Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the prospect of an influx of Chinese tourists and travellers into Thailand. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Edge Markets, that is theedgemarkets.com, the article is titled: As China reopens, well-off citizens embrace "run" culture and seek new homes in Southeast Asia. Quoting directly: SINGAPORE (Jan 14): Property agents and immigration experts are seeing a surge in inquiries from Chinese Nationals for family offices in Singapore, condos in Malaysia and residency in Thailand, as Immigration to Southeast Asia becomes an increasingly tantalizing prospect after 3 years stuck at home." Quoting further: "But as China dismantles most of its strict zero-Covid rules, and allows its people to go overseas for the annual holiday, many appear set to act on long delayed plans, visit properties they bought for the first time or make the jump for good from life in China."

Yeah, this is kind of a common theme. We see it with a lot of different groups of expats or proposed expats here in Thailand. Basically they come to Thailand ostensibly, seemingly as tourists, they end up living here. Now what is Thai Immigration going to do about this? Well that remains to be seen. Now those who come into Thailand in proper Visa status probably aren't going to have a big issue. That said conversion to a new Visa in Thailand, especially now that the Emergency Decree has been dropped since October of 2022, I don't see a situation where Visa conversions are going to be overly easy. Meanwhile, the Thai Immigration Authorities definitely are cracking down on those who are using improper visas, as well as those who are looking to live in Thailand under sort of false pretenses. So again, Thai Immigration is pretty strict or it strictly enforces Thai Immigration Law so for that reason, I could definitely see an upsurge in arrests and things associated with Chinese Nationals here in Thailand. Now that said, as we have discussed in prior videos on this channel, they do not any longer disclose nationality in media reports pertaining to arrests and things in Thailand so it will be interesting to see exactly how this plays out.