Metropolitan police chief tells foreigners to carry passports or copies at all times

[baboon]

Whether you need a photocopy or original is missing the point.

It's this idea that foreigners need to carry ID because they might be criminals!

Is anyone else beginning to feel like we aren't welcome?

err that would be....criminals....are not welcome.

Logic would dictate, if you are not a criminal you wont have a problem.

Feeling unwelcome is a state of mind, and its all in your mind.

Ive been here for nearly a decade and never felt like that.

But by all means, do keep peddling that line of thought if it keeps the negative loudmouths away.

I'm afraid the 'If you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear' argument simply holds no water in any country with a notoriously corrupt police and legal system.

Just waiting now for 'If you don't like it, leave' to grace us with its presence...

Edited March 19, 2016 by baboon

[Lupatria]

How many of the African tourists around soi 3 did they ask for their passports lately?

[gandalf12]

Anyone living here should know they have to carry a copy of their passport. I hope the message is communicated to tourists via their hotels or Embassies.

A copy yes and if necessary produce the original passport within a time limit maybe 48 hours but not carrying your passport with you every time you go out. If you are a tourist but living and working in your home country it is inconvenient if you lost your passport (or stolen) but what if you don't work in your own country and you passport has your work permit in it. You have apart from losing your passport lost your job because of this stupidity

[sandrew33]

Anyone living here should know they have to carry a copy of their passport. I hope the message is communicated to tourists via their hotels or Embassies.

Anyone living here with decent Thai legal advice would understand that this is BS.

You of all people should know better.

There is no legal requirement to carry your passport or a copy. It has to be accessible within a reasonable period of time I.e you can leave it at home.

This has always been the case and was confirmed by a different chief of police only last year.

But you should have access to decent Thai legal advice Brewster and you should be able to confirm this.

I agree that carrying a copy on ones phone is prudent to avoid drama but if you get the wrong cop they'll just demand the original anyway. The law does not require you to have original or copy on you. Period.

[gandalf12]

Whether you need a photocopy or original is missing the point.

It's this idea that foreigners need to carry ID because they might be criminals!

Is anyone else beginning to feel like we aren't welcome?

err that would be....criminals....are not welcome.

Logic would dictate, if you are not a criminal you wont have a problem.

Feeling unwelcome is a state of mind, and its all in your mind.

Ive been here for nearly a decade and never felt like that.

But by all means, do keep peddling that line of thought if it keeps the negative loudmouths away.

I'm afraid the 'If you have done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear' argument simply holds no water in any country with a notoriously corrupt police and legal system.

Just waiting now for 'If you don't like it, leave' to grace us with its presence...

Not a question of fear it is more a question if it gets lost or more likely stolen

[sandrew33]

Whether you need a photocopy or original is missing the point.

It's this idea that foreigners need to carry ID because they might be criminals!

Is anyone else beginning to feel like we aren't welcome?

err that would be....criminals....are not welcome.

Logic would dictate, if you are not a criminal you wont have a problem.

Feeling unwelcome is a state of mind, and its all in your mind.

Ive been here for nearly a decade and never felt like that.

But by all means, do keep peddling that line of thought if it keeps the negative loudmouths away.

Not being aware of one's environment is a variation on "ignorance is bliss".

Which obviously works for you and that's fine

[boshidoson]

I was walking along Sukumvit at 8:00 pm last night on my way home. As I crossed soi 32 there were 2 policemen with a police bike waiting there. I saw them turn into the soi ahead of me as I was walking. I was pulled into the soi and questioned by by the one cop as the other looked on. I had my Thai license in my pocket but was not asked for ID. I have no idea what is happening here or what they wanted, but it is not good. It is menacing and truly feels like a police state. We went through this before the coup with the Thonglor Station. It hit the press and it stopped. There was a PR campaign with posters and smiles. They are back at it, No one is safe here...from the police.

[Lostom]

I thought it was the the army who currently make the law and the police enforce it.......!!

[mercman24]

what an utter pillock, i am an ordinary man in the street, as it were, and i knew this was going down before it happened, if i was a guy who had something to hide i would have stayed in last night, simples. lol

[NoshowJones]

Or a photocopy. You need to change that headline.

Yes, if I don't agree with any rule or law, then I have a big middle finger, as long as the "crime" is victimless and no one is affected in a negative way.

I do agree that if asked, you should have to prove that you have a right to be here.

A Thai driving licence or a photocopy can do that, so no way am I going to always carry my passport around.

Edited March 19, 2016 by possum1931

[Bangkok Barry]

This has been policy for decades , in nearly every country you need to do this except your own , although these spiffs are now getting more arrogant by the day , now that they have their power base back in the form of the Junta........................................................

I have been to more than 30 countries and travelled for over 40 years, and I have never been asked to carry my passport or to produce it anywhere at any time, and nor have I heard of such a necessity being discussed or written about anywhere but in Thailand.

[NoshowJones]

Bet that made all the tourist feel welcome.........

Tourists?? you mean "guests".

[Jay1]

Not a chance will I be going out with my passport. I would rather face the consequences of not having it with me. I will have photocopies on me of course.

If I am travelling to a different city then my passport will come with me but will stay in the hotel safe.

I'm going to Bangkok for songkran, ooh I'll put my passport in my back pocket when I'm out shall I?

Ridiculous

Edit: spelling

Edited March 19, 2016 by Jay1

[MaeJoMTB]

what an utter pillock, i am an ordinary man in the street, as it were, and i knew this was going down before it happened, if i was a guy who had something to hide i would have stayed in last night, simples. lol

As a normal man in the street, I would have stayed in as well.

A passport pick pocket could have had a field day.

Then you would have got the 'only your original passport' police, trucking you to the lockup.

Then there's the drug tests they would likely have forced you to take.

Not to mention queuing in front of police and army for two hours would completely ruin my evening out.

Quite frankly, if I were a tourist, I would be visiting somewhere nicer.

Been all over the world, the only other place I was ever asked for ID was Israel.

And they asked everyone, at roadblocks, not people in nightclubs with white faces.

[NoshowJones]

Or a photocopy. You need to change that headline.

If you remember, some time last year, the General in charge of the Imm. police publically stated that a photo-copy is ok.

These Thais and their moods

[dcnx]

Nice to know that nothing illegal was going on near Grace hotel.

Drug dealing Africans across the street, trafficked women outside of and inside the hotel, local working women outside the hotel, ISIS meetings happening in plain sight in the alley behind, and so much illegal counterfeit product being sold it will make your head spin, including porn DVDs, sex toys, and dildos, BUT the mission was to make sure everyone had their passport.

Ho-lee-khrap these people have lost their marbles.

[marko kok prong]

When are we going to wake up and see they do not want,"aliens' in their country,they have now made the transfer of visa' status more difficult[see on Thai visa section- marriage to retirement],they only really want tourist dollars,i can see in a few years when Prayuth will still be in power he will kick out all long term expats,they do not want us tarnishing the 'best country in the world',exactley why i am leaving ,to the Philippines where they want people to live there and the visa stuff is easy,plus they speak English,and with 7,000 islands you can chose your own place,also cheaper,this place will dissapear into a xenophobic desert.

[SOTIRIOS]

...impeccable logic...not......

[NoshowJones]

Motorbike license does the same thing, right?

Right!

[MaeJoMTB]

exactley why i am leaving ,to the Philippines where they want people to live there and the visa stuff is easy,plus they speak English,and with 7,000 islands you can chose your own place,also cheaper,this place will dissapear into a xenophobic desert.

Off topic.

You forgot to mention 6,990 of those islands have bandits and pirates that will kidnap you and do all sorts of mad stuff. And all the locals carry guns and gunfights quite often break out in the street.

I'll take xenophobia over death any day.

[NoshowJones]

If they are looking for terrorists, surely they would be better off in Sukhumvit soi 3, rather than soi 4. You can't move for flying carpets there.

Yes, your right, but how many times do you need to tell us?

[dcnx]

It looked like they were doing something similar at Thapae Gate in Chiang Mai last night. There were over a dozen police there at 10.00pm checking walking tourists and stopping foreigners on motor bikes. They were blocking the road and disrupting the traffic as I went past very slowly in a car - waved through because they only saw the driver who was Thai and they did not see me through the windows. Did anyone else see what was going on?

I saw it. They had another stop at the same time not far from Maya. Had it the day before too.

I'm looking forward to when they start knocking on doors and asking to see our passport. To protect the country, of course.

I don't mind a random stop if they are checking for drunk drivers. But just to check passports... Nope. What's the point of such a stop? It's not like they are running your name through a database to see if you're wanted or not. It's just pure harassment.

[marko kok prong]

Seems to me the Junta are wanting to turn this place into what Myanmar used to be,it is sad,a stagnant economy,critisicm of it human rights record,bans on it's produce because of that,any crime commited seems to be by a "alien',the most xenophobic and backward looking country in asean,thinking about past glory,that they never actually acheived[ie;the victory monument],what a joke,see the other countries in Asean stream well ahead of cumbersome Thailand in the coming years.

[ratcatcher]

When are we going to wake up and see they do not want,"aliens' in their country,they have now made the transfer of visa' status more difficult[see on Thai visa section- marriage to retirement],they only really want tourist dollars,i can see in a few years when Prayuth will still be in power he will kick out all long term expats,they do not want us tarnishing the 'best country in the world',exactley why i am leaving ,to the Philippines where they want people to live there and the visa stuff is easy,plus they speak English,and with 7,000 islands you can chose your own place,also cheaper,this place will dissapear into a xenophobic desert.

Paalam, enjoy your new life in Catholic Philippines. Great place, kind of a wild western Pacific version of Mexico with prettier women I am told..

[marko kok prong]

exactley why i am leaving ,to the Philippines where they want people to live there and the visa stuff is easy,plus they speak English,and with 7,000 islands you can chose your own place,also cheaper,this place will dissapear into a xenophobic desert.

Off topic.

You forgot to mention 6,990 of those islands have bandits and pirates that will kidnap you and do all sorts of mad stuff. And all the locals carry guns and gunfights quite often break out in the street.

I'll take xenophobia over death any day.

Absolute nonsense,you make it sound like Syria,piffle sir of the highest degree.

[Guest]

C'mon guys.!

Go to any Kodak shop with your passport.

For $3 they will colour copy your passport front page and Visa/Extension, reduce to wallet card size and laminate with one on the front and the other on the obverse.

In less time than it takes you to enjoy a cold frothy.

Do it on the way home from your annual Immi visit - you'll need a coldie by then.

All well and good until the guy on the spot decides he wants the originals. Good luck with quoting chapter and verse of the law to him on your way to the cells..

I think you need a second layer of foil on your aluminum cap to keep the voices out.

Unless, of course .. you have something to hide.

Anyway, feel free to carry your original passport ... do tell us later the joys of getting the replacement and new Visa stamp.

For the rest of us, with beautiful color laminated copies of the cover and visa ... please pardon us if we stay calm and proceed .. business as usual.

[JSN777]

Why does the headline not say 'or photocopy' - maybe because less people will click on the story. More hits more advertisers - more money.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

Metropolitan police chief tells foreigners to carry passports or copies at all times

This needs to be clarified and advertised as law, (show me the law)

i don't wear gold in public as i don't want to draw attention to myself

and be robbed, (or attacked and or killed) yet the government now

enforces the law that all foreigners must carry passports, i will now

be a target for robbery because as an Australian my passport will

be worth $15000 on the black market, how will a desperate thief

know if i have an original or copy, rob me, beat me, kill me only to

get a photocopy, wake up Thailand.

QUOTE;

Cost to Buy a Fake Passport and Degrees in Australia

in Counterfeit Goods

According to a news article, the price of a fake Australian Passport on the Internet is $806 (600 Euros). For an extra $268 (200 Euros), the website will include fake ID cards and fake driver licenses.

A fake diploma from a university in Australia can be bought online for $249.

(Fake Diploma Information and Costs.)

Source: Asher Moses, Identities for sale: fake documentation on the rise, Sydney Morning Herald, January 26, 2013.

But on the black market

http://www.havocscope.com/fake-id/

I most countries it is a legal requirement to carry ID

Seeing as most foreigners can not get Thai ID cards it is reasonable that one should carry some other form of ID as well as some proof that they are not over stayers.

Maybe they should have licenced kiosks at airports, ports, boarder crossings & immigration offices to issue temporary paper card ID cards valid for up to 3 months.

Most of us staying here have Thai DL's which shows the persons photo and passport number. In many countries that is a valid ID. HH immigration was planning to issue expat ID cards before certain people came to power who is paranoid about anything or anybody not Thai. As to your comment about overstay. The system/law work as follows. When you enter the country you must state on your arrival card where you are going to stay. If you stay with friends or family you must report to immigration or if you stay with a B&B or hotel they must report your stay. If this is done according to the present law they can track you as you go through the country (very easy to do on a computer system). At present if you are caught with overstay they will deport you. What I say is if you disappear and overstay they issue an arrest warrant and take you to court. If found guilty you go to a Thai prison (not deported). This will deter people from breaking the law. If hotels don't report your stay they must get hammered.

[phil2407]

No way do I carry my original passport - after some lowlife nicked it on an overnight bus - got my passport back but couldn't press charges as he said found on floor - BS - it's the most important document i have - now I carry copies - 1 in wallet - 1 in rucksack - 1 in bike - only take original if leaving country

[marko kok prong]

When are we going to wake up and see they do not want,"aliens' in their country,they have now made the transfer of visa' status more difficult[see on Thai visa section- marriage to retirement],they only really want tourist dollars,i can see in a few years when Prayuth will still be in power he will kick out all long term expats,they do not want us tarnishing the 'best country in the world',exactley why i am leaving ,to the Philippines where they want people to live there and the visa stuff is easy,plus they speak English,and with 7,000 islands you can chose your own place,also cheaper,this place will dissapear into a xenophobic desert.

Paalam, enjoy your new life in Catholic Philippines. Great place, kind of a wild western Pacific version of Mexico with prettier women I am told..

Having lived in Mexico,i can assure you it is a lot tamer,however,i may well purchase a firearm,for emergencies,and the women,ooohhh wow,they actually have proper breasts,and bums.