By Barry Kenyon

[Gaybutton]

Putting people in prison for corruption offences would also make sense

To do that, they would need to build many more prisons - huge prisons - to house them all . . .

[Jun]

To do that, they would need to build many more prisons - huge prisons - to house them all . . .

It depends how many people you put in each cell. For corruption offences, I would pack them in.

As for space, well all they need to do is shut Krung Thep Aphiwat station, put a fence around it and they have an enormous ready made prison.
This would also improve the rail network. Win win.

[Gaybutton]

Anutin premiership or instant parliamentary dissolution are the choices

By Barry Kenyon

September 3, 2025

The decision by Peoples Party to back Anutin Charnvirakul, the leader of Bhumjaithai, for the premiership means that a House of Representatives floor vote now would mean he is successful. Between them, the two groupings have around 212 votes which, together with small parties’ support already guaranteed, would exceed the minimum 250 votes to succeed.

To activate the scenario with Peoples Party, Anutin has to agree to call a general election in four months and organize a referendum (if necessary) to begin the process of rewriting the constitution. However, Peoples Party will remain in opposition during the interim period, although voting for Bhumjaithai on crucial votes. It’s an unusual coalition in Thai historical terms.

Peoples Party has decided to back Anutin, rather than the ruling Pheu Thai party, likely because the latter reneged on its promise in 2023, post general election, to go into coalition together. Instead, Pheu Thai formed a separate coalition with pro-military rump parties which has now broken down. But the initial pact resulted in Peoples Party, the largest party in parliament, being deprived of the chance to govern.

Meanwhile Pheu Thai, the caretaker administration, has sought royal approval for a House dissolution immediately which would lead to a snap election and thwart the proposed Anutin plans with Peoples Party. Pheu Thai acting prime minister Phummtham Wechayachai said that an election now would prevent Bhumjaithai from forming an unstable coalition with other parties.

But the Council of State, a legal advisory body for the Royal Thai government, has stated that an acting or caretaker prime minister cannot dissolve parliament. A non-caretaker premier would require a successful vote in the House of Representatives which Pheu Thai likely recognizes it would lose. For the time being, Thai politics will continue in very high drama.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ces-516981

[Gaybutton]

Anutin set for a four months’ term as PM

By Barry Kenyon

September 4, 2025

The last ditch attempt by the ruling caretaker government Pheu Thai to block the ascent of Anutin Charnvirakul appears to have failed. Acting prime minister Phumtam Wechayachai had sought approval to dissolve parliament immediately and call a general election. But The Council of State stated that an acting or caretaker premier lacked the specific power under article 103 of the constitution, a view endorsed in a letter from the Royal Secretariat citing unresolved legal conflicts and procedural irregularity.

The House of Representatives will now meet to elect a prime minister, with Bhumjaithai’s Anutin having more than half the House of Representatives’ votes in the bag after a written deal with the largest opposition group Peoples Party. Not to mention tacit support from small and tiny parties. Analysts say that a formal vote will take place within days, pending a time and date agreed between the House speaker and party whips. Anutin can count on 298 votes out of a total of 492.

But Anutin will only have a four months’ sprint as premier until he must call a general election according to the memorandum of understanding or guarantee signed with Peoples Party. The agenda in such a short time span will be essentially domestic, including steps towards organizing a national referendum about changing the constitution. The pact itself is highly unusual as the Peoples Party is insistent that it will remain formally in opposition, but will vote for the government on key decisions. In Thai history, it is unique for a party to have that kind of dual role.

All parties will use the next four months to prepare for the general election. Peoples Party is populist and liberal and hoping to replace Pheu Thai which has lost much support in the provinces after policy failures and mistakes. But Pheu Thai has influential backers, especially in the northern region, and cannot be written off just yet. Anutin’s Bhumjaithai party is royalist and conservative, but was largely responsible for the removal of cannabis from the narcotics list in 2022.

Anutin himself held various Cabinet portfolios during several earlier administrations led by Thaksin Shinawatra, general Prayut Chan-o-cha and Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The prospective premier is very well-versed in parliamentary maneuvers. Analysts say the general election after four months is a certainty because Anutin’s Bhumjaithai will not have sufficient votes to continue without the support of Peoples Party. Moreover, any last minute politicking in the new year would create a new and highly unwelcome political crisis at a time when the country’s economy is in the doldrums.

https://www.pattayamail.com/featured/an ... -pm-516988

[Gaybutton]

I think for us expats, to me it looks like another "everything changes, but nothing changes". Nothing about making anything easier for us, but at least nothing about making things more difficult.
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What premier Anutin has said about visa and immigration reform

By Barry Kenyon

September 13, 2025

New prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul has chosen to retain the separate role of interior minister, which he held in the now defunct Pheu Thai administration from 1 September 2023 to 19 June 2025. Whilst the motivation to maintain both portfolios is doubtless to keep control of local administrative units in the runup to a likely general election in 2026, Mr Anutin is keenly interested in the visa world.

Under Anutin’s stewardship, Thailand in July 2024 permitted tourists from 93 countries to have two months’ visa-free entry, with a further 30 days extension at local immigration. Whilst there has been some concern that this liberal policy has resulted in the entry of illegal workers, especially Chinese, it is unlikely there will be a major revision as Thailand struggles to keep the momentum in increasing tourist arrivals. The TDAC or digital arrival card, compulsory for all foreign entrants, potentially allows for a closer inspection of non-Thai nationals.

July 2014 also saw the introduction of the Destination Thailand Visa. Critics, such as Thai national and American attorney Benjamin Hart, have stressed that this visa was the brainchild of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and likely did not have the support of either the interior ministry or the immigration police. “DTV,” said Mr Hart in a feisty video, “is in need of revision or even cancellation as its purposes are ill-defined and open to abuse”. Many observers believe changes are inevitable sooner or later.

Two years ago, Mr Anutin endorsed the idea of a new, overarching Department of Immigration which would swallow the responsibilities and overlap of other ministries. Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for visa policy in Thai embassies and consulates, but the Interior Ministry (through the immigration bureau) is in charge of foreigners once they arrive here at an airport or border post. Moreover, extensions are exclusively in the domain of the immigration police.

Another example of departmental overlap is in the issuing of work permits. These are traditionally the purview of the Ministry of Labour, but there are separate regulations for Board of Investment prompted companies with relaxed capital and employee requirements. BOI also registers applications for the 10-years Long Term Residence visa and the Smart visa which is now focused exclusively on startup entrepreneurs. Not to mention the Tourist Authority of Thailand which manages the Elite (now Privilege) visa. It’s a confusing picture to say the least.

The premier has also expressed support for the streamlining of immigration policing in matters such as national security, residency permits, citizenship and civil registration. Artificial intelligence is also being developed to analyze data, offer language translation, create chatbots and catch criminals through linking photographs of persons to a central data base of criminals. This is the age of the surveillance camera.

In the past few years, immigration bureaucracy has become more digitalized with online facilities for specified functions. Under Anutin’s stewardship, these developments will likely continue apace. There is even a government working party looking at the implications for an end to the issuing of traditional passports and their replacement by a digital system that uses biometric data like facial recognition and fingerprints for border control. The good news in such a transformed world is that foreigners won’t have to worry about filling in manually so many forms before and after they set foot in the kingdom. Immigration reform in September 2025 is still in its infancy.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... orm-518610

[Dodger]

If Anutin & Co. follows through with the idea of creating a separate Immigration Department I think things could improve greatly if implemented and managed the right way. Understanding that's a big "If".

Removing immigration responsibilities and authorities entirely from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Interior Ministry, and the Royal Thai Police (immigration police) would (should) help streamline the operations and simplify the visa process for everyone including tourists and long-stay expats.

Immigration laws and polices should be standardized across the Kingdom - where each and every immigration office would interpret immigration polices the same exact way. Right now, as we all know, this process is totally disjointed - where no two immigration offices interpret the visa policies the same way - and sometimes the agents who work right next to each other in the very same office interpret the policies differently. This problem is systemic.

Also, there's an opportunity to reduce the strain on internal immigration resources tremendously by changing the visa renewal policy for retired expats from one year to five years, and eliminating the 90 day reporting process for expats entirely.

If immigration was streamlined and managed the right way by a centralized department this would make sense - and the current immigration resources could spend more time on preventing the "bad guys" from getting in - and less time badgering the "good guys" who are here making valuable contributions to the Thai economy. In short, if done right everyone wins, except the "bad guys" who don't qualify for That visa's (any type of visa) to begin with.

I know this all sounds good, but, unfortunately, with all the corrupt underpinnings laced to immigration in this current environment it would probably require a miracle.

[Gaybutton]

things could improve greatly if implemented and managed the right way. Understanding that's a big "If"

I agree, especially the part about doing it the right way being a big "if". There is far too much bureaucracy with immigration and that causes problems for everyone, including the immigration officers themselves.

I see no valid reason why the various immigration offices interpret the rules differently. Isn't whoever writes the rules capable of making it crystal clear just what the rules actually are? That seems to be typical of how rules get written for nearly everything in Thailand.

I can't think of many published rules, including this latest one about alcohol sales, that don't end up confusing people and causing needless stress.

[Dodger]

I see no valid reason why the various immigration offices interpret the rules differently. Isn't whoever writes the rules capable of making it crystal clear just what the rules actually are?

The "cause" of this phenomenon that you see in so many Thai businesses and administrations is directly tied to a lack of experience of the managers who are tasked with the responsibilities for training staff and making sure that policies and procedures like this are being followed.

The "root cause", and I say this from direct experience, is that many Thai businesses and administrations, including some government agencies, hire managers based on a pay-as-you-go methodology, where recruits for management positions are commonly hired based on how much money they pay for the position, and not based on proven skills, education, and experience as one would expect.

When this happens the result is an administrative staff who are forced to read, comprehend, and administer policies and procedures to the best of their own knowledge, relying also on the interpretations of fellow staff members who have developed their own interpretations. This is the prime culprit of the confusion and lack of standardization we see constantly.

I found, again through direct experience, that most Thai workers at the staff level are extremely diligent and take their job responsibilities very seriously, but without having capable management to guide them in understanding policies and procedures like the ones we're talking about, misinterpretation is inevitable. And that's what we're seeing all the time...in almost every Thai administrative process.

Solution (wearing my consulting hat) = Cultural Transformation. But that's another subject all by itself.

Time for Thailand to Move Forward.

[Gaybutton]

I found, again through direct experience, that most Thai workers at the staff level are extremely diligent and take their job responsibilities very seriously

They can't be that blind to confusion and complaints. When that happens, why is it so rare for them to publish clarifications?

[Dodger]

They can't be that blind to confusion and complaints. When that happens, why is it so rare for them to publish clarifications?

I'm still waiting for MOTS to publish clarification but not holding my breath.

Thais never admit to doing anything wrong. I hate to say it, but it's another one of those cultural phenomena.