South Korea has regulated rules for Thais who want to visit the country. The tourists have been asked to prepare the accepted necessary documents along with a detailed travel plan. The stringent laws asked to check the illegal immigration of the Thai people in the country.
The Thai Embassy in Seoul issued an announcement saying the number of Thais entering illegally into South Korea has increased and is the reason why immigration authorities are refusing entry to several Thai tourists upon arrival in South Korea.
Visa-free entry was allowed by the Korean law for all Thai passport holders as Thailand was an ally during the Korean War. Thailand allows 90 days entry visa-free to holders of South Korean passports.
Unfortunately, some Thais have exploited the visa-free entry where they exceeded their stay over 90 days, as reported by the embassy.
Citing statistics from the South Korean immigration office, it has been send that a total of 52,435 Thais were staying illegally in South Korea which is about 58.1% of the total 90,235 Thais staying there.
The trend has kept rising and it has become necessary for immigration authorities to take steps to reduce the number of illegal migrants. However, with the introduction of voluntary repatriation to Thailand, 8,402 illegal migrants have agreed to return to the kingdom.
The suspected tourists who seem to intend staying more than 90 days and work illegally is a strict measure. The Thai tourists are requested to include round-trip air tickets, hotel reservations, and sufficient funds for the duration of their stay, and travel itineraries to the immigration officials, if they request.
