pete66 Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 I am a couple of weeks overstay and have to go and stay in a hotel for a few days before leaving Thailand. So can anyone tell me if hotels are required to check visa expiry dates in passports of foreigners or is that outside their remit? (I have a Thai driving licence I could perhaps use instead to check in?) thx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BritTim Posted July 17, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted July 17, 2016 Hotels are not required to check. However, they report your presence to immigration, and an alert immigration official with time on his hands could check and detect your overstay. This is unlikely. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean peek Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 At my last hotel in Chiangmai they did check my visa stamp, I had not noticed this before and had stayed there 3 times before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMA_FARANG Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Yes they should repot your presence in their hotel within 24 hours of your arrival as a guest to the local police. Nor all do, however. They could, at least in theory, be fined if they don't report you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 The expiration date of your permission to stay is part of the information required on the form TM.30 but apparently not all hotels comply. http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/pdf/tm30.pdf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWFC Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Use your Thai driving license, no problem... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotoo Posted July 17, 2016 Share Posted July 17, 2016 Use your Thai driving license, no problem... Presumably they still have to report him as a foreigner though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenl Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Use your Thai driving license, no problem...Officially not possible, and also in real life quite often not possible. Not enough info there for the hotel to do the compulsory reporting. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackThompson Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Given recent events / policy changes, when a 'foreigner report' comes in, a computer could automatically alert immigration to the presence of an overstayer. We have had a couple reports where they "went looking" for an overstayer. Whether action is taken could depend on the length of the overstay, which immigration-region, etc. For short overstays, one could go to immigration, pay the fine plus 1900 Baht, and get 7 days to leave the country, ending the threat of being caught and banned. Perhaps others can advise if doing this for "a couple weeks" overstay is risky in terms of possible arrest (I would think not). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evilbaz Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Use a small guesthouse (hong chow). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new2here Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Most of the hotels I use copy the photo page, plus either look at or copy the entry/extension stamp that corresponds to the stamp on the TM6 card. Overall I've found that hotel document checks here have become more complete. I can't recall a time that I've been allowed to use my (5 year) Thai drivers license in lieu of a passport at check in. I can use it when the hotel may ask for proof of ID in cases like I must retrieve my hotel key from the front desk or charge things to my room account (and don't have a physical key or card). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chainarong Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 They check your Passport inside photo page and departure card.......................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian1980 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 I posted my personal experience and i was fined by immigration officers as we don't report guests in our 3 star hotels.Now,every time someone will check we will report to the immigration by sending an email,even if they show passport or Thai driving license.Some hotel dont report check in to immigration,but simple to the local police station as well sending an email:i dont know if after they will report to the immigration by themself.In my opinion you can take the suggestion of Evilbaz and look for a small guesthouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farma Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Quite often I don't get checked if my wife does the booking. She gets govt discount at some hotels. She hands over her govt ID card on check-in and they don't ask for my ID. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post darrendsd Posted July 18, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted July 18, 2016 Stay in a low cost hotel and tell them you have forgot your PP, I have done this before, I was not on overstay I really had forgotten my PP I really would not risk checking into a hotel with your PP if you are on overstay 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJ Madcow Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Quite often I don't get checked if my wife does the booking. She gets govt discount at some hotels. She hands over her govt ID card on check-in and they don't ask for my ID. Since we start to book in my Thai Wife Name, She show her Thai ID Card when we come to hotel, And that is. I have not show my passport the last 2 years this way, all over Thailand we have gone. But if OP don´t have Thai wife / GF he can´t do this... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Stay in a low cost hotel and tell them you have forgot your PP, I have done this before, I was not on overstay I really had forgotten my PP I really would not risk checking into a hotel with your PP if you are on overstay Reputable hotels will always check your passport and permission to stay and report to immigration. My favorite place in Pattaya still check my passport thoroughly even after multiple visits over the years and being welcome as a known guest. and I am certain that they will report as required. They sometimes have problems finding my extension stamp and I have to point to. It's not a secret that there are others taking it easy. Penalties for non reporting seem to be lax. Find such a place and NEVER show your expired/overstay passport, try with you DL. I am a couple of weeks overstay Less than 90 days hopefully. Edited July 18, 2016 by KhunBENQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrendsd Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Stay in a low cost hotel and tell them you have forgot your PP, I have done this before, I was not on overstay I really had forgotten my PP I really would not risk checking into a hotel with your PP if you are on overstay Reputable hotels will always check your passport and permission to stay and report to immigration. My favorite place in Pattaya still check my passport thoroughly even after multiple visits over the years and being welcome as a known guest. and I am certain that they will report as required. They sometimes have problems finding my extension stamp and I have to point to. It's not a secret that there are others taking it easy. Penalties for non reporting seem to be lax. Find such a place and NEVER show your expired/overstay passport, try with you DL. I am a couple of weeks overstay Less than 90 days hopefully. That's why I said a low cost hotel, most of these places are not reputable and don't declare guests Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tomtomtom69 Posted July 18, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted July 18, 2016 Use your Thai driving license, no problem...Officially not possible, and also in real life quite often not possible. Not enough info there for the hotel to do the compulsory reporting. In real life, all hotels I have stayed at in Thailand, big and small, big name and no name alike have accepted my Thai driver's licence without question (some hotels often ask for a passport but a D/L is ultimately accepted). Whether they register or not, I don't know. And just FYI I travel a lot - once or twice a month on average for years now. However, I only bring my passport with me if I am crossing the border to a neighboring country. For pure domestic travel, I keep it at home in a safe place so it doesn't get stolen. I do keep photographs of my passport front page, visa and latest entry stamps on my phone and laptop just in case. One hotel once told me - they must register foreigners who present passports. Upon showing my driver's licence the lady said: "good, I don't have to register you". If you are traveling in a party with more than one foreigner or a Thai/foreign couple - only ONE passport is requested OR in the case of the Thai/foreigner couple, the Thai person's ID is sufficient. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Quite often I don't get checked if my wife does the booking. She gets govt discount at some hotels. She hands over her govt ID card on check-in and they don't ask for my ID. Since we start to book in my Thai Wife Name, She show her Thai ID Card when we come to hotel, And that is. I have not show my passport the last 2 years this way, all over Thailand we have gone. But if OP don´t have Thai wife / GF he can´t do this... I haven't shown my passport at Thai hotels for years yet I rarely travel with my Thai wife. I am fluent in Thai and hold a Thai D/L though, that seems to help. You are right though that if a Thai person accompanies you, no hotel also asks the foreigner for ID (unless the room was booked in their name). Thailand is quite lax on this law. Personally I think they should do away with this soviet style law and just ask for any acceptable ID (like in western countries). I don't remember the last time a Thai guest I was traveling with in Australia was asked for their passport - oh that's right, we don't have such a paranoia of foreigners back home. Then again, Australia is also 50 years ahead of Thailand by doing away with visa stickers - all visas have been electronic for at least 4 years now. Not so in Myanmar where every hotel without exception (even in the sticks) has asked for my passport (or in a couple of cases at least) asked me to fill out the "foreigner information form" by myself writing down passport and visa information, without having to physically show them my passport. However, as a traveler, quite obviously I would have my passport on me at all times. In Laos, quite contrary to what you would associate with a communist government the situation is much the same as in Thailand (if not even more lax). Small hotels and guesthouses, particularly in the countryside never ask for an ID from anyone. Larger hotels, particularly those in the cities might ask for one passport from the main traveler, but only take a photocopy of it's front information page. In Vietnam guests are registered in much the same way as in Myanmar. Most hotels keep guests' passports in their drawers or safes until check-out, only a small number of hotels in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi electronically input guest details into their computers then immediately return passports. At every other hotel you need to wait a couple of hours and then request they return your passport to you - lest you forget upon checkout as happened to me once when a hotel clerk ran out the door to hand me my passport back as I was heading to my car. Only one time was I not asked for my passport in all the many years of visiting Vietnam and that only happened because I was traveling with a local friend, who was registered instead. In China, foreigners are registered only if staying in big cities and/or larger hotels. No registration takes place in smaller cities/local hotels. There is sometimes a reluctance to take a foreigner by some hotels, if you hold a Chinese driver's licence it is preferable to present this to a passport in all cases. In fact, some hotels will only take foreigners who can present a Chinese D/L, student ID card or similar. Edited July 18, 2016 by Tomtomtom69 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PremiumLane Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Can you go with a friend, get them to check in. I have stayed in hotels where a Thai or foreign friend did all the check in stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Most of the hotels I use copy the photo page, plus either look at or copy the entry/extension stamp that corresponds to the stamp on the TM6 card. Overall I've found that hotel document checks here have become more complete. I can't recall a time that I've been allowed to use my (5 year) Thai drivers license in lieu of a passport at check in. I can use it when the hotel may ask for proof of ID in cases like I must retrieve my hotel key from the front desk or charge things to my room account (and don't have a physical key or card). I have noticed very few hotels look at anything other than the front photo page of guest's passports. I have observed this when going to hotels with guests who show their passports upon check-in. Guests such as family members and friends based overseas. Very occasionally a cursory check of the stamp is made, but this appears to be the exception rather than the rule. Now my account is based purely on my own observations. I can't speak for every one of the tens of thousands of hotels in Thailand - BUT from the many I have been to (some of which I usually choose to stay at when traveling to those places) that's what they do. I can't remember a time I wasn't allowed to use my Thai driver's licence (in your case you probably instinctively acted on the "passport" request without just presenting your Thai D/L as I always do). I wonder where you have been staying? Hotels in Bangkok, Phuket, Mae Sot, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Trat, you name it small and big cities alike, small and big well known hotels alike, no problem showing only my Thai D/L even if, when I have had my passport on me I still preferred to show my Thai D/L. The only reason I would have my passport on me on some of these trips is because I was heading to or coming back from a neighboring country (such as Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos). I have noticed no change in the policies of hotels since the coup, or since the Aug 17, 2015 Bangkok Erawan bombing. Any crackdown that did occur as a result of these and other events was probably short-lived after which as is usual in Thailand, they eventually go back to the same way they were before. Also, only some areas were affected (for example, I hear Khao San Road is strict) but other places like parts of Eastern Bangkok, popular with Muslim and middle eastern travelers, are not. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Can you go with a friend, get them to check in. I have stayed in hotels where a Thai or foreign friend did all the check in stuff. You are right. So to get back on topic (my posts above talk about my own experiences) to help the OP because his situation is he's on overstay whereas most of us have absolutely nothing to hide, check-in using someone else's ID/passport (the room must be booked in their name and/or they should be part of the traveling party). EDIT. Since the OP has a Thai D/L he can just use that so no need to worry. Better yet, clear up the overstay (more than 90 days and you get blacklisted in any case) and then you won't have to worry. Edited July 18, 2016 by Tomtomtom69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PremiumLane Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 (edited) Can you go with a friend, get them to check in. I have stayed in hotels where a Thai or foreign friend did all the check in stuff. You are right. So to get back on topic (my posts above talk about my own experiences) to help the OP because his situation is he's on overstay whereas most of us have absolutely nothing to hide, check-in using someone else's ID/passport (the room must be booked in their name and/or they should be part of the traveling party). EDIT. Since the OP has a Thai D/L he can just use that so no need to worry. Better yet, clear up the overstay (more than 90 days and you get blacklisted in any case) and then you won't have to worry. I know he is on an overstay, hence the advice to get someone else to check-in, if he can. He doesn't need to be anywhere near reception when that happens. Just go to the room after. Bad idea to use his DL, it has his passport number on it and they may record that - goes to immigration, and maybe someone will cross reference, just maybe. Then screwed. Edited July 18, 2016 by PremiumLane 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeThai Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 clear youre overstay much safe :-) if police control you an you overstay big trouble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elviajero Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Just use your drivers licence to check in. If they insist on a passport try another hotel/guest house. I've never, high end hotels included, had a problem checking in with a drivers licence. If you use your passport, and the hotel/guest house do their job, you could have problems as they have to report the expiry date of your current permission to stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete66 Posted July 18, 2016 Author Share Posted July 18, 2016 Thanks for all the advice. Extremely useful! I will get a Thai friend to check in and just show my DL as required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merijn Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Thanks for all the advice. Extremely useful! I will get a Thai friend to check in and just show my DL as required. DL should not be a problem, As many people already said most if not all hotels accept Thai DL for check-in. Does not matter if you are alone or with a Thai national. Personally i never had to use my passport, i stay in all classes of hotels about 20 times a year all over Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcoml Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Stay at a cheap hotel and you will be fine. Book into a more expensive one and from my experience they take a copy of my passport. Actually book into a love hotel. I have never had them ask for ID. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merijn Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Stay at a cheap hotel and you will be fine. Book into a more expensive one and from my experience they take a copy of my passport. Actually book into a love hotel. I have never had them ask for ID. Nice reply but its not my and other experience. Every hotel (cheap til very expensive) accepts the Thai DL in my experience. Maybe they don't trust your face. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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