Warning - always carry your passport or at least a copy.

[keestha]

Yesterday afternoon I walked down Phuket Road in Phuket Town, towards my car which I had parked close to the immigration office. A car stopped next to me, and the driver rolled down the window and called me. Assuming he wanted to offer a service like a taxi ride, I dismissed him politely. But then he pulled out a badge, stating he was an immigration officer. He asked for my passport, and I told him I had a copy in my car, parked near by. Subsequently I offered him to show my drivers licence, and he seemed slightly surprised when I told him it was a Thai DL. Then he asked me where I stayed, and i told him I stay in Khao Lak/Phangnga, and also what I do for a living there, after which he told me I could go on my way.

In this case it might have helped that I speak Thai semi fluently, could also have worked the other way around. The guy didn't even try to speak English with me.

Living in Thailand since 1992, a lot of traveling, and only the second time I was asked for an ID somewhere on the street.

Anyway for those living in Phuket I think for the time being it is wise always to carry at least a copy of your passport+visa. An earlier thread here already made me decide always to keep a copy in the car, because I have to go to Phuket frequently.

[Felt 35]

Did you take a good look at the badge and the man?

[somtampet]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Edited September 4, 2013 by Tywais
Changed to standard font

[stevenl]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

[merijn]

This is very first time that i hear that a supposed immigration officer request a passport check from his car.

Normally passport checks are only done in organised events like road blocks, raids and house checks etc. and not one officer on his own. (unless he has a god reason to do so)

Even then it is very rare to be checked.

If i was you i would inspect the Badge a little bit closer as immigration officers don't wear normally badges but laminated ID cards.

As for speaking Thai, in my experience this does not make a real difference except in surprising him.

Edited September 4, 2013 by merijn

[NamKangMan]

Did you take a good look at the badge and the man?

I was thinking the same thing.

Can anyone post a photo of what a Thai Immigration Officer ID badge looks like.

I'm wondering if some Immigration Officers on Phuket are a little like "the music police" scam here.

Edited September 4, 2013 by NamKangMan

[merijn]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

There is a lot of discussing going on about this subject.

I believe that It is not really clear in the Thai immigration law.

All people need to carry identification papers on their person and tourist are required to carry their passport.

But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued.

In most of the times it is understood that a Thai DL is sufficient as it has the PP number on it and they can check the immigration status with this PP number.

But other people argues that this does not clearly shows the immigration status to the police at that stage and the PP should be shown at the spot or in a timely manner or a copy of the PP and immigration status should be used.

I think that it is at the judgement of the officer at that moment.

Personally i always use my Thai DL for identification ( traveling in Phuket but also for domestic air travel and hotels ) and never had any problem in over 20 years.

[somtampet]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

Been in Thailand for 10 years and always used it for identification,rather than using passport.Even pay same price as thIS for PLACES VISITED

[stevenl]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

There is a lot of discussing going on about this subject.

I believe that It is not really clear in the Thai immigration law.

All people need to carry identification papers on their person and tourist are required to carry their passport.

But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued.

In most of the times it is understood that a Thai DL is sufficient as it has the PP number on it and they can check the immigration status with this PP number.

But other people argues that this does not clearly shows the immigration status to the police at that stage and the PP should be shown at the spot or in a timely manner or a copy of the PP and immigration status should be used.

I think that it is at the judgement of the officer at that moment.

Personally i always use my Thai DL for identification ( traveling in Phuket but also for domestic air travel and hotels ) and never had any problem in over 20 years.

Yes, would love clarification on this point. Take into account that, presuming 5 year DL and 5 year passport, the passport number on the DL will in 50% of the cases not be valid anymore.

[keestha]

If i was you i would inspect the Badge a little bit closer as immigration officers don't wear normally badges but laminated ID cards.

Right, it was not a badge really, but as you say a laminated ID card with picture. Could have been his swimming pool membership as far as I am concerned, as said he let me go after a short chat, I ended up not showing him any ID, but if he really would have made a problem I would have asked him to let me closely inspect his ID card.

[NamKangMan]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

There is a lot of discussing going on about this subject.

I believe that It is not really clear in the Thai immigration law.

All people need to carry identification papers on their person and tourist are required to carry their passport.

But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued.

In most of the times it is understood that a Thai DL is sufficient as it has the PP number on it and they can check the immigration status with this PP number.

But other people argues that this does not clearly shows the immigration status to the police at that stage and the PP should be shown at the spot or in a timely manner or a copy of the PP and immigration status should be used.

I think that it is at the judgement of the officer at that moment.

Personally i always use my Thai DL for identification ( traveling in Phuket but also for domestic air travel and hotels ) and never had any problem in over 20 years.

"But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued." - I obtained my Thai Driving/Riding Licence on a tourist visa. I have a few friends who have done the same.

If "long term expats are not tourist" - maybe you can explain what EXTRA rights these expats have that a tourist on a 30 day visa exemption stamp does not have.

[stevenl]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

There is a lot of discussing going on about this subject.

I believe that It is not really clear in the Thai immigration law.

All people need to carry identification papers on their person and tourist are required to carry their passport.

But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued.

In most of the times it is understood that a Thai DL is sufficient as it has the PP number on it and they can check the immigration status with this PP number.

But other people argues that this does not clearly shows the immigration status to the police at that stage and the PP should be shown at the spot or in a timely manner or a copy of the PP and immigration status should be used.

I think that it is at the judgement of the officer at that moment.

Personally i always use my Thai DL for identification ( traveling in Phuket but also for domestic air travel and hotels ) and never had any problem in over 20 years.

"But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued." - I obtained my Thai Driving/Riding Licence on a tourist visa. I have a few friends who have done the same.

If "long term expats are not tourist" - maybe you can explain what EXTRA rights these expats have that a tourist on a 30 day visa exemption stamp does not have.

Officially on a tourist visa you can get a temporary (1 year) license, for a full license a non-immigrant visa is officially required.

[merijn]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

There is a lot of discussing going on about this subject.

I believe that It is not really clear in the Thai immigration law.

All people need to carry identification papers on their person and tourist are required to carry their passport.

But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued.

In most of the times it is understood that a Thai DL is sufficient as it has the PP number on it and they can check the immigration status with this PP number.

But other people argues that this does not clearly shows the immigration status to the police at that stage and the PP should be shown at the spot or in a timely manner or a copy of the PP and immigration status should be used.

I think that it is at the judgement of the officer at that moment.

Personally i always use my Thai DL for identification ( traveling in Phuket but also for domestic air travel and hotels ) and never had any problem in over 20 years.

"But long term expacts are not tourist and can have Thai DL issued." - I obtained my Thai Driving/Riding Licence on a tourist visa. I have a few friends who have done the same.

If "long term expats are not tourist" - maybe you can explain what EXTRA rights these expats have that a tourist on a 30 day visa exemption stamp does not have.

I was maybe not clear when i mention Thai DL, i mean the full 5 year Thai DL and not the 1 year temporary Thai DL.

The get the 5 year Thai DL you need to have a Non-Imm visa/extension and so far i know Phuket DL department does not issue the 5 year Thai DL on Tourist Visa alone.

[stevenl]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

Been in Thailand for 10 years and always used it for identification,rather than using passport.Even pay same price as thIS for PLACES VISITED

And how often have you used it to identify yourself to immigration or police?

I have been here longer than you have, and have been asked by police for my passport exactly 3 times: once at a police check more than 10 years ago, and twice when they were doing WP/passport checks at places of work. Had passport/workpermit in both cases, and very much doubt a DL would have been sufficient.

[Shot]

What you think will work. What has worked in the past. And, what the law is, are sometimes different things. Bottom line, they can ask you for your passport, and detain you until you retrieve it. IMHO

Is there someone at home that has access to your passport?

Can they bring it to you in a reasonable amount of time?

If you can’t answer “yes” to both questions, you may want to reconsider what you carry.

Happy trails

Shot

　

　

　

[iamanisland]

Normally I carry passport all the time if moving away from condo and especially if in more touristy areas of bkk.

Have taken to just carrying a photo copy of passport detail page and visa and stamp etc too.

However I did read on a form (I cant remember which one it was now) about a guy who was stopped asked for passport to which he offered his gsm with pictures of his passport and visa etc. He also declared that this was of no problem to the officer that stopped him.

Now we all know that its better to have your passport on you at all times and that is what is required. Also I appreciate that it is really down to the officer that stops you and his discretion.

But,,,,

Does anyone else have the experience in being stopped only offering electronic pictures of there details??

Just intrested as I always remember the gsm but sometimes the passport gets forgotten.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[merijn]

Normally I carry passport all the time if moving away from condo and especially if in more touristy areas of bkk.

Have taken to just carrying a photo copy of passport detail page and visa and stamp etc too.

However I did read on a form (I cant remember which one it was now) about a guy who was stopped asked for passport to which he offered his gsm with pictures of his passport and visa etc. He also declared that this was of no problem to the officer that stopped him.

Now we all know that its better to have your passport on you at all times and that is what is required. Also I appreciate that it is really down to the officer that stops you and his discretion.

But,,,,

Does anyone else have the experience in being stopped only offering electronic pictures of there details??

Just intrested as I always remember the gsm but sometimes the passport gets forgotten.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I read this suggestion in one of the other topics and i like the idea.

It is easy to do and to keep it updated in case you travel a lot.

And it would provide the officer with some kind of information / confirmation and in those cases this is better then nothing.

As i live here and travel around the island on a daily I will not carrying my passport as the risk of losing it is to high and basically i would forget it to take with me on a daily basis.

I personally will start doing this together with my 5 year Thai DL.

Edited September 4, 2013 by merijn

[iamanisland]

I liked the idea too and did the pictures when I first read that post.

Hell... you can even board a flight these days with a smart phone and see on the news the other week you can now even use pay pall payments with the thing. So why not passport??

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[merijn]

Hell... you can even board a flight these days with a smart phone and see on the news the other week you can now even use pay pall payments with the thing. So why not passport??

But now you going to sound to sensible and assumes that the general Thai Police Officer is up to speed with technology and knows what makes sense.

Edited September 4, 2013 by merijn

[Paangjang]

I HAVE A 5 YEAR thai driving license which is sufficient

ABOUT TIME THE COPS WERE ABOUT,DOING THEIR JOBS,AND SHOWING TO THE PUBLIC THEY ARE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT CURRENT VISAS.

Are you sure a 5 year DL is sufficient? After all it contains no entry information, and no visa information as well.

Totally agree with Steven's comment. A 5 year driving licence is, wait for it.... A 5 year driving licence, not a visa

[LivinginKata]

Clearly this asking for passport is quite a new technique. I have been living and working in Phuket for 17 years now and I have never been asked to show a passport or WP in a casual situation or police road check. Only need to show my Thai DL at road checks. Due to various reports I have been carrying my passport/WP in my computer bag that I keep in my car boot when I am out and about.

[merijn]

Clearly this asking for passport is quite a new technique. I have been living and working in Phuket for 17 years now and I have never been asked to show a passport or WP in a casual situation or police road check. Only need to show my Thai DL at road checks. Due to various reports I have been carrying my passport/WP in my computer bag that I keep in my car boot when I am out and about.

Maybe because the DSI is in town and they have to show good workmanship.

[NamKangMan]

@ stevenl and merijn

It is correct you can only get the 1 year drivers licence, but you are just as legal on the road here with that licence, as you are with a 5 year licence.

My point is, how does the length/type of licence offer on the spot proof of your visa status?

My understanding is they are checking visa status, not identification, although you would think any proof of your passport number could also be used on the radio back to immigration for a check.

[merijn]

@ stevenl and merijn

It is correct you can only get the 1 year drivers licence, but you are just as legal on the road here with that licence, as you are with a 5 year licence.

My point is, how does the length/type of licence offer on the spot proof of your visa status?

My understanding is they are checking visa status, not identification, although you would think any proof of your passport number could also be used on the radio back to immigration for a check.

Both are valid DL off-course but i think that the 5 year DL is regarded some kind of higher standard in respect of stay.

Because only long term ( visa / extensions ) can have the 5 year DL.

I know this is not water proof and does not mean that the person has a valid stay but i think it helps.

[LivinginKata]

Both are valid DL off-course but i think that the 5 year DL is regarded some kind of higher standard in respect of stay.

Because only long term ( visa / extensions ) can have the 5 year DL.

I know this is not water proof and does not mean that the person has a valid stay but i think it helps.

That's not quite correct. Visa or extension type has nothing to do with one year or 5 year DL. The one year DL is your first DL issued, thereafter a 5 year DL is issued.

Clearly a DL does not give any sort of information on Visa or entry/exit status. immigration officers will demand your passport to check immigration status - end of story. A passport copy might suffice a cursory inspection, but immigration may demand to see the original and accompany you home, or allow you to have wife/friend bring the passport to you.

[stevenl]

Both are valid DL off-course but i think that the 5 year DL is regarded some kind of higher standard in respect of stay.

Because only long term ( visa / extensions ) can have the 5 year DL.

I know this is not water proof and does not mean that the person has a valid stay but i think it helps.

That's not quite correct. Visa or extension type has nothing to do with one year or 5 year DL. The one year DL is your first DL issued, thereafter a 5 year DL is issued.<snip>

If staying on tourist visa or visa exempt after the first 1 year DL also the following DL's will be 1 year. 5 year DL is (officially, and afaik Phuket office sticks to that) only issued to people on non-immigrant visa and extensions, not on tourist visa.

[merijn]

Both are valid DL off-course but i think that the 5 year DL is regarded some kind of higher standard in respect of stay.

Because only long term ( visa / extensions ) can have the 5 year DL.

I know this is not water proof and does not mean that the person has a valid stay but i think it helps.

That's not quite correct. Visa or extension type has nothing to do with one year or 5 year DL. The one year DL is your first DL issued, thereafter a 5 year DL is issued.

Clearly a DL does not give any sort of information on Visa or entry/exit status. immigration officers will demand your passport to check immigration status - end of story.

But 5 year DL is not issued on tourist visa or Visa exempt.

Edited September 4, 2013 by merijn

[eezergood]

WP supposed to stay at place of work?

Edited September 4, 2013 by eezergood

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Both are valid DL off-course but i think that the 5 year DL is regarded some kind of higher standard in respect of stay.

Because only long term ( visa / extensions ) can have the 5 year DL.

I know this is not water proof and does not mean that the person has a valid stay but i think it helps.

That's not quite correct. Visa or extension type has nothing to do with one year or 5 year DL. The one year DL is your first DL issued, thereafter a 5 year DL is issued.

Clearly a DL does not give any sort of information on Visa or entry/exit status. immigration officers will demand your passport to check immigration status - end of story. A passport copy might suffice a cursory inspection, but immigration may demand to see the original and accompany you home, or allow you to have wife/friend bring the passport to you.

As your passport number is on the DL, I don't think it unreasonable to expect legit immigration officers to make a phone call to check your status on a computer at HQ.

[stevenl]

Both are valid DL off-course but i think that the 5 year DL is regarded some kind of higher standard in respect of stay.

Because only long term ( visa / extensions ) can have the 5 year DL.

I know this is not water proof and does not mean that the person has a valid stay but i think it helps.

That's not quite correct. Visa or extension type has nothing to do with one year or 5 year DL. The one year DL is your first DL issued, thereafter a 5 year DL is issued.

Clearly a DL does not give any sort of information on Visa or entry/exit status. immigration officers will demand your passport to check immigration status - end of story. A passport copy might suffice a cursory inspection, but immigration may demand to see the original and accompany you home, or allow you to have wife/friend bring the passport to you.

As your passport number is on the DL, I don't think it unreasonable to expect legit immigration officers to make a phone call to check your status on a computer at HQ.

Presuming a 5 year DL and 5 year passport validity in many cases the passport number on the DL will not be valid anymore.