Thailand’s biometric system overloaded with 50 million records
Thailand’s Immigration Bureau has hit a critical roadblock, with its biometric system reaching its maximum capacity of 50 million records, preventing new foreign arrivals from being automatically recorded. The bureau is now forced to manually document arrivals and rely on an online database for security checks until a new system is developed.
Police Colonel Neti Khanboon, commander of the database division at the bureau’s IT centre, revealed the issue while testifying before the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, and National Strategies and Reforms.
The committee, led by MP Rangsiman Rome, summoned representatives from the Royal Thai Police, the Immigration Bureau, and Airports of Thailand to discuss concerns about the ongoing repatriation of Chinese nationals linked to call centre gangs in Myawaddy, Myanmar.
Rangsiman expressed concerns that if China managed the repatriation process independently, Thailand could miss the opportunity to collect biometric data on individuals connected to the scam operations, complicating efforts to blacklist them.
Neti assured the committee that the Tak immigration office would manually collect biometric data on all individuals repatriated from Myawaddy, despite the system’s capacity issues.
“Myawaddy is not a common tourist destination, so any foreigner who illegally crossed the border would be suspected and have their details recorded for blacklisting purposes.”
Neti admitted that the biometric system had reached full capacity, having initially been equipped with 30 million storage licences before expanding to 50 million, all of which are now fully utilised.
To resolve the issue, the bureau is developing a new biometric system with unlimited capacity, costing 3 billion baht and expected to take 29 months to complete. In the interim, an additional 500 million baht is being spent on purchasing more licences for the existing system.
Neti also revealed that throughout 2023 and 2024, the bureau manually recorded 17 million foreign arrivals, including facial photos and fingerprints.
While the current system struggles to flag blacklisted individuals efficiently, he reassured the committee that an alternative online database is being used to cross-check suspicious visitors, reported The Nation.
With the biometric system overloaded and a new solution still years away, Thailand’s immigration challenges are far from over.
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