Immigration
- Phuket News
Phuket immigration volunteers trained to boost efficiency
A training session aimed at enhancing the efficiency of Phuket Immigration volunteers was conducted yesterday at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. The event took place in the Bon Mai Thon Meeting Room and was overseen by the Commander of Immigration Bureau 6. Police Major General Songprot Sirisukha. The Superintendent of Phuket Immigration, Police Colonel Kriangkrai Ariyaying, along with various Phuket…
- Thailand News
Bangkok airport’s automatic passport control ready for check-in
The head of the Thai Immigration Bureau inspected the readiness of Suvarnabhumi International Airport’s new automatic passport control channels, which will start being used by Thai citizens tomorrow, July 3. He also took the time to dine with the immigration officers, expressing the need to uphold their welfare. The Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai, visited the immigration checkpoint…
- Thailand News
Police intercept buses carrying nearly 100 illegal migrants
Acting on an anonymous informant, police intercepted four tour buses, uncovering a smuggling operation of nearly 100 illegal migrants to enter the country. Two bewildered Thai passengers found themselves surrounded by non-Thai speakers. Highway Police, under the command of Siriraj Sukanmala, yesterday, June 4, at 12.10am, received intelligence about illegal migrants travelling on Highway 101. Officers identified and stopped four…
- Thailand News
Thailand’s major airports plan US$4.8 billion capacity doubling
Two of Thailand’s main airports, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang, are set to undergo significant expansions. The Airports of Thailand (AOT) Public Company Limited intends to invest approximately US$4.8 billion to more than double the airports’ capacity by the end of the decade. The expansion aims to accommodate a predicted surge in tourism as the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.…
- Thailand News
South Korea reaffirms commitment to Thailand amidst immigration controversy
South Korean ambassador to Thailand, Park Yong Min, reaffirmed the country’s commitment to enhancing bilateral relations amidst the recent controversy involving the alleged mistreatment of Thai travellers by South Korean immigration officials. Speaking to the Bangkok Post at the South Korean embassy in Bangkok, Park expressed his ambition to further economic cooperation between the two nations during his tenure. Thailand…
- Thailand News
Migration education: Thai vice minister urges deep understanding to tackle illegal migration roots
Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasised the necessity for a profound understanding of illegal migration among lawmakers and the general public to address the root causes of the issue. He voiced these comments during a recent seminar, Shaping Public Perception Towards Migrants, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Organisation for Migration. Sihasak pointed out…
- Thailand News
Online immigration system launched for foreign tenant registration
Phuket Immigration called for property owners and managers across Thailand to register for the new online notification system for foreign tenants. This system, which became operational yesterday, replaces the previous one. This digital registration demands the submission of pertinent documents, but immigration officials have guaranteed that the approval process will be automatic. They further stipulated that property owners previously registered…
- Thailand News
German Hells Angels suspect detained in Thailand, extradition underway
A German man suspected of being a Hells Angels member has been detained by immigration officials in Chiang Rai. The arrest of the suspect, Dennis Fischer, took place at a hotel in the northern province’s Muang district this Tuesday, as revealed by Phanthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau. Fischer was reportedly in possession of a one-year non-immigrant visa,…
- Phuket News
No foreigners receive yellow or red cards in April, reports Phuket Immigration
Foreigners were on their best behaviour in Phuket, southern Thailand, last month with 0 foreign tourists receiving yellow or red cards, reports Phuket Immigration. Phuket Immigration launched the yellow and red card scheme in March to combat the problem of wayward foreigners on the island. The system sees law-breaking foreign tourists deported from the kingdom after two offences. Any tourist…
- Crime News
Another Dutch national arrested in Phuket for illegally entering Thailand
A Dutch national was arrested in Phuket for illegally entering and staying in Thailand, on the same day that another citizen of the Netherlands was arrested in Phuket for the same crime. The Immigration Office at Phuket International Airport said that over the past weekend, it arrested a 61 year old Dutchman. The man was apprehended at the Immigration checkpoint…
- Visa Information
Elderly British man overstays visa in Thailand by 11 years
Immigration Police arrested a 76 year old British man in Bangkok who overstayed his visa in Thailand by a total of 4,142 days (11.3 years), reports KhaoSod. Thailand’s immigration authorities are taking their latest crackdown on foreign overstayers in the kingdom seriously – catching a British national who managed to slip through their net for more than a decade. He might…
- Crime News
Indian man overstays visa in Thailand by 2,048 days
Immigration police arrested an Indian national in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, found to have overstayed his visa by 2,048 days (more than five and a half years). Police believe he is part of a call centre gang, reports KhaoSod. The police stopped 38 year old Jatinder Singh – who resides in the Na Jomtien area of Sattahip district –…
- Hot News
Phuket immigration launches ‘red card’ system for wayward foreigners
Phuket immigration is launching a ‘red card’ system for wayward foreigners which will see them deported after two offences. Praphansak Prasansuk, Commander of the Immigration Region 6 office, announced the system yesterday. “Under the system, a foreigner will be designated a ‘yellow card’ for a first offence. The foreigner will be issued a formal warning and the relevant embassy will…
- Phuket News
Phuket police arrest Swedish man on drug production charges
Police arrested a Swedish man in Phuket, southern Thailand, on drug charges today and are preparing to revoke his permission to stay in the kingdom, reports Matichon. On December 15 last year, police initiated the project, “White Residence for Foreigners (Free From Crime and Drugs) Project” in Phuket province. The ongoing project aims to weed out drug crimes and criminal behaviour among…
- Thailand News
Thailand’s Phetchaburi immigration office to move next month
Thailand’s Phetchaburi Immigration office is set to move to a new location next month. The office will move from its current location in Tha Yang to a new office in Cha-am, with the opening date scheduled for March 20, 2023. The new location will be situated in Khao Yai sub-district, near Khao Nang Phanthurat Forest Park, and is expected to offer…
- Thailand News
Thai immigration chief asks reporter, ‘Do you have a husband?’ to dodge question
In an interview about the macau888 gambling case, Thailand’s Chief of Immigration dodged a female reporter’s question by responding, “Do you have a husband?” The interview followed the interrogation of police officer Kunakorn “Bright” Khajohnboonthaworn who was accused of being one of four brothers operating the illegal gambling website macau888. According to the police force, Captain Bright proved his innocence…
- Crime News
Immigration police arrest two Chinese fraudsters illegally living in Thailand
In two separate but similar cases, Immigration Police arrested two Chinese fraudsters posing as businessmen and illegally living in Thailand. Collectively, the pair scammed victims of over 2 billion baht. Case 1 Police arrested a 44 year old Chinese national named Changguan (pseudonym) who allegedly scammed hundreds of victims of over 1.4 billion baht by persuading them to invest in…
- Crime News
Police arrest two Russians for begging on the streets of southern Thailand
Thai police arrested two Russian men yesterday for begging on the streets of Surat Thani in southern Thailand. The men held signs saying they are fleeing war in Russia. Surat Thani Immigration officers, tourist police officers, and officials from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security jointly arrested 36 year old Evgenii Malakhov and 32 year old Alexander Kulikov…
- Visa Information
Thailand bans Ugandan visa overstayer for 5 years
Immigration police arrested a woman from Uganda yesterday morning in Pathum Thani province for overstaying her visa by 90 days. She is banned from entering Thailand for the next five years. At 9 am yesterday, Superintendent of Pathum Thani Immigration Pol. Col. Charoenpong Khantilo reported the arrest of a foreign visa overstayer. Pathum Thani Immigration Police arrested 40 year old…
- Phuket News
Phuket Immigration crackdown nets 138 total violations
After spending the first half of the month vigilantly and vocally cracking down on immigration violations, Phuket Immigration announced the results of its efforts. They focused mainly on people overstaying the stamp on their passports and not being registered correctly at the place where they lived. Immigration was working under the slogan of getting “Phuket to be Crime Free” running…
- Crime News
Police arrest wanted Swedish criminal hiding in southern Thailand
Immigration Police held a press conference yesterday about the arrest of a wanted Swedish criminal hiding out in Hua Hin, southern Thailand, in their continued crackdown on illegal foreigners in the kingdom. After coordinating with Swedish police, Thai Immigration Police arrested 52 year old Heinz Henry Andreas of Swedish nationality at a rented house in Hua Hin District, Prachuap Khiri…
- Crime News
Police arrest another Chinese visa overstayer living it up in Thailand
Immigration police arrested yet another Chinese visa overstayer in their sustained crackdown on foreigners living illegally in the Kingdom of Thailand. Police arrested 43 year old Chao [surname withheld] at YESMUM Chinese restaurant in Rayong province’s Pluak Daeng district at 8pm yesterday. Chao’s passport revealed that his visa ran out on October 31, 2021, and he overstayed in Thailand for…
- Transport News
Airports of Thailand streamlining procedures, adding staff
With the first real High Season since the Covid-19 pandemic getting underway, Airports of Thailand is streamlining procedures and adding staff. Minister of Transport Saksayam Chidchob inspected Thailand’s main hub, Suvarnabhumi Airport, to evaluate how prepared the airport is for a sharp increase in tourists. One major focus for airport readiness for an influx of tourists is crowd bottlenecking at…
- Visa Information
‘Big Joke’ orders crackdown on foreigners who overstay in Thailand
Deputy Police Chief and former Chief of Immigration Big Joke is on the prowl for foreigners who overstay their visa time in Thailand. Not only that, but Big Joke will not stand for immigration officers who give out illicit visas in exchange for bribes, either. Pl. Gen. Surachate Hakparn, aka “Big Joke,” made the comments after a Chinese man was tortured…
- Crime News
Bangkok police arrest 6 Taiwanese nationals for crypto fraud
Police in Bangkok have arrested 6 Taiwanese men following a raid on a house in the Prawet district of the capital. The men are accused of conning over 500 people, mostly fellow Taiwanese or Chinese nationals, through fraudulent online cryptocurrency investment schemes. According to a Bangkok Post report, the arrests happened when officers from the Police Cyber Taskforce, accompanied by…
- Visa Information
Deadline to apply for “Covid” visa extension extended by 2 months
The deadline to apply for a 60-day “Covid” visa extension in Thailand has been extended by two months, until July 25. The extension follows the Thai government’s decision to extend the country’s “State of Emergency” until July 31. A “Covid” visa extension is designed for foreigners residing in Thailand who are unable to return to their home country due to…
- World News
3 Malaysia – Thailand border crossings reopening
Yesterday (May 5), three Thailand – Malaysia border crossings reopened for public use. Travellers entering Thailand from Malaysia and vice versa must comply with the standard operating procedures set by both countries. The border crossings are also known as Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security – or ICQS – centres. The first ICQS centre connects Rantau Panjang in Malaysia to Sungai…
- World News
Manhunt continues for escaped Rohingya refugees in Malaysia
Malaysian authorities are still on the hunt for 130 illegal Rohingya migrants, who escaped barefoot from a temporary immigration depot near the Kedah-Penang border on Wednesday, after a riot broke out at the facility early yesterday morning. The refugees were reportedly protesting overcrowding at the facility when the situation escalated into a riot. The undocumented migrants, still on the run,…
- Visa Information
Deadline this Friday to apply for 60-day “Covid” visa extension
This Friday is the deadline to apply for the 60-day “Covid” visa extension, which is no longer offered to those on a Non-Immigrant Visa under the latest order. The extension is intended for those who cannot return to their home countries due to the pandemic and the deadline has been pushed back numerous times, without any formal announcements from the…
- World News
15 passengers denied entry at Philippines airport over vaccine certificates
Following its reopening of borders to fully-vaccinated visitors last week, the Philippines immigration reportedly denied entry to 15 Malaysians due to their vaccination in Malaysia yesterday. Their passports are reportedly being held and they will be deported from the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport tomorrow. A passenger told The Star reporters that the Philippines immigration officials did not accept the…
