There has been a lot of conversation in this forum about the way that the Thai immigration authorities have set up the visa system and about how difficult it can be to follow the rules even as they now exist, especially with the recent massive changes to the system.

Many forum members have told about residents in Thailand who contribute both personally and financially to Thailand but who cannot find a reasonable way to stay on here. There are also those who complain about the idiots and hangers-on who detract from the Thai experience and contribute nothing. There have been a lot of comments about those who stay on here with a "tourist" visa but who are really not tourists.

I'm curious... If you had the authority to set up the visa system any way you wanted, AND if you wanted to maximize the good and minimize the bad aspects of this for the greater good of Thailand, what would you do? How would you define visa caegories, requirements and restrictions to attain this end? Is it possible to simplify and improve on the existing laws?

I know I'm risking getting a lot of rants and stories about the way things are now, but that's not what I'm asking for. I know that there are many intelligent and thoughtful forum members who may have already thought about this question. Maybe this needs a "zero based" approach?

Moderators: Maybe this thread is in the wrong area, if so, please feel free to move it to an appropriate area!