Bangkok Billboard Offering Foreign Passports for Sale Raises Concerns

[webfact]

Chinese language billboard. Picture courtesy: Prachathai

 

A large billboard in Bangkok, advertising foreign passports for sale, has sparked significant concern among locals and officials alike. Move Forward Party list-MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn highlighted the alarming presence of the Chinese-language advertisement located at the Din Daeng intersection.

 

Targeting primarily Chinese nationals who reside or conduct business in Bangkok's Din Daeng and Huai Khwang districts, the billboard offers passports from various countries at different prices.

 

The advertisement lists rates such as 30,000 yuan for an Indonesian passport, 70,000 yuan for Vanuatu, 150,000 yuan for Cambodian, and 150,000 yuan for a Turkish passport.

 

It assures potential buyers of the authenticity of the passports and guarantees delivery within 30 days, promising confidentiality throughout the process. Payments are to be made when the passports are ready.

 

Wiroj conveyed that, due to the advertisement being in Chinese, it might not have caught the attention of the government or police. Nevertheless, he warned that if these claims were legitimate, Thailand could become a haven for transnational criminals seeking foreign passports.

 

He also pointed out that several criminal elements from China are exploiting Thailand's lax immigration policies and, aided by corrupt officials, are engaging in illicit activities within the country.

 

Pol Maj-Gen Panthana Nutchanart, the deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, stated that the advertisement is not illegal since it does not offer Thai passports. He remarked that the sale of foreign passports is a common practice in several countries.

 

Following public uproar, the billboard has since been taken down by the advertising agency responsible for its installation.

 

A representative from the local advertising company explained that they were contacted by a Singaporean firm to put up the billboard and did not thoroughly verify its content, assuming the source was credible.

 

The agency has since informed the Singaporean company about the removal.

 

-- 2024-07-23

 

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[Geoffggi]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Wiroj conveyed that, due to the advertisement being in Chinese, it might not have caught the attention of the government or police.

No doubt this is exactly what they were counting on ............LOL 😂😎

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

He also pointed out that several criminal elements from China are exploiting Thailand's lax immigration policies and, aided by corrupt officials, are engaging in illicit activities within the country.

Again, no great surprise here the Chinese have very few scruples only take take take ..............LOL 😂😎

[Gsxrnz]

I wonder if there are any spelling mistakes. 

[Sandboxer]

All those countries have legit nationality-for-investment programs but I am sure the minimum time involved is at least 4-6 months or longer, not 30 days.

 

Buddy of mine got his St. Nevis & Kitts pp after about 5 months.

Edited July 22 by Sandboxer

[NemoH]

Quite dangerous and foolish to get one.
 

If it’s fake.. you get imprisoned right away..no defence available… 🤣Too grave a consequence to bet your life that it’s a real deal.. 🤣 when you don’t even know the guys behind it…. 
 

Life is short please behave yourselves n be good boys and girls 🤣🤣😂

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Wiroj conveyed that, due to the advertisement being in Chinese, it might not have caught the attention of the government or police. Nevertheless, he warned that if these claims were legitimate, Thailand could become a haven for transnational criminals seeking foreign passports

Chinese taking over one step at a time.

[attento]

The transnational criminals will already have all the passports they need.     So, who is this advertising really targeting ?

[nobodysfriend]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

70,000 yuan for Vanuatu

 

That is 350.000 THB .

If that is an authentic passport ( made in China ? ) , the price would be ok ...

But if I would travel to Vanuatu with that , I would probably get arrested .

[2baht]

What's that smell???           Oh, It stinks like a scam!

[renaissanc]

1 hour ago, nobodysfriend said:

 

That is 350.000 THB .

If that is an authentic passport ( made in China ? ) , the price would be ok ...

But if I would travel to Vanuatu with that , I would probably get arrested .

I don't know, but Vanuatu does sell passports to foreigners.

Edited July 23 by renaissanc

[bristolgeoff]

I understood the whole billboard prefectly my chinese  is that good.why advertise when most probadly know it anyway

[Drumbuie]

12 minutes ago, renaissanc said:

I don't know, but Vanuatu does sell passports to foreigners.

https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com/vanuatu-passport/

 

Yes it does. But you have to invest $130,000. 

[SAFETY FIRST]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The advertisement lists rates such as 30,000 yuan for an Indonesian passport, 70,000 yuan for Vanuatu, 150,000 yuan for Cambodian, and 150,000 yuan for a Turkish passport.

I see the worthless Aussie passports are not for sale 😂

 

Just need a boat, illegal entry and you receive one. 

 

[Nickcage49]

This is like those guys who advertised drugs for sale on Facebook. Amazing!

[Nickcage49]

"Pol Maj-Gen Panthana Nutchanart, the deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, stated that the advertisement is not illegal since it does not offer Thai passports. He remarked that the sale of foreign passports is a common practice in several countries."

 

Whaaaat? It's not illegal???

[thailand49]

The country has already been  SOLD to the highest bidder Chinese Mainland by their leaders who could care less it is all about the Baht. Silently that is a given the fact that such a large advertisement could be paid confirms.

 

I recently went to Bangkok and at one of the temple on the river I never seen so many Chinese the place was making a mint I though for a moment I was in China. The PM goal to move the post for ownership of property is first and foremost my opinion just like the billboard country is for sale.

 

The age of many Chinese at Immigration makes me wonder why are so many well off Chinese leaving and living here. Working! 

[smedly]

everything is possible for a price in LOS, the hub of criminality

[sambum]

".......Thailand's lax immigration policies"

 

Not if you are a bona fide "good guy" wanting to make an annual extension by means of marriage to a Thai national, when the object seems to be to make things as difficult as possible.

 

But of course, I am not included in TAT's figures, and therefore do not affect their tourist figures  statistics.

[sambum]

3 hours ago, NemoH said:

Quite dangerous and foolish to get one.
 

If it’s fake.. you get imprisoned right away..no defence available… 🤣Too grave a consequence to bet your life that it’s a real deal.. 🤣 when you don’t even know the guys behind it…. 
 

Life is short please behave yourselves n be good boys and girls 🤣🤣😂

 

"Life is short please behave yourselves n be good boys and girls 🤣🤣😂" 

"And you take care of yourselves out there on the street"

[Hakuna Matata]

3 hours ago, NemoH said:

If it’s fake.. you get imprisoned right away..no defence available…

 

No, it is not fake. Perfectly legal.

 

Nothing special. Everyone knows about that.

 

If you have $50,000 you can buy the citizenship of certain small and poor countries.

[ignore it]

Singaporeans involved.

 

Who would have guessed?

[mokwit]

Cambodia and Vanuatu for sure offer passports for sale but it is considerable more and considerable longer - Cambodia payment of USD250k if I remember rightly.  Some of the Chinese busted in Singapore for money laundering were passport holders of these countries.

 

These seem the same deal as that Russian who was busted was offering. Maybe for Chinese who can't renew their passport with the Embassy or who need a new name/nationality. Will pass muster for living here with banks etc or even stopped in the street.

 

Meanwhile in the national police chief has ordered the Immigration Bureau to check on visitors and foreign residents and enforce immigration regulations. That's all we need, thanks Chinese.

 

 

Edited July 23 by mokwit

[Accidental Tourist]

Remind me of the 70/80s in Pattaya where you easily could by a foreign passport...that time in the hand of the German mafia in the country 

[mokwit]

47 minutes ago, ignore it said:

Singaporeans involved.

 

Who would have guessed?

Probably means "Singaporean" as in not born a Singaporean National, but is now via purchased citizenship/passport.

[Caldera]

Okay, I'll take the Indonesian one, given those choices. 

[snoop1130]

Chinese Woman Held in Thailand over Unauthorized Passport Ad

 

 

A Chinese woman is currently in the custody of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), for allegedly organizing and installing an illegal advertisement that offered passport services for moving to a different country. The woman professes to being just a middleman, working for a company based in Hong Kong. She communicated through a Chinese app and LINE, drawing in a payment of 17,000 baht for her involvement.

 

The arrest operation was led by Thiti Sangsawang and Itthiphon Itthisarnronchai from the RTP. High-ranking officers, including Panthana Nuchanarot and Noppasin Poolsawat, were responsible for arresting the woman, named Nasu, from a condo in Huai Khwang. Questioning took place at the Immigration Bureau's Investigation Division after it was uncovered that she had hired a shop to produce and put up the disputable advertisement.

 

Under questioning, Nasu exposed that she got the job from a company in Hong Kong. The connection was made through a Chinese app and further chats were carried out on LINE. She was tasked with arranging the billboard's rental and installation, which earned her a monthly payment of 150,000 baht for the rent and 60,000 baht for creating the ad. For every sign she facilitated, Nasu was paid US$500, around 17,000 baht. However, she did not know her employer's company name, only communicating with an individual on LINE, whose picture also appeared on the ad.

 

 

Nasu was charged by police for working in Thailand without the required permits. The local Metropolitan Police Bureau and the Immigration Bureau are digging deeper to uncover the true planners of the operation.

 

The District Director of Huai Khwang exposed that the passport service advertisement was unlawful. He said there were no official papers for where the sign was installed, and that there were no corrupt officials in his district. The Immigration Bureau also cleared up that the ad had no ties to Thai nationality acquisition, saying this is a decision made by another country's government.

 

The contentious advertisement in question, written in Chinese and offering passport services to move to another country, has now been taken down from the Huai Khwang intersection. The authorities are working tirelessly to apprehend those who commissioned the ad.

 

File photo for reference only

 

-- 2024-07-23

 

- Cigna offers a range of plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

[orchis]

12 hours ago, bristolgeoff said:

I understood the whole billboard prefectly my chinese  is that good.why advertise when most probadly know it anyway

better than your spelling of English, probably.

[Gknrd]

If this doesn't give you the direction that Thailand is heading in nothing will.

 

[NoDisplayName]

13 hours ago, attento said:

The transnational criminals will already have all the passports they need.     So, who is this advertising really targeting ?

 

Target is western ex-pats in Thailand now furiously researching tax treaties between Thailand and Vanuatu.

[BadSpottedDog]

Why in the heck does Thailand want to keep pushing for more Chinese tourists and business here? Every other article I see involving Chinese is related to criminal activity, and the general Chinese tourists use tour companies that do NOT bring profit to Thailand. Mind boggling.