Fingerprint scans to debut at Thai Immigration to catch known criminals

[culicine]

You'd think they would sort out their own domestic criminal / political problems first. The latter should scare away sufficient tourists to make finger scanning easier. I doubt international criminals will use regular checkpoints anyway.

Edited May 15, 2014 by culicine

[marko kok prong]

Maybe Tat can help,'free finger print scan when you come to amazing Thailand' that could lure in a few billion.

[mojorison]

Imagine the Thais managing such a database... ohhh good lord. Makes me chuckle just thinking about it. Perhaps they could do polygraphs and phenobarbital shots. Come on Thailand... let's think outside the box for a minute!

Waterboarding?

Just ideas...

[Redhawk]

Just another idea of the US pressed on the Thai Government, all of these ideas around the world never kept the bad away from doing bad things, it may help and has helped sometimes arresting some criminals afterwards but it does not stop them to do their business! Before that the government should pay their debts to the rice farmers better!

[Arkady]

Many countries scan fingerprints on entry but Thailand's Immigration is much more old fashioned and slow than most. They seem to love stamping and signing things. I wonder if this will hold up the process any futher. China is even more paranoid than Thailand and much less dependent on tourism income but they are able to get people through Immigration in about 40 seconds - with a smile too which is all too rare in the Land of Smiles itself.

I note that the commissioner didn't disclose his reasons for not being worried about disease transmission by the finger print scanners. Prehaps he is not worried because he will not have to have his prints scanned as a pu yai.

[frankwhite]

The sale of fine course sandpaper will increase..

Fine course sandpaper is used to sand off your finger prints. It take a long time and can be very painful..

Sent from my iPhone

[makescents]

If you've been through LA as a non-USA passport holder you'll get some idea of what it's going to be like. Thailand is generally a very easy place in terms of getting through the international airport. Even Heathrow is harder

P.S. -- I'll happily stand in a queue if it keeps the foreign thugs out -- there's enough home-grown ones

I was surprised at the difference between Heathrow and Manchester.

Security in Heathrow is much stricter...

[makescents]

Many countries scan fingerprints on entry but Thailand's Immigration is much more old fashioned and slow than most. They seem to love stamping and signing things. I wonder if this will hold up the process any futher. China is even more paranoid than Thailand and much less dependent on tourism income but they are able to get people through Immigration in about 40 seconds - with a smile too which is all too rare in the Land of Smiles itself.

I note that the commissioner didn't disclose his reasons for not being worried about disease transmission by the finger print scanners. Prehaps he is not worried because he will not have to have his prints scanned as a pu yai.

China make you go through immigration for a connection which is ridiculous.

[alocacoc]

I guess the most of us have already a biometric password. Into the RFID chip are our fingerprints saved. At every Thailand border our passport get scanned. Technically they are already able to read out the biometric datas. I'm curios if those information got already saved in a database.

[arminbkk]

From the OP:

The scanners will force thousands of people to touch the same device. When asked about the possibility of transmitting diseases – such as MERS – the general said he was not worried.
“So many other countries use fingerprinting. We are not worried about disease transmission. As I said, it is something that needs to be done for the benefit of the whole country.”

The general is not worried. And that's it!

He does not counter the argument, does not give reasons etc.

Just that he is not worried.....because other countries also use fingerprinting.

[BaldPlumber]

342 million baht? for the whole of Thailand? this seems very cheap.

[Estrada]

Where else in the region do they fingerprint tourist arrivals like this?

Presumably going to be checked against biometrics?

Do they even have automated readers yet? Doesn't Somchai still key the data in by hand. At least, once its done the whole system will be automated and less open to abuse.

They might even catch a few Thai criminals . kamnan po only hung out in his own house for 10 years. I am sure the other major criminals will just get caught at a border post.

Cambodia and Malaysia at least.

Do they fingerprint in Malaysia? All arrivals?

I don't remember that.

Not all, but it seems they do some as has been reported.

No.... But they did find out that two Iranians with false passports boarded flight MH370, so you can expect them to start doing it soon. The UK introduced finger print scanning in 2007 and the finger print information is supposed to be stored in the chip in the passport. I got my new expensive biometric British Passport from the British Embassy in Libya, but they hadn't got the scanners due to Government budget cuts!

[uptheos]

What a great idea, now if they could set up fingerprint road blocks for Thai's, the crime rate would plummet considerably.

[kingstonkid]

There will be a lot of teaching jobs open with all the new immigration rules. The number of illegal foriegners without the correct visa is enormous. I know personally of many who do visa runs bi weekly to stay and teach in thailand. This fingerprinting may also reduce some of the russian mafia that is here. Getting into thailand may become harder and stricter for tourists but staying here will be harder

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

surely a work permit stops all that hassle....or are they undesirable people..

Winston the problem is that most teachers do not have the university degree to get a work permit and most companies donot want to get them for staff as it will affect their bottom line.

For a school to get a work permit for a teacher is time consuming ad expensive. Also as soon as they do they have to start reporting income and taxes.

Right now it is more convenient for a person to get a job teaching pickup 30k a month no taxes and enjoy life.

As soon as you get a work permit you lose a percentage of your money to income tax and other benefits.

it is going to be interesting for sure.

[pitrevie]

I don't see what all the fuss is about. If you have nothing to hide then why worry? Ok it may add a bit of extra time when your entering the kingdom but so what?

I guess if one is in a rush then they can always purchase one of the fast track options.

Going through immigration either way can be most unsettling. The last time I departed via Don Meung just prior to Songkran all the immigration officers were wearing floral shirts and smiling, I thought I had been transported to a parallel universe it was most unnerving.

[alocacoc]

Interesting article from September 2006;

Thailand to Use Fingerprint Scanners at New Airport to Nab Criminals

http://www.securityinfowatch.com/news/10554738/thailand-to-use-fingerprint-scanners-at-new-airport-to-nab-criminals

[Suradit69]

If you've been through LA as a non-USA passport holder you'll get some idea of what it's going to be like. Thailand is generally a very easy place in terms of getting through the international airport. Even Heathrow is harder

P.S. -- I'll happily stand in a queue if it keeps the foreign thugs out -- there's enough home-grown ones

These issues and the more onerous entry requirements should be blamed on those who cause the problems, not those trying to cope with them.

How often are people with too many visas or visa exempt stamps in their passports or years of overstaying advised in these forums to "lose" their passports and get new ones? How many people brag about "choosing" not to pay for medical insurance or about the "countless times" they've run back & forth across a border or how they solved their extension problems by pretending to be a student or ...

And of course if someone posts a negative reaction to these boasts about using loopholes or circumventing the intention of the rules, he is told to get off his high horse or to stop being smug or whatever.

Looks like a whole lot of chickens are coming home to roost. I hope I don't sound smug in saying that ... actually I don't care.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Suradit69

[pacovl46]

Where else in the region do they fingerprint tourist arrivals like this?

Presumably going to be checked against biometrics?

Do they even have automated readers yet? Doesn't Somchai still key the data in by hand. At least, once its done the whole system will be automated and less open to abuse.

They might even catch a few Thai criminals . kamnan po only hung out in his own house for 10 years. I am sure the other major criminals will just get caught at a border post.

Cambodia.

[Lupatria]

The general recognized that scanning fingerprints would not flag any inbound foreigners unless they had a criminal record in Thailand or were wanted by Interpol.

And when will their database be synchronized with Interpol? While Air Asia is implementing a system checking for stolen passports in full connection with Interpol database this month, this may take a long typical Thai-time and seriously harm the KhaoSan and Soi 3 business.

details here:

It get’s even more confusing if Thai “politicians” with an arrest warrant on their head can fly around first class with Thai Airlines.

Maybe they should consider changing their slogan from: “Smooth as Thai silk” to “Now everyone criminal can fly- but only with us”

[jpinx]

Many countries scan fingerprints on entry but Thailand's Immigration is much more old fashioned and slow than most. They seem to love stamping and signing things. I wonder if this will hold up the process any futher. China is even more paranoid than Thailand and much less dependent on tourism income but they are able to get people through Immigration in about 40 seconds - with a smile too which is all too rare in the Land of Smiles itself.

I note that the commissioner didn't disclose his reasons for not being worried about disease transmission by the finger print scanners. Prehaps he is not worried because he will not have to have his prints scanned as a pu yai.

China make you go through immigration for a connection which is ridiculous.

So does LA

[Josh88]

If the goal is keep to foreign criminals out of Thailand and they feel that this is sufficient to accomplish that then I'm fine with it. If they're going to continue with the increasingly strict regulations in regards to visas in addition to this then it's an issue.

[anon467367354]

I find this quite funny

“You can change your name or your appearance, but you can’t change your fingerprints.”

if that's the case why was i required last year to get fingerprinted and pay for a police background

check every 90 days just to study Thai language in Nonthaburi?

[Torrens54]

Is Thaksin Shinawatra's prints on file ...

I think you mean. "Are Thaksin Shinawatra's prints on file."

Sorry, I'm a picky old bugger but don't worry, I have even had to correct a couple of Prime Ministers on issues of singular and plural.

Edited May 15, 2014 by Torrens54

[jpinx]

If you've been through LA as a non-USA passport holder you'll get some idea of what it's going to be like. Thailand is generally a very easy place in terms of getting through the international airport. Even Heathrow is harder

P.S. -- I'll happily stand in a queue if it keeps the foreign thugs out -- there's enough home-grown ones

I was surprised at the difference between Heathrow and Manchester.

Security in Heathrow is much stricter...

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

You only need to travel around the world a bit to realise that any terrorist with half a brain can easily get himself and his "kit" on board at one of the "softer" airports. Forcing transit passengers through the process again is a good security measure, but a real PITA for the rest of us. Just make sure you know what your going to be faced with and leave plenty of time for connections.

Fingerprinting is only as good as the connection with the relevant databases in Interpol, home-country criminal records, etc, etc. I'm told that false silicone fingerprints are available and not difficult to use. Stick them on with superglue and they're not easily noticed by a harrassed immigration officer.

[Dibbler]

i find this totally ridiculous, the serious problems INSIDE Thailand for example illegal weapons etc, the daily murder rate is horrific with lunatics with handguns..... but they want to spend almost half a billion baht on scanners that basically will be another giant waste of money as most people under the radar are just that UNDER THE RADAR..or know how to be

Its much less to do with introducing new security measures for Thailand, but much more about the contract for the supply of the machines and the individuals who will partake in the skim off the top of the contract....

[TechnikaIII]

They have been fingerprint scanning at Tokyo Narita Airport since 2007.

Doesn't really add that much time, but then again, Thailand isn't as efficient as Japan.

So it will probably add hours !

Nonsense. It takes but a few seconds. It takes less time than to take photographs, because more than half of the people have to be told to stand on the square, because they too stupid to read the signs. The thing that slows down ques are the STUPID people standing in them.

[gchurch259]

Where may I go to be fingerprinted ? Glad to see this and thing they should use Facial or Eye Scanners. Whatever it takes to keep or maker Thailand a harder place from Drugs, Human Trafficing and Terrorist to transit. Only problem is they have no data base for Kenya, Nigeria maybe even Malaysia.

I think you get the idea, Jerry

[alocacoc]

Another article from August 2011.

Thai Airports to Introduce Fingerprint Scanners

The passengers will insert their passports into the machines which will also scan their fingerprints at the same time. This process will take only 20 seconds which will help speed up immigration lines at arrivals.

http://www.thaitravelblogs.com/2011/08/thai-airports-to-introduce-fingerprint-scanners/

never saw that...

it seems, that they announce every three years the same story

[KonKorat]

wow,a country with so much turmoil,is doing everything possible to reduce tourism,but i can understand not wanting crims coming into the country,i guess i wouldn't want crims coming to Australia,we have our fare share already.

[dcsw53]

I wonder if the pioneer of this idea is being rewarded by the company who makes the hardware. The general struggled to make a case for spending, sorry frittering, such a big sum. If there is no backhander, then there should be.

Other countries like Cambodia and Saudi Arabia were similarly conned into this, and have the equipment standing idly by. If they want to improve security and have money to spend why not install cameras on highways, then throw the book at minibus drivers and others who seem intent on taking innocent drivers out. This is probably an alien concept since if they were to fine people realistically, as in other countries, it would be probably make a profit.