Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing, well let’s just jump into this, this notion of updated rules and pre-screening and things. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Calls to publicise updated entry rules. Quoting directly: “Amid a rise in the number of cases of travellers being denied entry to Thailand, tourism operators are urging the government to regularly publicise updated rules and rely more on pre-screening methods.”

Well first, as I have discussed in other videos, there is not really a lack of information out there about Thai Immigration rules; it is out there. And I know it gets amplified and kind of spun and misdirected and things by certain aspects of the sort of, the ether of the internet out there, be it forum posters or trolls on comments, or even just YouTubers out there making videos about things they know nothing about. At the end of the day, the information is there. I don’t really find a ton of fault with the Government on putting out statements and things. If anything, that is the big complaint actually is they talk about things and then it is like they go back, they retract it or it doesn’t end up happening the way that they say it does, or doesn’t happen at all. I don’t think more government press is really the answer here is what I am saying.

Which then brings us to the issue of “pre-screening”. Quoting further: “As the country tightens measures to curb multiple visa runs. Last month, the Immigration Bureau introduced four measures aimed at preventing foreigners from entering as tourists while engaging in cybercrime, illicit businesses, money laundering, gang activities or forced labour.“ Well I completely agree with that. They should be going after people that are trying to come over here and work illegally, or try to undertake scams or human trafficking; absolutely they should.

That being said, the notion, what I think is funny is in this same article, they also say that Immigration doing their job at checkpoints is not an appropriate method, which, it is like, “well then what are they doing? Why do you have Immigration if not to vet people that are coming into the country? That is the purpose of them.” That said, in this video, we are going back to the issue of pre-screening methods which they talked about there, “oh, it is not appropriate for these Immigration Officers to do their job, but we’ll do all this pre-screening stuff.” Well, that is COVID. That was all the Covid crap we had to deal with for 2 years where you needed 4 file folders of in quadruplicate information on the most minute picayune things with forms that meant nothing. I mean it was the most Kafkaesque period you could have; that is what they are talking about when they are talking about pre-screening. Me personally, how about we just have Immigration do their job. Not add on all this Orwellian nonsense and move on? And yes, there are going to be tourists that get turned away if they try to use Tourist Visa status or any other non-Non-Immigrant Visa in Thailand to live here and try to work here. How about we do it with that? How about we just enforce the system we have rather than trying to create all this Orwellian nonsense that clearly looks to me to be the by product of undue influence being foisted upon Thailand to conform to this frankly global monster of really just nanny-state, constant surveillance constant recordation of your biometrics.

I mean is it right to be poked and prodded and photographed and told, “where are your papers? What is your story?” because you want to get on a plane and go on a vacation? I don’t want to go through that. I don’t want to deal with all of this pre-screening. Do your jobs at the airport. Screen the people that come through Immigration Checkpoint. It is pretty simple.