Immigration Bureau told to be flexible with 'visa runners'

The military has told the Immigration Bureau to be flexible with "visa runners", junta chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday.

The runners can register with the bureau, which will find a sustainable resolution to the problem, he said in his weekly televised programme last night.

Foreigners had been exploiting tourist visas and visas on arrival by illegally working in the country, mostly as English teachers.

When their visa was about the expire, they entered a neighbouring country to apply for a tourist visa and returned to the Kingdom to illegally work again.

The authorities responded by tightening the rules by not re-issuing visas to the runners and they faced deportation.

Prayuth said the change of the visa system concerning visa runners had considerably affected certain groups such as English teachers and academics.

"So, this is an ongoing problem that needs to be resolved, as it can lead to a shortage of English teachers and guides," he said during his weekly TV programme.

Source: The Nation