I was under the impression it was...

I was recently at JJ market, Chiang Mai, drinking with a couple of friends and the bar was raided by the police wanting to see IDs from everyone. My friends and I are foreigners that have lived in the country for a number of years legally and all had valid Thai driving licenses. The police wanted our passport, which none of us could provide on the spot. We were taken to the police station and charged for not having our passports on us.

Regarding this previous posted topic from 31-7-2014, http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/747736-no-need-to-worry-says-bangkok-immigration-commander/

I understand things have become a bit tense with recent events but do we need to carry our passports with us at all times now?

I would guess that they have remembered another easy way to make easy money, or another way to annoy a foreigner

or both

So far i can remember the law was always, that you need to carry the passport with you all the time.

Maybe now they will have a closer look or they always looked that close.. who knows...

"Deputy Commander Voravat also said that for expats living here, a Thai driving license or photocopy of your passport can be used as a form of identification."

I know it's a year old and a lot can change.. thus the topic.

Thank you, Boolah, for posting a copy of the receipt. For years, I have been looking for a police fine receipt specifically stating that the fine is for the inability to produce the passport instantaneously on demand, hopefully also stating the law and the section of the law that has been contravened. Now all we need is an accurate English translation to have the verification if this is indeed what the receipt says. I shall go to the Thai language forum for help with this.

P.S. Posted here in the Thai Language forum: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/855488-need-help-with-translation-of-short-line-of-thai-text/#entry9847300

"Deputy Commander Voravat also said that for expats living here, a Thai driving license or photocopy of your passport can be used as a form of identification."

I know it's a year old and a lot can change.. thus the topic.

There was also this, posted on 2014-12-17:

BANGKOK: -- Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri, spokesman for the Royal Thai Police, has said tourists DO NOT need to carry passports at all times.

His comment came when he was responding to the recent tourist shakedown reports in various media outlets over the past month. He stated that if asked to show their passports, tourists can produce their documents at a later time if necessary.

Source: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/650209-interesting-topics-reads/page-13?p=8813277#entry8813277

So the translation refers to a foreigner with no ID card. I had always understood that the passport had to be accessible and available, but not carried on the person necessarily.

Question is, have the goal posts now moved?

I might be wrong but you get the impression that they don't want us here

It is a pity that the receipt does not specifically say "passport", but from the facts related by the OP it is evident that the police officer did not accept the Thai driving licence as a valid identification document and would have accepted only a passport from a foreigner.

An option could have been to go with the police officer to the police station and arrange for the passport to be brought there if the officer would have agreed to this procedure, but suffering this inconvenience might not have been worth the 500 Baht saved by avoiding the fine.

The Op doesn't specify if they had their DL with them at them time. If they did then they should take their copy of the ticket and forward it to Deputy Commander Voravat and request a refund as well as disciplinary action against the officers who detained and harassed and then extorted that 500 baht from them. If they didn't have their DL with them then they deserve whatever the police dished out to them.

@Boolah

Did you not have a copy of your passport with you? I always keep one in my wallet.....

Money thing spot on. Why would they care if you are annoyed?

It has often been discussed and I remember one statement from a high ranking police officer saying that carrying copies would be accepted.

It is also quite certain that foreigners got trouble for not carrying copies at least.

So this case is not a first timer.

Be aware that we have a nervous situation after the bombing and the scandalous reports that Thai immigration let foreigners in without registering (for a bribe).

I always have copies with me (main page, pages with visa, extension stamp and departure card).

But can not proof whether it will always be acceptable, as I never been asked for on the spot

When doing overnight/distant trips, I always have the original passport with me.

Hotel where I stay checks carefully and writes down data from the passport.

Always searching for the extension stamp/admitted until.

As mentioned, you could have asked to be taken to the police station where someone could have brought your passport to you. This is what was done when Immigration raided the co-working space on Sirimanklajarn Rd. in Chiang Mai earlier this year. Everyone was taken to the Immigration Office near the airport and detained until their passports could be brought to them. A couple people had their passports with them at the co-working space and they were released on the spot.

In today's climate, I'm not certain a copy of the passport would have been any more acceptable than a driver's license. They want to look at your visa stamps and travel history.

@Boolah

Did you not have a copy of your passport with you? I always keep one in my wallet.....

I have lived here nearly 30 years,and have never carried my passport

with me,its too valuable,and I would not like to loose it,the only time I

do carry with me is when I travel outside the area.

A long time ago I was traveling out the area,and as there was a election

going on,I had the passport with me,was stopped at a Army checkpoint ,the

solider was reading the passport upside down !,and was quickly on my way.

Would rather pay 500 THB fine,than loose my passport,but carry copy of

passport and have Thai driving license,and would hope these would be good

enough.

regards Worgeordie

I might be wrong but you get the impression that they don't want us here

At the very least, they make us feel like criminals for no valid reason.

No matter how hard you try to stay "legal", they will find some way to interpret the law to suit themselves.

A driving licence doesn't show one's immigration status, which, in the current hysteria over the bombing suspects, might account for the tightening up.

I might be wrong but you get the impression that they don't want us here

They only want our money & it has been like that for the past 25 years to my knowledge.

This is so typical of many things here. There is confusion within the enforcement agencies themselves. It is very worrying that the immigration officers have different ideas about what is necessary for marriage visa and so on. There needs to be straight forward rules which apply to everyone and which everyone knows. We are all in the dark to some extent and seem to need to bow to the whim of whichever officer you are facing at the time. Disgusting.

Im sure they back down if you write down their names... they need money but no trubble

for no risk offer to pay 100 above that you want their names... i think they will choose 100b

A driving licence doesn't show one's immigration status, which, in the current hysteria over the bombing suspects, might account for the tightening up.

However a Thai Driving License does show your passport number.

A driving licence doesn't show one's immigration status, which, in the current hysteria over the bombing suspects, might account for the tightening up.

However a Thai Driving License does show your passport number.

Yes. And in an ideal world they'd be able to check the immigration status using the passport number. But Thailand isn't exactly ideal!!

Ever since the <deleted>ing coup, I have carried my passport with me EVERYWHERE I go in a waterproof pouch (my man purse). It is NOT illegal not to have your passport, particularly if you have a valid, current Thai driver's license, but the monkeys BiB either don't understand the laws (I often wonder what kinds of official training they receive that allows them to wear the brown) or are just <deleted>ing with the farangs.

This kind of behavior in a heavily traveled tourist area is beyond stupid.

Thailand, what the HELL are you doing?!?!?

It has often been discussed and I remember one statement from a high ranking police officer saying that carrying copies would be accepted.

It is also quite certain that foreigners got trouble for not carrying copies at least.

So this case is not a first timer.

Be aware that we have a nervous situation after the bombing and the scandalous reports that Thai immigration let foreigners in without registering (for a bribe).

I always have copies with me (main page, pages with visa, extension stamp and departure card).

But can not proof whether it will always be acceptable, as I never been asked for on the spot

When doing overnight/distant trips, I always have the original passport with me.

Hotel where I stay checks carefully and writes down data from the passport.

Always searching for the extension stamp/admitted until.

I have had fun and games with hotels about this. I will show them only my name and passport number. They are not immigration and have no right to check my visa details.

I tell them to get immigration to come and check if they want, or i will find a different hotel.

Always i have stayed and no immigration has arrived.

Come on guys....Really.....How long has the letter of the law ever worked on a shake down.......It's just you, the boys in brown, the moon light.... Add some music/sound effects, (your choice, could be 'Benny Hill' thyme tune or the sounds they put in Thai soaps)...... There's a fair chance if you've lived in Thailand a few years you know more about the law then the copper trying to squeeze you for tea money!

It's called selective law enforcement. If there is one consistent thing in Thailand it's how the law is inconsistently enforced.

A driving licence doesn't show one's immigration status, which, in the current hysteria over the bombing suspects, might account for the tightening up.

However a Thai Driving License does show your passport number.

True, but it does not show your visa status, DL is valid for 5 years during which time every one except the PR holders goes through the visa/passport renewals/ extensions, on the other hand a 13 digit ID number apears on the DLs of PR holders which can be verified online via RTP computers.

It has often been discussed and I remember one statement from a high ranking police officer saying that carrying copies would be accepted.

It is also quite certain that foreigners got trouble for not carrying copies at least.

So this case is not a first timer.

Be aware that we have a nervous situation after the bombing and the scandalous reports that Thai immigration let foreigners in without registering (for a bribe).

I always have copies with me (main page, pages with visa, extension stamp and departure card).

But can not proof whether it will always be acceptable, as I never been asked for on the spot

When doing overnight/distant trips, I always have the original passport with me.

Hotel where I stay checks carefully and writes down data from the passport.

Always searching for the extension stamp/admitted until.

I have had fun and games with hotels about this. I will show them only my name and passport number. They are not immigration and have no right to check my visa details.

I tell them to get immigration to come and check if they want, or i will find a different hotel.

Always i have stayed and no immigration has arrived.

Hotels, landlords and other accommodation givers are obliged, by law, to forward the details of your passport and the T.M. card to immigration.

Carrying your passport with you at all times is ridiculous. What happens if you lose it? In my case it is the end of my job (work overseas) not to mention the problems of getting a replacement passport.

This is one of the most ridiculous laws ever

A driving licence doesn't show one's immigration status, which, in the current hysteria over the bombing suspects, might account for the tightening up.

However a Thai Driving License does show your passport number.

True, but it does not show your visa status, DL is valid for 5 years during which time every one except the PR holders goes through the visa/passport renewals/ extensions, on the other hand a 13 digit ID number apears on the DLs of PR holders which can be verified online via RTP computers.

And a Thai driver's license may not even show a foreigner's passport number....for my first Thai DL it had my 13 digit Yellow Book number on it instead of my passport number....come renewal time they changed it to my passport number.