PATTAYA, Thailand – Thailand’s Immigration Bureau has launched four measures to prevent foreigners from entering the Kingdom as tourists but engaging in cybercrime, grey businesses, money laundering, gang activities, or being lured into forced work, as these activities pose serious threats to economic stability, social security, and public welfare.
The four measures include:
- Tightening the screening of 90-day visa-exempt entries repeatedly used as visa runs without returning to one’s home country. Foreigners are capped at two visa runs; those with more visa runs without valid reasons will be denied entry at both international airports and border checkpoints. Since early 2025, the Immigration Bureau has refused entry to about 2,900 foreigners with similar patterns.
- Blocking foreigners on border-area watchlists, such as in Mae Sot, Tak, areas known for scammer activity. Foreigners previously denied entry or pushed back at the Mae Sot–Myawaddy border will be denied entry again if they attempt to re-enter Thailand.
- Tightening screening for extensions of stay by provincial immigration offices. If a visa-run pattern is detected, the Immigration Bureau will refuse the extension request or cancel the visa, followed by deportation.
- Cracking down on foreigners who overstay in accordance with overstay regulations.
These measures may result in slightly longer screening times for foreigners at international airports during peak hours, but screenings will not exceed 45 seconds per person, and waiting times will not exceed 40 minutes. To ease congestion, immigration offices at all international airports will fully staff all counters, while Thai nationals can use automatic gates for faster processing. (PRD)
