Thailand will tighten visa rules next month to stop foreigners from 39 countries from working illegally and crack down on criminals using it as a haven, immigration police said on Friday.

Under the new rules, visitors from countries on the privileged country list will be allowed to renew the 30-day tourist visa they can get on arrival twice in Thailand.

Many foreign tourists who enjoy such privileges now cross into neighboring Cambodia, Myanmar or Laos to renew their visas, often on the same day, Immigration Police chief Lieutenant General Suwat Tumrongsiskul told reporters.

Under the new rules, once they have used up their maximum 90 days in Thailand, they will have to go abroad to get a 60-day visa which will not be renewable in Thailand.

The changes are most likely to affect people working on tourist visas, such as Westerners teaching English, Filipina maids and Japanese and Europeans who own small businesses in Thailand but have no work permits, police said.

"The system has been abused for such a long time. We have fugitives staying in Thailand, laundering money or they act as mafias in Pattaya, Phuket or Samui," Suwat said in reference to three beach resort towns popular with foreigners.

These places have gained reputations as Asia's "Costa del Crime" -- the nickname given in the 1980s to the Spanish Costa del Sol due to the presence of many high-profile British fugitives.

Drawn from as far afield as Western Europe, Russia and China by the widespread availability of false documents, as well as cheap sex and beer, such mafias exist in part because of lax law enforcement and corrupt officers.

The 39 affected countries include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Greece, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and most of Thailand's nine Southeast Asian neighbours.

The new rules, drawn up by immigration police over the past year, will take effect more than a month after the arrest in Bangkok of American teacher John Mark Karr, suspected of killing a child beauty queen in the United States 10 years ago.

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