Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the era before the Immigration Blacklist. To clarify, I am talking about the Blacklist as we know it in 2021. 

Some time and I can't remember the exact date, but some time in the mid-teens, some time between 2010 and 2020, I think it was right around 14, 15, they instituted The Blacklist. Basically they created what we now know as the Thai Immigration Blacklist. The Thai Immigration Blacklist, essentially now, if you overstay by 90 days or more you can end up being barred from returning to Thailand for certain periods of time or forever depending on your circumstances. It is somewhat similar to the United States overstay bar where if you stay a certain period of time, you are barred for a little period of time; and it just a little time. You are barred for a long period of time, as the time becomes longer and eventually you can just end up with what they call a 99-year blacklist, or lifetime blacklist.  

There was a time when this didn't exist in Thailand in the way that it does now. Now even at that time there was a Blacklist in the sense that for example  people that had been incarcerated for a substantial period of time, yeah they were put on an Immigration database and they were not encouraged to return. They didn't want them to return to Thailand and those folks could be turned around at the airport. It wasn't an overly sophisticated system especially compared to the biometric systems we are dealing with today and also it just wasn't widely done like it is now. Folks that end up in overstay right now, it can be a real problem. You can be kept from returning for at least 90 days or more. Also, if you are apprehended in Thailand like say you get a traffic ticket and you are on one day of overstay and the Police become aware of this, that can lead to an immediate detention and deportation with a 5-year blacklisting attached to it. That never existed in the past before they put in these policies. It was much more for lack of a better term loosey-goosey, lax system associated with blacklisting. You would see folks that would be on a prolonged overstay who would do a border run and be right back in. I knew many people that did that 10, 12 years ago. I talked to them, one weekend we would be having drinks or something and they would say "Well I am heading to Poi Pet at the Border tomorrow", ”Oh really? You got to keep up your Visa?" "Yeah, I am on a year over stay." And then you would see them Wednesday. I mean they would be right back and there was no blacklisting associated with that. That has definitely changed. Now it is really not a good idea to overstay, especially overstay more than 90 days because it can lead to a blacklisting and that can be a real problem for folks here in the Kingdom of Thailand.