No passport required: Phuket Immigration confirms ‘passport on person’ not required despite ’Operation X-Ray Outlaw Foreigner’

[9653]

11 hours ago, ukrules said:

I don't believe a word these people say. I never carry my passport around with me anyway.

...but you have a Thai drivers license to show if your ID is required! 

[lvr181]

Unsurprisingly, it seems that all Govt departments and levels within, seem to have their own interpretations of regulations and laws. And will, therefore dispense the law to suit themselves (and maybe their pockets as well)!? ????

[Classic Ray]

6 hours ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

World wide you need to be able to identify your self by some kind of Id. ( passport or copy, driver license )

That would be a better statement then no passport on person needed.

Not in the UK, no obligation to carry any documents with you, even when driving. Passport only needed if you leave the UK, but not needed yet for Ireland.

[NoshowJones]

7 hours ago, bluesea said:

Hey Thai Visa want to get a good Story!! why not publish the do's and Dont"s in Thailand like this story also Immigration fees for all services including Certificate of residence so we know where we all officially stand Throughout the Kingdom of Thailand not just from one Office.

This may stop everyone assuming what is correct or a Maybe give us the Facts.

You mean you don't know that different Immigration offices make up their own rules?

How long have you lived in Thailand?

[DUNROAMIN]

same old samo, with Thai government left hand does'nt know what the right hand is doing. Who would be silly enough to carry around your passport in Thailand.

 

[sambum]

1 hour ago, Torrens54 said:

In 30+ years of visiting and/or living in Thailand I have never been asked by Police for, let alone pressured to show my Passport. (Once when I jumped a Red Light, a very Courteous Cop who pulled me up, asked to see and was shown my Thai MDL.)

Sure, at Airports, Immigration, Hotels etc, you expect to present your Passport and other I.D., as may be required.

 

Even the literally HUNDREDS of Media and Travel Industry people I have brought to Thailand and travelled extensively with, have NEVER been given a Hard Time by ANY OFFICIALS.

 

one time, departing from Phuket for Australia with a TV Crew, a Customs Officer was needed to “Sign Out” our Camera Gear.

It was early in the morning and No one was available to Sign the All- Important Customs Document.  

 

However, the problem was quickly resolved when I produced a Photograph of me and the Minister For Tourism, having lunch at one of his Restaurants.

I suggested I should phone him at his home to sort, out the matter. Within minutes, a Customs man showed-up with Stamp In Hand and “Cleared the Equipment.”

 

Leads me to wonder if those who delight in having a Whinge, “Dream Up” these “sutuations.” Get your Hand Off It Fellas !

Reason for Edit - Correcting Typos

 

Ooops! - missed one - "sutuations" ("situations"?) 

[Media1]

15 hours ago, ukrules said:

I don't believe a word these people say. I never carry my passport around with me anyway.

me to never a Thai licence has my passport number

[alexlm]

Never carried my passport.

Never had any problem.

In 4 years.

[The Deerhunter]

All the tourist areas have shops that will make you a credit card sized laminated colour miniature with one side being the front page of your PP and the other side being the page with your visa or long-stay extension stamp.  Get them to make 2 or 3 copies.  I keep one in my wallet, one in my usual day/pack-man/bag and one in my wife's wallet so I am always covered.  It is a ridiculously cheap once a year expense.  You then could present your original passport later if ever required but they all seem to be happy with the laminated colour miniature.

[Lupatria]

...and tomorrow's order is: "Paddle backwards I hear banjos."

[Sydebolle]

And then they wonder why quality tourists stay away. There is not a single European country with such idiotic ideas like mandatory passport requirement which can be bent by the provincial clowns at will. 
The Royal Thai Police would be much better advised to do proper road checks and hunt for all those Thai crooks which roam the Kingdom 24/7, stealing, raping and ransacking each other. But hunting Caucasians/dark skinned Southasians is of course easier simply because of their skin; racism at its very best! 

[the guest]

The law is very clear everyone must carry ID, if not, you can be arrested. 

[LivinginKata]

55 minutes ago, the guest said:

The law is very clear everyone must carry ID, if not, you can be arrested. 

 

 Including Thais. Must carry ID.

[ujayujay]

16 hours ago, YetAnother said:

that 1979 law is idiocy; 90 day reporting (they have other means to know where we are), re-entry permits (totally superfluous; the extension stamp already does that), requiring more money for a single person (retirement) than for multiple (marriage) and on and on

90 Days Report have nothing to do with Thai Gouverment. This is a bilateral Agreement between most european  Countrys and some others with Thailand, to keep they're Citizens abroad in the Eye.

[Wake Up]

12 hours ago, ZaZa999 said:

I wonder if I can get a refund for the 2000 baht ‘fine’ I paid to a police officer in Phuket, after he demanded to see my ‘original’ passport, and would not accept the copy I carried, along with my original THAI driving license..? He also threatened me with jail, and delayed me by over an hour..! 

Probably not a cop. 

[NamKangMan]

55 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

 

 Including Thais. Must carry ID.

 

So issue long stay foreigners with an ID Card, for a considerable fee, of course. 

 

They are missing a good opportunity to extract more money out of foreigners.  ????

 

[Shaunduhpostman]

Give me a break. Ridiculous article and irresponsible because people new to Thailand who don't know any better may take this rather bad advice seriously and not  carry their passports with them. Obviously our consulates and embassies did not issue us passports expecting us to carry them around with us at all times, but in practice and in law that's how it has worked in Thailand for quite awhile, to my knowledge. The law hasn't been changed and the way things are now you can bet  attitudes have not changed. Seems the police are actually advising us to break Thai law. Glad the Russian embassy has the sense to tell its citizens they ought to carry their passports. "No passport No promplem!" Yeah right. Me? I carry my passport and a few other things that are important in a  pouch inside my clothing. I attach the pouch every time I step out, and  it is not a hassle to do that in the slightest. In 22 years, my passport has never fallen out, been stolen  or been damaged. So for me there is never any reason not to carry my passport when in Thailand. Anyone who has been here for a few years knows that there is nothing regular about how the law is enforced. Not having your passport and meeting the wrong situation with the wrong officers  is well known to be a ticket to the station and maybe even several days in jail, loss of a not insignificant amount of money etc.  So what has suddenly changed, that we don't need to carry our passports? Nothing. Nothing that is being reported here. Just that there is an operation X-Ray crackdown on foreigners going on, but in total contradiction to the spirit of all that we are supposed to trust that actually now they are going to be lenient about the sometimes enforced law? No contradiction here. Whats mean contradiction? No understand contradiction, sorry.  It is also not unknown that people will be told by the police, "A copy is no good." Its your word against his and how far do you think your word is going to go down at a cops' station in Thailand? People have been charged for counterfeiting passports in some cases in Bangkok for having a copy of their own passport  if I remember correctly. Again what has changed? Here I keep my passport photocopies at home should I lose my passport and bring my actual passport with me every time I set foot out of my place. There is nothing difficult about that. It soon becomes second nature. Nice try, but I will never stop taking my passport with me everywhere when I am in Thailand. I feel much better that there is nothing like a trivial passport issue ie my passport is in my room, may go and get it,  that some cop who is granted absolute authority can use to get me over a barrell over nothing. Has anything happened recently that now  holds the police to any sort of standard or rule of law? No, so why are they reporting that I can now cast my worries aside and carry a copy? Personally I don't want to have to worry about that, that suddenly it may in fact maybe sort of sometimes be all better now in Thailand depending on you and who is dealing with you and no need to worry, maybe. Who are we kidding here?  What someone said to the Phuket Gazette will not matter one whit tomorrow, that's how it is here and it is disingenuous to pretend that these kind of statements actually mean anything. "Oh but officer! I read in the newspaper about 6 months ago that we didn't need to carry our passport..." Yeah right! I'm sure that'll work just a treat! Thanks a lot Phuket Gazette! No need to carry your passport, but you might want to carry a copy of your passport and in addition to that get a copy of the article in Thai saying you don't have to carry your passport.  So much more convenient now!  Thanks for the comedy!

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by Shaunduhpostman

[Katia]

2 hours ago, NamKangMan said:

 

So issue long stay foreigners with an ID Card, for a considerable fee, of course. 

 

They are missing a good opportunity to extract more money out of foreigners.  ????

 

Isn't that what the driver's license is for?  It even has your passport number on it.

[ttrd]

16 hours ago, ZaZa999 said:

I wonder if I can get a refund for the 2000 baht ‘fine’ I paid to a police officer in Phuket, after he demanded to see my ‘original’ passport, and would not accept the copy I carried, along with my original THAI driving license..? He also threatened me with jail, and delayed me by over an hour..! 

I doubt it has retroactive effect taken into consideration that this local rule can be changed again in this posting moment....

[Jimdandy]

So how do you prevent being hassled and possibly 'detained' to prove you are in the country legally? I have never carried my passport but a friend suggested I carry a copy of my passport title page. Any other suggestions?

[ttrd]

22 minutes ago, Jimdandy said:

So how do you prevent being hassled and possibly 'detained' to prove you are in the country legally? I have never carried my passport but a friend suggested I carry a copy of my passport title page. Any other suggestions?

According to the latest rule on a national basis it should be enough to carry a copy of Your Passport (title page + the visa page). No other alternative ways if you dont want to carry Your Passport. It will not prevent you from meeting a corrupt polis who will try to get some tea-Money on the wrong grounds, but in most cases they will not and especially if they understand that you are not willing to pay the fee on the spot and are open to settle it out at the local station...

Edited November 18, 2018 by ttrd

[chicowoodduck]

What a complete load of rubbish!!!!????

 

Never carry my passport but do have a copy of it along  with my extention of stay crap.

 

if I do get stopped for anything just tell them to take me to the nearest police station so i can call Big Joke....????

[Crossy]

7 hours ago, the guest said:

The law is very clear everyone must carry ID, if not, you can be arrested. 

For the sake of everyone, could you provide a reference or link to the actual law.

[ttrd]

51 minutes ago, Crossy said:

For the sake of everyone, could you provide a reference or link to the actual law.

Its not easy for expats to know what means what when Immigration says one thing one day and the NeXT day explain that they meant something else….

Hua Hin Immigration clarifies rules on foreigners carrying ID

The information provided at an Immigration meeting yesterday was unclear. The correct information, which has always been the case, is that no other forms of identification are acceptable. This includes any other form of photo ID, such as a Thai/foreign driving license or a photocopy of your passport.

 

With this fact in mind its only one way to be 100% sure to not arrive in any ID issues is to carry Your original Passport...

 

http://www.samuitimes.com/hua-hin-immigration-clarifies-rules-foreigners-carrying-id/

 

 

Edited November 18, 2018 by ttrd

[bristolgeoff]

i have never carried my passport around town.i use my international driving license as i may need it on the scooter.apart from that i have seen a police raid in cnx and anyone who did not carry id or passport were allowed to go back to the hotel to show them.on that night all the backpackers/young travellers  were cleared.only time i carry it is when i need to do something with the visa or offical business.never a problem at all

[Sir Swagman]

20 hours ago, ZaZa999 said:

I wonder if I can get a refund for the 2000 baht ‘fine’ I paid to a police officer in Phuket, after he demanded to see my ‘original’ passport, and would not accept the copy I carried, along with my original THAI driving license..? He also threatened me with jail, and delayed me by over an hour..! 

I have used, many times, particularly for driving shakedowns, the response that I need to go to the police station as I am a criminal and should be seen there. “Take a lot of time” my response of ‘No problem I have plenty of time, nothing to do’ and requesting their badge number and name for the court appearance we will have - always results in some umming and ahhing (enough to build face that he is thinking it over) before being told to be on my way.

[Kwasaki]

Phuket immigration the separate law making state of Thailand says. ????

The consensus has always been carry a copy of passport, sensible and common sense to avoid loss or theft.

[TPI]

Get a "pink" card, easy!

[NamKangMan]

7 hours ago, Katia said:

Isn't that what the driver's license is for?  It even has your passport number on it.

 

No.  A driver's license is a license for driving / riding on the roads in Thailand.  As mentioned, the passport number on your license may not be the passport number of your current passport.

 

All Thai's have an ID Card, but not all Thai's have a driver's license.

 

Not all long term foreign stayers drive / ride, particularly the elderly, so why not make an ID Card for long term foreign stayers, and make them pay for it? 

 

It could have the expiry date of your passport, thus, would need to be renewed when you get new passport, so, a lost / stolen passport aside, it would always have the current passport number of the foreigner, so a quick radio call verifies the foreigner also has a valid visa. 

 

Once again, they could make money out of it, but they don't like giving foreigners similar rights to Thai's here. 

[Derek B]

On 11/18/2018 at 10:20 AM, ZaZa999 said:

I wonder if I can get a refund for the 2000 baht ‘fine’ I paid to a police officer in Phuket, after he demanded to see my ‘original’ passport, and would not accept the copy I carried, along with my original THAI driving license..? He also threatened me with jail, and delayed me by over an hour..! 

Did you report the matter to anyone?