The rationale behind the expat visa clampdown

Doubtless Kip Keino is correct in claiming that many expat residents here are financial heroes, but it’s also important to note why the immigration crackdown has occurred.

To satisfy financial requirements for a one-year retirement visa, it is now much harder to have “a friend” loan you the necessary cash. But then one could argue that foreigners without Bt800,000 in their own bank accounts should not be gambling with their personal welfare. Applicants are also now required to prove they have a fixed address in Thailand by producing a lease, but this extra hurdle is simply a tightening of residency rules in the wake of the Erawan Shrine attack.

On marriage visas, it is certainly true that expat men married to Thai women now must produce page after page of documents, plus be interviewed, but this is likely a response to the many fake or “convenience” marriages in Thailand. The crackdown is probably related to concerns over public security. 

Then there are long-term student visas, which are now admittedly much harder to obtain. But it is common knowledge that many such visas were in the past issued to farang who could barely say “good afternoon” in Thai after years of study. I’d be the last person to claim that foreign expats have nothing to complain about or that immigration procedures are invariably above-board. But it’s also true that a general tightening of the long-stay rules has exposed that some foreign residents were in possession of admittedly shaky documentation, sometimes for many years. 

Barry Kenyon