Fair rules for all

Re: ‘‘Visa Discrimination’’ (PostBag, July 27).

So Kom Kris, a Thai citizen, got a taste of what it is like to deal with not-so-friendly officers when he was trying to secure a Schengen visa.

We, long-term residents of this country, get such a taste every three months when we are forced, like criminals on parole, to report our current residential address to our provincial immigration bureau.

We go through the same thing again, on a yearly basis, when we request an extension of stay allowing us to reside in this country for another year, never knowing if the rules may suddenly change, if they will demand an increase to the bank deposit of 800,000 baht which must sit idle in an account for at least three months before we make our request, or if an additional copy of an obscure document will suddenly be sought by the officer on duty. Welcome aboard, sir.

As for your question as to why residents of Schengen countries are granted a visa to Thailand upon arrival, the most likely reason is that not too many of these visitors will try to remain illegally after their visit, although the reverse is certainly a very strong possibility.

As Kom Kris is suggesting ‘‘equality’’, I would certainly not mind if all Thai citizens residing abroad were forced to report to immigration every three months as I do here, and not just in the Schengen countries, but also in my country of origin Canada.

MICHEL BARRE