Immigration Crackdown - Need To Carry Passport?

[gmac]

Quote from Pattaya City News 9th March 2007

Immigration crackdown as Police hunt for foreign “mafia” here in Pattaya.

Acting on orders from the Immigration Office in Bangkok, Police Colonel Itipon, the Chief of Pattaya’s Immigration Bureau led an operation in conjunction with the Labor Department and Social Welfare Department. The Immigration Officers visited a number of areas including Soi Yodsak and Soi LK Metro. We understand that they were on the lookout for foreign individuals that may be residing in Thailand illegally and made many passport checks during the operation. One man was arrested for failing to produce his original passport when requested by the officers. Bar licenses and the presence of underage workers were also checked and a total of 3 male employees under the age of 18 were discovered inside The Gentleman’s Club in Soi Pattayaland 1, South Pattaya. We expect this Immigration Police Operation to continue and suggest that all foreigners should carry their original passport with them at all times.

I know we all should, though very few do, but it sounds like it may not be a bad idea to carry your passport until the current crackdown subsides.

gmac

Edited March 9, 2007 by gmac

[vertigo4u]

Quote from Pattaya City News 9th March 2007

Immigration crackdown as Police hunt for foreign “mafia” here in Pattaya.

Acting on orders from the Immigration Office in Bangkok, Police Colonel Itipon, the Chief of Pattaya's Immigration Bureau led an operation in conjunction with the Labor Department and Social Welfare Department. The Immigration Officers visited a number of areas including Soi Yodsak and Soi LK Metro. We understand that they were on the lookout for foreign individuals that may be residing in Thailand illegally and made many passport checks during the operation. One man was arrested for failing to produce his original passport when requested by the officers. Bar licenses and the presence of underage workers were also checked and a total of 3 male employees under the age of 18 were discovered inside The Gentleman's Club in Soi Pattayaland 1, South Pattaya. We expect this Immigration Police Operation to continue and suggest that all foreigners should carry their original passport with them at all times.

since I have my originally Thai Driverlicens, I check even in Hotels around Thailand with that one in ...

I am Resident, I have to show at least ONE original Thai document - or?

I know we all should, though very few do, but it sounds like it may not be a bad idea to carry your passport until the current crackdown subsides.

gmac

[skippybangkok]

suggest that all foreigners should carry their original passport with them at all times

wear and tear, loose it,theft......... if u have a malaysian passport, loose it once, hard to get new one, loose it a second time and u dont get a new one fore 10 years (i ma not malaysia by the way ). If i were malaysian, a day or so locked up sounds better than 10 years not travelling.....

Think of the permutations... Songkran....bucket of water......powder...... does real good for ur passport.

[ThaidleHands]

suggest that all foreigners should carry their original passport with them at all times

wear and tear, loose it,theft......... if u have a malaysian passport, loose it once, hard to get new one, loose it a second time and u dont get a new one fore 10 years (i ma not malaysia by the way ). If i were malaysian, a day or so locked up sounds better than 10 years not travelling.....

Think of the permutations... Songkran....bucket of water......powder...... does real good for ur passport.

A little caution and foresight solves the first issue; the second may be addressed by something as simple as a plastic bag.

[NanLaew]

suggest that all foreigners should carry their original passport with them at all times

wear and tear, loose it,theft......... if u have a malaysian passport, loose it once, hard to get new one, loose it a second time and u dont get a new one fore 10 years (i ma not malaysia by the way ). If i were malaysian, a day or so locked up sounds better than 10 years not travelling.....

Think of the permutations... Songkran....bucket of water......powder...... does real good for ur passport.

A little caution and foresight solves the first issue; the second may be addressed by something as simple as a plastic bag.

there's a shop on #2 road that will do a color scan of the personal info and current visa pages of yr passport, stick them back-to-back and laminate them. makes a pocket-size waterproof copy just in time for songkran and police purges. i dont know the exact shop but if u ask for Juan at the Wild Chicken, he will put u right.

[jinjok]

nanleaw - not good enough. pigs want to see the pp.

wow that was always the secret selling point of pattaya, never hassled for pp unlike bkk. if this is true its yet the 776889 reason for me to go there even less.

[Acquiesce]

I have it on good authority that there will be a major crackdown country wide, as of April 1st (no joke) the police are to be instructed to stop foreigners and ask to see original passport. Anyone unable to produce the document upon request will be taken in to custody.

[Jingthing]

They must have bigger jails than I thought. I think I will take my original passport to the beach! April 1, huh?

Maybe NOBODY should carry their original passport, then they would have to arrest ALL tourists.

Really, this is ridiculous. It is just not safe to carry your passport everywhere at all times.

If they do insist, maybe they can turn this into a BUSINESS. Immigration could authorize agents all over the country to produce official cards that show current legality to be in the country, which expire on your permission to stay expiration date (for a nice fee, of course). You would have to get a new one every time you do a visa run, report, etc. Problem solved, new business created and thousands of Thai jobs!

Edited March 10, 2007 by Jingthing

[Casanundra]

They must have bigger jails than I thought. I think I will take my original passport to the beach! April 1, huh?

Maybe NOBODY should carry their original passport, then they would have to arrest ALL tourists.

Really, this is ridiculous. It is just not safe to carry your passport everywhere at all times.

If they do insist, maybe they can turn this into a BUSINESS. Immigration could authorize agents all over the country to produce official cards that show current legality to be in the country, which expire on your permission to stay expiration date (for a nice fee, of course). You would have to get a new one every time you do a visa run, report, etc. Problem solved, new business created and thousands of Thai jobs!

I thought the rule was that 'all tourists must carry their passport at all times'

What if we ain't a tourist?

I have never been stopped yet in two years nor asked for any kind of ID but if they now insist on seeing some ID, well they are welcome to both my Thai driving licenses, my work permit, my Chula University ID badge and the laminated copies of my passport as well. Beyond any of those I can maybe offer a retina scan and finger prints but what else can they expect. It's simply too dangerous to have my original passport out and about in Bangkok.

This is getting mad and As I keep saying, Burma and North Korea be damned, Thailand is next to follow...

Edited March 10, 2007 by Casanundra

[Jingthing]

Another good reason to leave Thailand during SONGKRAN.

Anyone think they might be DELIBERATELY scaring away tourists as a desperate effort to depress the baht?

Imagine if they actually ARRESTED thousands of innocent tourists just for not carrying their passport. That would make a very interesting item for the world TRAVEL press. I have never heard of a country seriously competing for international tourists (in other words, not Burma, not North Korea) resorting to anything even close to this DRACONIAN. Its really bizarre and I think scary and a bad omen of worse things to come.

OK, maybe I am paranoid. Or maybe I am right. Time will tell. In any case, some people are apparently already being hauled in for this. What exactly is happening to them?

Edited March 10, 2007 by Jingthing

[bulmercke]

A predictable knee jerk reaction by the BIB to the Jomtien slayings; and an even more predictable lack of progress concerning the arrest of the real perpetrators of the said crime.

[Jingthing]

You say predictable.

I don't think so.

As far as I know, this would be first time there would be widespread arrests of any foreigners just for not carrying an original passport.

A massive and absurd OVERREACTION, I would say. Kill the baby with the bathwater kind of thing. Or the goose that lays the golden egg. Or any stupid CLICHE you can think of; key word being stupid.

I do think it might be time to revive that old XENOPHOBIA thread once again ...

Edited March 10, 2007 by Jingthing

[chuchok]

You say predictable.

I don't think so.

As far as I know, this would be first time there would be widespread arrests of any foreigners just for not carrying an original passport.

A massive and absurd OVERREACTION, I would say. Kill the baby with the bathwater kind of thing. Or the goose that lays the golden egg. Or any stupid CLICHE you can think of; key word being stupid.

I do think it might be time to revive that old XENOPHOBIA thread once again ...

Not so much xenophobia,just stupidity from the bib.

Edited March 10, 2007 by chuchok

[The Dan Sai Kid]

yeah, that's what I'd want to carry if I were walking around Pattaya at 2am - my passport! And so would the roving gangs of kateoy that I always picture to roam patters at night!

[Jingthing]

yeah, that's what I'd want to carry if I were walking around Pattaya at 2am - my passport! And so would the roving gangs of kateoy that I always picture to roam patters at night!

I totally agree. And I will also be sure not to forget my thick gold neck chain, 100,000 baht cash, and my Russian script t-shirt. Big fun awaits.

[bmanly]

In over 17 years I have never been asked to produce my passport at anytime whilst walking about or in a bar or on the beach. Even at local Police license ckeck points I had to produce nothing more than the Motocy license, insurance and rego papers.

However when you travel there are several Military and Police checkpoints where they will stop the bus, car or Motocy and check your passport. This happens in particular near border areas, they are generally looking for illegal Burmese or Cambodians and you as a farang will get checked too.

April 1st? Wait and see.

Edited March 11, 2007 by bmanly

[wrecker]

suggest that all foreigners should carry their original passport with them at all times

wear and tear, loose it,theft......... if u have a malaysian passport, loose it once, hard to get new one, loose it a second time and u dont get a new one fore 10 years (i ma not malaysia by the way ). If i were malaysian, a day or so locked up sounds better than 10 years not travelling.....

Think of the permutations... Songkran....bucket of water......powder...... does real good for ur passport.

Yes and in the Pattaya bar scene passportss are a hot item, it is sold for 20,000 baht for an book with few stamps. better make a copy, in case they give a real hard time you always have 24 hours to produce the original. (or make a payment I suppose)

[Acquiesce]

24 hours to produce the original? Where did you get this little chestnut from? Did you just make it up?

It is Thai law that states you must carry the original document at all time. The same rule applies to Thai people and ID cards, If you don't have it with you and are taken to the station then you must arrange for it to be brought for you.

If you are unable to do this then it's your problem, not anyone elses.

[barryofthailand]

If you have a non O visa with a one year extension and a Thai drivers license than that's all you need to cary as your license has your pasport number on it.

Barry

[Merlin]

I always carry my passport everywhere I go [except when at home in Australia - and then I have my drivers license as ID]; I don't see what the problem is. Take the same precautions as you would for your wallet, I haven't lost a passport in over 25 years of travelling. As for getting it wet, well as mentioned before, a simple plastic bag solves that problem. As far as I'm concerned, anyone in authority wants to know my ID then sure I'll show them - why would I want to hide it?

[Basil B]

“One man was arrested for failing to produce his original passport”

Just one man, how many men (& women) did they check???

There have been many debates on this and other forums over the years concerning the law that states that you must carry ID at all times, (for aliens that means a passport).

My opinion is that it is a bigger risk to carry my passport with me at all times and it is better left in my hotel safe, but I also agree that one should be able to prove ones identity and that one is in the country legally.

I have a photocopy of my passport which I carry in my wallet, I do not even bother with copying the TM & last entry page, and to be realistic I enter and leave through Bangkok Airport where the immigration service is fully computerized so if they need to confirm my status it should be quite simple.

If Thailand started locking up tourist for not having their passports with them then there would soon be no tourist industry, in 12 years of visiting Thailand I have never been asked to produce my passport except at banks and hotels when checking in.

The consequences of loosing ones passport are far worse than a night in the slammer and I really think there was more to this story than one guy not having a passport.

BB

[Jingthing]

I agree. This kind of enforcement cannot be sustained. It has to pass. It will ruin the tourist industry. Unless that is the real goal, ruining the tourist industry, it cannot be sustained.

[Bangkok Barry]

I have it on good authority that there will be a major crackdown country wide, as of April 1st (no joke) the police are to be instructed to stop foreigners and ask to see original passport. Anyone unable to produce the document upon request will be taken in to custody.

For something as serious as this, the threat to arrest thousands of innocent/ignorant of the law foreigners, I'd rather like to know your scource.

[Acquiesce]

I have it on good authority that there will be a major crackdown country wide, as of April 1st (no joke) the police are to be instructed to stop foreigners and ask to see original passport. Anyone unable to produce the document upon request will be taken in to custody.

For something as serious as this, the threat to arrest thousands of innocent/ignorant of the law foreigners, I'd rather like to know your scource.

The guy who later this year will become the ambasador of Thailand to the United Kingdom.

[tuky]

I remember a year or two or three ago a bunch of tourists were loaded into a truck and taken to IDC in BKK...reason? they did not have their passports with them and were discovered during one of the infamous piss tests. I think was after the initial closing time/war on drugs/reclaiming thai culture/Thaksin crack downs.

It was reported here on tv.com

[Furbie]

I remember a year or two or three ago a bunch of tourists were loaded into a truck and taken to IDC in BKK...reason? they did not have their passports with them and were discovered during one of the infamous piss tests. I think was after the initial closing time/war on drugs/reclaiming thai culture/Thaksin crack downs.

It was reported here on tv.com

This happened to two friends of mine (at the same time), though it was outside a bar, with no piss testing. They loaded up a bunch of guys without their passport and took them down to immigration (in BKK). Each friend had a copy of the visa page and information page - it was not enough, they wanted their passports. When they got to immigration, calls were made to girlfriends to pick-up the passports and bring them to immigration. After about four hours, and once their status was confirmed as legal, my friends were let go. Three others who were picked up still had not been able to produce their passport by the time my friends left and their ultimate fate is unknown.

If there is a law requiring you to have your passport or if there is not a law requiring it, good luck if immigration asks for it and you try to explain all the reasons you don't need it.

[tropiccapricorn]

They must have bigger jails than I thought. I think I will take my original passport to the beach! April 1, huh?

Maybe NOBODY should carry their original passport, then they would have to arrest ALL tourists.

Really, this is ridiculous. It is just not safe to carry your passport everywhere at all times.

If they do insist, maybe they can turn this into a BUSINESS. Immigration could authorize agents all over the country to produce official cards that show current legality to be in the country, which expire on your permission to stay expiration date (for a nice fee, of course). You would have to get a new one every time you do a visa run, report, etc. Problem solved, new business created and thousands of Thai jobs!

[Jessy]

Another scam for the police to make money. I had to show my passport once and the officer refused to give it back unless I gave him 200 baht. He pretended there was a problem with it - when of course there wasn't. I was too exhausted to argue for very long, so just paid. It's all just a game.

[moo9]

Yes and in the Pattaya bar scene passportss are a hot item, it is sold for 20,000 baht for an book with few stamps. better make a copy, in case they give a real hard time you always have 24 hours to produce the original. (or make a payment I suppose)

Well I would not be so stupid any carry my original with me at night. And, lucky enough, I never had any negative experience staying in Pattaya over one year whatsoever.

[moo9]

I agree. This kind of enforcement cannot be sustained. It has to pass. It will ruin the tourist industry. Unless that is the real goal, ruining the tourist industry, it cannot be sustained.

I am sure that they did not arrest any farang for not presenting the original passport. There was another reason, loi percent.