A Filipino national was denied his Non-B visa application on July 12, 2018 at Royal Thai Consulate General in Penang, Malaysia after he was not able to provide an NBI clearance from the Philippines when an officer asked him to.

“Dito me sa Penang now for my Non-B pero I was denied kasi wala akong NBI clearance from the Philippines, new rule daw sabi noong nasa counter na Thai consulate, this Monday plan kong pumunta sa Bangkok para makakuha ng NBI clearance”, said in a message sent to PinoyThaiyo by the said OFW who is also a community leader in Phuket. He has been working in Thailand since 2011.

(I’m here now in Penang for my Non-B but my application was denied because I didn’t have the NBI Clearance from the Philippines. This is a new rule according to the person at the counter. I plan to go to Bangkok on Monday to get an NBI clearance)

He added that he already has an NBI clearance from the Royal Thai Police in Phuket and all the documents for Non-B except the NBI clearance from the Philippines. The rest of the Filipinos with him who were also applying for Non-B were approved because they were able to present  NBI clearances both from Thailand and the Philippines.

“Meron akong NBI clearance galing sa Thai police from Phuket pero wala nga lang NBI clearance, so I was denied with all my documents for Non-B except the NBI clearance at nabigyan lang ako ng one month sa border,” he said.

A Philippine Embassy official in Bangkok said that they have not received any official letter from the Thai government requiring Filipinos who are applying for Non-B to get both NBI clearances from the Philippines and Thailand. The same sentiment was aired by the Philippine Honorary Consulate in Chiang Mai.

Meanwhile, Filipinos applying for Non-B in Laos are required to bring Police Clearance from the Royal Thai Police with the applicant’s school name in it according to Madelaine Kanjanakunya of Meesuk Travel Agency.

“Sa Lao kailangan ng police clearance din kaya lang dapat nakalagay iyong pangalan ng school niya sa may police clearance niya”, said Madeline or Ate Madz, the Filipino owner of Meesuk Travel Agency in Bangkok.