Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Volunteer Visas. Now this is something I have discussed in other videos here recently. This kind of is part of an overarching theme that we are dealing with or we have been dealing with in the past few weeks most notably back in October the Emergency Decree was lifted so Thailand has been operating status quo ante with respect to the Emergency Decree. Basically we are back to where we were at quarter one of 2020; we are back in a situation where Immigration is getting tighter again, it is getting more difficult to deal with. Thai Immigration officers do not have the discretion that they had during the Emergency Decree to grant things like extensions of stay etc. in order to deal with the exigent circumstances that arose as a result of the lockdowns and shutdowns around the world. We are out of that. That is no longer the case. 

As I discussed in other videos recently, volunteers have proven to be a major thorn in the side of many. We have heard a lot of horror stories involving Volunteer Visas, Visa agents who claim to be able to get them and either don't get them or they get them something and then the Volunteer Visa is almost like a taint on one’s passport; it causes all kinds of problems. Well I got to thinking of this when reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Immigration Chief vows to tighten visa extension rules. Quoting directly: quote: "So there will be a working group to revise rules on Visa Extension applications that cite work for foundations, the need to receive medical treatment, and for studying in both the formal and informal education systems" Police Lt. Gen. Pakpoompipat said and this is Police Lt. Gen. Pakpoompipat Sajjapan, Head of Thai Immigration. So current head of Thai Immigration is saying quote: "they need to revise rules on Visa extension applications that cite work for foundations." That generally speaking is the Volunteer Visa category and we are already hearing things within Immigration when our contacts and folks in my office here talk to them and things, they are saying "hey, the Volunteer Visa is a no-go, you don't want to go anywhere near those." We have also heard from folks that have had Volunteer Visas that are now having problems trying to either change their status in the country or they are having problems, I have seen folks that have problems leaving, they basically were, in fact in one situation I saw somebody who was actually blacklisted on their way out, it wasn't a long Blacklist relatively speaking but long enough for this person I am pretty sure. They were blacklisted and they cited “hey we think this is a fake Volunteer Visa”. 

So this is happening. It is a major issue. Those out there who have Volunteer Visas, especially ones that I would say, there are genuine Volunteer Visas out there; there are foundations, NGO's and things that operate here in Thailand where a Volunteer Visa is warranted but unfortunately it apparently kind of got abused and then on top of it there was a fair bit of fraud and corruption going on with respect to that Visa category and clearly Immigration officers are now looking to scrutinize that and make certain provisions to not allow that to happen in the future. So if you find yourself in a Volunteer Visa, it may not be a bad idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.