Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are sort of posing the question, 'did some of the antics that went down during Songkran, could they have ramifications from an Immigration Policy perspective moving forward?' 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from Khao Sod English, that is khaosodenglish.com, the article is titled: Phuket Police arrest 7 foreign tourists over Songkran water attack on motorist. Quoting directly: "Phuket Police have arrested seven foreign tourists after a viral clip showed a group surrounding and spraying water at a van driver in Patong during Songkran celebrations. According to Patong Police Station, the incident took place on Prachanukhro Road near Malin Market, where the group gathered to play water in a manner that caused public disturbances and obstructed traffic. Officers intervened after receiving complaints, issued warnings and detained all seven individuals on charges of "causing nuisance to others" - by the way, and incidentally, that is actually the same provision that the Thai Police have talked about in the past about those who are using Cannabis out in open spaces is the Nuisance Laws. That is always there; just thought that was worth pointing out - That said, quoting further: "before transferring them to investigators for legal proceedings. Following the incident, authorities also urged local businesses and residents to avoid placing water containers or playing water on sidewalks and roads in ways that could obstruct traffic, to prevent similar incidents. Patong Police said they are taking the matter seriously and have stepped up enforcement measures to maintain order and ensure safety for both residents and tourists during the Songkran festival period." 

The point I'm trying to make with this video, I've seen like, it's sort of like the whole thing with foreigners coming here and getting into these fights now; it's getting pretty ubiquitous. I mean I am on Twitter sometimes, or scanning around on YouTube, I see a number of videos or shorts; TikToks going around of this stuff happening. There were a fair number of incidents during Songkran involving what can only be described as Foreigners Behaving Badly. My question is will this have Immigration consequences? My personal opinion is I think we are coming to a head with regard to some things involving immigration. We have now a seated Parliament. I think this past year has shown, there have been a number of incidents of again Foreigners Behaving Badly; getting into drunken brawls and all sorts of things, and the consequences of this, while intangible, I think will be substantial, because I have to imagine policymakers are seriously rethinking Immigration Policy, especially now going into this economic situation where quite frankly, I suspect we are going to have just as this runs its course, this Iran situation, and the Middle East being cut off, presumably it could go on longer, that's having an impact on supply lines of oil and energy which is going to have an impact especially on the ability to get jet fuel and that means probably less tourism into Thailand. On top of that, they are looking at a past year where quite honestly, we probably have seen more rambunctiousness out of the foreign community than maybe ever seen before to this point. And on top of that, we have a Parliament. The late great, down there at Pattaya Mail, his name is escaping me at the moment, he used to write for Pattaya Mail, I'm so sorry I'm missing you, I'm just blanking on the name at the moment, Barry Kenyon, the late great Barry Kenyon down in Pattaya, he brought up the fact that we could see a situation where there would be a new Act under a new Parliament. I didn't believe him at the time. I think he's probably right now, and I think it's probably getting more likely by the day. I don't think anything will happen this week, but in the weeks ahead - especially going into the doldrums of low, low season which is like May, June, July, really kind of the height of the hot, hot and hot and wet season - I could definitely see a scenario play out where we would see a new Immigration Act or serious overhaul of the Immigration rules and protocols in light of roughly the past year. 

Again, it remains to be seen but in the aftermath of a number of incidents during Songkran and a number of incidences leading up to that, I think it's very possible we could see serious changes in the immigration apparatus and it probably will not be to the favour of foreign nationals looking to come as either tourists or immigrants to the Kingdom of Thailand.