Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing denial of Entry at an Immigration checkpoint here in Thailand. I started thinking of this and decided to go ahead and make a general video after reading a recent article from Thai PBS World, that is thaipbsworld.com, the article is titled: Long-time French Expat and satirist deported and blacklisted by Thai Authorities. Quoting directly: "A French expatriate was forced to fly back to France late last night after he was refused entry at Phuket International Airport on Saturday morning by Immigration Officials who reportedly handed him a notice describing him as "a threat to Thai society". Quoting further: "He has been living in Thailand for over 18 years and has two children born to his former Thai wife. Marchal, (that seems to be his name) was required to go back to Suvarnabhumi International Airport after landing on Phuket following his return from a visit to France and was barred from re-entry by Thai Immigration Officials." 

More to the point on this is just so folks understand, we are going to go ahead and put this up. This is actually, we got this from Samutprakarn Immigration, that is their website and this is samutprakarnimmigration.go.th. This is an English translation of the Thai Immigration Act of 1979 or Immigration Act in the name of his Majesty King Bhumibol Enacted on 24th of February B.E. 2522, 34Th year of the present reign whereas it is deemed proper to revise the Law on Immigration; that is the long title of the Act. We will try to put this on screen, and go ahead and focus on section 16 of the Act: Quoting: "In the instance where for reason of national welfare or safeguarding the public peace, culture, morality, or welfare, or when the Minister considers it improper to allow any alien or any group of aliens to enter into the Kingdom, the Minister shall have power to exclude said alien or group of aliens from entering into the Kingdom." I wanted to go ahead and cite the Law on that because I have gotten a lot of correspondence for folks, talked to some people about this and they are real concerned about it and they kind of wondered what the legal basis was. 

Well the Immigration Act is pretty clear. Immigration has pretty broad authority with respect to excluding someone from coming into the Kingdom and I don't want to get in, the purpose of this video is not to get too commentary on the substance of why this person was barred from re-entry. The thrust of this video is basically about Immigration's powers. If you are a foreign national or a non-resident maybe more to the point, if you have Residence you are still a foreign national in Thailand even if you have Permanent Residence, but you have a more permanent Immigration status which is covered under different sections of the Act other than Non-Immigrant. In short, you have some rights to due process with respect to the possibility of losing that status. Now it is possible to lose PR status certainly but it is a different mechanism, it is a different process to deal with that. With respect to a Non-Immigrant Visa, basically if Immigration decides that an individual who is coming in in either a Visa Exemption, Tourist Visa status or a Non-Immigrant Visa is deemed to be someone that they don't want to allow to enter Thailand, then they have the authority to bar re-entry. I mean it is clear in the Act as quoted. So the thing to understand is, yes Immigration has a pretty tremendous amount of power. They don't often use it but they have it and understand that those who are engaging in activities, they may be criminal, illegal activities or those who are engaging in activities that are deemed a possible threat to the country, Immigration can bar that person from coming into Thailand. Under those circumstances, that is a really bad situation to be in; so something to think about. 

Now I think most folks out there that are watching this probably aren't going to find themselves in this kind of situation but to my mind, those who are looking at living, as noted in here the individual here had been living in Thailand for 18 years. Well if still in Non-Immigrant status, that person is a Non-Immigrant, not an immigrant, not a citizen. That person is still to some degree at the mercy of the discretion of Thai Immigration Authorities.