Police Clearance Letters

[dylanist]

There is a new article in the Bangkok Post, which I cant get my hands on. It is about someone who went to get a visa, possibly Laos, and was asked for a police clearance letter. Has anyone read this Postbag article and know more about this?

[Maestro]

It was a letter to the editor in today’s Bangkok Post:

Immigration Bureau piles on the paperwork

As an avid reader of Postbag and a teacher here in Thailand, I have a few stern words to say about Thai officialdom.

1. I have gone through all the correct channels for a Non-Immigrant B visa, collecting all the proper paperwork - only for the Immigration Bureau to move the goal posts yet again. Who do they think we are, David Beckham?

2. I have gone to various countries to gain my Non-B, taken all the relevant paperwork i.e. degree, letter from school, letter from the Department of Labour giving me the go-ahead for a work permit (WP3 form), I only need my visa.

3. My latest obstacle? I have only just been informed (at a Thai consulate abroad) that I need a clearance letter from the Thai police to say I am no paedophile or terrorist. Before leaving the country we were never told about this requirement for a letter of clean conduct from the police. Apparently this rule has just been laid down (this Wednesday) without any prior warning or announcement. So my trip was a waste of time and money.

Source: Bangkok Post, 23 December 2006

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Maestro

[PeaceBlondie]

It's safe to say that this entire report is highly doubtful. Nobody has heard of such a requirement, among foreigners who teach in Thailand. It's been discussed among them, but not issued as a mandate by the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Labour, Education, or Interior. Please correct me if I'm wrong.