Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing, well heavier scrutiny the Thai Immigration is placing on foreign nationals here in Thailand. I want to be clear at the beginning of this video, this appears to pertain at least for now, specifically to Phuket. As with many of these sort of initiatives that we have talked about, both in a Thai and a US Immigration context, this can go broader very quickly sometimes. Sometimes it just falls by the wayside, sometimes they initiate these programs and nothing ever comes of it. Sometimes they do it and with things like for example TM30; TM30 was a non-issue for years. I don't remember the first decade I was here ever even hearing about TM30 and then poof out of nowhere Immigration Division 1 started kind of dealing with TM 30. The next thing you know it was a nationwide thing. Now Immigration Division 1 is sort of Immigration Headquarters if you will so it is a little different than something arising in Phuket but we have seen things go the other way before as well. Protocols for example that occurred under the Phuket Sandbox ended up being implemented in other parts of the country, so just because it didn't happen up here in Bangkok, it doesn't mean it doesn't have greater or wider ramifications. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Phuket News, that's thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: 'Red card' system launched for 'bad foreigners' in Phuket. We discussed this in another video where we were talking about that they brought in this system, again specifically for Phuket which pertains to getting a yellow card if you commit an offense and it appears that this could even be a rather minor traffic offense and if you are caught doing something twice, if you're cited twice you're immediately deported. If you are yellow carded, it means you won't be allowed back in on the next trip but they haven't been real clear; is that like for 90 days, a year? Forever? Questions abound, I can only give the information that I have and I don't have any further information there. That said, I thought further in the article it was very interesting that this, I thought there were broader implications to the scrutiny that Thai Immigration is putting upon certain foreign nationals so I want to go ahead and quote directly again from thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: 'Red Card' system launch for 'bad foreigners' in Phuket. Quoting directly: "Phuket Immigration, Patong Police and Phuket Tourist Police had arrested French foreigners involved in the above, and they had arrested a foreigner for 'stealing a Thai job'. Let me speak to that for a moment. That is a Labour Department violation. We have discussed this in other videos in the past. Labour violations can have Immigration implications as we are seeing here. Quoting further: "Officials at the event also promoted the Traffy Fondue app as a means of filing complaints to Authorities which has become a standard entry into nearly every local Government report involving officials."  Quoting further: "Phuket Immigration Chief Pol Col Thanet Sukchai called on all people to report illegal activities perpetuated by foreigners." 

The reason for this video folks is this can happen from time to time. It kind of ebbs and flows; it goes in waves. Immigration takes enforcement of for example labour laws against foreigners very seriously for a period of time and then it will kind of wax and wane, and then it will come back. Be careful. At the end of the day you need to be in compliance with Thai Law and failure to do so can result in some serious consequences and the ramifications can be permanent in certain cases. For example as noted this 'yellow card, red card', if you get a 'red card' after two citations you are just immediately deportable and presumably not able to come back to Thailand. So I have had people ask me where do they get the authority to do this? I'll get into that in another video. I am making another one contemporaneously with this one but long story short, be aware that although this appears to be only be pertaining to Phuket Immigration, as we have discussed in other videos, "Big Joke" has now started getting back and involved with Immigration up here around Bangkok and the greater sort of area, the surrounding area. Pattaya is seeing longer processing times associated with certain Thai Visas; again all things considered I don't think there is a lot to worry about in Pattaya at the moment but this could end up being a broad trend. So again if nothing else you take away from this video, maybe it is just kind of be on alert that scrutiny is getting more heightened at the Immigration Offices and by Immigration Officers here in the Kingdom of Thailand.