Transcript of the above video: 

There has been a lot of news in the Immigration space recently, most notably we've been discussing the so-called Electronic Travel Authorization which is being or is supposedly being created - I've called it the 'ring fence' around Thailand - very similar to ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization which operates in the United States. It creates all kinds of in my opinion, unnecessary and bureaucratic problems associated with traveling to the USA especially for those in the Visa waiver program. Meanwhile, Thailand has dozens if not hundreds of countries now that are in Thailand's Visa Waiver program, and they want to create this Electronic Travel Authorization. In my opinion, the system was working fine the way it was and they are just creating these extra hoops and obstacles to go through, and I'll get into that in other videos. But long story short, now they're talking about creating, Immigration - that's under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior - is talking about creating their own Thailand Immigration System, which by the way I thought that's what we were always dealing with, but they have now come up with a new acronym for it - TIS. Apparently, this is going to operate in tandem with the ETA. 

That said, let me dig in. Quoting directly from a recent article in the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Bangkok Airport Immigration speed and security to the fore. Overhauling Immigration Service at Suvarnabhumi Airport a top priority. Quoting directly: "The Immigration Bureau aims to improve its work at Suvarnabhumi Airport by implementing new technology, including the Thailand Immigration System (TIS). Previously each Immigration Officer spent an average of 1 - 2 minutes verifying passenger information. New measures were recently introduced to ensure Immigration controls take no more than 45 seconds per person." And as they go into and I urge those who are watching this video, as they go into in that article they're also wanting to, it's yet again this obsession with Singapore – they are talking about "oh Singapore has this system; we want to implement this too." My big question is they are going to have their own online app apparently as well. So, is this going to be an addition to the Electronic Travel Authorization and by the way, do we need all this digitization? As it gets to in that article and as I will discuss in other videos, we already have biometric scanning; we already have APPS, the Advanced Passenger Processing System; we already have PIBICS, and all of this is working largely without any of this “extra programs and protocols”. Why are we doing this? Is it just because bureaucracy begets more bureaucracy and in the digital era that can happen that much more quickly?

Meanwhile, what are the ramifications for Thailand's tourism sector in the event that we have layer after layer after layer of digital hoops, digital fences, whatever you want to call it? Basically, digital and physical obstacles that are interfering in people just coming to Thailand to travel for tourism. I mean we've been fine with an analog system and frankly with an analog system for maintaining visas and things. It's looked to me like over the last year they have created a bunch of stuff that basically undermined the substantive Immigration System we had here in Thailand and then is going to tack on this new digital system which they say is amazing, which as I can tell you from having dealt with the US Immigration System the last 17 years, anything that gets added on that is digital makes it harder. It never makes it easier; it never adds any value, it's no good. It's just digital bureaucracy that then the bureaucrats can sit around and fob you off to if you need to talk to somebody in person and say, "hey I have an exigent circumstance. I need to figure this out." Oh, go to our website, go to the app." God, I've heard that a million times in the US Immigration System. Now they are bringing that kind of mentality and that kind of setup over to the Thai Immigration System. I have got to be honest with you, I don't think it's going to create a lot of extra security benefit. Then meanwhile, it has the potential to severely curtail, in my opinion, people coming in for tourism purposes because how many digital bureaucracies should one have to go through just to be able to get on a plane and come to the Kingdom of Thailand?