Thai Immigration caught asking for bribes on hidden camera

For people that have lived here for a while, and I haven't even been here terribly long, it is very well known that the police force is very corrupt and they all pad their salaries by way of seeking out bribes. This money travels upstream, meaning that the low level or rookie cops can expect to receive very little of this money and street cops are likely pulling money in for higher ranking officers. Big earners get promoted to higher positions and in that capacity the police force functions more like the mafia than it does actual law enforcement.

This is just the way that it is here and in many ways I prefer it because it is very easy to get out of something minor like a traffic violation if you are willing to pay a bit of money. The average Thai person is so accustommed to it being this way that for the most part people don't complain about it anymore and because of the level of connection it provides, being a police officer is a highly sought out position despite the rather low salary the positions provides.

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This bribe process happens and immigration frequently as well but you might not be made aware of it right at first since it seems to apply only to people who have been going to immigration for a while, such as long-term residents or those who are allowed to legally continue having a visa, but the process is complicated. It is also possible to get pretty much any visa you want extended, even if you are not entitled to it, for a "fee."

However, since the spotlight is on every country including this one during these times when people simply can not return to their home countries and visa amnesty is being offered around the globe, I guess it is being watched a bit closer.

Recently a video emerged online that shows an immigration officer saying that "in order to speed up the processing of the visa, the foreigner needed to pay 20,000 Baht, the officer is then seen putting this money into his pocket. This took place at Nonthaburi Immigration and the foreigner in question had all the necessary paperwork for the visa and was entitled to it. This is likely what inspired him to film it.

I would imagine that Immigration officers are hurting financially as much as anyone else during Covid is suffering and this is the reason why the bribe is so high. Go after the outsiders first I suppose.

Officials in the police force expressed disappointment in the two officers that were involved and a spokesperson showed shock and surprise that police officers would do something like this, stating: “The people must be able to rely on the police and officials must not act like thieves by using their power in the wrong way.”

This is probably the most amusing part of it but I understand that whoever said that HAS to say that. But the fact of the matter is that everyone knows this sort of thing goes on at every police station and immigration office around the country. It wouldn't surprise me if the person who provided that quote was in on it.