Yet again, Thai immigration is changing the rules for visas for foreigners and, yet again, many foreign men will get screwed but, this time, their Thai kids will probably get screwed too.
It seems Thai immigration in all their wisdom (or lack thereof) has decided non-Thai fathers of Thai children living in Thailand will no longer be allowed to get non-immigrant visas so they can spend time in the country with their kids.
From now on, the only way these fathers will be able to get non-immigrant visas at a Thai consulate or embassy in future is if they are married to the child’s Thai mother, and can produce an official marriage certificate.
In the decade I’ve lived in Thailand, getting just about any travel visa for Thailand has become more and more difficult. So, while the Thai government is saying how much they want tourists to come to Thailand, Thai immigration makes it impossible for tens of thousands of them to spend more than a month here. Now they’ve applied that to foreign fathers of Thai children too.
Odd isn’t it? You’d think a country would be happy to welcome fathers of children living there, particularly as many of them are the sole supporter of their Thai children. Or do they want these fathers to simply abandon their kids, and let Thai family members pay for their upbringing instead.
Thai logic. Sometimes it simply boggles the mind.
Meanwhile, a close British friend of mine is planning to move back to the UK with his Thai child. The mother abandoned both of them a long time ago (quite common in Thailand) and the British father is sick to death of dealing with the massive hassle and discrimination so many westerners experience in Thailand, especially when all many are trying to do is work to help support their Thai kids.
He’s decided to take his money and his child back to the UK, to a country where they’ll both get the same rights as anyone else living there. Can’t say I blame them.