Passport control at Bangkok ( confirmed report )

[NickJ]

I used to get asked in Bkk and the minute I either started to hand it to them or say its in my office they would all say....ok ok you can go.......Whats the big deal.

[gyrosman]

I guess I'm different. If I was the check point person and a foreign person spoke Thai well, it would flag me to check because one must of spent extended time here. I myself, speak no Thai but 100% retirement way. I've been checked several times and a few while sitting having a beer.

[Thaidream]

Their only interest is to see how much they can make from any particular person. The law is of no interest to them. They could care less about it. There a few decent ones but the majority will suck your blood dry. I avoid them like the plague.

[PomRakBKK]

Their only interest is to see how much they can make from any particular person. The law is of no interest to them. They could care less about it. There a few decent ones but the majority will suck your blood dry. I avoid them like the plague.

This! ... is the price we foreigners pay to live here. It's sad but we have to accept it

Try to argue with them, drag things out and your day won't go as planned - or pay 500 baht or a few more and you're on your way in under a minute.

I hate it as much as the next guy as I only put money into Thailand and not take any job away and basically only contribute and stimulate to the economy.

Overpriced cars, real estate and so on.. we can only accept it or go back home.

Lets not derail the thread and just stay on topic. We all pay a certain price to live here... should they treat tourists different than expats or retirees? How can they know who is next in line..

Just go with the flow...

Edited March 21, 2016 by PomRakBKK

[sunnyjim5]

Their only interest is to see how much they can make from any particular person. The law is of no interest to them. They could care less about it. There a few decent ones but the majority will suck your blood dry. I avoid them like the plague.

This! ... is the price we foreigners pay to live here. It's sad but we have to accept it

Try to argue with them, drag things out and your day won't go as planned - or pay 500 baht or a few more and you're on your way in under a minute.

I hate it as much as the next guy as I only put money into Thailand and not take any job away and basically only contribute and stimulate to the economy.

Overpriced cars, real estate and so on.. we can only accept it or go back home.

I have lived here in Thailand for many years. I enjoy a full and active life.

Why have I NEVER had to "pay 500 baht or a few more" to be on my way ?

Seems some hang out in strange places with very odd people.

[PomRakBKK]

Their only interest is to see how much they can make from any particular person. The law is of no interest to them. They could care less about it. There a few decent ones but the majority will suck your blood dry. I avoid them like the plague.

This! ... is the price we foreigners pay to live here. It's sad but we have to accept it

Try to argue with them, drag things out and your day won't go as planned - or pay 500 baht or a few more and you're on your way in under a minute.

I hate it as much as the next guy as I only put money into Thailand and not take any job away and basically only contribute and stimulate to the economy.

Overpriced cars, real estate and so on.. we can only accept it or go back home.

I have lived here in Thailand for many years. I enjoy a full and active life.

Why have I NEVER had to "pay 500 baht or a few more" to be on my way ?

Seems some hang out in strange places with very odd people.

Being stopped on the express way isn't that odd in my opinion. Same goes for traffic checkpoints and so on.

[Squeegee]

Speaking Thai with police often causes more problems than it solves

I beg to strongly disagree with this, based on 27 years of being in and out of Thailand.

Speaking Thai (almost) fluently saved me countless driving tickets (real or tea money) or at least made them cost me the Thai price (100B usually).

It also helped a lot when getting in some kind of trouble or when helping out a friend who was.

"Speaking Thai" is not enough though. Handling this like Thais do is a compulsory addition: don't get upset, don't lecture people, don't raise your voice, smile, be very patient and seize any occasion to move the conversation to some futile subject. I remember one pretty bad case of traffic violation I went through unharmed because at some point I was asked about the old Buddha amulet I had around my neck (a present) and I started explaining where it was coming from...

This is an excellent, insightful post.

I agree: if you're going to speak Thai in a 'situation' then it's every bit about your interpersonal skills and understanding of the culture and character of the people as it is about language. That's why similar can be achieved by folks who don't speak the language. Even so, speaking Thai in Thailand is a distinct advantage in so many ways, well beyond the scope of this topic.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

I was stopped about 2 weeks ago in Khon kaen,just as we pulled out of Tesco.The cop asked me for my PP also spoke to my Thai wife,asking where we were going,and where we lived.My Thai is by no means brilliant,and i told him i had a copy of my PP and visa status,and that my original was at home.She told him we had registered with Nam Phong police station when we arrived from Pattaya.To live in Nam Phong.We have no Immigration office in Nam phong,and i had registered because we arrived on a Sunday.He then changed his tack and asked me what drivers licence i held.I showed him my Thai drivers licence of 4 years.he just smiled and said ' no have to show copy,good man go home'

Strange but true.

[MobileContent]

But they didn't check your passport??

the guy asked me first for the passport, but his colleague asked him to back off after he noticed my Thai level, I saw they were conducting serious checking on every vehicle for foreigners.

Sounds to me more like they wanted to make some pocket money with some foreigners that do not carry their passport. If they really would look for overstayers they surely would have wanted to look at your visa page.

I can tell you that Thonglor Police Station which is famous for passport and urine checks on Sukhumvit area have currently no order of checking any foreigners except if they have a suspicion that the foreigners are on drugs etc. This covers also Rama 4 police station, Asoke junction and the Ekamai area.

The cops are to busy running the illegal football bettings which changed from underground to openly now in Bangkok in exchange for the cops dropping all casinos in Bangkok.

[slipperylobster]

What did you say in Thai?

Perhaps..."I can pay you 200 baht if you leave me alone?"

[marcofunny]

I confirm a SECOND Passport check today this time as I was driving my car with my gf, this time the officer took a quick glance at the photocopy that I provided.

Time : 10PM

Location : on the bridge section of Petchaburi road Near Bangkok Hospital .

Edited March 22, 2016 by marcofunny

[lkv]

They'll get bored at some point.

[sunnyjim5]

I confirm a SECOND Passport check today this time I was driving my car with my gf, this time the officer took a quick glance at the photocopy that I provided.

Time : 10PM

Location : on the bridge section of Petchaburi road Near Bangkok Hospital .

WOW !

You did not wast much time in reporting and confirming this amazing occurrence.

Is this important ?

[ableguy]

Ref original post , nothing to do with over stayers just your usual revenue gathering, had the Bkk police stop me more times than I can recall demanding a thousand baht for talking on my phone, I never carry a phone a missed call is not important to me., tinted windows solved the problem.

[lkv]

Is this important ?

Yes, I believe so. The title of the thread is actually "Passport control at Bangkok", so if everyone shared their experiences I would find that lovely.

Edited March 22, 2016 by lkv

[ableguy]

Their only interest is to see how much they can make from any particular person. The law is of no interest to them. They could care less about it. There a few decent ones but the majority will suck your blood dry. I avoid them like the plague.

This! ... is the price we foreigners pay to live here. It's sad but we have to accept it

Try to argue with them, drag things out and your day won't go as planned - or pay 500 baht or a few more and you're on your way in under a minute.

I hate it as much as the next guy as I only put money into Thailand and not take any job away and basically only contribute and stimulate to the economy.

Overpriced cars, real estate and so on.. we can only accept it or go back home.

I have lived here in Thailand for many years. I enjoy a full and active life.

Why have I NEVER had to "pay 500 baht or a few more" to be on my way ?

Seems some hang out in strange places with very odd people.

Seems to me it's you that is odd or vey lucky, check your body odor.

[sandyf]

Their only interest is to see how much they can make from any particular person. The law is of no interest to them. They could care less about it. There a few decent ones but the majority will suck your blood dry. I avoid them like the plague.

This! ... is the price we foreigners pay to live here. It's sad but we have to accept it

Try to argue with them, drag things out and your day won't go as planned - or pay 500 baht or a few more and you're on your way in under a minute.

I hate it as much as the next guy as I only put money into Thailand and not take any job away and basically only contribute and stimulate to the economy.

Overpriced cars, real estate and so on.. we can only accept it or go back home.

I have lived here in Thailand for many years. I enjoy a full and active life.

Why have I NEVER had to "pay 500 baht or a few more" to be on my way ?

Seems some hang out in strange places with very odd people.

Being stopped on the express way isn't that odd in my opinion. Same goes for traffic checkpoints and so on.

There was a police checkpoint on the Chonburi bypass this afternoon checking every vehicle. When I lowered the window the policeman seemed taken aback, just laughed and waved me on. I was a bit amazed as all the vehicles in front of me had been pulled in.

Edited March 22, 2016 by sandyf

[Lannig]

There has been a very sharp increase in the number of police and/or army roadblocks on the main roads since the onset of the military regime.

I've seen more of them along my frequent drive from/to Bangkok to/from Kamphaeng Phet than ever before.

I think that most of this checks are completely unrelated to a crackdown on overstaying foreigners. Weren't related before the whole thing started obviously, but still aren't.

Most of the time I'm waved on or just asked a few simple questions (where are you going), no documents checked or just my driving licence.

It's just what authoritarian regimes usually do...

Edited March 22, 2016 by Lannig

[sandyf]

There has been a very sharp increase in the number of police and/or army roadblocks on the main roads since the onset of the military regime.

I've seen more of them along my frequent drive from/to Bangkok to/from Kamphaeng Phet than ever before.

I think that most of this checks are completely unrelated to a crackdown on overstaying foreigners. Weren't related before the whole thing started obviously, but still aren't.

Most of the time I'm waved on or just asked a few simple questions (where are you going), no documents checked or just my driving licence.

It's just what authoritarian regimes usually do...

I would tend to agree. I was at the bus station in Nong Khai a few months back and the army were in the bus station checking ID's and taking photos of the passengers. They never approached myself or any of the other caucasian foreigners that were there.

[mcfish]

Speaking Thai with police often causes more problems than it solves

I beg to strongly disagree with this, based on 27 years of being in and out of Thailand.

Speaking Thai (almost) fluently saved me countless driving tickets (real or tea money) or at least made them cost me the Thai price (100B usually).

It also helped a lot when getting in some kind of trouble or when helping out a friend who was.

"Speaking Thai" is not enough though. Handling this like Thais do is a compulsory addition: don't get upset, don't lecture people, don't raise your voice, smile, be very patient and seize any occasion to move the conversation to some futile subject. I remember one pretty bad case of traffic violation I went through unharmed because at some point I was asked about the old Buddha amulet I had around my neck (a present) and I started explaining where it was coming from...

This is an excellent, insightful post.

I agree: if you're going to speak Thai in a 'situation' then it's every bit about your interpersonal skills and understanding of the culture and character of the people as it is about language. That's why similar can be achieved by folks who don't speak the language. Even so, speaking Thai in Thailand is a distinct advantage in so many ways, well beyond the scope of this topic.

Yes but it really depends on where you live. In bangkok fumbling through thai language to impress the confused looking doe eyed waitress is not worth the effort.

I also fail to see how speaking to the bib in thai would get anyone off the hook. If you're wearing a suit and a brief case then you are the top of the extortion list!

[bangkapi]

One time I was driving my motorcycle on Rama IX and blew by a group of police (one of whom was waving me down to pull over). A chase ensued and he caught me on his motorcycle about 2 km down the road.

The infraction was not being in the far left lane. He asked for a 200 baht fine after I showed him my Thai motorcycle license. I told him that I'd give him 200 if he gave me a receipt and 100 if he didn't.

It cost me 100 baht.

[Dap]

No offence OP but if your implying that pp checks are a new deal to do with overstay rules , your drawing a very long bow. Also by sound of it your pp was not even checked.

Everyone runs risk of pp check. No problem unless you have something to hide

this is how happened the first police officer spoke to me in English ( passport ) when I opened my briefcase the other officer asked me in (Thai), where I was going so I replied (in Thai) to my meeting around this area, then he nodded to the other officer, the last time I was controlled ever in Thailand was back in 2011.

Then I would say you have been lucky because the Thai Police have been checking

Pass Ports anytime of day or night that they please and I have been checked in busses

in taxi's, on my motorcycles and even once on my bicycle. No big thing if you carry the

papers that they tell you to carry

[D3030]

A Thai news program aired a story of the police and tourist police checking hotels and bars..

Showed one clip, inside a bar of those dedicated noon time drinkers and checked their passports..

Surprisingly, the guys they asked had their passports on them..

Anyway...

[ukrules]

I never carry passport, ever....and I never will.

[johnatong]

I never carry passport, ever....and I never will.

Which part of Nakon Nowhere do you live ?

[jspill]

I live in central BKK and never carry it, never will, either.

[johnatong]

I live in central BKK and never carry it, never will, either.

Do you have a valid one containing a valid visa/extension of stay?

Can you arrange for "it" to be delivered to a police station if required ?

[jspill]

I live in central BKK and never carry it, never will, either.

Do you have a valid one containing a valid visa/extension of stay?

Can you arrange for "it" to be delivered to a police station if required ?

Recently those guys that were rounded up to be taken the police station, didn't actually have to show it, they hung around for a bit and then were let go. Some even walked out lol, including Thaivisa posters. So the enforcement isn't really there.

From other reports if you stand up for yourself, be firm but polite, speak a bit of Thai, feign making a phone call to a lawyer etc. you can be let go without having to produce it. At the most, some reported having to pay 2000 baht tea money, small price to pay for not carrying your passport around and risking losing it.

That is the reality of the situation. I wouldn't recommend anyone carry it around. I have a picture of it the ID and visa page on my iPhone.

[thaibreaker]

No need to carry your pp around. Either police nor immigration officers demand that. I know that first hand.

It is sufficient showing a copy, either in paper, or pictures in your phone, showing pp-numbers, picture and status.

In my case, they called in my name to the immigration database at the scene, as I could not provide either. I had overstay at the time, and gave them insufficient names, hoping they eventually would let me go if my name didn`t turn up on the screen.

They couldn`t find me in their base, so I was taken to the IDC.

It is very unusual they will let anyone go before status has been checked, and if they cannot confirm you have a valid pp, you will be taken in to sort it out at IDC. If your name and visa checks out, you are free to go from there. No charge.

My checkpoint was also at Ladprao in Bangkok.

And yes, I speak thai, and presented myself in a polite way.

Edited April 2, 2016 by thaibreaker

[jspill]

No need to carry your pp around. Either police nor immigration officers demand that. I know that first hand.

It is sufficient showing a copy, either in paper, or pictures in your phone, showing pp-numbers, picture and status.

In my case, they called in my name to the immigration database at the scene, as I could not provide either. I had overstay at the time, and gave them insufficient names, hoping they eventually would let me go if my name didn`t turn up on the screen.

They couldn`t find me in their base, so I was taken to the IDC.

It is very unusual they will let anyone go before status has been checked, and if they cannot confirm you have a valid pp, you will be taken in to sort it out at IDC. If your name and visa checks out, you are free to go from there. No charge.

My checkpoint was also at Ladprao in Bangkok.

And yes, I speak thai, and presented myself in a polite way.

I wouldn't say it's very unusual, I'd say its actually reasonably common to be let go before one's status is checked.

I remember your overstay thread and it was van of IOs, not police, actively out looking for overstayers, that pulled up beside you on the street with a van full of Africans. They were probably doing a targeted crackdown on a part of the city with a certain group of ethnic minorities.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/780211-my-experience-at-idc-for-overstaying/

At a random Sukhumvit checkpoint, or just bumping into police on the street, they're probably be lazier to do proper police work and accept a tea money payment to let you go.

As said the tourists recently rounded up in Pattaya just walked out of the station (lol) and there's a huge Facebook group of Bangkok expats reporting all the stop and searches, it's quite common for police to prefer tea money to actually checking visa statuses, or for them to nervously back down if you pretend to call a lawyer.