Must Read Thailand starts checking foreigners' passports on domestic flights

[Nick Carter icp]

6 minutes ago, Highlandman said:

Those are drug checkpoints. Even says so in Thai as you're approaching them.

 

   Also checking for Burmese who are allowed into the That border town and not allowed into Thailand inland/other towns locations 

[Highlandman]

On 1/19/2024 at 4:30 PM, ripstanley said:

You cannot compete a TM30 with just the Passport number, DOB  and name.

Why not? That should be enough. Hotels take photocopies or photos of the information page of passports only and seem to manage to get TM30s done using just this information (and of course their address and other details specific to the hotel).

[Highlandman]

12 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Also checking for Burmese who are allowed into the That border town and not allowed into Thailand inland/other towns locations 

Yes they sometimes do that too. If it's a private car they use racial profiling to decide whether an individual who's a passenger inside that vehicle warrants asking them for ID or not.

 

I've experienced this when traveling with business associates and friends of different nationalities over the years.

 

In my experience, Chinese and Vietnamese aren't asked and are waived through. Farang even more likely to be waived through. I certainly always am (although I may be asked where I'm going and or coming from). However, these days sometimes Chinese are asked for their documents due to Chinese running illegal activities/scam cities on the Burmese side and occasional reports of illegal entry from Myanmar to Thailand for shopping by Chinese nationals.

 

One time my Sri Lankan friend joined me and my father on a trip to Yangon, Myanmar via Mae Sot. My Sri Lankan friend was asked for his passport. A quick inspection of the front page of his passport and we were on our way. Interestingly I only remember him being asked as we entered Mae Sot at the last checkpoint before the city but not on the way back to Bangkok one week later.

 

He kinda did look like an Indo-Burmese person. Many Burmese remarked he looked like a local Indian Burmese, while we were in Myanmar.

 

Edited January 20 by Highlandman

[Nick Carter icp]

17 minutes ago, Highlandman said:

Yes they sometimes do that too. If it's a private car they use racial profiling to decide whether an individual who's a passenger inside that vehicle warrants asking them for ID or not.

 

 

 

 

  Un in the North every Asian  is checked for having the right visa/I.D at road blocks near to borders 

[Neeranam]

32 minutes ago, Highlandman said:

Oh OK. How did she even recognize you were a farang though since you had to wear a mask on board a flight at the time. Difficult to recognize people wearing face coverings.

 

However, quite often you have Asian passengers. Unless they receive a flight manifest, then I can't see how they would be able to tell who's Thai and who isn't if you have Asian foreigners on board and especially back then when everyone was masked up. Easier just to make a bilingual announcement regardless of who's on board since it is the law as she claimed.

 

Now it could be just because it was Covid and the borders were more or less shut (though plenty of foreigners remained in Thailand throughout Covid) that they temporarily changed the rules and didn't make English announcements automatically.

 

I'd say on any given flight in Thailand it's highly unlikely there wouldn't be at least a couple of foreigners on board even to non touristy destinations such as Nakorn Phanom or Khon Kaen. This is because farang expats, especially retirees live all over the place. Again, Covid was different- far fewer foreigners in the country and those that were here probably didn't want to go through all the Covid protocols just to get on a plane unless the trip was absolutely necessary and they didn't have access to a car.

I'm 6'4 with light brown hair. 

They can't tell who is Asian NonThais by sight but know as the FA are also the ones that check in passengers and threfore would say the English safety thing. 

It was Khon Kaen. 

[Nick Carter icp]

20 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I'm 6'4 with light brown hair. 

They can't tell who is Asian NonThais by sight but know as the FA are also the ones that check in passengers and threfore would say the English safety thing. 

It was Khon Kaen. 

 

   You are very tall for a Thai person 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

I took two flights last week but as a UK citizen I always have to show my passport since we have no ID Cards.

[jacko45k]

6 hours ago, Highlandman said:

Generally

So still worth carrying it!

[Expat68]

7 hours ago, Highlandman said:

I already mentioned I carry copies of my passport. Generally you're not going to get asked for your passport at any checkpoint in Thailand as a farang. If you're Chinese or Burmese or something maybe..in any case having all the important copies is good enough. I don't carry the original around unless I'm continuing onto a neighboring country (which I often do, when I travel through Thailand my final destination is often Laos or Cambodia). 

I do not carry copies I have my Thai driving license and photos of my passport/visa stamp/90 day on my phone 

[Highlandman]

8 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  Un in the North every Asian  is checked for having the right visa/I.D at road blocks near to borders 

Did you read my comment?

 

This is NOT true. Only if the individual looks like they're Burmese (or maybe Cambodian or something). Especially if you travel by private vehicle, which I always do.

[Highlandman]

2 hours ago, Expat68 said:

I do not carry copies I have my Thai driving license and photos of my passport/visa stamp/90 day on my phone 

Same thing.

 

I carry photos on my phone and also photocopies.

[Highlandman]

8 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I'm 6'4 with light brown hair. 

They can't tell who is Asian NonThais by sight but know as the FA are also the ones that check in passengers and threfore would say the English safety thing. 

It was Khon Kaen. 

 

That's why I'm questioning this whole thing as it's weird, except if it was an anomaly due to Covid.

 

You say they can't tell who's an Asian foreigner and who's Thai by sight (yet if it was me, I could although at the time of your flight when everyone was wearing a mask it was a lot more difficult).

 

Exactly why the default is to make bilingual announcements regardless of who's on the flight. Also, Thai cabin crew can invariably speak English, even if it not always very well and Air Asia is a Malaysian airline. 

 

THAI Airways cabin crew are given instructions in ENGLISH by the pilot/FA and never in Thai as English is the language of aviation.

 

For example "cabin crew, cross check" or "cabin crew prepare for landing". Does Air Asia use Thai?? Which would be highly unusual.

 

So again, there is no need to single out obvious foreign looking passengers like they did. Even in China, where you don't have foreign passengers on every flight (which I can guarantee you do in Thailand, except maybe during Covid) the safety briefing is a pre recorded message in English. All other announcements are only by the FA and only in Chinese (though this may depend on the airline). I do remember other domestic flights in the past having announcements in English as well.

 

Interestingly, all the high speed trains make bilingual announcements, with lines going to ethnic areas also providing announcements in the relevant minority languages too.

 

As you are probably aware, Thais know their language isn't a global one. Unlike in China, most road signs and many (most) restaurant menus are also in English, except in local restaurants in very rural areas. Boost Juice bars only has English menus and they're not alone. 

[impulse]

On 1/19/2024 at 10:21 PM, LikeItHot said:

Doubtful.  Look again.  If you are using the DLT app you must also use your passport number.  When my MC DL had my old passport number and my Car DL had my current one they had to be entered in the app separately under two different accounts until I recently renewed my MC DL and only then could it be added to the app with my Car DL.

 

It's possible his passport expired and he now has a different passport number than the one on his DL. That was my situation...

[Nick Carter icp]

2 hours ago, Highlandman said:

Did you read my comment?

 

This is NOT true. Only if the individual looks like they're Burmese (or maybe Cambodian or something). Especially if you travel by private vehicle, which I always do.

 

  I always travel by public transport and everyone gets checked , well all Asians anyway , they get checked for documentation and all cars get stopped as well 

[brianburi]

I have lived here for two military coups.  On the last one '14,   provincial buses were stopped just before entering Bangkok at Army checkpoints.  The soldiers made all the passengers get off the double decker I was on and produce ID cards.   Myself and another western bloke both handed over our passports for checking,  I did'nt have A Thai DL. 

Being an old sweat myself,  in a foreign country always carry some ID.............

Edited January 21 by brianburi
Leo spillage

[jacko45k]

23 hours ago, jacko45k said:

So still worth carrying it!

I had to laugh at the irony, I was asked for my passport  just yesterday! While shopping at Big-C. I have one of their discount cards and to get 120 baht refund on purchases the teller wanted to see my passport. Of course I said I don't bring my PP for shopping, so she asked for my driving licence.... that didn't work either, and she asked if I had renewed my PP after getting the driving licences....  yep I said! TBH I may have got the Big-C card so long ago it was perhaps based on the passport before that one! Never got the discount, apparently I need to send a photo of my new PP to their customer service dept. Card can go back in the wallet for another 10 years. 

[jts-khorat]

On 1/18/2024 at 7:06 AM, damo1967 said:

Your post does not make a lot of sense sorry??? 

 

Many air booking systems create one long name out of several first names. Thai Air Asia did it the last time I tried to book a ticket.

 

This, of course, would make them "not matching up", the same when not using all of them.

[NanLaew]

On 1/18/2024 at 9:32 AM, soi3eddie said:

 

This is more of a worry for those of us that have middle names. I can't remember ever using middle names on a flight ticket booking. Yet, of course my passport and Thai DL/ID have my middle names. If ticket is only first & last name, will they start denying boarding as with middle names missing it will considered a "mismatch"?

 

 

The booking and ticketing websites of the airlines I fly with (and I fly regularly with five airlines and only 2 of them are Thai airlines) all ask for the passenger's middle name. Accordingly, all my tickets and boarding passes have my full handle: Theodore Angus Hieronymous Cholmondley-Harrington Jr.

 

You can call me Teddy.

Edited January 22 by NanLaew

[RyanWalker]

Lol.. next they will ask the 7/11 girls to check your passport and visa. Typical Thailand😂

[bangkok19]

On 1/19/2024 at 11:44 AM, arick said:

There is no queue going in Chiang Mai anymore you must be kind of confused it was like that 6-8 years ago but it isn't like that anymore. 

I guess you aren't at CNX airport to check in for the 10.10am flight to Bangkok.

Sometimes it's mayhem.

Hopefully now with TG resuming the domestic route a Business Class ticket will speed up the process.

 

[Highlandman]

On 1/19/2024 at 4:10 PM, Neeranam said:

I'm often asked for my passport after giving my Thai ID card, as I'm a farang. Last week the bank asked me for my work permit. 

There are silly, racist people out there that just can't figure out how a white person could be Thai. Last year, a golf club refused me discount, saying my face wasn't the same as his. 

 

I understand. Obviously, once you provide your ID card that should be it. I'm sure you've explained that as a Thai citizen, you're not giving your passport as it defeats the purpose?

[Highlandman]

On 1/21/2024 at 11:18 AM, Nick Carter icp said:

 

  I always travel by public transport and everyone gets checked , well all Asians anyway , they get checked for documentation and all cars get stopped as well 

 

By public transportation, it's different. Most Burmese are poor, the ones who come into Thailand via land borders and go beyond the border areas are migrant laborers who don't have much money and thus use buses. Hence why they check all passengers on such buses. Most passengers also tend to be Burmese as well; Thai passengers on routes such as Mae Sot-Bangkok and even Mae Sai-Chiang Rai, tend to be in the minority.

 

Burmese aren't allowed to drive their cars into Thailand further than the border areas (usually a max of 15-20km from the border), which is why you generally don't receive as much scrutiny if you're driving or are a passenger in a Thai registered car.

 

I travel extensively by car and often to border regions where they have these checkpoints (Myanmar border). I've only very rarely been asked for my passport and the same goes for any Thai or other passengers inside my vehicle. I've also carried Chinese, Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, European, American, Australian, Canadian, Lao and many other nationalities in my car over the years (all friends or acquaintances/business partners etc). Burmese citizens have also ridden in my car but only in border areas on both sides of the border, never through a Thai checkpoint. 

[roger101]

I'm pretty sure someone on overstay would ensure they didn't have to show their passport to anyone. Bus or train if they have to travel.