Must Read Welcome to Thailand - and welcome to immigration queues!

[natway09]

Why are you all afraid of getting fingerprinted ? Singapore has been doing it for 15 years & never heard a bitch on Thai Visa.

Get a grip boys, they are just trying to keep the scum out & remember 

"We are all judged by the lowest common denominator"

[30la]

And with this way of welcoming your guests, do you want to increase tourism?
Learn to work more effectively or some tourists risk spending their holidays at the airport!

[DrTuner]

I think they should keep the immigration lines as it is. So people get a taste of the real Thailand right on their first contact with a local. Incompetence FTW.

[Felt 35]

I read the local news here everyday and it not exactly seems majority of people doing crimes here come through an International airport...........only saying...

[Salerno]

Which is exactly why they don't want to import even more 

[dcnx]

5 hours ago, RobboR said:

I agree but can you actually oppose them taking your prints?

If you say no what happens?

I literally just had to do this in both China and Thailand. My hand is injured and bandaged. I showed the officer and they didn’t make me use it. No big deal.

 

 

[alien365]

I waited over an hour last week to get through. I'd say only about half of the counters were in operation. I don't see why it's so difficult to keep the desks suitably manned At busy times. It's not as if they don't know when planes are due in.

[rkidlad]

8 minutes ago, natway09 said:

Why are you all afraid of getting fingerprinted ? Singapore has been doing it for 15 years & never heard a bitch on Thai Visa.

Get a grip boys, they are just trying to keep the scum out & remember 

"We are all judged by the lowest common denominator"

Why would anyone bitch about 'Singapore' doing finger prints on a website called 'Thai'visa.com?

 

As for keeping scum out, why do you think scum are attracted to certain places - because certain places provide the atmosphere. 

[from the home of CC]

39 minutes ago, Salerno said:

When did they start that? I haven't visited for a couple of years.

Malaysia, Singapore, China, Canada, Panama, Taiwan, Japan, USA, EU next year (some countries only do certain nationalities) ... it's going global, the list of countries not doing it is likely to be shorter than those that do soon.

lots of crying and whining in those countries too ?- lol

[losworld]

5 hours ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

Don't worry, if Thai immigration can't get their heads round it without creating enormous queues backed up miles, they'll quietly junk the system and write off the 2B Baht it cost; they have form in this area.

Some still received new Mercs out of the deal you can bet and probably some chinese knock off scanners bought from Lazada for a pittance lol.

[Salerno]

2 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

lots of crying and whining in those countries too ?- lol

555 No idea but it does seem to me that TV seems to attract a certain type of person ????

[dave moir]

5 hours ago, Eligius said:

This scanning of our fingerprints is so disgusting. For most of my life - decades and decades - it has always been only CRIMINALS who have their fingerprints taken.

Now the sheep all think it is perfectly acceptable for us all to be herded and monitored and branded. 

I will never agree with this insane Orwellian system of fake 'security' obsession and psychotic control-freakery - when the real monsters (yes, monsters) are the criminals in high places (the less than 1%) who are running the whole filthy show.

 

If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about!

[Salerno]

1 minute ago, dave moir said:

If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about!

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." 

Benjamin Franklin

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

5 hours ago, kralledr said:

do they  Scan also on exit?

 

10 fingers on entry, 4 fingers on exit. Just went through it this week for the first time. 

[Mel52]

Seriously if you want to see a crowded airport fly in to Dulles International airport on the Virginia side of Washington DC then you’ll see a real crowded airport. I remember the last time I flew into Dulles going to the Washington DC area we waited in line for 3 hours trying to get out through immigration baggage claim and everything else but it was like 3 hours alone just trying to get through immigration at Dulles standing in line. It’s not just here in Thailand it’s all major international airports that are crowded in most major world cities. Although now that I think about it I don’t recall ever having to wait that long at both Narita and Haneda airports in Tokyo but I do remember some semi long lines in Tokyo at both airports but not long waits. I do remember waiting for hours at Dulles a few times. I remember some super long lines at Dulles but I also remember some days flying into Dulles earlier in the day when I got through pretty fast as well.

 

We live in the post 9-11 world ladies and gentlemen security is a higher priority these days.

 

 

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Can someone who's gone thru Swampy lately clarify....

 

Are they doing the fingerprint scanning just on arrivals, or also on departures as well?  Thx!

[Surasak]

5 hours ago, RobboR said:

I agree but can you actually oppose them taking your prints?

If you say no what happens?

A piece of medium sandpaper anyone?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

 

10 fingers on entry, 4 fingers on exit. Just went through it this week for the first time. 

 

So they're doing some fingerprint scanning on exit as well?

 

What four fingers on exit?

 

[DrTuner]

6 minutes ago, dave moir said:

If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to worry about!

Don't worry, they'll figure out something you will want to hide in the future. Then it's too late of course as you'll have your tattoo on the forehead.

Edited June 28, 2019 by DrTuner

[Surasak]

There was a finger print scanner in KK immigration last Tuesday. Not yet being use, but it won't be long.

[Salerno]

5 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

So they're doing some fingerprint scanning on exit as well?

What four fingers on exit?

As per, it depends what way the winds blowing, whether the IO got laid that morning or if they're on a promise for that night.

 

Some people haven't, I did (all fingers again) now some saying 4.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

5 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

So they're doing some fingerprint scanning on exit as well?

 

What four fingers on exit?

 

 

Four fingers on the right hand for exit. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, Salerno said:

As per, it depends what way the winds blowing, whether the IO got laid that morning or if they're on a promise for that night.

 

Some people haven't, I did (all fingers again) now some saying 4.

 You're saying you got 10 fingered on exit and arrival both?

[jlwilliamsjr18]

It's a safeguard, in case you loose a finger while in Thailand. 

[Salerno]

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 You're saying you got 10 fingered on exit and arrival both?

Yes (although you could have worded that a different way 555)

Edited June 28, 2019 by Salerno

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, Kaoboi Bebobp said:

 

Four fingers on the right hand for exit. 

 

As regards the long queues, apart from Immigration failing to fully staff their stations, the one thing I could see being confusing even for regular travelers who might expect the fingerprinting is what order to go in....

 

I mean, are there any clear instructions visible that tell you the order of what hand and what fingers first, followed by, etc etc?  Having the Immigration officers trying to provide verbal directions like that would seem to be a recipe for disaster.

 

[Salerno]

Just now, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I mean, are there any clear instructions visible that tell you the order of what hand and what fingers first, followed by, etc etc?

The machine tells you; in different languages too apparently.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 minutes ago, Salerno said:

Yes (although you could have worded that a different way 555)

 

I'd settle for five fingers myself... 

[Mel52]

Another thing people biometrics screening has been around for God I think at least 20 years now maybe longer in most airports around the world. So iris scanning and electronic fingerprinting (biometrics) is nothing new. Recently the airports in Bangkok have been upgrading their biometrics system as I’m sure many other countries are probably doing as well.

 

I’ve read a lot of posts about it on this forum and not only just this particular topic and a lot of you on here are talking like biometrics and fingerprinting in the international airports when traveling internationally is something new and it’s really not. Biometrics and electronic fingerprinting has been around for a long time at airports all over the world.

 

The main purpose of biometrics is to try to catch people using alias name passports and to just verify your identity and yes probably Interpol checks as well I’m sure.

 

 

 

 

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

1 hour ago, Katipo said:

I used the fingerprint scanners when I arrived 2 weeks back. Their are clear pictorial instructions that show what needs to be scanned and when. It was unnecessary for the immigration official to say anything. Having said that, the extra 10 seconds or so it takes normal people to use this machines could worsen queues. When you take into account the idiot factor, I can see how delays could be substantial.

 

And think of the "high season." Europeans and North Americans flooding into Thailand for winter break. What lineups! Oh, wait, they all went to Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar and Bali, Indonesia, Spain, Portugal, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Costa Rica.