This is the latest regarding Thailand's tourist visa fees will be reinstated starting March 5, 2010.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok have confirmed that tourist visa fees will be reinstated as of March 5, 2010.

Thailand’s tourist visa fee’s were removed last year in a bid to revive travel and tourism to the kingdom. Since June 25, 2009 all tourist visa’s from anywhere in the world were free and will remain free until March 4, 2010.

Apparently the Foreign affairs Ministry, who oversee the Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates worldwide, believe that Thailand tourism in 2010 will be booming, or at least that is the hope. While there has been some grumbling across the net due to this news you can hardly blame the ministry as they said last year this would only last until March of 2010. Apparently some people can’t get over the fact that they will once again have to pay the princely sum of $35 to enter the country again on a tourist visa.

The Thailand tourist visa allows for a maximum stay of 60 days with extensions available at local immigration offices.

Passport holders of the following countries may enter and stay in Thailand without a visa for a maximum stay of 30 days for purpose of tourism only. This can be extended by 7 days at a local immigration office or 15 days by crossing a land border:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, *Brazil, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chili, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Qatar, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel,. Italy, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Lao, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Monaco (effective 26 Oct 07), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, U.A.E., U.K., U.S.A., Vietnam.

List of countries whose nations may apply for visa at the Immigration checkpoints for the purpose of tourism for the period of not exceeding 15 days (Visa on Arrival)

Bhutan, China (including Taiwan), Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, *Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.

If you are not a passport holder of the above countries or you are going to go Thailand for other purposes than tourism, you need a visa.

List of countries whose nationals are exempted from visa fees:

Rep.of Korea, Malaysia, *Philippines, Singapore, Tunisia.

This is a good article by Brian Bolton regarding the latest changes to the commonly requested Tourist Visa, B-1/ B-2.

In Bangkok, there has been an increase in this practice to curb the recent hike in cases where there may be doubt about the applicant's interview. More and more information are being shared to circumvent possible ruse. An excerpt of the article is below. 

Consular posts have begun inserting detailed notes in the Consolidated Consular Database (CCD) regarding the travel plans of applicants who are issued new B-1/B-2 visas, particularly in borderline cases. This practice is encouraged by new guidance at 9 FAM 41.113 N2. This same FAM provision also advises consular officers to exercise "particular care" when entering issuance notes for "odd or high profile cases".

Expats planning to start a new firm should be aware of the FBA amendments that are proposed by the Commerce Ministry. While claiming to liberalize some business sectors it will also place stricter requirements on some foreign owned businesses and voting rights. Inevitably this will trickle down to stringent requirements for work permits and visas. The Nation article appears below:

Tighter controls sought on foreign-owned firms
By PETCHANET PRATRUANGKRAI
THE NATION
Published on December 28, 2009

The planned liberalisation of certain business sectors currently limited to Thai firms will be accompanied by the imposition of more stringent restrictions on foreign-owned businesses operating in the Kingdom if a series of proposals by the Commerce Ministry are accepted by economic ministers.

Under the ministry's proposed amendments to the Foreign Business Act (FBA), voting rights of foreign shareholders will be more tightly controlled. In addition, all new retail and wholesale businesses would have to be approved by the ministry. Currently, retail and wholesale operators investing between Bt1 million and Bt99.99 million have to be approved by the ministry.
In an effort to boost foreign investment, the government is considering removing some industries from the FBA's Annex III, which lists industries that are off-limits to non-Thais.

Annex III businesses that might be opened up include tour guide operators; trading in agricultural futures; stock trading; derivatives trading; commercial banking; insurance and assurance; pawnshop operators; warehousing; schools; and credit fonciers.
"The amendments should create clear regulations for controlling each type of business. It should make the environment friendlier for foreign investors and streamline business regulations. However, it may affect some Thai businesses that are not competitive with foreign firms," said a senior Commerce Industry source.

The proposed removal of some businesses from Annex III has prompted a concurrent proposal to impose stringent controls on the voting rights of foreign shareholder, which must not be higher than 50 per cent.
The amended regulations would only apply to new foreign-owned companies.

The government plans to set up an agency to supervise the act's implementation to ensure efficiency. It also plans to reduce the number of representatives from the private sector on a committee examining the proposed changes to the FBA in order to decrease conflict-of-interest problems.
The ministry's Business Development Department will be given more authority to investigate the activities of foreign-owned firms and suspend the operations of any found to be in breach of the law, the source said.

"The stringent control measures will affect foreign investors, some of whom may shift to invest in other countries as a result," the source acknowledged.

The challenge of being unable to find people in detention centers, documented in the Human Rights Watch report, is worsened when one does not even know where to look. The absence of a real-time database tracking people in ICE custody means ICE has created a network of secret jails. Subfield offices enter the time and date of custody after the fact, a situation ripe for errors, hinted at in the Schriro report, as well as cover-ups.

Read more here. 

The US has lifted a 22-year immigration ban which has stopped anyone with HIV/Aids from entering the country.

Read more here. 

A green card identifies its holder as a U.S. permanent resident, with rights to enter, exit, work, and live here for their entire life. But before you think about applying, make sure you're eligible under one of the following categories.

Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizens

Immediate relatives include:

• spouses of U.S. citizens, including recent widows and widowers
• unmarried people under age 21 with at least one U.S. citizen parent
• parents of U.S. citizens, if the U.S. citizen child is at least age 21
• stepchildren and stepparents of U.S. citizens, if the marriage creating the stepparent/stepchild relationship took place before the child's 18th birthday, and
• adopted children of U.S, if the adoption took place before the child reached age 16.

A popular Bollywood star was recently detained and questioned for over an hour when he arrived at Newark International Airport. While the law requires Customs and Border Patrol officers to inquire and detain people that they feel may be a threat to national security, most officers are poorly trained for the job. Unfortunately, the guidelines for choosing these individuals do NOT clearly state that you should not treat a celebrity this way, or any high profile figure for that matter. So the poor Customs officer who may not know politics from politico or Brad Pitt from Bruno, unbeknownst to him and those involved, chose a famous Indian celebrity to detain and interrogate.

While it does not reflect well on Homeland Security and airport staff for not keeping up with the latest celebrity hot shot, racial profiling is a divisive and discriminatory practice. It's shameful that so many innocent people are unnecessarily accosted and treated as criminals purely because of their race, creed, or gender. Saying that though, if we the average Joe Plumber are subject to this then why should celebrities be treated any differently? It seems we tend to pay attention to this issue only when it happens to a high profile celebrity or politician. Are they immune from racial profiling? Should they be?

Read the entire article here. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seem to be deporting U.S. citizens without ascertaining their immigration status. ICE has jurisdiction over illegal immigrants but cannot knowingly or intentionally deport or detain U.S. citizens. Legal scholars are noting the vast increase in instances of mishaps which have resulted in U.S. citizens being wrongfully deported or being placed in detention for months until their citizenship has been verified. Sounds like everyone needs to carry their birth certificate in their wallets just like we do a driver's license, so to avoid ICE presumption that we are aliens.  Here's the latest article.

Veloz had to prove his citizenship from behind bars. An aunt helped him track down his father's birth certificate and his own, his parents' marriage certificate, his father's school, military and Social Security records.

After nine months, a judge determined that he was a citizen, but immigration authorities appealed the decision. He was detained for five more months before he found legal help and a judge ordered his case dropped.