Random Check When Leaving Los

[HugoB]

Nobody heard or gone through a random passport control while leaving Los at Dong Muang? They take a copy of your passport together with your signature. This happened to a friend of mine last month..

[terdsak_12]

[meemiathai]

 

YES! THAT'S TRUE!

[HugoB]

I dont know what means, but I find these kind of checks weird. Anyways your passports are stamped and checked in the immigration? officers desks right? So, why somebody in customs wants to take a copy of your passport and a signature!??

[Greer]

I wonder why - they have a full record of any entry and exit from the country on the immigration database anyway...

[edited spelling]

Edited September 27, 2005 by Greer

[sriracha john]

I dont know what  means, but I find these kind of checks weird. Anyways your passports are stamped and checked in the immigration? officers desks right? So, why somebody in customs wants to take a copy of your passport and a signature!??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

perhaps for a credit card application??

[HugoB]

I dont know what  means, but I find these kind of checks weird. Anyways your passports are stamped and checked in the immigration? officers desks right? So, why somebody in customs wants to take a copy of your passport and a signature!??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

perhaps for a credit card application??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For sure yeah.. NO, seriously this has happened, and they did not try to apply for a american express through custom officials

Edited September 27, 2005 by HugoB

[sriracha john]

I dont know what  means, but I find these kind of checks weird. Anyways your passports are stamped and checked in the immigration? officers desks right? So, why somebody in customs wants to take a copy of your passport and a signature!??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

perhaps for a credit card application??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For sure yeah.. NO, seriously this has happened, and they did not try to apply for a american express through custom officials

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry... you misunderstood me. I meant the immigration/customs folks could make an application for themselves using the identification papers AND signature... they'd have everything to do it AND what better time to get a credit card then AFTER the person has left the country....

[HugoB]

I dont know what  means, but I find these kind of checks weird. Anyways your passports are stamped and checked in the immigration? officers desks right? So, why somebody in customs wants to take a copy of your passport and a signature!??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

perhaps for a credit card application??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For sure yeah.. NO, seriously this has happened, and they did not try to apply for a american express through custom officials

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry... you misunderstood me. I meant the immigration/customs folks could make an application for themselves using the identification papers AND signature... they'd have everything to do it AND what better time to get a credit card then AFTER the person has left the country....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That would be quite twisted from the officials Seems that theres something more in this, becourse theres no one who has been involved in a situation like this. After all I would imagine that the readers here travel quite a bit through Dong Muang.

[GuestHouse]

Did they charge you for the photocopy?

[Axel]

Nobody heard or gone through a random passport control while leaving Los at Dong Muang? They take a copy of your passport together with your signature. This happened to a friend of mine last month..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually, I do not understand this even I passed a hundred times and more through Don Muang.

You give the immigration officer your passport together with boarding pass and

the departure card. They stamp your p/port, the departure card, which is than clipped to the boarding pass. That's it.

Who is taking a copy of the the passport? Never heard of this before.

[ovenman]

I can't imagine why outbound immigrations would need this extra paperwork but on the other hand, I have never understood how outbound Thai immigrations takes as much time as they do clearing people who are departing Thailand. Scan the passport, look to see that the person has not overstayed, exit stamp the passport. The process should take twenty to thirty seconds tops. Watch how fast travelers clear outbound immigrations at Changi Airport sometime...

[HugoB]

This happened after the immigration desk. They got pulled away by the cumstom (?) officials and were asked to show their passports. Customs copied the passports and asked their signature to the paper where the copy of their passport was printed. No questions asked, nothing else.

[tripperj]

This happened after the immigration desk. They got pulled away by the cumstom (?) officials and were asked to show their passports. Customs copied the passports and asked their signature to the paper where the copy of their passport was printed. No questions asked, nothing else.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's more of this anti terrorism bull sh1t, i'm from northern ireland and the last time a flew to Liverpool they asked me if they could copy my pass port and take a photo of me, i said why, they said it was an anti terrorism pollicy. I said i'm not a terrorist so no you can't. I was then told i would not be able to enter the departure lounge if i did not. i continued to argue but my plane was leaving soon so i just agreed and got on the plane. I have no idea how taking photos or copies of peoples passport will stop terrorism but thats what they said.

Fortunetly they were lookinh for terrorists and not drugs smuggelers and didn't find the kilo of smack i had in my bag .......lol (just joking)

[Gumballl]

At Don Muang, electronic photos are taken of passengers upon arrival AND departure. Getting thru immigration now takes a little longer than 30 seconds.

Also, my carry-on bag was hand-searched just AFTER to going thru the x-ray checkpoint at my designated departure gate/wing of Terminal 2. This was a random search... not everyone had to go thru this.

The terrorists are winning... they are disrupting normal life.

[britmaveric]

Probably a test program of sorts. I would have asked them what this new procedure was? 9/10 times if you are polite they will readily answer any question.

[phibunmike]

This is a bit off topic...

There is a new procedure at Ubon Ratchathani:

1. Enter airport building, bag is x-rayed but no sticker applied.

2. Check in. Checkin staff want sticker on bag.

3. Go back to x-ray, x-ray again, apply sticker.

4. Check-in.

This has happened several times, they won't give the sticker the first time through !

[sriracha john]

I had forgotten that you said it was at Customs... and done after Immigration.

That REALLY is odd.... why Customs? No bag search, but copy your passport AND your signature??? what's that all about? I have never heard of Immigration officers getting copies of a signature... let alone Customs... and in particular, the departures area This is getter odder the more one thinks about it.

Were they in official uniforms or have badges or ID themselves as Customs officers?

Geez... I really would be suspicious about this now...

my earlier post was in complete jest about it being some type of fraud, but now it is actually starting to sound more plausible.

They must have been up to "something," even if it was not credit card scamming...

Edited September 29, 2005 by sriracha john

[thohts]

This is Thailand folks.

That's the only explanation anyone ever needs.

[Ice Maiden]

Never had this problem at Don Muang but I have had a similar problem at Amsterdam airport on the way back from Thailand.

I was minding my own business and I was going into the departure lounge when a custom came up to me and asked where I'd come from. As soon as I said Bangkok he took me aside to a room called some other customs and they checked my hand luggage. They then asked for my passport and took a copy. Then if that wasn't enough they grilled me with questions for 15 mins.

One of the customs said it was enough because I was only 17 but the guy that stopped me still wasn't done. They ended up letting me go though but why they did that I do not know.

Edited September 30, 2005 by Ice Maiden

[astral]

I have never seen a customs officer on the exit side of Don Muang.

Sure there is a desk, but it has never been manned/womanned when I have gone through.

[Ajarn_Jonesy]

I dont know what  means, but I find these kind of checks weird. Anyways your passports are stamped and checked in the immigration? officers desks right? So, why somebody in customs wants to take a copy of your passport and a signature!??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Have never had Customs ask for a copy of my passport...... Something smells fishy to me

[Ajarn_Jonesy]

I dont know what  means, but I find these kind of checks weird. Anyways your passports are stamped and checked in the immigration? officers desks right? So, why somebody in customs wants to take a copy of your passport and a signature!??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

perhaps for a credit card application??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Get home from the airport and 2 weeks later a letter for "Hello Mr John congratulations on the purchase of your new BMW"

[penzman]

I used to get these random checks from an ex-girlfriend when leaving home. I left her a departure card.

[lopburi3]

My guess is the Customs people have a quota of checks to meet and that was just a part of it. They have the paperwork to show checks were made. And traveler was not unduly inconvenienced.

Now I could see this as a security measure if immigration felt traveler might not be the person in passport but did not have enough reason to stop; as this would provide a witnessed signature they could match with both passport and exit card.