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Immigration Crackdowns Going Nationwide in Thailand

Transcript of the above video:

I am going to try to keep this video here today short. I have done a lot of videos with respect to Operation Outlaw Foreigner, Operation x-ray Outlaw Foreigner; just the general trend of immigration raids throughout Thailand but they have mostly focused a lot in the Bangkok area and I kind of wanted to go ahead and make this video just to get a point across that this is not a particularly Bangkok centric phenomenon  and in fact I think it is going to become a more greater Thailand issue as time progresses and I think it is going to go to a nationwide level especially now when we have a new Immigration Bureau Chief who apparently wishes to take a proactive approach with respect to rounding up illegal foreigners in the Kingdom.

In a recent article from the Nation, nationmultimedia.com, it was published October 13th, 2018. The article was titled Two Cameroon Men Arrested in Surat Thani for Over Staying Visa by 3 Years. Quoting directly, "Two Cameroon men were arrested in Surat Thani’s Phra Saeng district for over staying their visas by 3 years to teach English in a remote school. The two men were arrested at a school in new Moo 8 village, Tambon Sinpoon; one is 31 years old and another is 45 years old. I urge those who are interested in the details on that to go check that out on the nation website.

Moving further with this again from the Nation, nationmultimedia.com, published October 11th 2018 titled 97 Foreigners Held in Visa Crackdown. 97 farmers have been arrested in the northeast for over staying their visas or working illegally Immigration Police Acting Regional Director Major-General Natthawat Kandee told a press conference on Thursday. Some had stayed illegally in Thailand for over a decade he said warning employers of serious punishment for hiring illegally. Under Operation Zero Over Stay, police on Wednesday searched Nong Khai, Ubon Ratchathani, Mukdahan, Nakon Phanom, Loei, Si Sa Ket, Nakhon Ratchasima, Surin, Bung Kan, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Sakhon Nakhon, Amnat Charoen, Roi Et, Maha Sarakham, Chaiyaphum and Buri Ram; I urge those who are interested in this to go look that up specifically.

Also noted again in the Chiangrai Times of all places there was an article Thailand Immigration given 1 Month to Arrest and Deport thousands foreigners. That was the title of the article; I won't quote from it. 

The thing I really want to get across with respect this video is this is not Bangkok specific. This operation Zero Over Stay, the 30-day, basically the 30-day deadline, for over stayers here in the Kingdom, the general proactive approach to immigration raids on over stayers, this is not specific to Bangkok and I don't think it's going to stay that way. I think it's going to go even more deeper, further out nationwide.

As noted previously there is another video on this channel where we discuss the recently promulgated deadline for over stayers to get out of the country because they are going to proactively come after over stayers rather shortly. I don't think this is going to be something that only Bangkok folks need to worry about or Bangkok expects need to worry about. This is an issue that is going to happen nationwide. Folks living up country are going to have issues with this; basically people anywhere in Thailand who are in the Kingdom illegally or in over stay are going to have serious issues with respect to these raids.  As I said previously this is not something that is Bangkok specific. We are looking at a nationwide net if you will that is going to basically deal with this.  

So again those who are watching this video, if you are in over stay now get out it. Figure out a way and get out of the country, get your situation regularized. I would even argue even if it means at least a rather, for lack of a better term brief black listing, it probably is going to be better than getting swept up in this net of enforcement that is coming because I suspect, they are saying there is 40,000 over stayers in the Kingdom, let's say that even round up a fraction of that at one time, let's say they round at 10-15 thousand people all at once, they can't process out that many people immediately. I mean the system does not have the capacity to do that overnight so it stands to reason that those who are picked up in a raid like that are probably going to be detained at least for a fairly prolonged period of time before out ultimately being deported.

So again it is going to depend on the specifics of the circumstances but I really think those who are watching this video that have over stay issues at the time this filming really need to go ahead and consider getting out of the country and getting your status regularized.