Visa-vamps: Vietnamese sex workers steal Bangkok spotlight
Foreign prostitutes now outnumber locals in shocking shift
Vietnamese sex workers have taken over the streets of Bangkok, with a bombshell report revealing there are now more of them plying their trade in Thailand than Thai prostitutes, and it’s all thanks to the kingdom’s easy-entry visa system.
Channel 7 News lifted the lid on the capital’s growing sex-for-sale scandal, pointing the finger at generous tourist visa policies that have allowed scores of Vietnamese women to flood in, only to end up blatantly selling sex on the streets.
A field investigation by the 7HD team took them to Soi Nana 4, a notorious hotspot, where women, both Thai and foreign, were openly lining the streets offering their services. The team posed as tour guides and approached one of the women, who quoted a price of 1,700 baht. When they attempted to haggle her down to 1,000 baht, she refused, and confirmed she was from Vietnam.
Far from isolated, this scene is playing out nightly. A clip aired by the channel even showed a desperate message urging police to step in, claiming “the alley is already full.”
Despite the clear visuals and eyewitness accounts, a Crime Suppression Division (CSD) spokesperson admitted they were in the dark.
“This is the first time we’ve had hard evidence of Vietnamese women working the streets. Our records show most of them operate online. We’ve now ordered Division 1 to investigate urgently.”
On the ground, locals, including tuk tuk drivers, confirmed the surge in foreign sex workers. While the law remains firm that prostitution is illegal in Thailand regardless of nationality, the increase in street-based solicitation has sparked concern.
Police Major General Witthawat Chinkam, Commander of Metropolitan Police Bureau 5, offered a different view. He said most foreign women come on standard three-to-five month tourist visas and are lured into the trade by friends or word of mouth, not organised brokers.
“Many have come here because someone they know told them they could make money. But that doesn’t make it legal. Police have been cracking down continuously.”
While the police scramble to catch up, the red-light reality is already out in the open, and it’s not just Thai women selling sex anymore.
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