Carrying Passports again and 90 days reporting

[Boxer]

From Pattaya City News.com

Immigration Check Niran Grand Condo in search of illegal foreigners.

Police Colonel Itipon, the Superintendent of Pattaya;s Immigration Bureau along with Police Colonel Sutin, the Superintendent of Pattaya Police accompanied by Immigration Police Volunteers made their way to the Niran Grand Condo Complex in Soi Arunothai in Central Pattaya on Wednesday Afternoon. The purpose of the operation was to conduct an inspection of each of the four main condo blocks in search of foreigners with either expired visas or those who have entered Thailand illegally and do not possess a valid passport. The search led to the arrest of one man from Russia who was not in the possession of a passport. He will be dealt with in accordance with Immigration Laws. The Immigration Police would like to warn viewers that random checks on foreigners will be made over the coming weeks so please ensure that you carry your original passport with you at all times and for those who are residing in Thailand on long stay visas, you must report to the Immigration Office every ninety days confirming your current address and telephone number. Failure to do this can result in a fine not exceeding 5,000 Baht.

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A Friend of mine lifes there. Was scared to leave the condo as his passport is four weeks over. Silly sod. But you try and tell him.

It seems like there is hardly a week goes by when the Thai Immigration Police find some new way to bash foreigners by reviving old unused laws and changing the existing ones. I sympathize with their need to control illegalities but insisting that all foreigners carry their original passport with them at all times is ludicrous when a copy would suffice - certified if necessary - or why not issue ID cards to retirement visa holders? Carry your passport on the beach, in the Disco, at the swimming pool!!

They are always making life difficult for the majority to control a small minority. I mean Immigration have records of all foreigners home addresses and know when they are late in reporting. Time to send an Immigration policeman to call. They have been talking about making the 90 day reporting possible on the internet instead of the need to call in at their office. When if ever? All you are doing is confirming your home address and it can be done by mail in many parts of the country.

Rant over. Thank you Boxer for the advice. I will be carrying my passport for the near future. Mind you in 13 years of visiting and living in Thailand I have yet to be asked for sight of it. Even at banks and places where they ask I find a laminated copy is readily accepted.

There are two issues here, putting aside for one minute the crux of the matter in that the Immigration police are being totally unreal in thinking that foreigners will have their passport with them at all times.
Yes, those who are there with 90 day visas will have their address recorded on a data base with the need to upgarade it every 90 days, BUT those with the ordinary 30 day tourist visas dont do that unless you are counting the fiction that people actually put their actual Thai address on the immigration cards upon arrival.
Second, if the police come to your home at random, and yes that is a cheek and using a hammer to crack a nut of a problem, then they do have a right to expect that the person who lives there will produce his passport.
Now the real issue here is whether these random checks will happen in public places. If that is the case will they allow a person without a passport to fetch it, or be made to pay a fine without question. I am not quite sure what would happen if the withdrawal of funds to get the fine money would need a passport ID to manage. Anyway, if the answer is YES and NO, then the Thai tourist industry will go down the pan, and the treatment of expats will reach unrealistic levels of harrassment.

Great for real estate values too. Living in a police state isn't for everybody.

Expats in thailand on a retirement VISA would be wise to get a Thai drivers license (whether or whether not you plan to drive). Supposedly that is sufficient "identification" for the boys in brown.

I for one, refuse to carry my original Passport at all times.

Expats in thailand on a retirement VISA would be wise to get a Thai drivers license (whether or whether not you plan to drive). Supposedly that is sufficient "identification" for the boys in brown.

I for one, refuse to carry my original Passport at all times.

That would be useless in a real immigration check. For that, they need passport and visa and stamp/extension.

[bucknaway]

It is almost as if the lawmakers in Thailand are trying to tell us something.... I wonder what message they are trying to communicate to us all?????

Funny that it's always in Pattaya, too. Perhaps they're sending a message to the type of people who choose to make it their home?

It is almost as if the lawmakers in Thailand are trying to tell us something.... I wonder what message they are trying to communicate to us all?????

There are NO lawmakers in Thailand right now. Its still a Military Dictatorship.

Intresting they picked out only one condo to hit. Were they looking for someone? They did find "someone" but was that the one they were looking for?