Saudi Arabia did not revoke visas for all Thai nationals: officials

"Saudi Arabia revokes all visas of Thai people," reads part of the text overlaid on a video posted on TikTok on December 4, 2023. The video has been viewed over 320,000 times.

The post alleges the Saudi government announced the move after some Thai nationals abducted by Hamas were released and returned to Thailand wearing shirts with the Israeli flag.

Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on October 7, leading to the death of about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Militants also seized about 250 hostages, 129 of whom remain in captivity, Israel says.

Thailand's foreign affairs ministry says 32 Thai nationals had been abducted and 23 had been released.

In retaliation for the bloody Hamas attack, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that have killed at least 21,100 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Image

Screenshot of the false post, captured on December 25, 2023

Posts that similarly claim Saudi Arabia had revoked visas for all Thais have also been shared on Facebook here and here.

These posts say the released Thai hostages wearing shirts with the Israeli flag risks irking the Saudi government which had condemned Israeli forces' actions in Gaza.

Saudi Arabia and Thailand had only recently announced renewed diplomatic ties in January 2022.

The countries were embroiled in a decades-long feud dubbed the "Blue Diamond Affair" that began when Thai-born janitor Kriangkrai Techamong stole $20 million worth of precious gems in 1989 from the home of a Saudi prince.

Riyadh sent a businessman to investigate in 1990 but he disappeared in Bangkok days after three Saudi diplomats were shot dead in the city.

Thai police later returned some of the jewels but Saudi officials claimed most were fakes, while the whereabouts of the most precious gem -- a rare 50-carat blue diamond -- remains unknown.

Kriangkrai served five years in jail over the jewel theft and sold most of the gems before his arrest. He became a monk in 2016.

However, multiple officials dismissed the posts circulating online.

No visa revocation

A representative for the Thai embassy in Riyadh told AFP on December 20: "The claim that Saudi Arabia has revoked all visas for Thais is not true."

Around 8,700 Thai nationals are living in the Middle Eastern kingdom, the representative added.

Thailand's foreign ministry separately issued a statement addressing the claim on December 8 through the Anti-Fake News Center Thailand website (archived link).

"There is no announcement about the visa revocation as claimed," the statement said.

A search on the website and X account of the Saudi embassy in Bangkok found no trace of such an announcement (archived here and here).

Moreover, Thailand remains listed among countries whose citizens are eligible for an electronic visa on the Saudi portal here as of December 28, 2023 (archived link).

The visitor visa is valid for tourism and leisure, business trips and participation in events, visiting family and relatives and participating in the Umrah (archived link).

The Gaza war has sparked a wave of global misinformation, the most viral of which have been debunked by AFP here.