Suvarnabhumi Airport To Get Automatic Passport Check System

[dunkin2012]

Wilaiwan also said that the airport authority is currently drawing up the terms of reference for the bidding process for the installation of an air conditioning system.

I haven't been to the new airport yet, so please excuse this question: Will this be 'installation' or 'replacement' ?

YES

2 Yes

[dunkin2012]

This will reduce the immigration processing time from 45 seconds per person to 25 seconds.

The airport expects the system to go online at the end of the year.

Surely today is not 1st April ?

can you recall when the 2 national servers were offline?

will it be the same with these machines?

and if we happen to be there and if plan B will not be on within a couple hours.

My Lord!!!!!!......... instead of takin' 25 sec. Hummm...........

[hwt]

You won't need enroll in the program (whatever that means). There will be the new automatic lanes for biometric passport holders and other lanes for non-biometric passport holders. I also don't see how this only benefits Thai and ASEAN passport holders. Surely you just walk through and that's it.

I doubt that the Thais will have a record of the all of the worlds biometric passports. Although all the information will be in the passport, there would still need to be some verification that it is actually a valid passport.

The passports carry or should carry signed user data. There is or should be a root signer (probably at ICAO) that issues signed certificates to individual countries. Each country should be using its own certificate/key to sign the data of individual passport holders, and store the data in the passports. Given a passport, the gate/machine is able to determine whether or not it is valid using the publicly-available certificate of the root signer (like what a web browser does when connected to an HTTPS site), and together with a fingerprint read by its attached scanner, it can determine whether or not the person at the gate is the owner of the passport.

Edited May 26, 2011 by hwt

[Yeppe]

Hah, hah, will not work....you will see millions of angry people....Since labor costs are so low in Thailand so better employ 600 SMILING immigration officers at the airport. 300 for arrivals and 300 for departure side.

[mitrapaap]

Whilst this is good news for everybody I'm not very confident that "the system will go live at the end of the year" is a very realistic time scale. They are only just drawing up the terms of reference and Technical specifications for the bidding process, the prospective bidders have then got to put together their bids, a bid team will need to assess the bids, looking out for such things as competence and reliability, cost of installation and running costs and tea money, a preferred bidder will need to be selected and then further negotiations will take place. No way is all that going to happen in seven months, that said, I wish them well.

I suspect this will mainly benefit Thai passport holders, though his should free up more Immigration Officers to deal with none Thai passport holders.

Other countries have automatic passport controls which foreigners can register for, lets hope they go down this route, though there would be many hurdles.

This is one of the Thai announcements that I hope will actually come to fruition.

Why not read posts carefully? The bidding process is for the airconditioning. I always wondered what kind of smart architect designs a glass house for a country like Thailand - and what other smart people approved it.

[mitrapaap]

Last April when I left the country it took me almost 30 minuets to go through immigration. I don't know anything about 25 seconds. It was not that short of a time with the immigration officer either. There has got to be a better system other than looking for 500 bhat overstay.

Why not read posts carefully? The 25 seconds refer to the processing time, not to the time you are standing in the queue to wait.

[mitrapaap]

Don't know what all your complainers are whinning about.

Never thought BKK Airport was overly hot (maybe just a little too warm, but still ok considering the openness of it).

Only once was I annoyed that I had to line up for 45 mins to get through passport control leaving Bangkok airport. The other times it has been 5-10 mins.

They have definitely increased the number of immigration staff. Hardly different to any other airport. Seen the line for non nationals at Melbourne airport? Same same...long lines.

Stop bashing just because you can. Every post on TV about something that comes up in the news, someone or many people HAVE to say something negative (in a non-constructive way). I'd hate to meet some of you guys in real life, you must be really negative individuals.

You act like Thailand is the ONLY place in the world with corruption, infrastructure issues etc. Wake up. It's not. It's just more blatant to everyone in Thailand and the media does a much better job of covering it up and brain washing the masses in the West to make them believe the same 'shyt' doesn't go on.

I agree. I was thinking that for every Thai basher posting I will bash all the western countries that are most likely represented here on TV. Never go to the barbecues myself just because that's what would be happening whilst stuffing the bellies. Thai bashing at it's glory.

Couldn't agree more. They have an airport that works, they have a sky train that works (since more than 10 years), they have an underground that works, they have ID cards with color pictures (I don't and I am from a very developped country), all of this modern technologies that work - there is no reason at all, why these immigration machines should not work. Unfortunately Thai Visa forum often appears to be the club of the most frustrated foreigners a country can host. I think Thai Visa should by default display the users age aside the user name - maybe that would shed some light into this deplorable phenomenon.

[mitrapaap]

saves a whole 20 seconds?

It's 50%. So twice the speed or half the waiting time.

Hope that was helpful.

[mitrapaap]

So... we can expect computers that show up late?

Or computers which, between checking the data of two travellers, casually chat with each other for five minutes about why the canteen lunch was 'phet maak' or 'nid noi"..

How do you know they show up late? Do you have a copy of their work schedule?

[mitrapaap]

45 seconds per person? More like three minutes at least.

Again, as many people have been saying, this looks like it's all about Thai travellers, who may well normally get past the miserable sods in 45 seconds because of no arrival & departure cards, etc

Never travelled with Thai people? Thais need the same arrival/departure card as foreigners. The only difference is they use the departure card first and the arrival card when they come back.

[mitrapaap]

She believes that the winning contractor will be able to start the installation later this year.

we all know what that means. at least a year of bidding wars, just like with the sky train that goes out to the airport which had been finished over a year until it was finally opened because they were waiting for the right amount of money to flow into the right pockets. and now that the rest of the world has 4G thailand will finally get 3G nationwide by mid 2012. it's ridiculous!!!

And while the rest of the world.... you chose just that one single country to live in. It's ridiculous.

[traveller60]

I'm amazed that a country with some of the lowest salaries in the world is bothered to spend that kind of money on a computer system that probably won't work in the foreseeable future anyway.

Not only that but that will put some immigration officials out of a job.... isnt that against govt policy? Unless they have plans for Hit squads for overstayers....mmmm food for thought there

[thaifkrlim]

IRIS CORP sues U.S government for biometric passport systems patent infringement

IRIS CORP tries to sell this idea to the US before popularising it to the world, sold few chips to United States in 2000 through its licensee Williams. United States did not buy the idea but later in 2001 the United States government manufactured it own chips, readers and systems in America's airports. IRIS CORP alleges that the biometric system have been manufactured according to the Iris electronic identification or e-passport patent."

Source:

http://www.uscfc.usc....IRIS070708.pdf

http://www.iris.com.my

http://en.wikipedia....metric_passport

http://ipbiz.blogspo...-cant-sell.html

http://www.propertyi...e-standing.html

http://en.wikipedia....metric_passport

Malaysian tech company, IRIS Corporation, developed the technology and patented it and supply them to Department of Immigration Malaysia in 1998 making Malaysia the first country in the world to launch its electronic Passport. IRIS Corporation also manufactured its own ePassport readers which are all ICAO compliant and 100% interoperability with others ePassport issued (from recent Berlin Interoperability test.) They successfully developed the first ePassport Autogate system that reads ePassport and authenticate fingerprint biometric to a few international airports in UK and USA as part of the effective border control system application .

Malaysia is however not a member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and its biometric passport does not conform to the same standards as the VWP biometric document because the Malaysian biometric passport was issued ahead of the VWP requirement. The difference lies in the storage of fingerprint template instead of fingerprint image in the chip, the rest of the technologies are the same. Also the biometric passport was designed to be read only if the receiving country has the authorization from the Malaysian Immigration Department. Malaysia started issuing ICAO compliant passports from February 2010.

Edited May 26, 2011 by thaifkrlim

[thaifkrlim]

When i took my passport to Heathrow in year 2000, the ignorant immigration officer asked me, 'why are there no exit stamps from your country in this passport', I replied, we dont need any stamps travelling in and out of the country, because this passport goes through an electronic gate therefore there is no stamps. he looked at me in awe. The immigration officer challenged me that my passport is fake. i said it is up to him to find out, and he kept interrogating me and harassing me to prove my occupation, itinerary and credit cards etc. I showed him my business card, itinerary and credit cards. he asked me how long im going to stay, 2 weeks i said.

He accused me that I would not leave after 3 weeks, I pointed at the sign on the wall that reads "harrassing immigration officers is an offense blah blah", 'Dear Mr officer, I am feeling that you are harrassing me now.'

Then he checks with his colleague about my passport and few minutes wasted, long queue waiting, finally he stamped "six months only" on my passport and the final question he asked me, how much CASH are you carrying with you, I removed the cash from my pockets and asked him 3000 pounds for 2 weeks, is it enough? he later dropped my passport on the counter with the grumpy looks on his face.....stupendous hospitality

[dunkin2012]

When i took my passport to Heathrow in year 2000, the ignorant immigration officer asked me, 'why are there no exit stamps from your country in this passport', I replied, we dont need any stamps travelling in and out of the country, because this passport goes through an electronic gate therefore there is no stamps. he looked at me in awe. The immigration officer challenged me that my passport is fake. i said it is up to him to find out, and he kept interrogating me and harassing me to prove my occupation, itinerary and credit cards etc. I showed him my business card, itinerary and credit cards. he asked me how long im going to stay, 2 weeks i said.

He accused me that I would not leave after 3 weeks, I pointed at the sign on the wall that reads "harrassing immigration officers is an offense blah blah", 'Dear Mr officer, I am feeling that you are harrassing me now.'

Then he checks with his colleague about my passport and few minutes wasted, long queue waiting, finally he stamped "six months only" on my passport and the final question he asked me, how much CASH are you carrying with you, I removed the cash from my pockets and asked him 3000 pounds for 2 weeks, is it enough? he later dropped my passport on the counter with the grumpy looks on his face.....stupendous hospitality

He is the man who's only half vision o' the world................

i Mean it's their profession,skill to understand what the meaning of NO Exit stamp........ No need to explain to him,label him idiot.

all of 'em ain't done a good job...

[Mintcake]

I haven't been to the new airport yet, so please excuse this question: Will this be 'installation' or 'replacement' ?

Replacing some of the Immigration Officers with machines.

I think Rubl was referring to the air conditioning system ...

Hot air is hot air - whatever it's source

[Mintcake]

A quick search of "automatic passport inspection systems" brings up this link which gives a good indication how the system will work.

Basically, it needs biometric passports. Thailand has issued biometric passports since 2005, but I don't think to everyone.

If I had a passport issued in Thailand I wouldn't care whether or not it was biometric as I would not need to go through immigration!

[Mintcake]

Here's a video showing how it works in Finland

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=75GnjzOjdX8

I saw a few of them installed in the airport in the arrivals section for Thai Passports, where they were being tested.

Since many Thais have e-passports, they can use these machines when they come into service.

However, for anyone who is not using a Thai passport, for anyone who requires a visa to enter Thailand, the chances are pretty slim that we can use these machines any time soon. I suppose people who are using foreign biometric passports from countries that get an automatic visa on arrival could be possible though

I am about apply for a new UK passport. I assume it will be biometric. This raises an key issue: will all biometric passports, regardless of the country of issue, conform to a global standard? If not they will not be a lot of use when passing through any country's immigration.

[Mintcake]

Last April when I left the country it took me almost 30 minuets to go through immigration. I don't know anything about 25 seconds. It was not that short of a time with the immigration officer either. There has got to be a better system other than looking for 500 bhat overstay.

I think I can see your problem. You really should not go through immigration when leaving a country. I'm surprised you managed it at all.

[whybother]

A quick search of "automatic passport inspection systems" brings up this link which gives a good indication how the system will work.

Basically, it needs biometric passports. Thailand has issued biometric passports since 2005, but I don't think to everyone.

If I had a passport issued in Thailand I wouldn't care whether or not it was biometric as I would not need to go through immigration!

Do you mean you'd never leave the country?

[Soutpeel]

I am about apply for a new UK passport. I assume it will be biometric. This raises an key issue: will all biometric passports, regardless of the country of issue, conform to a global standard? If not they will not be a lot of use when passing through any country's immigration.

It will be biometric, also heard through the grapevine that the copper aerial attached to the chip only have a life expectancy of 12-18 months....so based on this wouldnt be worrried if it conforms to a global standard or not because chances are it will have broken before your get a chance to test it....

[SGD]

I'm amazed that a country with some of the lowest salaries in the world is bothered to spend that kind of money on a computer system that probably won't work in the foreseeable future anyway.

Are you ?

A nice fat contract is just another opportunity to line your pockets with filthy lucre.

Thailand = Graft.

[GooEng]

I haven't been to the new airport yet, so please excuse this question: Will this be 'installation' or 'replacement' ?

Replacing some of the Immigration Officers with machines.

has to be an improvement - the staff at the bkk passport control are the slowest and most arrogant in the world.....

[techboy]

I'm amazed that a country with some of the lowest salaries in the world is bothered to spend that kind of money on a computer system that probably won't work in the foreseeable future anyway.

It is an international airport and as a frequent traveller I can tell you that the congestion there is a big problem. They are making an effort to fix it. "Probably won't work" implies that you really have no idea of what you are talking about.

[Gonsalviz]

I haven't been to the new airport yet, so please excuse this question: Will this be 'installation' or 'replacement' ?

Replacing some of the Immigration Officers with machines.

I think Rubl was referring to the air conditioning system ...

Yes, maybe.

[Gonsalviz]

I'm amazed that a country with some of the lowest salaries in the world is bothered to spend that kind of money on a computer system that probably won't work in the foreseeable future anyway.

How much do you think 76,000,000 Baht is?

[Gonsalviz]

Last April when I left the country it took me almost 30 minuets to go through immigration. I don't know anything about 25 seconds. It was not that short of a time with the immigration officer either. There has got to be a better system other than looking for 500 bhat overstay.

??????????

[oops]

I haven't been to the new airport yet, so please excuse this question: Will this be 'installation' or 'replacement' ?

Replacing some of the Immigration Officers with machines.

Yes, they are replacing the old machines with new ones . While most likely manufactured in China ,they are being reprogramed in Thailand . So in essence, you will be greeted with the same blank face . Everything you say will most

certianly fall on def ears ...because with Thai ingenuity they most likely didn't hook up the mic's.."thinking that foriegners don't have anything to say that Thai's want to hear anyway" With such low labor costs, one has to wonder why they are spending so much

on machines in which Thai's are fundamentally are challenged with, or like the escalotors the will shut them down to save on electric ...Oh! I know it's another sidewalk toilet scheme...

I am sure whatever the reason, it is Top Secret... It will be interesting to see if they can get the machines to work......you know like

they have done with their warm blooded labor. It makes me think of the street lights they install...then place a police both beside the light to micromanage the street lights....... Ok....now that I have had my fun, I really hope it works for them..it does seem like a good idea, after all, we don't have to worry about waiting for a Thai to finishing eating....or do we..?