The dilemmas of Thai visa agencies assisting foreigners with their immigration problems. In February 2025, visa agents were hit by the news that opening bank accounts or servicing existing ones were banned because of the government crackdown on largely unrelated scams and illegal call centers. Perhaps this restriction will prove to be temporary, but others are waiting in line.- Pattaya Mail

The dilemmas of Thai visa agencies assisting foreigners with their immigration problems

Pattaya MailFebruary 22, 2025

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Visa agencies are common in south east Asia, including this long-established one in Phnom Penh.

It's not only Thailand. Visa agents have held a prominent place throughout south east Asia for at least 30 years. Even today it is rare for foreigners in Cambodia seeking extensions of stay, retirement visas or work authorizations to appear in person at the immigration bureau. In cities such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap there are agencies who handle the entire process and take the paperwork to the immigration bureau for rubber stamping. Indeed, many reports suggest it is actually more expensive for foreigners to deal directly with the official bureau. That's absolutely not true in Thailand.

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Here, the first agencies started in earnest during the 1980s and often doubled as foreign exchange bureaux and travel ticket buyers, traces of which remain to this day. Foreign tourists were restricted to 30 days or less with a final seven days at extension. Retirement visas were unknown and work permit regulations largely unenforced. Virtually all longterm expats had to make several visa runs every year, usually to Penang in Malaysia, where the Thai consulate general often had wearisome queues. Cambodia and Laos were closed to travellers in the aftermath of the American regional wars.

During the 1990s Thai immigration procedures became more complex and the golden age for visa agencies took root to assist with the expanding paperwork. Retirement visas and annual extensions began in 1994 and the number of 90 days non-immigrant visas catering for specialist groups grew quickly. The number of immigration officers rose rapidly in Thai cities and tourist areas as international tourism began to boom. Foreigners could (and still can) avoid long queues at immigration by paying third parties to obtain address notification reports, certificates of residence for driving licences and the rest

From the turn of the century many more visa packages have been introduced in quick succession: Elite, O/X 10 year retirement and 3 million baht-in-the-bank visas, followed recently by Long Term Residence, Smart permits and the establishment of the Board of Investment. On the other hand, the regulations have become stricter and more discretionary as is obvious with the recently-introduced Destination Thailand Visa, obtainable at various embassies with their own rules and extensions (if you are lucky) at local immigration. Visa agencies obviously vary in competence according to their ability to deal with the mushrooming of visa options, leading to constant social debate on social media whether to use an agent in the first place or go it alone instead.

The golden era for visa agents in Thailand has now passed. Most tourists currently receive 60 days on arrival, reducing the need for border hops which are almost always arranged by agencies and minibuses. Immigration checks have become much heavier thanks partly to the technology and biometric information available at entry points and offices nationwide. Some visas, including those based on volunteer work or education, are out of favour because of abuse during the covid pandemic and the false documentation then provided by some so-called charities and schools. Working visas are now complex bureaucratic matters and beyond the competence of some, usually small, agencies which have already closed. All in all, there is a reduced client base as more and more foreigners work online to solve their own immigration issues.

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So the future of visa agencies will become more specialized as they will need to be both knowledgeable and skillful about complex visa rules. That suggests they will have to hire more expertise with specialist training. As Thailand moves towards a fully online and streamlined visa system, agencies which survive will also need to diversify into travel insurance brokerage, airport pickup, transfer services and home delivery of passports. In other words, agencies will need to cater for those wanting a luxury service in both expertise and convenience.

In February 2025, visa agents were hit by the news that opening bank accounts or servicing existing ones were banned because of the government crackdown on largely unrelated scams and illegal call centers. Perhaps this restriction will prove to be temporary, but others are waiting in line. How will visa agents be affected by the increasing use of airport electronic gates in travel which mean that neither exit nor entry stamps appear in a passport? What happens to them when, in 10 years time, even traditional passports are being phased out altogether in favour of digital monitoring using contactless smart card technology. Visa agents will surely join the dinosaurs if they can't access a traveller's vital information.