Good Immigration Policy?

In last Novermber, Thailand started a new visa policy to regulate re-entering of migrant workers for a certain period of time

The content of the regulation: "The policy states that one can only stay in Thailand for 90 days in a period of six months, after which one must leave the country and stay outside for another 90 days before they can re-enter."

Reason (1) Screening the movement of foriegners in Thailand: "who is coming and going, for how long, and with what frequency"

Reason (2) Sweeping out ill-mannered foriegn workers who are engaed with "human trafficking, paedophilia, child pornography and so on"

Reason (3) Promoting tougher immigration control on illegal migrant workers without valid status to work or to stay in Thailand

Intention: Doing a "visa run" - crossing one of the borders of Thailand into Burma, Cambodia, Laos or Malaysia is very often. Thailand probably created the new regulation to keep "sociopaths and criminals" away.

Problem: This regulation would hamper some humanitraian activites over borders, because they suffer from regsitration costs or inefficiency or inconveinence of renewal. On the other hand, sociopaths and criminals often shortly stay, and could be engaged with some syndicates, which meas this policy might be be so efficient.

*Oh, I feel headache, when I imagine how much Thailand immigration authorities are struggling with those kinds of criminals.

Resourece: "THAILAND COMMENTARY - NEW VISA REGULATIONS MAY NOT BE WELL THOUGHT OUT," Thai Press Report, November 9, 2006. http://web.lexis-nexis.com/