Visas for men in marriage scam to be revoked
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Immigration Police are set to revoke visas issued to 193 foreign men based in the Northeast accused of involvement in a scam - registering as being married to Thai women to earn residency rights, a senior Immigration Police commander said yesterday.

Pol Maj-General Chartchai Saeng-iam also warned district office staff to be careful registering such marriages, saying that they could be charged with malfeasance if evidence of fake marriages came out.

Certification of the registration of a false marriage would be impossible without corrupt officials helping out, he added.

Indian men made up the largest unspecified portion of the 193 men, while the others were from Nigeria, Nepal, Cameroon and Iran - a group of countries for which Thai immigration and visa regulations are stricter than for other nations.

Chartchai said face photos and fingerprint scans would be collected next year from people entering Thailand, making it easier to identify and track tourists.

Another reason for tackling false marriage registrations between foreign men and Thai women, either against their will or with consent, was that tourist visas are easy to be renewed every year - simply via visa runs, although these were restricted a few months ago.

The "fake marriage scam" made headlines a few months ago when a Thai woman found herself unable to marry her Malaysian boyfriend, as she was already registered as being married to a foreign man - without her knowing. It was later found that an official at Non Sang District Office in Nong Bua Lamphu province had falsely registered marriages of 611 Thai women with foreign men.

The identity of other men involved in the scam is uncertain at this stage, partly because their names were registered in Thai and the correct spelling of their names in English or other languages is not known.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Visas-for-men-in-marriage-scam-to-be-revoked-30247833.html

-- The Nation 2014-11-15

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

I would like to know which countries you mention as more and more countries are developing secure Biometric data bases, which include finger prints, Iris recognition and facial photos.

eg Australia & New Zealand have biometric data embedded in their passport

and look below what India has and is doing - so shouldn't Thailand be doing the same

India's national ID program called Aadhaar is the largest biometric database of the world. It is a biometrics-based digital identity, instantly verifiable online at the point of service (PoS), at anytime, anywhere, in a paperless way. Currently it has 500 million people (5 billion fingerprints, 1 billion iris image, 500 million face photo) with 6 peta byte of data. It will reach 1.25 billion people in few years, 15 PB of data and over 200 trillion biometric matches per day.[10][11]

It is designed to enable government agencies to deliver retail public service securely based on biometric data (fingerprint, iris scan and face photo), along with demographic data (name, age, gender, address, parent/ spouse name, mobile phone number) of a person. The data is transmitted in encrypted form over internet for authentication, aiming to free it from limitations of physical presence of a person at a given place. Thus is can be used for casting vote from anywhere, availing social security benefits from anywhere e.g. PDS ration form any shop etc

It is precisely because of the behaviour of people like these that the immigration police seems to be making things more difficult for genuine applicants every year.

False registration impossible without corrupt officials and those involved come from a group of counties that Thai Immigration and visa regulations are stricter than other countries, so how did it happen ?

The false paperwork should have the name of the official who signed off on it and it may well the same one(s) time after time which is a good starting point BUT will it be ?

Foreigners have been caught so is that enough, what about the officials involved and the Thai ladies who may be complicit ?

Another perfect case ? No need to follow up.

Biometric data bases are a scam waiting to happen - everything on a computer is a file and a file can be hacked. Your finger print will be used by 1000's in the future bought and sold just like passwords. The idea you can make a cell phone or PC more secure by use of it is laughable. If anything it puts you in danger - let someone using your hacked online finger print file sign into a kiddy porn site and see if you still like the idea, but I am sure the cops won't care how much you whine about it.

"Thus is can be used for casting vote from anywhere" and I am sure it will only the people voting will have no idea they did - several times maybe. Good lord they can't keep a simple debt card secure do you really think a tank full of information like this will not be a major target of the best at the business and some state supported. Bad Bad idea - rats following the piper.

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

Chartchai said face photos and fingerprint scans would be collected next year from people entering Thailand, making it easier to identify and track tourists.

Man I really love this country. Why they treat us more and more like stupid cattles...

The questions is what they do with these fingerprints. Will they just compare with the Biometric data on your passport or will they save this data forever? If someone read the visa related forum you will notice that immigration police starts telling expats to report themself to the next policestation if they leave the province of your home address for more then 24hours.

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

I think the US has been doing it a very long time.

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

I think the US has been doing it a very long time.

I had to remove my Harris tweed flat cap once going through immigration at JFK.

The cheek of it!

It is precisely because of the behaviour of people like these that the immigration police seems to be making things more difficult for genuine applicants every year.

The nerve of these quality tourist..

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

I think the US has been doing it a very long time.

Yes, dont mentioned that. I mean as "Non" American you are kind of <deleted> in the whole global survailance thing the US is doing by entering the country. US Immigration Officers are the worst in the world. Because they know even more things about you then yourself. I faced this a few years ago and was questioned about things I would not even tell most of my friends.

If Thailand wants to become like this.....

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

I think the US has been doing it a very long time.

Yes, dont mentioned that. I mean as "Non" American you are kind of <deleted> in the whole global survailance thing the US is doing by entering the country. US Immigration Officers are the worst in the world. Because they know even more things about you then yourself. I faced this a few years ago and was questioned about things I would not even tell most of my friends.

If Thailand wants to become like this.....

Europe launches its strategy to fingerprint the world

http://www.privacysurgeon.org/blog/incision/europe-launches-its-strategy-to-fingerprint-the-world/

Europe has embarked on the first phase of its ambition to create a fully integrated automated border crossing (ABC) system for arrivals and departures throughout the region. The outcome could well be that hundreds of millions of EU residents and visitors will be fingerprinted and their faces electronically scanned..... visitors to the United States to submit to fingerprinting and face scanning, as does Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Afghanistan and Thailand. Australia and New Zealand are also trailing such programmes for selected countries.

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

The only right a foreigner has in Thailand, is the right to spend money !!!

Deport the scammers and prosecute the corrupt officials. Move on.

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

Its a deterrent, if you have nothing to hide you are welcome but if your a seedy type stay away

Deport the scammers and prosecute the corrupt officials. Move on.

Exactly so but the second part is a problem, prosecute corrupt officials ?

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

I think the US has been doing it a very long time.

Yes, dont mentioned that. I mean as "Non" American you are kind of <deleted> in the whole global survailance thing the US is doing by entering the country. US Immigration Officers are the worst in the world. Because they know even more things about you then yourself. I faced this a few years ago and was questioned about things I would not even tell most of my friends.

If Thailand wants to become like this.....

Travel, in most cases, is voluntary. When I cannot or will not comply, I have options of choosing another destination.

Choice is a wonderful thing.

I am not the center of the universe and the world does not revolve around my wishes.

Advocates aside, please, I think even some of the critics are missing part of the picture here. A fingerprint, because it is supposedly unique (naively assuming that recording, search and analysis are error- and tamper-free processes), becomes a universal id and tracking tool. Once globalists have the information in linked databases, you will be tracked automatically wherever you go forever. Add in purchases, bank transactions, legally required activities and a few other things and your entire life will become an electronic dossier accessible to whoever in power anywhere might be interested. And as for secure? Not. The ONLY secure systems are those cut off from outside access, and even they are vulnerable to insiders (Can you spell S.N.O.W.D.E.N?). Extensive personal data in systems easily accessible by government from anywhere on the planet are an elitist vision, a hacker's dream and a freedom-lover's nightmare.

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

The downturn, if there is one, will be mainly people that are using false I.D. or wanted for various crimes. The "High Quality Tourists" with cash to burn... ... ...

I would like to know which countries you mention as more and more countries are developing secure Biometric data bases, which include finger prints, Iris recognition and facial photos.eg Australia & New Zealand have biometric data embedded in their passportand look below what India has and is doing - so shouldn't Thailand be doing the sameIndia's national ID program called Aadhaar is the largest biometric database of the world. It is a biometrics-based digital identity, instantly verifiable online at the point of service (PoS), at anytime, anywhere, in a paperless way. Currently it has 500 million people (5 billion fingerprints, 1 billion iris image, 500 million face photo) with 6 peta byte of data. It will reach 1.25 billion people in few years, 15 PB of data and over 200 trillion biometric matches per day.[10][11]It is designed to enable government agencies to deliver retail public service securely based on biometric data (fingerprint, iris scan and face photo), along with demographic data (name, age, gender, address, parent/ spouse name, mobile phone number) of a person. The data is transmitted in encrypted form over internet for authentication, aiming to free it from limitations of physical presence of a person at a given place. Thus is can be used for casting vote from anywhere, availing social security benefits from anywhere e.g. PDS ration form any shop etc

In India it makes perfect sense with every second bloke called Singh...

Thailand introducing fingerprinting of arriving visitors is not a bad thing in itself.

Maybe it will be easier to deny entry to criminals and shady characters for whom the country has been a safe haven all long.

It is precisely because of the behaviour of people like these that the immigration police seems to be making things more difficult for genuine applicants every year.

Kind of strange comment since it was the immigration officer that arranged it. Always when there's some immigration scam, you'll find that it was created by one of their own employees.

Thailand is going to lose what tourism they have left if they start demandig fingerprints from foreigners entering the country. I know in many countries it is a violation of rights to take fingerprints unless accused of a crime and many people will feel violated if it is demanded here.

Thailand better find a new source to get foreign dollars to be spent here

As an example Malaysia has electronic finger printing at the airports, there has not been any down turn in arrivals, nor will there be for Thai tourism if implemented.

The Malaysian scanners are broken and have been for a long time...

....I wonder how much they paid....to get scammed......

...obviously they did not plan and execute this all by themselves..

...

Pol Maj-General Chartchai Saeng-iam also warned district office staff to be careful registering such marriages, saying that they could be charged with malfeasance if evidence of fake marriages came out.

So beware officials. You could be charged with malfeasance. I am wondering how deep this scam has gone and how many of these women knew about their "marriage". It seems strange that only one of the more then 600 (I guess it was 650 cases) women tried to marry. I guess more hat many were aware that there names were used and that got paid for it.

they can not , very stupid statement,

they have to show up every 3 months with their passport !!

Another stupidity is the obligatory translation of names to thai language;

They shoot them in their own feet ! 5555555555555555555555555

They don't need all that, all they have to do is look on facebook and the other selfie sites, there they will see a fair proportion of the developed world putting their pictures, what they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner on there every day in the hope of getting likes and friends.

A ready made, do it yourself, data base for the intelligence agencies of the world.

It is precisely because of the behaviour of people like these that the immigration police seems to be making things more difficult for genuine applicants every year.

Kind of strange comment since it was the immigration officer that arranged it. Always when there's some immigration scam, you'll find that it was created by one of their own employees.

You missed the point, didn't you? It doesn't matter who arranged it. It always goes through an immigration officer you nincompoop, do you think these officers roam the streets at night looking for customers? They are being approached all the time by desperate foreigners, no wonder some of them crack and give way.

Having said that, a guy I know that is in very bad health and situation was offered 'help' recently. THB 20 000.-.

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