Thailand Visa Inquiry Open Letter

Päivi & Santeri

INQUIRY

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3.11.2549 Attn: To whom it may concern

DEAR SIR / MADAM , We are a married couple, freelance writers and full-time travellers. Our country of origin is Finland, European Union. In the past two years we have travelled around the world in South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. In August 2006 we arrived in Thailand, and got a 30-day entry permit at the border whereas in almost all other countries in the world the limit is 90 days. Later we tried to prolong our stay on the grounds of our writing work, but failed. During the process we experienced extraordinarily unprofessional service from Thai immigration and embassy officials. Here is what happened. Our plan was to spend a year in Thailand writing a book about Golden Triangle. Later we discovered that Thailand's visa regulations do not acknowledge this kind of activity and we should work for or found a Thai company to get a working visa. In order to learn this we had to visit Chiang Mai immigration office three times, travel from Chiang Mai to Singapore Thai Embassy, and finally travel from Chiang Mai to Bangkok immigration office. The visa regulations proved to be so complex and obscure that even government officials were seemingly afraid of giving advice. Instead, they quoted the cryptic laws, made us run around asking the same questions time and again, and gave us every time different instructions. We have two options: 1) exit the country every month for a so called visa-run, or 2) travel to the neighbouring countries and try our luck with local Thai Embassies so many times that we would finally get the visa granted. Let us consider a bit more thoroughly what these options would mean to us. In the first case we would have to travel to the border to get a 30-day entry permit every month. This permit, according to some officials, can be renewed three times in half a year's time. According to some other officials visa-runs can be performed as many times as we wish without any problems, and according to yet other officials they are totally illegal. No matter which answer we choose to trust, the whole idea of visa-runs is ridiculous. The only reason we could figure out for government to promote such an activity is corruption. In the second case, the advice was to get a two-month, multiple entry tourist visa from a Thai embassy in some nearby country. We did this once in Singapore and found it as frustrating as a visa-run trip. Moreover, we were at the mercy of arrogant embassy officials. We had asked about our visa and sent all our documents beforehand, and we got a confirmation that a working visa would be granted. But when we arrived in Singapore, the official changed her mind claiming that our books are ”rubbish". This rude comment from Ms. Shima Han and her manager Ms. Phrintra Sucharitakul was quite striking.

Page 2 / 2 Finally the Immigration Office Manager in Bangkok was kind enough to explain us the whole visa procedure, frankly and straighforwardly. It was the same answer we had received earlier from numerous tourists and expatriates who are in the same situation, and read from various Internet forums: Visa laws, applicants' activities, merits, and the money brought into the country do not matter. It is the language skills, the mood of the official dealing with the case, and sheer luck that dictate the results of a visa application. Thailand seems to favour a short-sighted business model with visas; take-themoney-and-run. Visitors are granted only short-time entry permits to support visa-run businesses. Yet there are two privileged groups: retired people of over 50 years of age, and men supporting Thai families. In both cases visa applicants are often elderly, Western men travelling to Thailand for having sex. Or visiting their second, ”secret” Thai families also known as rented wives while the official family is waiting at home. To understand the visa policy thoroughly we would like to know: 1. What kind of training do you give to your embassy officials to qualify them in literary analysis? 2. Visa regulations force people to make monthly visa-runs, which is a big business. Why is that endorsed? 3. Why foreigners have to use trial and error method, face despotism, and receive unsystematic service from immigration officials? 4. How can Thailand's tourism ever be sustainable, when most of the foreigners get sick of daily encounters with repulsive pedophiles? 5. Why the visa regulations are made so cryptic and complicated? 6. Why do Thailand prefer sex tourists to normal people in visa regulations on both legislative and national level? We feel sorry to bring these questions up as we have otherwise enjoyed our stay in Thailand greatly. It has been easier to take care of everyday life, for example renting a flat and opening a bank account, compared to any other country in the world. The atmosphere is easy-going, and most people are very polite and respectful. However, the visa regulations form an obstacle to normal tourism, far greater than current martial law and military dictatorship. Visa regulations force us to reconsider our options: shall we pursue the original book idea or leave Thailand and share our experiences. We look forward to receiving your answer. Thank you in advance.

We wish you peace and harmony,

Päivi PhD (in Literature), journalist, writer

Santeri Free artist, writer