Thread: Thailand : Tourists to face closer monitoring

Tourists to face closer monitoring
1/08/2010

The Immigration Bureau will start a new campaign next month to keep track of the whereabouts of all tourists by enforcing reporting requirements of hotels, resorts and guesthouses.

Bureau chief Wuthi Liptapallop said managers failing to comply will face arrest and fines of up to 10,000 baht per tourist if they do not fulfil their obligations.

Under Section 38 of the Immigration Act, managers of residences, hotels, guesthouses, condominiums and resorts have to notify the Immigration Office about guests within 24 hours of their arrival.

Pol Lt Gen Wuthi said the provision had long existed but had not been fully enforced. The opening of the Immigration Control System Centre next month and an improved computer system at the bureau now made this possible.

"We will now request from the managers of those places information on each guest, by computer, every day," he said. "We are now receiving information from about 60% of them. This should rise to 70% next month, and more in the following weeks."

Lt Gen Wuthi said about 80,000 people arrive in Thailand daily through several entry points, "but we don't know exactly where these foreign tourists stay, how long they will stay, for example, in Bangkok, Chiang Mai or in other places".

"This might sound like an ambitious project, but in fact we can actually accomplish it quite easily," he said.

Under Section 77 of the Immigration Act, managers who don't comply face arrest and a fine of 2,000-10,000 baht per day for each unreported guest.

Lt Gen Wuthi said the data collected would be reported to every ambassador, which would give them confidence "that we are trying to serve and protect their nationals".

"We have to identify who the people are, and where they are staying," he said. "If you remember when the tsunami struck Thailand in December 2004, we had some problems with the identification of victims. We had no information or any data on them. With this method, we will have information on almost every tourist, making it easier to identify them if something happens."

Information about the 1,000 foreign fugitives believed to be living here would also be put into the system. "It should be easier to locate them," he said.

bangkokpost.com

Fascist bastards. Really smart....fuck with the tourist sector and choke off the supply of tourist cash. Thailand is beginning to resemble a Marx Brothers movie.

1,000 foreign fugitives?

100,000? depending on definition.

I consider myself a foreign fugitive of sorts

Happens in every hotel in Vietnam. Doesn't affect you in any way if you have nothing to hide.

Immigration want this because it is a very good earner.
You have to make a report everyday, doing it in person is very inconvenient, doing it by computer is easy but you have to pay for the computer access.

its not the tourists who have to report every day, its the hotels and guest houses where they are staying that have to report.

the earner aspect of it is the fines these hotels etc. will have to pay for non compliance.

Originally Posted by Mid

"This might sound like an ambitious project, but in fact we can actually accomplish it quite easily,"

No way. With all the wee hotels and guesthouses throughout Thailand most will just ignore the reporting. Only larger hotels will comply.

Originally Posted by taxexile

the earner aspect of it is the fines these hotels

The hotel/guesthouse has to pay to have computer access

I stayed at this place on Kohsan road just for fun once. I wonder if the owner of this fine establishment will have to send in the paperwork... Why cant I attach a picture ?

anyway it was a 150 bht a night ghetto room

Nothing new here. More than 2 years ago when I managed my Phuket hotel, I had to enter guest data every day into the Phuket Immigration website - it used to take me maybe 15 minutes every day.

Simon

small gh owner i know in hua hin says that immigration come around every week to collect their lists.

I expect the foreign Embassies will be thrilled at the prospect of 80,000 emails a day from the Immigration Department advising them that Mr Scumbag of Bournemouth will be staying in room 201 of Cheap Charlie's Guesthouse with Miss Tittiporn for the next two hours.

^
It is important to the UK government to know that their benefit payments are being spent wisely

So the hotel writes down your immigration card number when you check in. They've been doing that for years all over Thailand. Just not presenting it in 24 hours.

It's how they caught the paedo in the famous "swirled face" picture. He'd checked into a hotel in Pattaya, and from cctv and his travelling companion they found him up in the sticks.

Don't see why this is a bad thing.

^It's not a bad thing, there are a group of farang who live in Thailand and post on here who just have to moan about everything and anything. If the immigration had said that they were no longer going to collect the tourists details from the hotels, then the same posters would be on here saying that the government doesn't care about the welfare of the tourists in the country and is just looking after the interests of the hotels.

How's it work if you're staying at a friends house and not paying?

Normally not a big deal I think...most "Taam Ruet" are not so eager,most field constables capacity for written English is limited as is their interest in annoying the average falang tourist.
However...it does leave open the door ,a little wider still, for those gents in brown so inclined to use the info for other purposes besides the welfare of the the state and community as a whole.

Originally Posted by jandajoy

How's it work if you're staying at a friends house and not paying?

Originally Posted by Clogiron

The house – master , the owner or the possessor of the residence

.....

Originally Posted by jandajoy

How's it work if you're staying at a friends house and not paying?

If it works like Laos, then if a foreigner is staying in the house overnight the house owner has to report the details of the foreigner to the local police station.

I think that is only applicable to Tourists and not to expats who have an "Extension of Stay" and report every 90 days / leave the kingdom before such date.

My take on it is that if I have relatives over from the UK on a Tourist Visa or 30 Day exemption stamp then I, as the house master as per the Tabien Baan, am responsible for reporting such to immigration, but if I was to stay will friends or relatives elsewhere in Thailand it is not required for my stay to be registered.

I must admit that even though I am aware of this requirement I have never once reported my guests to immigration.

I believe if you are away from home in another province for more than 24 hours you should fill out a form to hand into the local immigration dept. Seem to recall it's something like a number A1 form, nobody I have heard of has ever done it though.

what happens if you go camping,do u have to report to immigration/police?

Do foreigners go camping? good point though.

Originally Posted by crazy dog

I believe if you are away from home in another province for more than 24 hours you should fill out a form to hand into the local immigration dept.

I believe that is correct.
Which means that if you are on a touring holiday then you must report to immigration everyday.
I have never bothered doing it and I have never heard of this law being enforced.