The reasons for Thailand’s likely cancellation of the three-month “visa-free” visa for Russians are given

On April 30, the visa relaxation for Russians introduced on November 1 last year expires, due to which our citizens could legally stay in Thailand for 3 months with one stamp affixed upon arrival. This attracted a record number of long-term guests from the Russian Federation to the Kingdom of Siam, but now they are very worried, because the “visa-free” agreement may not be extended; the Thai authorities have more than enough reasons for this.

According to representatives of the Thai tourism industry working with Russian counterparties, in the fall, visa relaxations were introduced for guests from a number of countries in order for the local tourism industry to quickly recover from pandemic losses. And since it was immediately clear that it made no sense for everyone to extend them, the measure was initially declared “temporary.” But when discussing the “visa-free regime for Russians,” as follows from confidential information from our source, it was planned to extend the “visa-free regime” specifically for citizens of the Russian Federation after April 30. But now there are doubts about this.

“We have opposing forces in this matter,” people in the tourism industry say on condition of anonymity. – Officials who have income from Russians insist that the three-month period without a visa extension be extended for you. And those who do not have income point to the statistics of violations of Thai laws by citizens of the Russian Federation, and they are high.

– How can Thai officials receive income from Russians?!

– Indirect. They receive monetary “compliments” from those who are interested in long-term guests from Russia. These are investors in Thai businesses, subtenants of Thai housing, and so on. Any such activity of foreigners in Thailand is prohibited by our laws and is therefore not advertised. But those who profit from it are interested in the Russians leading it. And they understand that, faced with the need for visarans, many will leave.

According to the domestic tourism industry working with Southeast Asia, a similar situation has already developed in the region and was not resolved in our favor in Sri Lanka, where free visas have been canceled for Russian citizens since April 1. The reason is the same – the guests’ violation of local laws regarding the ban on illegal work and business, and in the case of Sri, the wording also contains “discrimination by long-term tourists from the Russian Federation of the local population” (Russian longsteers organized parties with face control according to the principle “only for whites, locals are not allowed”).

“But in Sri, the abolition of the free visa also affected short-term tourists,” explains manager Natalya from the capital’s travel agency. – In Thailand, if the three-month visa-free visa is not extended, only long-steers – winterers and other long-term residents – will suffer. “Vizaran” (crossing the border with a return to receive a new entry stamp – author) for our people in Thailand, of course, is not as expensive as for those in Sri, but in any case, this is a voyage to another country. Russians who want to extend their visa for the island of Sri Lanka have to fly to the neighboring Maldives or India; there are no land “visarans” on the islands. In this sense, it is easier for long-term residents of Thailand: you can get to neighboring Cambodia by bus, but doing it every month is still both expensive and tiring. But “package travelers – those who come to the Thai tropical paradise on a tour for a week or two – will not be affected by the abolition of the three-month “visa-free” visa at all, nothing will change for them.

“Now the majority of votes are won by those who want to give you a chance,” they admit on the sidelines of the Thai tourism industry. – Although the fight is not with the Russians themselves, but with our officials who receive bribes from them and cover up illegal Russian business.

– Can you scare underground businessmen with monthly visarans?!

– It’s not about the visarans themselves. The official abolition of the three-month visa-free regime will mark a tightening in general. If this happens, it means that there will be more raids on your illegal immigrants, and they are already happening every day. I think that in this case, the Russians who make money in Thailand will themselves understand that it is better to change the location. And those who are now in favor of extending visa-free travel for Russians hope that they will also understand that until April 30 they must behave quietly and very carefully. You can assume that you have a probationary period until May 1.

The Russian-speaking diaspora in Thailand understands this, knowing that their fellow citizens have already failed similar “probation periods” in Turkey and Sri Lanka: the lion’s share of the Russian diaspora, the largest in the country, has already left the former after the Turkish authorities intensified the fight against illegal landlords and entrepreneurs seek happiness in other countries. Our people are also leaving Sri Lanka: due to the peculiarities of the crisis-ridden island state, the Russian long-term contingent there is poorer than in Thailand, and the monthly $60 per person for a visa undermines their already meager budget for a simple island life. Meanwhile, the most developed countries in the region, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, as well as non-mainland administrative units of China, are seriously concerned that if the conditions for staying in Thailand become tougher, “Russian illegal immigrants” will rush to them. Russians are welcome everywhere with an expensive short-term visit within two weeks, but almost nowhere are they welcome if we come to them for a long time with all our “assets” – families, business ideas and our charters.