Why are people getting in trouble for not having their original passport on them?

[crickets]

In the news people on walking street are being asked to show their passport and are expected.to have it on them, whats up with this?

[willyumiii]

Some say it's the law, some disagree.

I have asked both immigration officers and police officers.

Both said," yes, you need to carry your original passport"

Since they are the ones most likely to ask me for one....

I carry mine with me.

Option #2:

Don't carry yours and prove them wrong later...while you wait where?

Much easier to just carry it I think.

It's pretty small and doesn't weigh much.

[fey]

a pic on your phone will suffice.

if not, times up for me i'll just take the deportation. same with a public piss test. if it ever happens i'm out.

[bkkvictor]

I always have a pic on my phone and whenever stopped the police are happy with this.

[Asiantravel]

a pic on your phone will suffice.

if not, times up for me i'll just take the deportation. same with a public piss test. if it ever happens i'm out.

totally agree with you!

I carry my Thai drivers license and in my phone I have the name of Deputy Commander Colonel Voravat Amornvivat from the immigration policewho very publicly assured Thaivisa in an interview on 31 July 2014 that people do not need to carry their passport. so ???

for me personally the way I figure it Thailand has lost a lot of its gloss with all the sh*t that has happened here over the last two years and now it wouldn't bother me if I relocated somewhere else. I'm very much sitting on the fence because it's just not the same fun country it was before in so many ways.

And facing any hassle over this matter would help me make my mind up and I'd also be out here.

[brewsterbudgen]

The law says non-Thais should carry ID. In almost every case a photocopy of your passport ID page and immigration stamp will be fine. If they suspect something, you may have to produce your passport later. Carrying your original passport on a night out carries far more risk.

[NickJ]

There are no cutt and dry answers to anything that has to do with most of the laws here.......maybe yes, maybe no.......

[fforest1]

You have to be idiot to always be carrying around your original passport.....

Your original passport is far to valuable to lose...

[andre47]

take a photo on your smart phone, but don't forget the pages with the visa stamps and also the arrival card

[onemorechang]

Lock em up for this heinous crime.

scum tourists , know your place.

[KhunBENQ]

Discussed again and again.

And again: I will not carry the original passport with me but copies of all relevant pages and a business card of the hotel (as a visitor).

The original passport has to be somewhere close (like safe at the hotel).

I will not change my mind before I spent a whole night in the cell (which will likely not happen).

[onemorechang]

Just love the friendly Thailand nowadays.

[crickets]

So some of you have actually been asked to stop and show yours before?

[HLover]

So some of you have actually been asked to stop and show yours before?

Show my what?

[Rimmer]

Already being discussed HERE

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