuse to do. The country needs these people. I really hope this is one of the many crackdowns Thailand initiates and then neglects over time.

Many countries have this problem- Immigrants do the work that locals don't want to do

No....immigrants do the work that greedy owners will not pay fare wages to the locals for! You can hire laborers in Nong Khai (immigrants) off the books in areas such as construction, road repair and farming for less than 300 baht per day.....in some cases much less.

Thais will do the work but in return are asking for a fare wage. Much the same in the US (mexican labor) and UK (welsh labor).

(UK) - don't forget the Poles, Rumanians, Hungarians, Lithuanians...i've lost track of how many can now walk in...don't think the Welsh are the biggest contingent ?

I'm Polish and I've spend over 6 years in UK... We don't need to work below min wage as we are not illegal workers... So please don't make this topic about poor Brits who lost their job because of Eastern Europeans... Used to work on manager position in hotel and believe me I had real problem to find British citizen who would like to do for min wage this kind of work... This is about crackdown in Thailand and I think we should stick to this... In my opinion if this action is against illegal workers that's right because this kind of activity always makes possibilities for gangs or not honest employers etc to make money on those poor people...

[samran]

But in the mean while we have great difficulties finding Thai employees at our + 1000 staff factory. For the more simpler jobs we need people from neighboring countries. So that's a dilemma and challenge......

migrant labou scheme, hire as many as you need legally...

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post has been removed.

[Wavnarok]

but won't all this be relaxed regarding citizens of neighbouring countries when AEC comes into force?

And 40,000 people blacklisted ! WOW that is a phenomenal amount alt=ohmy.png width=20 height=20>

Not Really!

When you take into consideration of all the Tourist that come here each year and that this Blacklist in ongoing for many years, and also were you are Blacklisted for 99 Years, then it is actually a rather small list.

You have a far greater chance of being Murdered here then Blacklisted, as the Murderer Rate is far greater than this here. But you can increase your odds of getting murdered if you are dealing in Drugs, or Child Prostitution here, with Shady People. That also increases your chances of being Blacklisted to, if you get caught by the Police before you are Murdered.

Also understand that being "Deported" and being "Blacklisted" is not the same thing. You can be Deported for Overstaying, but you won't be Blacklisted for this, unless of course it is your One Hundredth Time. If you are wanted by the Police in your own country, or have committed a "Serious Crime" in Thailand, you will be both Deported and Blacklisted.

I highlighted "Serious Crime" because I wanted to make one more point on this. What we may consider and think is not a serious crime, can be in Thailand. Thai's do not take shoplifting or theft of any kind, very lightly. I read a story recently of a British Guy who stole a towel out of his hotel room, as more of a souvenir then wanting to steal a towel. He was caught at the front desk with this towel, when he open his bag to look for his wallet, was held and arrested, and then later thrown in jail, Deported, and Blacklisted.

I think it best for anyone to be on their best behavior here, if they ever want to come back.

No way...........

[moe666]

Quote....

Following an ongoing and thorough investigation into foreign visitors, the Immigration Bureau found repeated patterns of irregularities, with some foreign nationals re-entering the country as many as 60 times, each for a duration of between 15 and 30 days.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately-or Fortunately ???----I don't live in Thailand--but they can obviously reduce this number significantly by easing the Visa requirements for foreigners who want to live there-- and meet the cash or retirement qualification---but that's too easy --and not profitable I suppose

I guess they will have to do something in the next few years to keep money in the country from tourist and ex-pats alike---or am I being too optimistic

Why not read the OP before making nonsense post, it is already very easy to get a retirement visa in Thailand if you are over age 50 and meet the monetary requirements.

[thefamilyjules]

Further investigations found that out of those who regularly re-entered Thailand, large numbers came from neighboring countries such as Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, with many going to work illegally in factories, restaurants or on construction sites and fishing boats.

This smells of a crackdown on human trafficking and indentured servitude, not on the ordinary malingerers who scramble across borders in order to stay here doing nothing but taking up space and resources. Either way,

I also agree with those who've said that it could be a new chief displaying that he's alpha.

[balo]

Maybe Cambodia will be a better place to live in the future , so Thailand can carry on being Thailand while the rest of us move to a more civilized country that actually welcomes expats..

[Maestro]

Removed some off-topic and troll posts.

[DeepSea]

but won't all this be relaxed regarding citizens of neighbouring countries when AEC comes into force?

No. The Thais only care about Thais having the possibility to go to other ASEAN countries, but will implement whatever ways they can think of to prevent the others coming to work in Thailand. The whole free movement idea will be watered down to nothing.

Many hospitals in Thailand are desperate to hire good quality nursing staff. You would think that a well qualified nurse, from say... The Philippines (of which there are many, most of whom speak good English to boot), would be able to fill those postiions when the AEC comes into effect. They probably think the same, but will have something of a shock when they find out that the application includes a written and oral test, which has to be taken and passed in Thai... Amazing Thailand...

And why not have the test in Thai, they will be working in THAILAND.

If and when I visit my home country if it happens that I have to visit the doctor I would assume that I could converse with him in my language in my country, why should it be different here.

If you have been paying attention to the Thai Governments strategy in preparation for the implementation of AEC in 2015; you will be aware that they are encouraging all Government agencies (and private businesses who wish to take advantage of AEC) to enroll their employees in English language training. The aim is to facilitate easier communication with fellow AEC member countries, many of whose citizens already possess a fairly good standard of spoken English.

If a Thai national were required to take a similar test in The Philippines, would you expect them to pass if the requirement was to take it in Tagalog? The answer is quite reasonably No... In response to your specific question (in my humble opinion); the reason the test should not be taken (written and orally) in Thai, is because English is being promoted as the language of business opportunity within AEC and because it increases the opportunity (as a result of mobility) for AEC member state citizens if they are not forced to clear unreasonable language hurdles such as this.

Quite frankly it smacks of Xenophobia to implement such restrictions (not only for foreign nurses, but all AEC citizens), at a time when trade and employment barriers are ostensibly being lowered. You raised the issue of being able to communicate with your Doctor in the language of your home country. On this point I agree with you, but we are talking about nurses, not Doctors. There is a world of difference between two people being able to communicate effectively; and passing a written and oral Thai literacy test, which 90+ % of foreigners, even those with a relatively good standard of spoken Thai, would fail with flying colours (I would include myself in that group).

[rct99q]

they said: all foreign nationals will be screened if they have entered Thailand four or more times without sufficient reason.

well i am going to give them a good reason !!

what about a person who is married but don't have the 400 000 baths in a bank anymore because he spend his money . to live, to build a house, to buy a car, suport an entire wife's family.....and perhaps lost also money trying to make a business with his wife.

so now what can this person do legaly ?...... apart going back home and loose everything, wife included or .......try to get tourist visas as many as he can, if he saw a failure in the burocratic thai system .

is it normal or human that a government separate a man from his wife for the only reason , he hasn't got enough money .....to them ?

i don't say the thais have to help economicly the farang (they could do sometimes )but if this person is correct and respect the thais and pays for what he need ,........why don't they let them live their life in peace ?

i hope some in the thai government read these post sometimes and rectify, because today, in the 20 th century it is incredible that we still have to see such things, especially in country who receive more than 15 milions visitors a year, and his the third destination of the world.

i am not talking about north corea, i am talking about this thailand where a lot's of people want to go because most of thais are nice people to visit and meet but where the institutions don't follows foreign visitors needs.

if the democracy goes well to burma, this is going to be a very good alternative to thailand, the country is virgin and beautifull , perhaps it's worth change and go with our money somewhere we could be respected and not called every second with the pejorative word "farang".

good day and good night

How about a husband who grows a set and has priorities. You state you will go to Myanmar with your money?? What money, sounds like you spent it all. I also am married and have all the things you state plus my legal extensions (based on marriage to a Thai).

Not the governments fault you can not abide by the rules........sounds like your family is laughing all the way to the bank with the "farangs" money...so to speak!

[samran]

And why not have the test in Thai, they will be working in THAILAND.

If and when I visit my home country if it happens that I have to visit the doctor I would assume that I could converse with him in my language in my country, why should it be different here.

If you have been paying attention to the Thai Governments strategy in preparation for the implementation of AEC in 2015; you will be aware that they are encouraging all Government agencies (and private businesses who wish to take advantage of AEC) to enroll their employees in English language training. The aim is to facilitate easier communication with fellow AEC member countries, many of whose citizens already possess a fairly good standard of spoken English.

If a Thai national were required to take a similar test in The Philippines, would you expect them to pass if the requirement was to take it in Tagalog? The answer is quite reasonably No... In response to your specific question (in my humble opinion); the reason the test should not be taken (written and orally) in Thai, is because English is being promoted as the language of business opportunity within AEC and because it increases the opportunity (as a result of mobility) for AEC member state citizens if they are not forced to clear unreasonable language hurdles such as this.

Quite frankly it smacks of Xenophobia to implement such restrictions (not only for foreign nurses, but all AEC citizens), at a time when trade and employment barriers are ostensibly being lowered. You raised the issue of being able to communicate with your Doctor in the language of your home country. On this point I agree with you, but we are talking about nurses, not Doctors. There is a world of difference between two people being able to communicate effectively; and passing a written and oral Thai literacy test, which 90+ % of foreigners, even those with a relatively good standard of spoken Thai, would fail with flying colours (I would include myself in that group).

You've clearly never spent a decent amount of time in hospital. Nurses are more than shit picker upperers. They are your first point of contact and the ones who generally 'have seen it all' and to a large extent, know the answer before the doctors. Spend anytime in a hospital, and you'll see a doc for maybe 5 to 10 mins during the day, if you are lucky, the rest of the time, it is the nurses who are the primary care givers.

If you are a poor sod from Issarn stuck in hospital with a nurse who only speaks Vietnamese, then you are screwed.

[BlackJack]

"the start of a major crackdown on foreigners entering the country posing as tourists, who it believes are in fact working illegally in the Kingdom"

maybe i miss understand?

[DeepSea]

And why not have the test in Thai, they will be working in THAILAND.

If and when I visit my home country if it happens that I have to visit the doctor I would assume that I could converse with him in my language in my country, why should it be different here.

If you have been paying attention to the Thai Governments strategy in preparation for the implementation of AEC in 2015; you will be aware that they are encouraging all Government agencies (and private businesses who wish to take advantage of AEC) to enroll their employees in English language training. The aim is to facilitate easier communication with fellow AEC member countries, many of whose citizens already possess a fairly good standard of spoken English.

If a Thai national were required to take a similar test in The Philippines, would you expect them to pass if the requirement was to take it in Tagalog? The answer is quite reasonably No... In response to your specific question (in my humble opinion); the reason the test should not be taken (written and orally) in Thai, is because English is being promoted as the language of business opportunity within AEC and because it increases the opportunity (as a result of mobility) for AEC member state citizens if they are not forced to clear unreasonable language hurdles such as this.

Quite frankly it smacks of Xenophobia to implement such restrictions (not only for foreign nurses, but all AEC citizens), at a time when trade and employment barriers are ostensibly being lowered. You raised the issue of being able to communicate with your Doctor in the language of your home country. On this point I agree with you, but we are talking about nurses, not Doctors. There is a world of difference between two people being able to communicate effectively; and passing a written and oral Thai literacy test, which 90+ % of foreigners, even those with a relatively good standard of spoken Thai, would fail with flying colours (I would include myself in that group).

You've clearly never spent a decent amount of time in hospital. Nurses are more than shit picker upperers. They are your first point of contact and the ones who generally 'have seen it all' and to a large extent, know the answer before the doctors. Spend anytime in a hospital, and you'll see a doc for maybe 5 to 10 mins during the day, if you are lucky, the rest of the time, it is the nurses who are the primary care givers.

If you are a poor sod from Issarn stuck in hospital with a nurse who only speaks Vietnamese, then you are screwed.

Respectfully you're missing the point... Nowhere in my post (please read it again, thoroughly if you have the time), did I denegrate the role of a Nurse, or suggest that they are anything other than the backbone of any hospital operation, which is my personal view.

In my original post, I mentioned Philippino Nurses; chances are that if you were in Issan and lucky enough to be attended by a Phillipino Nurse, she would likely speak better English that 90% of the Thai Nurses on staff. The issue I raised was about the opportunities which are supposed to be offered to AEC citizens by the free movement between member nations, and the fact that Thailand isnt really on-board with the spirit of the idea; not Nursing the specific role of Nursing staff per-se.

[NHT]

well this works both ways , i suggest he goes into the NK office and see what goes on .... took my mother to get a re entry visa to visit Laos for a day or so , the old woman immigration officer tried to sell her jewellery , handbags , rings .... what a laugh !!! these are govt officials , meanwhile the farangs ,with real credentials , with real visas, who have family here, get interrogated just to be able to stay .....

u want to fix it !!! CLEAN UP YOUR OWN BACKYARD FIRST !!

Family has NO VALUE in Thailand, if there is a "Mail Farang" as father involved!

Thailand is the most pathetic, racist, and most family-destructive country in the world in this regards.

We should all go home and do the same to Thai, who enjoy a "civilised" family life overseas!

This goes and is, far beyond humanitarian comprehension levels!

What's your beef NHT? Not criticising, just curious. Haven't noticed a problem as a male farang head of a Thai-based family. From my perspective, immigration seems to treat us fine as long as we have the wherewithal to support keeping a Thai family.

Generally speaking the rural parts of Thailand still has family values that have long-since been regrettably destroyed by greed-driven mobility in my home country. Makes me laugh when fellow countrymen come on here berating Isaan for having wives that want to stay close to the blood line and who will take care of their close relatives. They would have society sectioned off into little soul-less distributed boxes with unhapply lonely people abounding. [sorry for that digression!]

Makes me laugh when fellow Farangs beat up other farangs, without knowing facts.

Quite frankly, I give a shi*t about how nice you have it here. Congratulations, and be happy.

The beef I ate is so rotten, it would make the dead sick. So I will go and tell the wold all about. Maybe it saves a few naive souls, still dreaming from the time Thailand had an honest, racist-free smile on its face.

So, yep, be curious and make up more assumptions and keep laughing. I will laugh about you, when it hits you. It will happen, sooner or later, to you, too. ANd then I want to see you laughing about yourself.

[NHT]

they said: all foreign nationals will be screened if they have entered Thailand four or more times without sufficient reason.

well i am going to give them a good reason !!

what about a person who is married but don't have the 400 000 baths in a bank anymore because he spend his money . to live, to build a house, to buy a car, suport an entire wife's family.....and perhaps lost also money trying to make a business with his wife.

so now what can this person do legaly ?...... apart going back home and loose everything, wife included or .......try to get tourist visas as many as he can, if he saw a failure in the burocratic thai system .

is it normal or human that a government separate a man from his wife for the only reason , he hasn't got enough money .....to them ?

i don't say the thais have to help economicly the farang (they could do sometimes )but if this person is correct and respect the thais and pays for what he need ,........why don't they let them live their life in peace ?

i hope some in the thai government read these post sometimes and rectify, because today, in the 20 th century it is incredible that we still have to see such things, especially in country who receive more than 15 milions visitors a year, and his the third destination of the world.

i am not talking about north corea, i am talking about this thailand where a lot's of people want to go because most of thais are nice people to visit and meet but where the institutions don't follows foreign visitors needs.

if the democracy goes well to burma, this is going to be a very good alternative to thailand, the country is virgin and beautifull , perhaps it's worth change and go with our money somewhere we could be respected and not called every second with the pejorative word "farang".

good day and good night

How about a husband who grows a set and has priorities. You state you will go to Myanmar with your money?? What money, sounds like you spent it all. I also am married and have all the things you state plus my legal extensions (based on marriage to a Thai).

Not the governments fault you can not abide by the rules........sounds like your family is laughing all the way to the bank with the "farangs" money...so to speak!

It amazes me, always, and still, how illiterate, ignorant and carefree some people are.

You fit perfectly in here, rct99q. Wish for yourself your money will not run out and you can keep many corrupt racists happy with it. Because the time YOU run dry, I wish for you, you get to feel when all of a sudden, you have NO family at all any longer. Maybe that's the time you will really start to understand True Thai culture!.

Until then, enjoy dreaming!

[DGIE]

I think it is obvious this is referring to Laos and Myanmar workers, as the translation probably comes from "dung-dao" which means effectively "alien" which could translate to mean farang or Asian worker... at 40k, this means the later, not westerners!

Officers have also been instructed to look closely at the credibility of each individual, regardless of their nationality, in deciding whether to deny them entry to the kingdom.

[NHT]

they said: all foreign nationals will be screened if they have entered Thailand four or more times without sufficient reason.

well i am going to give them a good reason !!

what about a person who is married but don't have the 400 000 baths in a bank anymore because he spend his money . to live, to build a house, to buy a car, suport an entire wife's family.....and perhaps lost also money trying to make a business with his wife.

so now what can this person do legaly ?...... apart going back home and loose everything, wife included or .......try to get tourist visas as many as he can, if he saw a failure in the burocratic thai system .

is it normal or human that a government separate a man from his wife for the only reason , he hasn't got enough money .....to them ?

i don't say the thais have to help economicly the farang (they could do sometimes )but if this person is correct and respect the thais and pays for what he need ,........why don't they let them live their life in peace ?

i hope some in the thai government read these post sometimes and rectify, because today, in the 20 th century it is incredible that we still have to see such things, especially in country who receive more than 15 milions visitors a year, and his the third destination of the world.

i am not talking about north corea, i am talking about this thailand where a lot's of people want to go because most of thais are nice people to visit and meet but where the institutions don't follows foreign visitors needs.

if the democracy goes well to burma, this is going to be a very good alternative to thailand, the country is virgin and beautifull , perhaps it's worth change and go with our money somewhere we could be respected and not called every second with the pejorative word "farang".

good day and good night

The Thai ( and a lot of the farangs, who NEED to live here) give a shi* about you.

As a matter of fact, YOU DON'T COUNT and NEITHER DOES YOUR THAI CHILD (if you have one).

But let them be happy. K A R M A will keep hitting them forever. They hand out enough shi*, it's good for a couple millenniums of bad karma

Oh - and I need to add. If you understand Thai culture, then you would not blame the Thai government. As a Farang you can marry a hundred of their girls, produce a 500 kids here, they wouldn't care less, as long as you can pay? Because - you will NEVER BE PART OF A THAI FAMILY. And if you think so, try stop paying. You will quickly learn - LOVE turns into Hateful HATE, a hug, into a "stab", a smiling person, into a biting wolf. ... Go, try it!

Good luck to the silly boys, who enjoy supporting this Narcissist Socio/Psychopath madness, and keep paying for their cheap entertainment!

Edited January 22, 2014 by NHT

[DGIE]

so they are going to get rid of the work force and give the jobs back to thais who are not interested to work

The employers who don't give work permit to many kinds of labours will be affected if the crackdown will be strictly implemented.

[Tomtomtom69]

You are only partly right MacWalen. First entering on land (not by plane) gives you a permit for 15 days, not 30. So those westerners that cannot enter with a visa have to go out and get in every 2 weeks. How many you think will do that? You have to live near the border to do that. But a small portion will do this.

People from G7 countries now get 30 days at land borders as well as airports. This is confirmed by many people including me, it applies to all land borders.

I got a 30 day stamp at the Kanchanaburi border crossing yesterday, UK passport. In and out in 20 minutes.

I drove over the border in my own car past the Myanmar checkpoint, got the stamp then turned around and came back. I had a Myanmar policeman sitting the back of my car though. I'm not sure if he just wanted a lift through the 4KM 'no mans land' between the two countries or if this was a requirement for me taking my own vehicle across the border. I didn't care, job done.

Did you have to drive on the right or on the left when driving through no-man's land? Also, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have been allowed to drive your own car beyond the Myanmar checkpoint, without special permission at least.

If there issuing 1-month Myanmar visas at land borders that means there's no need to apply for a Myanmar visa in advance anymore?! That would be awesome if that was the case. I did hear a rumour that this would be implemented this year but I didn't think it would happen so soon.

[Tomtomtom69]

And why not have the test in Thai, they will be working in THAILAND.

If and when I visit my home country if it happens that I have to visit the doctor I would assume that I could converse with him in my language in my country, why should it be different here.

If you have been paying attention to the Thai Governments strategy in preparation for the implementation of AEC in 2015; you will be aware that they are encouraging all Government agencies (and private businesses who wish to take advantage of AEC) to enroll their employees in English language training. The aim is to facilitate easier communication with fellow AEC member countries, many of whose citizens already possess a fairly good standard of spoken English.

If a Thai national were required to take a similar test in The Philippines, would you expect them to pass if the requirement was to take it in Tagalog? The answer is quite reasonably No... In response to your specific question (in my humble opinion); the reason the test should not be taken (written and orally) in Thai, is because English is being promoted as the language of business opportunity within AEC and because it increases the opportunity (as a result of mobility) for AEC member state citizens if they are not forced to clear unreasonable language hurdles such as this.

Quite frankly it smacks of Xenophobia to implement such restrictions (not only for foreign nurses, but all AEC citizens), at a time when trade and employment barriers are ostensibly being lowered. You raised the issue of being able to communicate with your Doctor in the language of your home country. On this point I agree with you, but we are talking about nurses, not Doctors. There is a world of difference between two people being able to communicate effectively; and passing a written and oral Thai literacy test, which 90+ % of foreigners, even those with a relatively good standard of spoken Thai, would fail with flying colours (I would include myself in that group).

You've clearly never spent a decent amount of time in hospital. Nurses are more than shit picker upperers. They are your first point of contact and the ones who generally 'have seen it all' and to a large extent, know the answer before the doctors. Spend anytime in a hospital, and you'll see a doc for maybe 5 to 10 mins during the day, if you are lucky, the rest of the time, it is the nurses who are the primary care givers.

If you are a poor sod from Issarn stuck in hospital with a nurse who only speaks Vietnamese, then you are screwed.

Well right now if you go to Laos you can visit all sorts of businesses where nobody speaks Lao (or English for that matter)! Yes there are businesses with all their writing on signs, menus, etc. in Vietnamese or Chinese. I had an experience in Luang Prabang at a Vietnamese restaurant where none of the staff could put together more than a couple of words of Lao so I had to use my extremely rusty Vietnamese! No wonder there were no Lao customers as they wouldn't have been able to communicate (in their own country)! Thailand is different because you don't have foreigners setting up their own businesses with signs, shopfronts written only in foreign languages. Perhaps because it isn't allowed, but in Laos it's common as soon as you've crossed the border from Thailand.

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post.

[Thai at Heart]

There is a labor shortage in Thailand and real wage inflation. These laborers are doing work that Thais are either unavailable to to or refuse to do. The country needs these people. I really hope this is one of the many crackdowns Thailand initiates and then neglects over time.

Nonsense.

Thai businesses are greedy and prefer to pay absolutely minimum wage and not a satang more.

I have seen factories that have been.but new on the express.plan of importing Cambodians. They should have to provably advertise domestically first.

[Sd12]

I have been splitting my time 50-50 between Thailand and the Uk for 3 years now. I always came on non o visas. Followed the rules. Never overstayed. I am married. Have a 2 year old daughter. I built a house for my wife and myself when i am here. I obviously send money every month when not here. Then the rules were changed virtually overnight with the 800,000 baht lump sum rule. I am self employed so dont have " monthly " income, but easily meet the 40,000 baht limit. I do get fed up reading about some people on here saying to follow the rules, when the rules have given me major worries when all i want to do is see my family, not work over here. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have a lump sum in their bank. I now have to fret every time i apply for a tourist visa when i come over for a few months.

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