Fine For Not Carrying Your Passport

[britainmal]

Two months ago I was stopped by the traffic police for not having my passport on me. They said that the law is all foreigners must carry their passports or face 3000 baht fine or a month in prison. <At least he gave a choice > I ended seltting the matter by giving them 1500 baht because I think the two traffic police were just looking to make money and do not no the law because I never saw them again and further more they wanted me to give them my ATM card to withdraw the money themselves,which I laughed in there face and said no. After I went to ATM to withdrawl the money myself they took the money and ran away from their police job.

[ProThaiExpat]

Please clarify. They wouldn't have known you didn't have your passport when they stopped you in the first instance. What was the reason for the original stop?

Were you walking, motorbike, car? Are you sure they were bona fide policemen?

Where was it that this happened? Time of day?

[Axel]

britainmal, do me a favour please. This is a web-board, no place for fairy tales.

[natee1]

Anybody else come across fake Thai police?

I know this scam has been going in Manila for years. Were the guys in uniform?

[britainmal]

No, I am not making this up Axiel. Actually, I was in a cab and they were standing on the cornor and they stopped the cab. They said, "Where are you going and can I see your passport." Yes, They had uniform on. They also

said there was

a muder that occured in the area and they were checking foreigners for their passport because it is required by Thai law. I spoke to them in Thai ,so I don't know how good thier English was. It was two police officers on Motocycle and it happened around 4:00 in the afternoon. I personally think they were common corupt Thai traffic cops looking to make money illegally ,like is the common practice here in Bangkok.

What does everybody else think?

[george]

I am not aware of any "fixed fine" for not carrying your passport. If someone would fine you it would be Immigration, not traffic police IMHO.

A rip off I would say.

[britainmal]

I would like to know if someboby knows the exact law dealing with my past situation?

[marks]

britainmal, a little over a year ago i was stopped by a thai policeman while on my way home. it was at a traffic stop. he was waving some cars past and stopping others. he stopped me and asked for my passport.

i never carry my passport because i'm terrified of it being lost or stolen. luckily, i had followed one of trink's reccommendations and had a copy of the face page and visa stamp. close enough said the copper and waved me on my way.

what would have happened had i not had the copy with me? no idea. perhaps a fine or a trip to the station, i really can't say. i strongly urge all foreigners in thailand to carry a copy of the face page and visa stamp with them at all times. it can avoid a lot of trouble.

marks

[Yohan]

britainmal, a little over a year ago i was stopped by a thai policeman while on my way home. it was at a traffic stop. he was waving some cars past and stopping others. he stopped me and asked for my passport.

i never carry my passport because i'm terrified of it being lost or stolen. luckily, i had followed one of trink's reccommendations and had a copy of the face page and visa stamp. close enough said the copper and waved me on my way.

what would have happened had i not had the copy with me? no idea. perhaps a fine or a trip to the station, i really can't say. i strongly urge all foreigners in thailand to carry a copy of the face page and visa stamp with them at all times. it can avoid a lot of trouble.

marks

I do exactly the same. Beside that, I am using my Japanese Permanent Resident ID card...it is similar size to a Thai ID, shows my picture, signature, date of birth, passport-number, and is in English and Japanese (Chinese characters) -

and also the Japanese driving licence and the international driving licence. And the Citibank creditcard, which has also signature and picture ....

Yes, I had some few checks by police, (especially in South Thailand) but never any problem - I think, they want to see any identification paper....my passport and airticket are locked in a safety box. Never with me, when going out.

Johann

[britainmal]

I thank everybody for giving me advice and telling me their stores,but I do need to know if there is a fine involved. I would like to know if somebody knows the Thai law specfically on if there is a fine involved or not. What the amount is? All Thai laws experts please assist me.

[RedHong]

I was once walking to the market with the wife, in Bangkok, and there was one of those mass motorcycle stops going on. Walking past them, one of the officers asked for my passport and let the wife walk back to the house to get it. He was very friendly about it, warned me that I should be carrying it and didn't mention a fine. Since then I have done as others have mentioned and carried a copy. Never been asked for it again though.

[thaimee]

I would also like to know if there is a penalty for forgetfullness,

A sorta similar story to share...

About one year ago, Thailand started it's mission on eradicating hard drugs in the Kingdom...

Arriving at Pattaya Bus Station some 12 month's previous, I was greeted by an entourage of Film crew member's, Thai Drug Enforcement officers and an Arab-foreign looking Translator.

I was asked to produce my bag. I showed them a bottle of mineral water and half an eaten bannana. They seemed peeved and taken a back. Probably as much as I was, but I had a copy of my passport and they didn't take if further such as as a fine/ penalty or even imprisonment...

The ''Nazi'' foreign translator I mentioned was sizing my state and well being on that afternoon. I thought they over played the debacle considering I was polite and smartly dressed. Anywyas I did show a laminated copy of my passport and thankfully a copy of an up-to-date entry stamp. No action was taken...

Technically in the clear...but it didn't stop there as I was questioned for a further two minutes with the film crew lurking in the background, no doubt egging me on, being asked how I was able to sustain a pleasurable existence in Thailand.

That was a wake up call. I try not to forget at least a photocopy of my passport.

Perhaps the best thing to do is carry a colour laminated copy of your Passport.

Thaimee.

[britainmal]

You are required to show your Identification to an Police officer or government officer only. Nobody else. The mystery is what is the fine for forgeting?

[PvtDick]

If you paid a fine directly to a police officer outside of a police station and did not get a proper receipt, then you were just being squeezed. I have no idea what the "official" fine is for not carrying ID.

[unbiasbob]

Two months ago I was stopped by the traffic police for not having my passport on me. They said that the law is all foreigners must carry their passports or face 3000 baht fine or a month in prison. <At least he gave a choice > I ended seltting the matter by giving them 1500 baht because I think the two traffic police were just looking to make money and do not no the law because I never saw them again and further more they wanted me to give them my ATM card to withdraw the money themselves,which I laughed in there face and said no. After I went to ATM to withdrawl the money myself they took the money and ran away from their police job.

Dude, you were scammed

[thaimee]

Dude, you were scammed

Does this mean Thai's turn to Scam's? Sounds like it, I raised this point in the Pattaya Secion not so long ago without credible response.

Anyone interested in sharing their experiences please view the topic and discuss.

Thaimee.

[astral]

I am not aware of any "fixed fine" for not carrying your passport. If someone would fine you it would be Immigration, not traffic police IMHO.

A rip off I would say.

All people, Thai's included, are required to carry ID.

The Thai ID card is the ideal, but generally a Thai driving licence will do.

For us it is the Passport.

Any policeman can ask to see it, but they rarely do.

In the cases I have heard of the person was told, produce ID

or stay in a cell until someone brings your passport!!

I have scanned the First and ID pages of my passport on my computer,

colour printed them credit card size and laminated as an ID card.

I suggest others do the same.

Alternatively just a photocopy should suffice.

[udon]

Sorry to tell you folks but the 3000B fine is set in concrete. It is the law!

However, if you go to the cop shop with the MiB , they will be pissed off as they get nothing out of it..... you get a receipt!

So, this is what they want: min 500b and you are on yr way. Easy, peasy...

Quote! "Alternatively just a photocopy should suffice." WRONG!

From now on CARRY YOUR PASSPORT AT ALL TIMES. Not a copy!

[george]

Sorry to tell you folks but the 3000B fine is set in concrete. It is the law!

Cna you give us a pointer to your source, please!

[britainmal]

The traffic cops said the law was 3000 baht or one month in prison if you don't carry your passport. Well, the two jerks I encountered. I paid 1500 baht instead and he could not give a receipt because I paid less then the fine he stated. I would like to if somebody has a Thai Law book to challenge what those two jerks said.

[Pink Mist]

Can anyone give the definitive answer, to whether carrying a photocopy is an acceptible alternative to a passport please.

A previous poster suggested that he had reduced it to "ID" size and laminated it, I thought what a great idea and if this is legal will do same but dont want it to be a waste of time.

[britainmal]

Udon, What are sources to that information?

[bangsaen bob]

If you really want to know, call Immigration Police and ask them.

Advise, carry a copy of all relevant pages with you.

[britainmal]

I did and they said they don't know.

[ProThaiExpat]

More of the same, ie. each "official" does it his own way. For those not in full compliance, 500baht is a wonderful escape. Laminated copies might work with some, not others, we all pretty much know this, just hate the inconsistency.

Short of carrying your passport with you at all times, there is always a risk of something happening to you from paying your way out to jail.

T I T.

Non-related example, Chiang Mai immigration, one year extention this morning.

Got photocopies of passport from copy girl, she should know what to copy, right?, she does it all the time.

First immigration officer made a neat list of additional pages of passport required so back to copy girl.

Final review from police Captain and another page required to be copied. Back to copy girl with a loud "Aiee" which brought a laugh at least. Incidently, the last photocopy was of a visa stamp three years old and marked "used".

Whole process only took 45 minutes, a new record for a visit to immigration for a one year extention for me. Mai pen rai.

[ambassador]

I have a photocopy of my passport ID page on me at all times: I once had to produce it after being fined for dropping a cigarette end on KaoSan rd and the boys in brown were satisfied with it.

Infuriating though that the cigerette had cost me 1,000 and even more so that there a very few public rubbish bins on Kaosan but that's another topic for another thread.

[maerim]

Infuriating though that the cigerette had cost me 1,000

It's true, smoking can damage your wealth.

[kenk3z]

Well, what do I know - but I'll tell you what I do.

I carry my real passport at all times and keep a photocopy locked up in the room.

If I lose the passport my embassy can work with the photocopy to get a replacement for me.

The result - fully legal at all times.

If I were a corrupt cop I'd be stopping every foreigner I saw. Expect it to get worse.

kenk3z

[udon]

My source? One of the top guys at Suan Plu Immi Dept.

He was embarrassed to admit that Traffic and Met guys were giving Immi cops a bad name by hassleing expats.

It is an old law but it's very real. and very enforceable!

I used to carry a copy of my pport but no longer.

It seems that the Traffic and Met MiB are running low on ripoffs so this is a nice little earner for them as few visitors/expats, carry their pports at ALL times.

[ProThaiExpat]

As a post script to my prior post, I found the following on ThaiImmigration.com from a frebruary post:

"A very good posting. Thanks a lot .

I’ll try to answer your question as how it is according to the Law, but this is, I’m afraid, not always how things are performed in practice, so don’t hang me if you experience different.

1. It is mentioned somewhere that all foreigners (not only tourists) have to carry their passport with them all the time during their stay in the Kingdom. It has further today been confirmed to me by both Police and Immigration.

It's not a special "Thai Rule" though. I have have worked and lived in several countries around Asia, and in all those countries they had exactly same rule. Also in Europe (EU) that's a must.

2. The reason why we have to do it is simple: All Thai citizens got an ID card, which they have to carry with them all the time. We do not have such ID card, so instead we must carry our passport as identification.

3. - Immigration Police in Thailand is divided into 4 divisions, each responsible for their special area. Only one special task force under Immigration Division 3 are allowed to stop foreigners and check their passports and/or visas:

“The Investigation and interrogation group is a subdivision level unit under Division 3 which report direct to the Commissioner and is responsible for the inspection of illegal aliens, investigation and suppression of violators against the Immigration or Anti-White Slavery Laws and other criminal offences which lead to illegal immigration”. (Source: http://www.imm3.police.go.th/eng/index.html).

- Immigration Officers working at the Immigration Offices has no authority to go out and check foreigners’ passports/visas, not even if they have knowledge about irregularities. They must report it to Division 3, who then sends staff to investigate it.

- The ordinary Police, including Traffic Police, are authorized to ask you to identify your self. But they have no authority what so ever when it comes to checking your visa.

- The Tourist Police is a special task force established to service and help tourists. Many think their job is to keep an eye on tourists, but that is completely wrong. They have no authority to stop tourists just to ask for their ID or check their visa.

4. To your last question, if photocopies will do, I can only answer that it’s not legally accepted as genuine identification, so it would be up to the officer who wants to check you whether he will accept it or not.

I do hope this answers your questions. Otherwise please let us know."

The advice I will follow is contained in this thread, "Carry your passport, keep a copy of it at home for use in the rare event you need to replace your passport"