Passports: Keep them on you, or leave them at home?

[juice777]

Carry my passport In my hat after 15 Jim beans. I am glad that work for you but not a good ideal for me lol

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[juice777]

When I was in Thailand I almost always carried my U.S. passport. When an ID is needed - e.g. at guest houses and banks the passport is the most acceptable ID.

The one time I got stopped by a cop - for stupidly making an illegal right turn against a Red Light - and was then carrying one of those miniature laminated photos of the main pages, that the visa companies give you free and claim it is legally accepted - he was blunt and to the point. No! He would not accept this thing, he demanded the real deal. I had the passport still - in a handy pocket inside the bush hat that I use when I travel (Tilley hat, made of hemp and guaranteed theoretically for life.).

He took my passport and told me to go to the local police station and pay the Bt500 fine and come back with the receipt to collect my passport.

IMO why not carry the passport, inside a plastic pouch inside a pocket inside your hat? I feel it is safer with me than hidden in a room or house where something could happen to it when you are not around.

My hat blew off on Mt Everest once,never to be seen again!!!!

Bad luck my friend.

Doesn't happen with a Tilley hat.

It has an adjustable "chin-strap" feature, which is really just shoe laces, which you tie with slip-knots. It depends on the user how much trouble he wants to go to, but the ideal is to end up with one lace under the back of the skull and the other end of it (through the holes in the hat brim down to the chin where it cradles the chin. This is very secure - the hat won't blow off unless you get blown off.

WHen it is breezy but not rainning you can loosen the "strap" to let the hat fall and hang down at the top of your back. When there is no weather I sometimes loop the laces over to bend one side of the hat up, sort of Aussie-style. Or you could loop it to hold up both sides like a cowboy hat.

When I am about to walk across the street or get onto a open-air vehicle like a tuk-tuk or tourist bus, I slip the strap down under my chin - if it blows off it stays on my back, like a cowboy's hat.

I have lost hats before - gone with the wind - but never one of these Tilley's - nor lost a passport when wearing one.

Lest people think I am trying to promote Tilley hats - I will add a caveat here: the "Life-time warranty" is really b.s. i.e they replace the destroyed, or worn-out hat ONCE. And reluctantly - like you are trying to pull something on them. It is "free", but I had to pay 25.00 postage to have it sent to me in Thailand from Canada, on top of the LD phone calls and time spent arguing with them. The second time I bought one, in California, same as the first one, I had to send them photos of the hat when it had worn out from many washings and they sent the replacement, to Arizona.

But I like the hat. It works for me as a traveler's necessity.

?

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[craigt3365]

Immigration chops and changes on this subject. The law states that you must carry your passport at all times. Bars have been raided with the sole purpose of getting money from Farangs that don't have their passport, sometimes they will let you go back home to collect it sometimes they won't.

My wife insisted on keeping it in her handbag until a guy tried to take it off her, I was walking in front and managed to give the guy a push. So now it's a photocopy and driving license. If they want to put you down, they'll put you down no matter how many documents you have with you.

"The law states"....

Can you clarify and point out to me, where that is been stated and what is the current policy ?

Coz i sure can't verify your statement to be true...

The best you'll find is in this thread, in many different locations. It's a translation, so not sure it's 100% accurate. But it's the best we have.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/566309-carrying-passport-with-you/

[cooked]

Immigration chops and changes on this subject. The law states that you must carry your passport at all times. Bars have been raided with the sole purpose of getting money from Farangs that don't have their passport, sometimes they will let you go back home to collect it sometimes they won't.

My wife insisted on keeping it in her handbag until a guy tried to take it off her, I was walking in front and managed to give the guy a push. So now it's a photocopy and driving license. If they want to put you down, they'll put you down no matter how many documents you have with you.

"The law states"....

Can you clarify and point out to me, where that is been stated and what is the current policy ?

Coz i sure can't verify your statement to be true...

The best you'll find is in this thread, in many different locations. It's a translation, so not sure it's 100% accurate. But it's the best we have.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/566309-carrying-passport-with-you/

An extract from https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/local-laws-and-customs:

By law, you must carry your passport with you at all times in Thailand. Tourists have been arrested because they were unable to produce their passport on request. Make sure you complete the next of kin details section in the back of your passport.

[Crossy]

That's an oft quoted link Cooked and the UK government obviously believe that it's correct because, as a special dispensation in Thailand, they let us keep our passports when applying for a new one.

But what nobody has managed to come up with in all the years I've been here is an actual Thai law which says as much

[F4UCorsair]

Pointless thread, and question. We're listening to public opinion, with two answers.....yes, you should carry it.....no, don't bother.

If I was in any doubt, I'd be asking the authority, not anonymous posters online. They won't be paying a fine if they're wrong.

Imagine the police demanding your PP because it's a legal requirement that you carry it, and you saying a voice on the internet, or in your head, said it wasn't necessary??!!

In 45 years of travelling, 40+ countries, some many times, and some like Indonesia and Thailand, legendary for police shakedowns, I have never been asked for my PP, except on entry and exit, of course.

Edited October 1, 2015 by F4UCorsair

[lostinisaan]

I don't have a passport.

[hawker9000]

Pointless thread, and question. We're listening to public opinion, with two answers.....yes, you should carry it.....no, don't bother.

If I was in any doubt, I'd be asking the authority, not anonymous posters online. They won't be paying a fine if they're wrong.

Imagine the police demanding your PP because it's a legal requirement that you carry it, and you saying a voice on the internet, or in your head, said it wasn't necessary??!!

In 45 years of travelling, 40+ countries, some many times, and some like Indonesia and Thailand, legendary for police shakedowns, I have never been asked for my PP, except on entry and exit, of course.

"Imagine the police demanding your PP because it's a legal requirement that you carry it, and you saying a voice on the internet, or in your head, said it wasn't necessary??!!"

"Pointless", but then you go on to try and slip a few "points" by...

Not really what you'd be saying, is it? You'd actually be saying you weren't carrying it with you for fear of losing it or having it stolen. A much more sensible answer. You're deliberately mischaracterizing the pro & con of this. It's not a question of "bother"; it's a question of weighing the relative risks of having it demanded by a police officer and of losing it. And you're well aware that the whole question of the precise "legal requirement" has been actively debated here for literally years. If you want to say the discussion is pointless, that's fine, but then don't go on with a cheap misstatement of the two positions and the juvenile pretense that yours is the only rational one.

[Jonathan Swift]

This subject and topic is a source of information in a convenient place for those who are just beginning their travel plans. After all, the site is called Thai VISA OK? It provides personal experiences and advice from reliable sources, and some pure speculation. I think we can tell which is which. Some of the info here is of value to some readers and some isn't just like in any forum, so there is no reason for anyone to complain that the subject is tired or redundant. It's all new to some of the readers. If you don't need advice just ignore the thread. I've been to Thailand twice and based on my experience and on the advice of friends it should be OK to have a good color copy of passport and all stamps and visas unless there is an obvious need for the actual passport. I would ask someone in the local embassy in your country for advice, and before settling in to your hotel I would ask the hotel manager, and if I could find a policeman ask the policeman. That seems to cover it based on my common sense. Everyone I asked told me a color photo on a smart phone is fine. Now any of you moaning and complaining that this thread is redundant, go away and find something else to read,

[willyumiii]

Pointless thread, and question. We're listening to public opinion, with two answers.....yes, you should carry it.....no, don't bother.

If I was in any doubt, I'd be asking the authority, not anonymous posters online. They won't be paying a fine if they're wrong.

Imagine the police demanding your PP because it's a legal requirement that you carry it, and you saying a voice on the internet, or in your head, said it wasn't necessary??!!

In 45 years of travelling, 40+ countries, some many times, and some like Indonesia and Thailand, legendary for police shakedowns, I have never been asked for my PP, except on entry and exit, of course.

You have never stayed in a hotel in Thailand?

A passport is required for any foreigner to check into a hotel in Thailand.

[willyumiii]

For years I have seen Thai Visa "experts" state that you do not need to carry a passport in Thailand.

I have asked both my Immigration office and the local police if I need to cary one.

Both said yes, I am required t carry it at all times.

They are the real experts.

Now I carry my passport, at all times.

[Compo]

Pointless thread, and question. We're listening to public opinion, with two answers.....yes, you should carry it.....no, don't bother.

If I was in any doubt, I'd be asking the authority, not anonymous posters online. They won't be paying a fine if they're wrong.

Imagine the police demanding your PP because it's a legal requirement that you carry it, and you saying a voice on the internet, or in your head, said it wasn't necessary??!!

In 45 years of travelling, 40+ countries, some many times, and some like Indonesia and Thailand, legendary for police shakedowns, I have never been asked for my PP, except on entry and exit, of course.

You have never stayed in a hotel in Thailand?

A passport is required for any foreigner to check into a hotel in Thailand.

I use the wife.

She checks in, while I look for beer.

Have not been asked to show any id for years, neither have I been asked for a work permit by an underemployed bellboy for carrying all her sodding baggage...

Edited October 1, 2015 by Compo

[Si Thea01]

Pointless thread, and question. We're listening to public opinion, with two answers.....yes, you should carry it.....no, don't bother.

If I was in any doubt, I'd be asking the authority, not anonymous posters online. They won't be paying a fine if they're wrong.

Imagine the police demanding your PP because it's a legal requirement that you carry it, and you saying a voice on the internet, or in your head, said it wasn't necessary??!!

In 45 years of travelling, 40+ countries, some many times, and some like Indonesia and Thailand, legendary for police shakedowns, I have never been asked for my PP, except on entry and exit, of course.

You have never stayed in a hotel in Thailand?

A passport is required for any foreigner to check into a hotel in Thailand.

Not needed if you have a Thai DL. It is accepted by most as a defacto ID.

[TingTongDee]

I never ever bring my passport out with me unless I am doing something official. I always have a paper copy with me though. If I get pulled over by the police, I never show them my Thai driving license. I only show the paper copy. That way when they give me a ticket I don't have to pay it. They only stop me looking for quick money. When I pull out the passport copy they look confused and try to get me to go to the police station to pay. I tell them I can't, no money. I have 7 days to pay the ticket so I will pay in a few days. I have a car, a golf cart and a few bikes. The paper copy works for all of them. I only show my drivers license when I check into hotels.

[CharlieH]

I think the bottom line, as with many things in Thailand, there is no real consistency.

Its very much down to interpretation by that particular official at that moment in time in that particular place.

What happens in X wont necessarily happen at Y. If in doubt, ask your local office what they want, that's the only way to be sure.

[Asiantravel]

For years I have seen Thai Visa "experts" state that you do not need to carry a passport in Thailand.

I have asked both my Immigration office and the local police if I need to cary one.

Both said yes, I am required t carry it at all times.

They are the real experts.

Now I carry my passport, at all times.

your immigration office and the local police versus the statement from deputy commander Voravat who confirmed " that foreign tourists and expats do not need to carry their passports with them at all times " How much clearer can it be than that?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/747736-no-need-to-worry-says-bangkok-immigration-commander/

[attrayant]

I always carry a small pocket-sized mirror in case I have to identify myself.

"Yep, that's me!"

[CharlieH]

I always carry a small pocket-sized mirror in case I have to identify myself.

"Yep, that's me!"

[hawker9000]

I think the bottom line, as with many things in Thailand, there is no real consistency.

Its very much down to interpretation by that particular official at that moment in time in that particular place.

What happens in X wont necessarily happen at Y. If in doubt, ask your local office what they want, that's the only way to be sure.

LOL. To "know for sure" in Thailand, you'd have to ask every single official, from every office, everyday. But what a million different & changing answers would actually tell you is beyond me.

[apetley]

For years I have seen Thai Visa "experts" state that you do not need to carry a passport in Thailand.

I have asked both my Immigration office and the local police if I need to cary one.

Both said yes, I am required t carry it at all times.

They are the real experts.

Now I carry my passport, at all times.

Last time I was at my local Immigration Office they said that it was not a legal requirement to carry it at all times. When I asked two of wifey's police friends if I should be carrying it one said yes, the other said no and that drivers license is ok.

Who knows what the correct answer is but for me my passport is too valuable to risk losing carrying it around with me all day long so it stays at home.

[craigt3365]

For years I have seen Thai Visa "experts" state that you do not need to carry a passport in Thailand.

I have asked both my Immigration office and the local police if I need to cary one.

Both said yes, I am required t carry it at all times.

They are the real experts.

Now I carry my passport, at all times.

Last time I was at my local Immigration Office they said that it was not a legal requirement to carry it at all times. When I asked two of wifey's police friends if I should be carrying it one said yes, the other said no and that drivers license is ok.

Who knows what the correct answer is but for me my passport is too valuable to risk losing carrying it around with me all day long so it stays at home.

As has been stated many times, policies differ from office to office, official to official. The law is you must be able to prove you are in the Kingdom legally within a reasonable amount of time. For most of us, that's a visa stamp in your passport. The "reasonable amount of time" is the sticking point. For one official, that might mean right now! For another, a photocopy might be OK. You just never know.

[hawker9000]

A sensible approach to trying to figure it out, and a sensible reaction. But everyone has to decide for himself. There's a definable risk either way. Don't let someone else's 'never-happened-to-me' non-logic hijack your decision.