Maybe next time don’t try and get a visa more quickly. Hard on them though when it wasn’t really their fault.
"Tragedy for dozens of Swiss: an honorary consul falsified their visa applications, depriving them of entry to Thailand for 99 years! Worse still, some of them have been imprisoned in the Southeast Asian country because of these fraudulent schemes.
They love Thailand, but now find themselves banished from its territory for nearly a century. The reason: the acquisition of their visa through an honorary consul with fraudulent methods. These fifty Swiss people, who say they are innocent, share their story with Blick.
Beat W., who has already visited the Southeast Asian country 20 times, was alerted by the Swiss embassy after his last visit. He then learns that he is on a Thai blacklist and that he was lucky not to have been arrested when he left.
Franz L. was less fortunate. The 77-year-old Swiss spent eight days in detention pending deportation. He shared a space with 300 other inmates, sleeping on the floor. In the end, he had to pay 8,000 francs to regain his freedom, as reported by “Blick”.
Falsified visas
Blick identified 48 other Swiss citizens who had been banned from entering Thailand for 99 years.
Swiss citizens banned from Thailand obtained their visas through the Honorary Consul of Thailand in Dornbirn, Austria. According to “Blick”, they did so to avoid the trip to the Thai embassy in Bern.
The honorary consul, who has since been relieved of his duties by Thailand, wanted to speed up the visa process. With this in mind, he substituted the Swiss address for an Austrian address. This would have allowed the visas to be issued in Vienna rather than Bern. But the Thai embassy quickly detected erroneous information and sanctioned not only the honorary consul, but also the Swiss who traveled with the falsified visas.
FDFA intervenes, Thailand maintains its position
Thailand’s ban particularly affects the couple formed by Iris and Viktor G. Their son has lived in Thailand for more than 20 years, is married and has one child. Viktor G. suffers from severe rheumatism, which is why they have been spending the winter with relatives in Thailand for a long time.
If Thailand maintains its decision, the G., like the other Swiss, will never be able to travel to the Southeast Asian country again.
The dismissed honorary consul admitted his mistakes and expressed regret in the “Blick”, also striving to make amends for the damage caused. He is convinced that the Thai authorities know that the Swiss are not responsible for these falsified visa applications. In this way, he tries to convince them to remove the sanctioned persons from the blacklist. To no avail so far…
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has announced that it has made increasing requests to the Thai authorities to lift the ban. Further interventions are planned in the coming weeks, reports “Blick”."
