Countrywide Immigration Crackdown On Hotels

[george]

Hotels face police check-ups

Immigration police are moving ahead with their exhaustive crackdown on hotels, guesthouses and apartments failing to provide information about their foreign guests as required under the law.

Police spokesman and deputy immigration police chief Pol Maj-Gen Pongsaphat Pongcharoen said yesterday immigration police were raiding hotels, guesthouses, mansions and apartments nationwide which had failed to notify them of the number and details of their foreign guests within 24 hours of check-in.

Their names, nationalities, passport numbers, arrival dates, arrival methods, the type of visa, and how long they would be staying in Thailand must be recorded in the computer for reference by immigration police for security reasons, he said.

The move came after authorities noticed the proliferation of cheap accommodation places for foreigners on Khao San Road where guests did not have their biodata recorded.

Most of Bangkok's 160 big hotels, about 400 guesthouses on Khao San road and nearby areas, and some 300 each in Chiang Mai, Phuket, Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, Kanchanaburi and Samui Island abide by Article 38 of the immigration law, he said.

Violators can be fined and their operating licences put in jeopardy.

--Bangkok Post 2004-01-17

[meemiathai]

Well done!

[Nam Kao]

Backpackers being targeted

[george]

Update:

Out with foreign touts

PATONG: Phuket Immigration officers rounded up 24 foreigners workers over the weekend and charged them with illegal entry into Thailand and working without permits. They are now being held in a Phuket Immigration Police cell awaiting deportation.

The operation was aimed at enforcing Article 38 of the Immigration Act of 1979, which has long been ignored by many guesthouse owners. Under Article 38, hotels and guesthouses must update immigration officers daily about their foreign guests.

Pol Capt Chatchai Hayimana, Deputy Inspector of Phuket Provincial Immigration Office, told the Gazette today, “There were 24 arrests altogether – 21 Burmese and three Vietnamese. Most of them were men working as touts for local tailor shops. We will deport them as soon as possible.”

“We are now following orders from the central government to strictly enforce labor laws and rid the country of illegal foreign laborers and the problems they create,” Capt Chatchai explained.

Touts working for the numerous tailor shops in Patong are a common cause for complaint among foreign tourists in the town. Often men from South Asian counties, they are usually employed by local tailor shop owners for their presentable style of dress and their superior English language skills, but the nature of their work makes it hard for them avoid detection if the government orders a crackdown.

Three Thais allegedly harboring illegal aliens also got slaps on the wrist during the raids.

“We fined three Thai guesthouse operators 800 baht each for not notifying Immigration of the arrival of foreign guests within 24 hours,” he said.

Capt Chatchai identified the three as Suwanna Sae-Lim, 30, of Jaranya Guesthouse; Charnchai Warathiwattanapong, 29, of JJ Mansion; and Amnuay Wannark, 42, of Sawasdee Guesthouse.

Similar action was reported earlier this month in Bangkok’s Khao San Road, and it appears that the government is selectively enforcing the reporting requirement in an effort to cut the number of illegal foreign workers in the country.

--Phuket Gazette 2004-01-19