Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Business Visas. We have been discussing the concept of being "grandfathered in" a lot especially in the context of the Thai Retirement Visa. It caused somebody to go ahead and leave a comment on one of our videos and I am going to quote that directly. "Hi Ben, just a question. Can you explain "grandfathered in"? 

The notion of being "grandfathered in" to something, we have discussed it in a Thai Retirement Visa context in the past. It is basically the notion that you get the visa, you continue extending, then they change the rules. Is it possible that they sort of grandfather you in? They basically say "look you have already been here, you have operated under the old system, we are going to continue to let you renew under those terms into the future." We have seen this happen in the Retirement Visa context, but the question arises in the context of this video is can that happen in a Thai Business Visa context? The answer really in my experience has been No. The Business Visa, well Yes and No. I should say there is an element of a kind of grandfathering, I will get to that in a moment, it's not "grandfathered in" in the sense that you are officially allowed to continue renewing under prior terms. But yeah look, the Business Visa process, it can be cumbersome, it can be time-consuming, it's very document intensive, there's a lot of scrutiny associated with Thai Business Visa application and Immigration Officers really do scrutinize those heavily. Also you have got a bear in mind with regard to a Business Extension, there is also the component of Thai Work Permit status which plays in as well so you are not only dealing with the Thai Immigration Office but you are also dealing with the Labour Ministry also.

But the thing to take away from this video and understand is there is no "grandfathering in" in the sense that yeah from year to year the Business Visa rules, documentation associated with Business Visas, especially extensions, they change. Quite honestly, it has gotten more documentary intensive in the 15 years that I have been dealing with Business Visas and I don't see that really changing; I think that trend will continue. Now that said, those who get a Business Visa and maintain their status on a prolonged basis, I am not going to say they are "grandfathered in, but when Immigration Officers adjudicate later extensions and they look back and they say "wow, this guy's been here 8 years, been paying his taxes, all his documentation is in order," they look at that case very differently I think, I think, it's my observation. I think they look at that case very differently than what they look at somebody applying for the first time or even applying for their first extension because look at the end of the day, 8 years of history versus hey you're new to this whole thing, they are going to look at that differently, they are going to scrutinize that differently. So the thing to take away from this video is while you can't be sort of "grandfathered in" if you will to a Thai Business Visa, it is possible once you are in the Business Visa system to get a kind of momentum behind you in the longer term scheme of things wherein yes, you are still going to have to submit your Business Visa application with all the documentation, but your history is going to auger in your favour when that case is being scrutinized.