Why do expats rely on Facebook groups for visa information about Thailand instead of official sources?

Hi guys, I’m her teammate and I want to ask you something too.

My post still doesn’t get approved, so I decide to comment a question instead.

Here’s a question : What do you think about Thailand’s Visa inquiry?

Thank you for helping me, I’m really grateful.

I like this group because of the interesting questions and the generally sound advice given to questions I may have myself or may have in the future. I like that it can touch on related issues and is not strictly limited to immigration issues. I actually like the other Thai Advice Group as well, where the conversation is more focused on only immigration issues and the tone is more brusque

I find the subject of immigration interesting partly because the official information is often so vague, ambiguous, and even contradictory. Some of that can be attributed to the difference between Thai communication style and that of many western languages. Thai is a high-context language and culture, while English is a low-context language and culture. In Thai one is encouraged to drop things that would be explicitly stated in English if the information can be obtained from the context. For example, subjects are often unstated in Thai sentences because it is "obvious" from the context who or what the subject is.

This tendency to rely on context or an unspoken understanding seems to be carried into official Thai orders and laws. Contrast this with the tendency for everything to be spelled out in English as if it were to be argued about in a court of law (which is often not a bad assumption). In western culture, precision is highly valued, while in Thailand flexibility seems to be more highly prized. This disconnect leads to many misunderstandings as westerners try to comprehend and strictly comply with regulations that are promulgated by people who don't see the necessity to be so precise and prefer to reserve the final interpretation to their own judgment.

>"Why did you choose this group in Facebook as a source of information about getting Visa and other things about Thailand?"

I joined numerous Thailand related groups. The more sources of information, the better.

I've been stuck outside Thailand for nearly 9 months, although not a resident I own a Condo in Phuket that I visit monthly for maybe 5-7 days plus take one or two longer holidays there. To answer your question, I want to get the latest information from a variety of sources, as one thing I'm certain of is that there is no common answer, I've learnt that different Embassies give different responses. I don't believe there is an easy way to get information but at least here it is from a wide base.

As an expat living in Thailand my immigration status is very important to me. I became a member of this group to keep up to date with the latest changes. I do think Government websites could be improved but they will never be as good as groups like this.

I learn a lot from others and I can hopefully pass on a little bit of the knowledge that I have picked up.

I chose this group to keep me updated about thailand STV. Before corona i didnt need visa to visit thailand but with these strict rules i have to keep myself updated

Because the admins in the other Thai visa advce group are cunts.

Why did I choose this group? My friend is the admin here.

If you mean why do we resort to Facebook instead of obtaining information from government website? Government websites are notorious for being out of date. I don't mean a few months or a year, out of date, I mean at times it can be a decade out of date. A country's IT infrastructure and reliance on IT to convey information is a clear indication of how things are run internally, in this case; not well. You know there's a problem when Chonburi's Immigration Office's official email is instead of being or something similar.

Calling in to the various governmental branches is not only frustrating as you get ping-pong balled from one officer to another since no one there has a clue or dare to confirm anything, there is really no alternative that doesn't costs you money.

If I understand your question correctly, I believe you're asking why foreigners/expats need or rely on a Facebook group rather than the government's website for immigration information?

Well for one, most government websites in Thailand are almost never updated. Maybe, the requirements are updated once a year. The "chain of command" in the most branches of the government seems to be very unclear, even to those in it. Somehow there are 100s of immigration commanders, one makes a new rule that applies for 3 days, another makes another that cancels that out. Instead of updating an official source, the government tends to leave it up to the many news paper and media sources to decimate information, which sometimes is different depending on who you read it from.

Take opening a bank account for an example. The law doesn't require anything other than a passport for a foreigner to open a bank account. However each BRANCH of each bank has different requirements for opening an account. Some want rental contracts, some want a specific visa, some want official documents from a foreign embassy. Some, just won't open bank accounts for foreigners.

Having a community group like this allows people to share up-to-date, real time experiences on what is required.

Because I was kicked out of the other group after challenging the moderator and showing he was wrong about non-visa related stuff in another unrelated group. So I joined this one when the admin sent an invite.

The fascination of watching a catastrophe in progress. 😎

Because the information is changing on a weekly, if not daily, basis and the communication from the Thai government is terrible and unreliable. At least on here people post info from there embassies and can get more up to date information and an idea of what’s coming down the road.

The immigration rules are not simple and they differ from province to province.

Could do with decent online applications and clear rules. Until then we need to know whats going on.

Hi Kunlaporn, I have private messaged you ✔️

As someone who is researching global PhD programs, I joined this group in the anticipation of seeking information on the visa process for Thailand.

Also, from one researcher to another, good luck on your research.

Generally speaking the community is well informed. Several individuals in here have experiences that I can learn from. Several individuals can learn from my experiences.

The moderator in this group appreciates community and governs to promote community.

Also there are some ass-hats that I like to troll.

Because the other group that was the place most people went to before, the moderators were rude.