Immigration police extort hundreds of millions of baht each year from foreign tourists wanting to extend their stay or change their visa, Deputy Chart Thai party leader Chuwit Kamolvisit says.
The Immigration Bureau was plagued with corruption, he said.
The amount of money demanded varied depending on the tourist's nationality.
Indian, Burmese and Chinese tourists were asked to pay 8,000 baht each if they wanted to renew their visas. Indian tourists wanting to extend their stay for 30 more days would be asked to pay 5,000 baht. The fee climbed to 7,000 baht if a tourist wanted to extend for another 60 days, with Chinese tourists being charged 8,000 baht.
European tourists wanting to renew their visas were charged 1,500 baht each, since they were normally subject to less scrutiny, Mr Chuwit said.
They were also not required to go to the Immigration Bureau or immigration checkpoints, he said.
However, tourists from Asean countries wanting to renew their visas were required to submit requests themselves.
He claimed immigration checkpoints such as Aranyaprathet and Mae Sot checkpoints had to give one million baht a year to central authorities.
Immigration chief Pol Lt-Gen Amarin Niamsakul said Mr Chuwit's remarks undermined the bureau's standing. He threatened to bring a lawsuit against him if Mr Chuwit could not back up his allegations.
Earlier, a Hong Kong tourist complained to a Hong Kong newspaper that immigration police at Don Muang airport demanded 130,000 baht from him when he tried to enter the country last month.
The officers claimed he had left the country after an earlier visit in 2002 without a departure stamp, according to the news report.
Pol Lt-Gen Amarin said his office would liaise with the Thai consulate in Hong Kong and investigate the allegation.
Source: Bangkok Post
Immigration skimming tourist cash
Don't we just love immigration?
I've posted on this before, but after a recent accident and 11 days in hospital, I went to main immigration in Bangkok with a doctor's letter stating i wasn't to travel until that day. I was then 25 days overstay and was still charged 1,900 Baht for my 14 day extension and 5,000 fine for the overstay.
You won't get aroud the overstay even in a coffin
I've posted on this before, but after a recent accident and 11 days in hospital, I went to main immigration in Bangkok with a doctor's letter stating i wasn't to travel until that day. I was then 25 days overstay and was still charged 1,900 Baht for my 14 day extension and 5,000 fine for the overstay.
You won't get aroud the overstay even in a coffin
