PHUKET?S Immigration Superintendent, Pol Col Chanatpol Yongbunjerd, is confident that 2009 will be a good year for Phuket.

?The political troubles of last year are behind us, and we are positive that tourist faith in Phuket will be restored,? he said.

The airport closures which caused havoc across the Kingdom, resulted in scores of tourists coming into the Phuket immigration office to ask about penalties for overstaying their visas.

?We simply passed on the directive from Bangkok that there would be no extra visa charges or penalties for people who had to delay their flights because of the airport closures,? he said.

Col Chanatpol said a range of new immigration rules were designed to bring tourists back to Thailand.

He said the 15-day extensions at land borders were good for tourism, despite wide ranging criticism that it sent a message to tourists that they were ?not wanted?.

?Before the new rules came in, tourists could only stay for 30 days up to a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period,? he said.

?We are not stopping legitimate tourists from staying here, but we are trying to make it difficult for people who come here on tourist visas and then work here.?

Col Chanatpol said there was no limit to the number of times a visitor could renew his 15 day visa.

?He could make a visa run to the border every 15 days, but it would be very expensive,? he said.

Previously tourists were given 30-day visas at the border, and could only stay in Thailand for a maximum of 90 days out of every 180 days.

At the end of the 90 days, they would have to stay away from Thailand for another 90 days before they would be allowed back in.

This rule was abolished when the 15-day rule was introduced.

He said tourists arriving by air would still be given 30 day visas.

?If people want to come here and work, then we want them to get the correct visa,? he said.

Pol. Captain Napat Nusen, the Head Supervisor at the Phuket Immigration office, said police order 778/2551 which was issued on November 25 last year, officially cut the 30 day tourist visa issued at land border crossings to 15 days.

He said the new regulation was designed to make it more difficult for the thousands of foreigners who live and work in Thailand without getting the proper visas.

?Many people who come to work in Thailand do not apply for their non-immigrant visas and obtain the correct status,? he said.

?They have been abusing the visa system by doing visa runs to the nearest land border every 30 days to extend their visas.

?This is not acceptable and we are doing something to stop them from doing it,? he said.

Captain Napat said new rules were being discussed to abolish visa fees for 60 day tourist visas issued at Thai embassies overseas, but the Prime Minister had not yet given the official order.

A 60 day tourist visa currently costs ?28 in the UK, $35 in the US, and $45 in Australia.

Col. Chanatpol who has worked at Don-Muang Airport Immigration, and at the Chiang Mai immigration office, said there were many differences between Phuket and Chiang Mai.

?There are more tourists moving through Phuket, and the cost of living here is higher, but there are a lot more challenges,? he said.

He said the Phuket Immigration Office was much more accessible to tourists than immigration offices in other parts of the Kingdom.

?We also have more than 30 volunteers from Spain, England, Italy and Australia to help tourists with questions about visas and visa extensions,? he said.

Captain Napat said that last year, almost 7000 non immigrant B (work) and O (retirement) visas were extended.

He said as from the beginning of December last year, foreigners wanting a one year visa for the purpose of marriage had to prove they had either at least 400,000 baht in the bank or a minimum monthly income of 40,000 baht.

Captain Napat said most unsuccessful visa applications were denied because the documentation had not been completed correctly.

?We advise people who are on an ?O? visa to visit the Phuket office a month before their old visa expires, to make sure everything is in order,? he said.

Before the new regulations came into force, couples incomes were assessed jointly, but under the new rules, foreigners need to have an income that authorities deem to be ?acceptable?.

Captain Napat said, so far, very few foreign applicants had not met the new criteria.

Last year?s ?top ten? nationalities living long-term in Phuket on non-immigrant O or B visas included: 2722 Britons, 1390 Italians, 1387 Swedes, 1232 French, 1252 Germans, 1018 Americans, 875 Filipinos, 857 Australians, 847 Swiss, and 586 Canadians