Immigration: Foreigners must now carry valid ID at all times, report within 24 hours

[Jonmarleesco]

I thought April Fool's day had come and gone.

 

Does immigration seriously expect that an expat, never mind an itinerant tourist, is going to take a long weekend away ... and report the event to either immigration or the police?

[LivinLOS]

There is no discrimination here. Thais have to carry their ID card at all times too or face a fine. They also have to report travel to other province and change of residence. Don't see why expats should be allowed special rules.

 

 

Can you show where Thais have to show their movements to another province ?? 

 

Its no law I have ever read. 

[statman78]

In the US we can get a passport card in addition to our passport.  It is mainly used for land boreder crossing in the US.  I wonder if this would be sufficient?  Unfortunately the number on the card does not match my passport number.  This could also be a big pain since I live and work in Bangkok but go up to Chiang Rai on a monthly basis to spend some time with my wife.

[chiang mai]

I don't understand the angst of some posters, there's nothing new in these rules, it's always been the case that hotels have to report their guest lists to Immigration every twenty four hours. It's also always been the case that everyone has to carry some form of ID, 

[denby45]

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can they have a photocopy machine at immigration at the airport ?

charge us 100 baht for a " official photocopy" on Thai Immigration letterhead and stamp it with the date ?

 

opps too easy.....

 

Give that man a cigar ... and I mean a Havana.

 

However ... sadly ... WAY too easy at the airport (embassy and immigration stations)

 

Note to my (US)  Embassy.  Please pull your head out of your ass and spend less time criticizing Thailand and work for the people who PAY you!  Us, the F'ing tax payers! 

Is it Rocket Science for you to issue something that the Thai Government will honor?

 

No thinking person is going to carry their original passport complete with valid visa and travel stamps to prove border crossings and reporting ... for this lame ass reason.

And for what the embassy charges for extra pages ... not going to fill it with ridiculous "Local" stamps either.
 

 

And for what the embassy charges for extra pages ... not going to fill it with ridiculous "Local" stamps either 

 

See post #33

[dagobert]

Welcome to Democracy !!!

Sent from my GT-P3100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[kleelof]

I just told my wife about this. She says Thais are required to carry photo ID as well.

[elzach]

Btw folks, this is not just a Thai invention. This rule has been in force in China since they opened up to foreigners.

 Of course you can now draw your own conclusions.

 

[mojorison]

 

And what about car and motorbike rentals who ask for passport deposit? Is this now illegal?

 

Not illegal. It just make a major fool and a potential victim of those who does that, check "MH370 stolen passports".

 

It may or may not be illegal for them to take the passport, but it is certainly illegal for the passport holder to hand it over. reason being, A. it is not your passport, it belongs to your government, and B. if you do hand it over, you are in a foreign country with absolutely zero status...and that's pretty dodgy. Thats why the "visa run" without you places are so risky.

[Oziex1]

Me think the military is asking questions of Thai officials, like. ''Is this being done? If not why not'' and "Moving forward, How do you intend to rectify the situation'' If in fact they are being that polite to them.

 

More laws and regulations we never heard of will be unearthed in the near future no doubt.

[ukrules]

 

 

reporting every 48 hours away from home is ridiculous... so now we aren't able to go anywhere!!

 

The hotel does this - not you !

 

 

 

if you say so ... what is this application form for then?

 

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/files/file/15-tm28-form-for-aliens-to-notify-their-change-of-address-or-their-stay-in-the-province-over-24-hours/

 

 

 

 

Probably for when you're not staying in a hotel / holiday rental place. For example if you decide to move into a friends house or move to your girlfriends house.

 

[oldies1]

Let's see if I understand this correctly.

 

I own a condo in Jomtien. I arrive on a 30-day tourist via with my niece.

We don't move to another location and spend every night in the condo.

Do I have to ask immigration, upon arrival at the airport, while checking

passports etc to also stamp a photocopy of the same passport and carry

this stamped copy with me all the time ?

[Jonmarleesco]

Everyone is required to carry valid photo I.D. in Thailand Thai people as well as foreigners. This is nothing new.

We're talking reporting. And an ID card is somewhat smaller than a passport, and less hassle if lost - even in LoS.

[sgtsabai]

risky 11, how about some info on the "passport card"? I carry dl sized copy of passport ID page, need to get visa page done asap. I also have Thai drivers license. I don't have any problem at all with carry photo ID with me, all Thais have to do same. I do not and will not carry passport and no ex-pat in his/her right mind does. Please read the forms TM 28 and TM 30 mentioned. Yes the hotel etc. has the duty to report, when I did my extension before last my wife had to fill out the TM 30, no big deal. Unless I am reading correctly, if you are out of your province for more than 24 hours, YOU have to report using TM 28 and I have to guess this means in addition to the hotel etc. doing TM 30. This is a tremendous pain in the ass and will result in reems of paper work for immigration if all farangs abide by the rules. I've not heard of this except what we are reading about here, maybe only local, maybe not. Anybody else feeling that 'you aren't welcome breeze'? Now it's starting to bite the legal farangs in the ass.

[DrTuner]

 Please do read the Immigration Act itself. The duties of an Alien and those of the place harboring the Alien are separated and clear enough: http://www.thailawforum.com/database1/immigration-law-mejesty-5.html

 

 Note that two of the reporting clauses can be suppressed by Director General:

 

 

 

3. Shall notify the police official of the local police station where such alien resides, within twenty – four hours from the time of arrival. In the case of change in residence in which new residence is not located the same area with the former police stations , such alien must notify the police official of the police station for that area within twenty – four hours from the time of arrival.

4. If the alien travels to any province and will stay there longer than twenty – four hours , such alien must notify the police official of the police station for that area within forty – eight hours from the time of arrival.

The provision of ( 3 ) and ( 4 ) shall not apply to any cases under Section 34 by any conditions as prescribed by the Director General.

 

 Section 34 lists causes for a temporary stay in Thailand. I have absolutely no idea what the Director General has currently prescribed.

[Pattaya46]

Does immigration seriously expect that an expat, // report the event to either immigration or the police?

Have expats received a "Temporary Entry Permit" ?

[LivinLOS]

 

Wonder how Thais would like it if similar rules were enforced upon them when living overseas. Thais in the UK can travel freely without any of this nonsense.

 

I wonder how you'd feel if you had to go through a months long interview process and present your financial information and your underwear size to even get into Thailand for a holiday.  

 

Same as Thais must do to visit the UK.

 

 

 

A country with a free medical system.. Unemployment benefits, massive work opportunities, unrestricted job markets, etc etc etc.. 

 

Please try to keep it apples to apples.. Thais with money, have nearly no problems visiting the UK, I have taken a few myself very simply. 

[ukrules]

 

 

 

UK driving licence has a photo, surely this can be used as photo ID?

 

It could, but question does your UK Driving License have your passport number on it ? I think that Immigration wants that so they can check your Immigration Status.

 

 

A good point, my Thai driving license does have my verified passport number on it.

 

 

Not if you've renewed your passport in the past five years it doesn't.
 

 

 

A good point, maybe next they will be requiring that you get a new driving license every time you change your passport.
 

[LivinLOS]

 

 

 

"Hua Hin Immigration is from today also enforcing the requirements that you and your landlord (condominium owner, house owner etc) must report to Immigration within 24 hours of moving in to a new address. On your arrival card you already reported your place of stay, and if that changes you need to visit Immigration and report your new address."

 

 

......kind of a hassle for those on a tour of Thailand?

 

 

 

They already do this and have been doing it for years.

 

The hotel, guesthouse / villa owner needs to do this - not the tourist, at least that's the way it's always been.

 

This is why you need to provide your passport when checking into a hotel - the details are sent straight to immigration - they have a web based system for people to enter the deails, I've used it myself before.
 

So is this just a clampdown on the existing rule or a new rule ?

 

 

 

Read the attached image files.. Rightly or wrongly they have stated that it is your responsibility to report when going to a new address.. 

[impulse]

 

reporting every 48 hours away from home is ridiculous... so now we aren't able to go anywhere!!

 

I bicycled 159 days thru 77 provinces last year in Thailand with my Thai wife.

 

Only 2 hotels wanted to see my ID... out of 150 nights accommodation.

 

There is not many hotels reporting anywhere in Thailand... as far as I can tell.

 

The 2 hotels where NOT In tourist areas, one was Narathiwat and the other was somewhere in Isan.

 

Which means that they did not report your staying with them, and probably didn't report the revenue from your stay to the tax guys.

 

A lot of the recent reforms seem to fall in line with increasing tax compliance.  Maybe that's just a coincidence.

[IAMSOBAD]

I'm not an Alien...I'm a humanoid.

[rebelplatoon]

And report to immigration every 90 days. Plus they have the right to check out the address (and enter) you give them and now for the finale:

 

Ausweiss bitte!

 

Where's that freedom that led me to this place 32 years ago?

[charliebru]

Yes, a trend is becoming obvious; time to formulate "Plan B".

[Tokay]

2015 they are going to roll out tracking cards for all foreigners, issued at the airport upon arrival and immigration offices for expats, with RFID chips inside that have the history of the foreigners travel, health, and financial statements in it. Police will have scanners that will scan this information on the spot.

 

 

[lust]

I just told my wife about this. She says Thais are required to carry photo ID as well.

 

ya..thanks.. try and keep up

 

jk =p

[up-country_sinclair]

 

 

UK driving licence has a photo, surely this can be used as photo ID?

 

It could, but question does your UK Driving License have your passport number on it ? I think that Immigration wants that so they can check your Immigration Status.

 

 

A good point, my Thai driving license does have my verified passport number on it.

 

 

My old passport expired before my most recent Thai driver's license.  Thus, my passport and driver's license numbers are not the same.  Ugh. 
 

[carib102]

 

It clearly states fail to report is a thb 2000 fine !

Sent from my GT-P3100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

And Thai law clearly states prostitution and exceeding highway speed limits are illegal.

 

 

No response to prostitution, but we receive not one, but two tickets for speeding from out last trip to Tak.  Never had a speeding ticket in the past, despite many trips traveling at the same speed.  I suppose the general has recognized that turning on the speed cameras can result in significant revenues for the government.  I should also mention that both tickets combined are about 1/3 of what I would be fined for simply running a stop sign in my home country.  Still, this change makes Thailand less attractive in my eyes as part of the reason we are here is the freedom.  Without that I might as well go home and enjoy infrastructure, good schools, cleanliness, less pollution...oh the list goes on and on.  I think you all understand.

[DrTuner]

Where's that freedom that led me to this place 32 years ago?

The immigration act is 35 years old. Just wasn't fully enforced.

[philw]

There is no discrimination here. Thais have to carry their ID card at all times too or face a fine. They also have to report travel to other province and change of residence. Don't see why expats should be allowed special rules.

 

Do you know any Thai person who has traveled to another province and reported their presence to authority  ???

 

I certainly don't.

 

No discrimination ?

 

 

[khunpa]

I don't understand the angst of some posters, there's nothing new in these rules, it's always been the case that hotels have to report their guest lists to Immigration every twenty four hours. It's also always been the case that everyone has to carry some form of ID, 

 

The problem (angst) is that this is still and very much a country filled with a corrupt police force, who will use this as just a new way to get money out of tourists and expats here. The problem is not the rules. The problem is the people enforcing the rules, who are now told they should enforce this. It is a new gold mine for any police officer out there. Think this will be good for the country?

 

They should clear up corruption first before they start enforcing rules like this. As mentioned before prostitution is also illegal in Thailand. What is being done about that?

Edited July 29, 2014 by khunpa