Departure/arrival card (TM6) temporary scrapped

[george]

BANGKOK: — The cabinet approved  the temporary lifting of the requirement for foreigners to fill out departure and arrival cards or TM6 form, to counter immigration delays at airports.

 

An announcement is expected to take about a week. 
 

— ASEAN NOW 2022-06-14

 

[hotandsticky]

What queues, sailed through yesterday.

 

Scrap Thailand Pass, there were 2 checks between the aircraft and Immigration.

[Crossy]

 

A welcome development, maybe they will make it permanent for foreigners as well as Thais.

 

To be honest I'm not really sure just how much delay stamping the TM6 and filing the Arrival half really adds.

 

Of course, when one goes for an extension and doesn't have a TM6 ...

[NanLaew]

3 minutes ago, Crossy said:

To be honest I'm not really sure just how much delay stamping the TM6 and filing the Arrival half really adds.

Agreed. However, it's the ones that either leave the TM6 in the seat back pocket before deplaning or don't fill it in before they get to the front of the queue that stuff things up. They used to have staffers checking for this on the shuffling conga line but the punters mentioned earlier also never seem to have a bloody pen either!

[RedArmy]

Filling out my TM6 on the plane was always the highlight of my plane journey.

[Golden Triangle]

I thought I read a while back that this had already been cancelled, or am I getting confused with something else ??

[RafPinto]

32 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

Filling out my TM6 on the plane was always the highlight of my plane journey.

Mine too.

I just travelled to fill out the card.
Waited at the airport for my return flight.

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

I thought I read a while back that this had already been cancelled, or am I getting confused with something else ??

It was only canceled for Thais.

[Golden Triangle]

Ah, thanks Joe, I new I read something somewhere 5555

[Greenwich Boy]

Just arrived in Singapore. On line arrival card/ health declaration. Hand over passport, look at camera and off you go. Email follows to confirm your legal entry. No stamp in passport. It can be easy Thailand 

[2long]

Could this be a prelude to 

- Thailand Pass is also cancelled

or

- Because of the cancelled TM6, we will continue with the Thailand Pass

 

I worry about their motives!

[worrab]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

Of course, when one goes for an extension and doesn't have a TM6 ...

Bit of a quandry there I reckon. Have to wait for the details for those of us doing 90 day reports and extension of stay. I return 30th July so it would be interesting to see if the airline would still have TM6 for people like myself. The devil will be in the detail!!

[mnomad]

1 hour ago, worrab said:

Bit of a quandry there I reckon. Have to wait for the details for those of us doing 90 day reports and extension of stay. I return 30th July so it would be interesting to see if the airline would still have TM6 for people like myself. The devil will be in the detail!!

Indeed, reminds of the well planned introduction of the 09/06 mobile numbers that not a single bank (for OTP etc) or government portal had planned for or was able to fix for months, at least in one banks case, years later. No one will have communicate this onwards I think, hotel checkins will be equally confused for a day or two. Will there be a grand infographic and shoulder patting event - probably not - even acknolwedging it's costly (the printing is just one issue minor part of costs) and can cause queues its only temporarily 555

[tomacht8]

I suspect that the handwritten TM 6 cards are not evaluated, recorded and digitized at all. It takes an army of bureaucrats to read and somehow systematize the number of cards with all the different hand writing styles. It is more likely that the TM6 cards will end up in the waste paper bin.

[webfact]

Immigration forms to be temporarily scrapped for non-Thais travelling by air

 

 

The cabinet has agreed to temporarily exempt the use of immigration forms, known as “Tor Mor 6”, for foreigners entering or exiting Thailand by air, to facilitate immigration checks and reduce congestion at airport immigration checkpoints, according to Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisuree Traisoranakul.

 

There is no timeframe yet when this measure will become effective, but it is expected to take a week.

 

The same immigration forms for Thai nationals were withdrawn by the military junta five years ago, she said.

 

Non-Thais entering or exiting Thailand by land or by sea are, however, still required to complete the forms.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/immigration-forms-no-longer-required-for-non-thais-entering-or-exiting-by-air/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-06-15

 

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[smedly]

it served no purpose in recent years

[Captain Monday]

9 hours ago, Greenwich Boy said:

Just arrived in Singapore. On line arrival card/ health declaration. Hand over passport, look at camera and off you go. Email follows to confirm your legal entry. No stamp in passport. It can be easy Thailand 

Exactly. Any official can reference the aliens status with the DE number. Paper entry forms should be reserved for elders, invalids and others who must travel with assistance.

 

I dont' see Thailand getting rid of immigration chops so soon however. SIN has a comprehensive digital system for immigration management

[kotsak]

11 hours ago, RedArmy said:

Filling out my TM6 on the plane was always the highlight of my plane journey.

Especially during a turbulence ????

 

[cnx101]

In this day and age passports should be done away with, should just be able to walk through a scanner that gives all your information automatically from eyes face fingers, and all arrival and exit details sent too you automatically, but maybe I’m thinking 500 years ahead.

[rainham]

11 hours ago, RafPinto said:

Mine too.

I just travelled to fill out the card.
Waited at the airport for my return flight.

Love it, I've got a couple indoors in UK,

I might fill one out and sit indoors save myself a tidy sum.

 

[bristolgeoff]

TM6 was something to do on the plane just before landing.Thailand pass should be the one to be cancelled soon.They is always a form to fill in for a visa or extension in thailand.Make the visa easier would be good,but over the yrs of going there I,am sure they have a file on me or many with photos everytime at entry and leaving,with many pages to it.So anything to make the visa easier I,am all for it

[Srikcir]

12 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

A welcome development, maybe they will make it permanent for foreigners as well as Thais.

 

To be honest I'm not really sure just how much delay stamping the TM6 and filing the Arrival half really adds.

 

Of course, when one goes for an extension and doesn't have a TM6 ...

Maybe the suspension will be part of an update in the online 90-day report too. As I entered Thailand many years ago (pre-2016) and have never left the country, my TM6 code is not in the 90-day database for online reporting. As such I get rejected from online reporting. So I use Thailand Post EMS. Dependable (but still fail sometimes to get by return mail my receipt with next report date) but involves local travel to Post.

[arithai12]

I don't understand the motivation (how does the TM6 create a queue?) but mainly I am worried about "temporarily". What will happen a few months later if I cannot produce a TM6 at my IO for 90d/extension? I hope they thought this through.

[jacko45k]

So they will have no knowledge or information as to where a tourist may be living other than TM30 registration?

[AhFarangJa]

As with many other posters my very first thought was 90 day reporting and extension of stay. Maybe this is the beginning of scrapping 90 day reports too..................Naw, tink too mutt again........... 

 

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, AhFarangJa said:

As with many other posters my very first thought was 90 day reporting and extension of stay. Maybe this is the beginning of scrapping 90 day reports too..................Naw, tink too mutt again........... 

 

Tourists don't need to do them and this impacts those mostly. 

[dsj]

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

Tourists don't need to do them and this impacts those mostly. 

What about for those that are on retirement/marriage extension, and leaves Thailand several times a year. What would they do when it comes to renewal time.

[AhFarangJa]

4 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Tourists don't need to do them and this impacts those mostly. 

So, am I correct in thinking that you believe retirees, etc. will still need to complete one? Maybe a separate booth at passport control?

[jacko45k]

6 minutes ago, dsj said:

What about for those that are on retirement/marriage extension, and leaves Thailand several times a year. What would they do when it comes to renewal time.

I do not class them as tourists.... if a person leaves and re-enters Thailand regularly they may need never do a 90 day report. I suspect the need to see a stamped TM6 would have to be removed from extension requirements. 

[4MyEgo]

I am of the opinion somehow that this is going to confuse a lot of expats, thinking it includes them, however it doesn't, it's for tourists only, that said, if returning to Thailand make sure you have your TM6 card stapled in the passport by immigration, otherwise I am sure life will be a little difficult when it comes to your 90 day reporting and extensions.

 

I.E. Unless I read this wrong.