Is It Possible To Obtain A Thai Id Card

[tartempion]

Actually you don't have to look very far - when I lived in Florida Disneyland had such a policy - but they made it PC by saying residents of Florida received a discount.

When I visited Everglades National Park, in Florida also as you may know, as a foreign tourist (although they did not ask where I came from at the ticket booth) I paid 10 USD for a one week ticket, including all passengers of the car I was driving.

That was most certainly a fair deal as compared to the Thai national parks I no longer visit since I paid 200 Baht at Phu Kradung in 2001.

I might try one day to present my Thai drivers license, but I just avoid National parks all together. There are enough other places to visit for the time being.

[calicojack]

what about my kids ? they are half Thai and live in europe , different to calculate how much they have to pay

most of the time when you speak a little Thai to the officials you get the Thai price , atleast that is my experience , stay calm and friendly and negociate with a smile and a joke .

Thais really appreciate when a farrang speaks Thai , it is respectfull , something that is very important in Asia,

[cutter007]

I don't know why this is such a difficult concept or rule for foreigners to understand.

If you can read Thai, many of the parks have signs that tell admission for

Thai citizens and for foreigners. I have read at least 2 signs that cite the amended law

where these rules come from.

It's a very clear rule, that is often upheld to various levels, by different officials

at different locations.

LAW:

If you are a citizen of the Kingdom of Thailand, you pay the citizen

rate, if you are a citizen of another country you pay the foreign rate.

At some places this might not be the same amount.

Drivers license, work permit, tax card, or house registration, none of them

matter If they are require you to pay the foreign rate, they are in 100% justified

to do so. None of the documents prove that you are citizen of Thailand.

I myself have never paid the foreign rate after the first couple of years here,

normally a drivers license and a couple of Thai words is all you need to get in

at the citizen rate. Many times the officials have been nice enough to let short

term tourists I was with also in at the citizen rate, after I asked with a nice tone.

But to all of you out there that have received similar treatment,

this is the park officials BEING NICE TO YOU!!!! They are saying

we understand that you are staying here for an extended period of time,

and so we would like to let you enter at the citizen rate.

I once was in a que for some park or waterfall I can't remember. And some idiot

foreigner was yelling at the park official using badly pronounced Thai vocab mixed with

English for all the words he didn't know, and telling him he shouldn't have to pay

the foreigner rate, because he had a drivers license.

The clown didn't even know the word for drivers license in Thai, and the girl he was

with had to translate this to the official.

He embarrassed himself and the people he was with, and wound up paying the

foreigner rate, after making everyone else in line, enjoy his long performance.

I made a joke to the official that that guy was so stupid, he didn't even

know what country he was from.

I asked him gratiously if I could pay the citizen rate because I had

lived here a long time (my girlfriends smile probably helped to)

and he let me pay the citizen rate, without showing him any documents.

He had every right to make me pay the foreign rate,

but I was appreciative that he didn't exercise that right.

Edited November 20, 2007 by cutter007

[astral]

In the UK I now get a discount at such places as I am now over 60.

[keestha]

Can confirm that any official document with Thai writing on it, such as drivers licence, work permit or tax ID card will usually but not always get you into the national parks for the local price. Sometimes it doesn't work though. Once, though I had my work permit and tax ID card with me, the lady manning the entry booth of a very small national park in Trang simply wouldn't budge. To no avail I explained her that I work and pay taxes in Thailand.

Now excuse me for going off topic.......It has been raining angry letters to the editor in the English language press about the dual entry price system. But those making the decisions are living in a universe that is 100% Thai. They won't read the Bangkok post's Postbag, and forums like this even less likely.

Sad, because it is damaging the tourism sector.....How can you expect a young farang couple to pay two times 400 Baht national park entry fee in order to use the parking lot and the toilet next to the waterfall, when they have done quite a bit of footwork to find a 400 Baht guesthouse room?

Edited November 21, 2007 by keestha

[Jingthing]

I would like to make another sensible suggestion that will no doubt fall on deaf ears.

Thai immigration wants us to carry around our original passports and of course very few of us do for fear of theft and damage.

Also, many of us do not wish to apply for drivers licenses because we don't drive.

How about a foreigner Thai ID card for anyone on a long term visa, subject to a nice fee, and applicable only as long as your current extension of stay? A win win, we all can get real ID and another annual fee generator from us for the Thai government.

I know, it is too logical, no chance it will happen.

[samran]

I would like to make another sensible suggestion that will no doubt fall on deaf ears.

Thai immigration wants us to carry around our original passports and of course very few of us do for fear of theft and damage.

Also, many of us do not wish to apply for drivers licenses because we don't drive.

How about a foreigner Thai ID card for anyone on a long term visa, subject to a nice fee, and applicable only as long as your current extension of stay? A win win, we all can get real ID and another annual fee generator from us for the Thai government.

I know, it is too logical, no chance it will happen.

Oi, thats MY idea

[jstumbo]

Actually you don't have to look very far - when I lived in Florida Disneyland had such a policy - but they made it PC by saying residents of Florida received a discount.

In Washington State in the US, they charge people from other states or countries more for state run colleges.

In Hawaii in the US, locals pay less for things than do the tourists and non-natives. They always have double pricing in the stores.

The way I figure it, if Thailand wants to charge me more, then fine, it is their rule, I can decide to go or not go. Maybe their tax dollars go to supporting the parks, and that is why they pay less?

[too true]

Also had the same problem at Sukhothai. They wouldn't accept work permit, tax card, language skills, or two mixed children with us to let me in at the Thai price.

So my husband says to them that he's got his tour guide license with him and he'll use the license to get the money back from my entrance fees (guides get commission at these kinds of sites). They had no problem with that at all and happily let him collect more than half my entrance fees back even though they knew I wasn't a tourist and he wasn't my tour guide.

Weird how they work here, innit?

[KKK]

Thai Constitution

-------------------

Section 30 []

All persons are equal before the law and shall enjoy equal protection under the law.

Men and women shall enjoy equal rights.

Unjust discrimination against a person on the grounds of the difference in origin, race, language, sex, age, physical or health condition, personal status, economic or social standing, religious belief, education or constitutionally political view, shall not be permitted.

Definitions of discrimination on the Web

---------------------------------------------

unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice

behavior that treats people unequally

To me it is clear...Double pricing is discrimination and discrimination is illegal. I do not tolerate it..I do not endorse it. The fact that some other parts of the world may also do it does not make it right. The fact that the double price is still cheap does not make it right.

I believe that deep-down the majority of the thai people understand that it is wrong. In some cases they are embarassed in doing it so try to hide the fact they are double pricing by using, the little used, Thai numeral system to show prices for thais, and western, arabic, numerals for farang. Ripleys in Pattaya are one such organisation who do this. Mini Siam in Pattaya also do this. Pattaya Park do not, its the same price for all. I take my adopted Thai son to Pattaya park frequently. I have and never will take him to Mini Siam or Ripleys. He understands. Last King's birthday he persuaded me to try and take him to Mini Siam as King's birthday is Thai fathers day and dads go in free. As a farang dad I was asked again to pay the ridiculous farang price while all thai dads went in free. We never entered. He left crying and shouting 'they won't let my dad in', making such a scene all heads turned to see what was happening.

[KKK]

Here's a little graphic showing the relationship between Thai and Arabic (Western) numerals. You may like to print it and have it laminated to keep in your pocket book for reference.