Why Do Thai Passport Holders Need To Get Visas To Go Almost Anywhere?

[baboon]

Because of prostitution,fake marriages and students not leaving when they are supposed to.However,as far as the U.K. is concearned I reckon[and this is only my opinion]they can tell the public that they turned down 250,000[a figure I picked out of the air,dont quote me] people to make it look like they are doing something about illegal immigration "forgetting"to point out these people applied LEGALLY at a mission.I think it stinks when there are so many people doing the same in Thailand.

[britmaveric]

I'd say proof of finances is the biggest issue. Let's face it most Thai(s) can't afford to travel to foreign destinations - so being able to support themselves while in a western country is the biggest concern for visas.

[samran]

New Zealand a few years back began letting in Thai's visa free for tourist purposes, however, Thailand's visa free access was scrapped very soon afterwards.

Maybe someone can tell me the exact reasons for it, but I'd suspect that the number of overstayers was too high.

On another note, it is true that while Thai's need visas, for some people I know, it is a formality. Male and female, it has never been a problem for them to get 10 year b-1 US visas, etc and quick turnaournds for tourist visas to the UK, Australia and the EU. These people aren't special, but they are the ones you'd describe as solidly middle class. They sent their applications with the motorbike courier at work, and everything is sorted very quickly.

[ovenman]

New Zealand a few years back began letting in Thai's visa free for tourist purposes, however, Thailand's visa free access was scrapped very soon afterwards.

Maybe someone can tell me the exact reasons for it, but I'd suspect that the number of overstayers was too high.

I don't recollect an official reason being given but that was certainly the speculation at the time the privilege was revoked. Also recall during that period, New Zeelanders were granted ninety-day visa-free entry into Thailand rather than the usual thirty days.

[Axel]

I always say, reciprocal arrangements should be the logical thing.

If a foreigner can enter Thailand without a visa a Thai should be able to do the same in the respective country. Yes, there are risks of overstaying, but this applies for both sides, as well.

[Sophon]

I always say, reciprocal arrangements should be the logical thing.

If a foreigner can enter Thailand without a visa a Thai should be able to do the same in the respective country. Yes, there are risks of overstaying, but this applies for both sides, as well.

Sounds reasonable enough, but most western countries wouldn't agree to letting Thais visit without a visa. A reciprocal arrangement would therefore result in Americans/Europeans needing a visa to visit Thailand as well. And with tourism being a major source of income for Thailand, that would not be in the best interest of Thailand.

Thailand is simply not in a position to negotiate such a reciprocal arrangement.

Sophon

[Ulysses G.]

I'd say proof of finances is the biggest issue. Let's face it most Thai(s) can't afford to travel to foreign destinations - so being able to support themselves while in a western country is the biggest concern for visas.

britmaverick always seems to see through the BS!

[Archie Bunker]

Marry an American - get a US Passport and you can go anywhere short of Cuba (until Castro kicks it anyway) and some other no-account places!

Last thing i want is an US Passport....than i rather have the Thai passport and difficulties with Visas .

rcm

What kind of a ludicrous statement is that? Trust me, the US is happy to hear about it. We got no use for the likes of youse

[Archie Bunker]

I'd say proof of finances is the biggest issue. Let's face it most Thai(s) can't afford to travel to foreign destinations - so being able to support themselves while in a western country is the biggest concern for visas.

britmaverick always seems to see through the BS!

This would certainly be true for the vast number of Euro type countries, but the OP does have a point about the vast number of countries where Thais cannot go visa free.

[samran]

I always say, reciprocal arrangements should be the logical thing.

If a foreigner can enter Thailand without a visa a Thai should be able to do the same in the respective country. Yes, there are risks of overstaying, but this applies for both sides, as well.

Reciprocal treatment as well?

Imaging all the brits lining up at 6am down at Queens Gate in London on a winters morning, only to get rejected as they'd be suspected of working illegally as an English Teacher, or...god forbid, not show due reason for wanting to return to soggy old England.

Actually Axel, I'm warming to the idea!!!

[rcm]

Marry an American - get a US Passport and you can go anywhere short of Cuba (until Castro kicks it anyway) and some other no-account places!

Last thing i want is an US Passport....than i rather have the Thai passport and difficulties with Visas .

rcm

What kind of a ludicrous statement is that? Trust me, the US is happy to hear about it. We got no use for the likes of youse

No problem ...unfortunately i was working in US to teach my profession there....didn't live far away from you too....Metropolitan and later on Myrtle Ave back years ago ...... NY is good memories and last time i was there(June 2005) it is still a good City ....but no thank you for the US passport.

rcm

[Guest endure]

Marry an American - get a US Passport and you can go anywhere short of Cuba (until Castro kicks it anyway) and some other no-account places!

Last thing i want is an US Passport....than i rather have the Thai passport and difficulties with Visas .

rcm

What kind of a ludicrous statement is that? Trust me, the US is happy to hear about it. We got no use for the likes of youse

I know it may be a hard concept to grasp, and I don't mean to be offensive, but many people don't wish to be American. We're quite happy with the nationality and the passport that we have.

[barryofthailand]

Thailand is not the only country that gets hit with a lot of travel restrictions. I think the Phillipines gets it worse than Thailand. Often, these rules work both ways: The US (my country) makes it hard for Thais to go live there and the Thai govt does the same for us expats. My wife and I lived in the US for over a year and had to put up with the INS and all their incompetence/paperwork. Now we live here and have to deal with the Thai govt.

People in the Philippines do not have that many btravel restrictions except to th U.S. I was just speaking to a philippino girl tonight who is from angeles city and just travelled here from Hong Kong without a visa.

Barry

[Thaiquila]

Marry an American - get a US Passport and you can go anywhere short of Cuba (until Castro kicks it anyway) and some other no-account places!

Last thing i want is an US Passport....than i rather have the Thai passport and difficulties with Visas .

rcm

What kind of a ludicrous statement is that? Trust me, the US is happy to hear about it. We got no use for the likes of youse

I know it may be a hard concept to grasp, and I don't mean to be offensive, but many people don't wish to be American. We're quite happy with the nationality and the passport that we have.

As well it should be. Pretty much any passport from a Western country including the US is a convenient passport to travel the world with. Unfortunately, we don't live in a utopian world where these things don't matter.

[Sing_Sling]

What kind of a ludicrous statement is that? Trust me, the US is happy to hear about it. We got no use for the likes of youse

I know it may be a hard concept to grasp, and I don't mean to be offensive, but many people don't wish to be American. We're quite happy with the nationality and the passport that we have.

I thought everyone wants to be American and live the American dream . . .

[Fergusson]

Hi all:

Does anyone know why a Thai passport holder needs to get a visa to go to almost everywhere in the world? I am so frustrated that I am going to apply for an American passport. I mean....even Mexido requires a visa in Thai passport. I don't think Mexico is a popular destination for Thai illegal immigrants. When I browse ANY lists of the countries that require a visa to enter, I swear, Thailand is on ALL the lists while many other countries with lower GDP and standard of living (than Thai's), unstable political situations, or bad economics can enter those countries without a visa. Meanwhile, almost any non-Thai can enter Thailand without any visas.

Hi There...

Fergusson here I have carefully read your Q ? and this might be your A !

1... another place worry that Thai man or woman go to become a postitude so they make it hardder for us to get in

2...Drug smugling the world have know that thailand are easy destination to buy visa only the case that can track them down

3...visa are only 1 way to test Thai people who can speak,write and read English well

this is just begining

Fergusson

[rcm]

I think immigration Laws for Thais around the world are difficult ....

I guess the ones who made these Laws are Females of the respective Countries ....

rcm

[The Dan Sai Kid]

3...visa are only 1 way to test Thai people who can speak,write and read English well

That must be the first thing they check for in mainland Europe - the abiliity to speak English!

[Ricardo]

It's only hearsay, but I understand that 40% of Thai visitors to the UK over-stay, despite the stringent entry-visa process, whereas the rest-of-the-world average only 20% overstaying.

So I'm afraid that Thais only have their fellow countrymen/women to thank, for the current situation, sadly.

[Thaiquila]

What kind of a ludicrous statement is that? Trust me, the US is happy to hear about it. We got no use for the likes of youse

I know it may be a hard concept to grasp, and I don't mean to be offensive, but many people don't wish to be American. We're quite happy with the nationality and the passport that we have.

I thought everyone wants to be American and live the American dream . . .

Careful, or this is going to morph into an American political discussion, and you know, we can't have that ...

[Patex]

...Does anyone know why a Thai passport holder needs to get a visa to go to almost everywhere in the world?--------------------------------------------------------------Meanwhile, almost any non-Thai can enter Thailand without any visas.

First: The world does not need Thailand, second: Thailand needs the world...

[TokyoT]

I think many of the earlier posts in this thread have pretty much covered why many countries require Thai’s to get visa’s to enter their countries. And there has been some inklings as to why so many of those countries (that require Thai’s to get a visa to enter) do not require a visa to enter Thailand. The main reason for this is Thailand wants to keep the hurdles as low as possible for entry into Thailand to keep the tourism baht flowing.

Some talks about reciprocal agreements – this is all fine and good, except all this would mean is that Thailand would have to require many more countries to get visa’s to enter Thailand, as those countries are certainly not going to drop their requirement for Thai’s to get a visa to enter their country (due to aforementioned issues).

You can try and say that Thailand has done a poor job of negotiation visa status, or try and blame other countries for their visa requirements. But this is the real world and most countries do what is in their best interest. Thus you end up with many countries requiring a visa for a Thai, and Thailand having very low visa requirement (to help keep the tourist baht flowing).

[Sing_Sling]

Careful, or this is going to morph into an American political discussion, and you know, we can't have that ...

Indeed not . . .

[thaihome]

People in the Philippines do not have that many btravel restrictions except to th U.S. I was just speaking to a philippino girl tonight who is from angeles city and just travelled here from Hong Kong without a visa.

Barry

Thais can also travel to HK without visas. There is an agreement between ASEAN countries (Singapore, Malaysia, HK, etc) for visa-free travel.

I don't think Thais have any more problems with travel to the west then any other developing country. I wonder which country OP was referring to with the comment about other countries with lower GDP not having problem traveling to US.

TH

[Sing_Sling]

I think the OP was hoping this would turn into a slanging match . . . Not a word from him/her for a while addressing the comments made.

[Eman]

Hi all:

Does anyone know why a Thai passport holder needs to get a visa to go to almost everywhere in the world? I am so frustrated that I am going to apply for an American passport. I mean....even Mexido requires a visa in Thai passport. I don't think Mexico is a popular destination for Thai illegal immigrants. When I browse ANY lists of the countries that require a visa to enter, I swear, Thailand is on ALL the lists while many other countries with lower GDP and standard of living (than Thai's), unstable political situations, or bad economics can enter those countries without a visa. Meanwhile, almost any non-Thai can enter Thailand without any visas.

I've always figured it had to do with countries that perceive themselves as the "better place to be"...

That is, one country will perceive itself as "better" than Thailand, and therefore assume that all Thais are trying to pull some kind of scam in order to get into the "better" country. And they attempt to prevent this with varying levels of entrance restrictions/requirements.

The U.S. is a prime example of this....

[baboon]

Hi all:

Does anyone know why a Thai passport holder needs to get a visa to go to almost everywhere in the world? I am so frustrated that I am going to apply for an American passport. I mean....even Mexido requires a visa in Thai passport. I don't think Mexico is a popular destination for Thai illegal immigrants. When I browse ANY lists of the countries that require a visa to enter, I swear, Thailand is on ALL the lists while many other countries with lower GDP and standard of living (than Thai's), unstable political situations, or bad economics can enter those countries without a visa. Meanwhile, almost any non-Thai can enter Thailand without any visas.

I've always figured it had to do with countries that perceive themselves as the "better place to be"...

That is, one country will perceive itself as "better" than Thailand, and therefore assume that all Thais are trying to pull some kind of scam in order to get into the "better" country. And they attempt to prevent this with varying levels of entrance restrictions/requirements.

The U.S. is a prime example of this....

Yes,quite a bit of truth there.Well put Eman.

[mrbojangles]

I always say, reciprocal arrangements should be the logical thing.

If a foreigner can enter Thailand without a visa a Thai should be able to do the same in the respective country. Yes, there are risks of overstaying, but this applies for both sides, as well.

Sounds reasonable enough, but most western countries wouldn't agree to letting Thais visit without a visa. A reciprocal arrangement would therefore result in Americans/Europeans needing a visa to visit Thailand as well. And with tourism being a major source of income for Thailand, that would not be in the best interest of Thailand.

Thailand is simply not in a position to negotiate such a reciprocal arrangement.

Sophon

Good post Sophon, pretty much sums it up for me.

It's only hearsay, but I understand that 40% of Thai visitors to the UK over-stay, despite the stringent entry-visa process, whereas the rest-of-the-world average only 20% overstaying.

So I'm afraid that Thais only have their fellow countrymen/women to thank, for the current situation, sadly.

If those facts are accurate, then i gotta agree

I think the OP was hoping this would turn into a slanging match

I think your right there Sing Sling

[Rinrada]

I always say, reciprocal arrangements should be the logical thing.

If a foreigner can enter Thailand without a visa a Thai should be able to do the same in the respective country. Yes, there are risks of overstaying, but this applies for both sides, as well.

Reciprocal treatment as well?

Imaging all the brits lining up at 6am down at Queens Gate in London on a winters morning, only to get rejected as they'd be suspected of working illegally as an English Teacher, or...god forbid, not show due reason for wanting to return to soggy old England.

Actually Axel, I'm warming to the idea!!!

If it was on a true like for like basis then our happy Thai khun felangtais would be stuck with a (like/like @ 20bt /£5 hr)overstay fine of @ £125 a day,90 day late signing "fee" of £400 and would have to do a visa run to...where.....Paris -Dublin-Edinburgh? and not forgetting some nam cha dosh for the local policemans balls

When and if they wanted to buy a flat (we dont have Condos )they would need to transfer at least £250,000 from their Bank of Beyond as well as maintaining an everyday deposited a/c ..assuming married to a UK -EU National (like/like)of @...£142,857.15 ...a year

On the plus side however there are not too many appartment blocks over with more than 49 % Thai ownership levels.

Cant speak for fun places like Southend and Brighton......just like Patti

[samran]

On the plus side however there are not too many appartment blocks over with more than 49 % Thai ownership levels.

Try Knightsbridge

Cant speak for fun places like Southend and Brighton......just like Patti

As easy to score....but without having to pay a red cent !!