# ID for foreignersin Thailand?



## marvelsm

Hello all: Is there any ID a foreigner can get in Thailand so I don't have to carry my passport all the time? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely

Marvelsm


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## Song_Si

Hi
I've never carried my passport, nor ever been requested to produce it
I do keep a photocopy inside a sealed bag under seat of motorbike along with the registration book, also one in the underseat bag on my bicycle, part of my 'in case of accident' plan
My country's drivers licence (with photo) was adequate on the few times I was asked at checkpoints before I gained a Thai one
If you intend to drive here it's not too difficult to get a Thai Drivers Licence - it's a useful photo ID and it also includes your passport number - have to produce passport when applying for licence and they keep a copy with your application

EDIT - add this on the topic of passports



> THAI MINISTER IS CLEANING UP ORGANIZED CRIME THAT TARGET TOURISTS
> *Tourists: Don't hand your passport to tour companies in Thailand*
> Jul 26, 2013
> *It's illegal for tour operators in Thailand to hold tourists Passport. Passports cannot be handed over to third parties.*
> 
> Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak has blankly called for an end to the age-old Phuket practice of foreigners’ passports being held as a condition of renting motorbikes, cars and jet-skis
> 
> “Because passports are the properties of the governments that issue them, those who seize them – for any reason – are in fact seizing the property of a foreign government.


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## Fish Sauce

I've traveled to many places in the world and always just carried a photo copy of my passport and a copy of the page of the entrance stamp. Never had any problems but you should know that in most countries it isn't obeying the letter of the law to carry just photo copies.

However, I'd much rather just leave my passport locked in the hotel safe than risk losing it.

The way I look at it if I'm ever in the type of jam that the police are going to make an issue over my passport being back at the hotel, I've probably got a much bigger problem to worry about.


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## Hans Mann

I always used my driving license in Thailand when asked. I was only stopped a handful of times, always in Bangkok around Thonglor or Ekkamai area.


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## JustChris

I never carry anything except my Thai drivers license and never had a problem anywhere in the country.


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## joseph44

"Just" an ID? 
Yes, a Thai DL can do, but a Thai DL doesn't say anything about your legal status in Thailand. 
In previous posts people make copies of passports or fabricate a credit-card sized copy of passport and visa. 

A Thai ID is only for people with a Thai nationailty or foreigners with a residence-status.


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## marvelsm

Thank you all for your replies sound advice as usual I have had my Canadian drivers licence renewed (only four years not five rip off) I might get a Thai licence but only for Id plus copy of passport


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## harvie316

get a laminated copy of your Passport or your drivers license and carry that with you, you should be fine.


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## Song_Si

^ for the copy of passport not just the ID pages, but copy showing your current Visa as well

Better to be organised/prepared than the inconvenience of possibly waiting at a police station while someone brings in your passport to produce as proof

Following Phuket news, it's a regular event for more foreigners to be rounded up, photographed and paraded for the media, fined and kicked out for not having a current visa; random checkpoints targeting foreigners - these three in last Saturday's news, from police checks carried out on customers at a gasoline station


> 24 August 2013
> Three European expats were arrested on Phuket today as the campaign against overstayers went into overdrive.
> Two Frenchmen held by Immigration officers had been on Phuket since January but the third expat arrested, a Swiss man, had been living on the island without a visa update since December, 2010.
> The arrests came at 10am at a petrol station in southern Phuket as Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok was briefing police from four top tourist provinces about the need for added security.


and a week before:


> Saturday, August 17, 2013
> Yesterday, 84 illegals from five countries were rounded up on Phuket and more arrests were promised between today and the end of August, with another crackdown scheduled for September.


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## marvelsm

Thank you all again, yes I will get my drivers licence laminated


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## stednick

Song_Si said:


> ^ for the copy of passport not just the ID pages, but copy showing your current Visa as well
> 
> Better to be organised/prepared than the inconvenience of possibly waiting at a police station while someone brings in your passport to produce as proof
> 
> Following Phuket news, it's a regular event for more foreigners to be rounded up, photographed and paraded for the media, fined and kicked out for not having a current visa; random checkpoints targeting foreigners - these three in last Saturday's news, from police checks carried out on customers at a gasoline station
> 
> 
> and a week before:



The infamous Taxi and Jet Ski debacle ...

PHUKET: ... according to sources who attended yesterday's (June 14) meeting between government officials and 17 ambassadors from the European Union, some tough points about tourist safety and fair treatment of visitors were made...

Can you connect the dots?

If you want the Administration of Thailand to "crackdown" on the Thai underground, do not be surprised if/when the increased police presence results in a "crackdown" on Falangs.

Perhaps, the crackdown on overstays is a direct result of the complaints about the Taxi mafia. 

Be careful of what you ask for, you just may get it.


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## Song_Si

^ yes, the ongoing crackdown on crackdowns
lately a paranoid person could almost believe there was a media campaign against foreigners, barely a day without something 'anti' in the news - easy targets to distract from the local crime/fraud/etc some might say!

I have a friend/former neighbour in Phuket who sends me emails always with the same subject line '_those naughty farang_' with whatever the latest mini-scandal is

We've recently had stories about the millions in unpaid hospital bills from expats who either do a runner (Australians were identified as the worst!) or simply had no means to pay

In national news there have been a lot of stories about homeless farang in Thailand, particularly Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket, sleping rough on beaches, in phone booths, stories of them begging from tourists, scavenging garbage bins . . . and on Tuesday this week an Italian expat, 54, arrested in Phuket for *stealing from a temple's donation box in Rawai* - caught when he went back for more a day later. Desperate times. 

There were anti-Russian protests in Phuket in June/July that resulted an many arrests for people working while on Tourist Visas, seems to have spread to any nationality.

Having said that - the people who persist in overstaying visas and working without the correct visa/permit are maybe making it worse for those of us who choose to follow the rules and live legally.


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## BlackRain79

Drivers license and photocopy of passport is all that I carry. Never had an issue with that.


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## stednick

Song_Si said:


> ^ yes, the ongoing crackdown on crackdowns
> lately a paranoid person could almost believe there was a media campaign against foreigners, barely a day without something 'anti' in the news - easy targets to distract from the local crime/fraud/etc some might say!
> 
> I have a friend/former neighbour in Phuket who sends me emails always with the same subject line '_those naughty farang_' with whatever the latest mini-scandal is
> 
> We've recently had stories about the millions in unpaid hospital bills from expats who either do a runner (Australians were identified as the worst!) or simply had no means to pay
> 
> In national news there have been a lot of stories about homeless farang in Thailand, particularly Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket, sleping rough on beaches, in phone booths, stories of them begging from tourists, scavenging garbage bins . . . and on Tuesday this week an Italian expat, 54, arrested in Phuket for *stealing from a temple's donation box in Rawai* - caught when he went back for more a day later. Desperate times.
> 
> There were anti-Russian protests in Phuket in June/July that resulted an many arrests for people working while on Tourist Visas, seems to have spread to any nationality.
> 
> Having said that - the people who persist in overstaying visas and working without the correct visa/permit are maybe making it worse for those of us who choose to follow the rules and live legally.


It all comes down to the adage "Your best defense is a strong offense". What better way to deflect attention from a problem then to steer the attention in another direction. To volley and put the ball back in your court. So, the Thai's will take care of the overstays and the con artists together. KUDO's to them. 

Overstays do indeed impact ALL. Residents, Resident Aliens, Tourists, Law Enforcement, Shop Owners and Tour Operators. Few people, other than the overstay scofflaws themselves, benefit from overstays. I feel a mandatory sentence of a month or so in a Thai jail, or maybe a day in jail per day of overstay, could solve the problem. 

On another sarcastic note: It does amaze me that 17, yes, read this correctly, "seventeen" European Ambassadors feel so strongly about the Thai jet ski and taxi problem (a problem of such great magnitude in face of the European economic crisis) that they realize it is their duty and responsibility to the electorate to hop on an airplane and zip on over to Thailand to have a face-to-face discussion concerning the issue. I am certain the European taxpayers see this as money well spend. God only knows the massive amount of money the jet ski mafia is taking out of the hands of the European Common Market by fleecing tourists.


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## stednick

From Phuket Wan, August 21, 2013 concerning the clean up of Phuket:

PHUKET: A total of 1289 people on Phuket have had their passports checked in the opening days of a campaign to ''clean up'' Phuket, it was revealed today.

Investigators had checked 1289 passports or documents of foreigners or ''aliens''.

*77 people had been charged with overstaying.* 

*15 had been charged with work permit offenses.*

26 Burmese had been arrested for not having permission to be in Thailand. 

28 arrests in relation to copy goods.

111 arrests for driving offenses. 

A sweep had been made through 467 karaoke clubs, bars and game shops, with 332 people ''at risk'' - the usual description of previous offenders - being discovered.

284 people have been arrested. *14 arrests were made for illegal possession of handguns, and 24 arrests of people without gun licenses. *

83 drivers of illegal ''black'' taxis had been arrested.

44 people charged with prostitution.


No mention was made of how long this clean-up/crack-down will last. *Make sure your paperwork is in order. *


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## Trajanus

I was just there for 2 weeks and never got asked for any ID. I stayed mostly in BKK though with a sort trip to Kanchanburi. I did however take pictures of my passport on my phone and carried my US ID with me. I'd rather have the passport safe at the hotel. If the police want to take me back to the hotel fine they can waste their day, if that doesn't solve any problem then I think there was nothing I could have done.


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## marvelsm

thank you Trajanus and all for your replies: Yes I have made a photo copy of my passport and carry a copy of my Canadian drivers licence with me. My passport is kept safely at my residence. If police want to waste their time too they can bring me back to my residence and check my real passport.


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## neilr

I must admit, I don't even think about taking my passport anywhere, except when it is actually needed.

I go to Laos sometimes and just outside the Nong Khai Immigration police board the bus to check ID's but never once have they asked to see a passport - they are only looking of illegal Laos people in the Kingdom.


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## joseph44

marvelsm said:


> thank you Trajanus and all for your replies: Yes I have made a photo copy of my passport and carry a copy of my Canadian drivers licence with me. My passport is kept safely at my residence. If police want to waste their time too they can bring me back to my residence and check my real passport.


Very nice that all of you are so thoughtful of the police, but the fact is, that you officially have to carry your passport with you including visa-page and departure card. 

In most, if not all, cases, the police accepts copies, but IF they're going to be nasty, the police will hold you until someone can produce your original documents. Do NOT expect them to come to the hotel in order to check your documents.


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## Trajanus

joseph44 said:


> Very nice that all of you are so thoughtful of the police, but the fact is, that you officially have to carry your passport with you including visa-page and departure card.
> 
> In most, if not all, cases, the police accepts copies, but IF they're going to be nasty, the police will hold you until someone can produce your original documents. Do NOT expect them to come to the hotel in order to check your documents.


Not about being thoughtful of the police. I'm just saying it's a big hassle to them too, so most time (In my experience from other countries) if they want to hold you up they've made their decision even before they made contact. I feel like it's way more risky to lose/damage the one most important document then then to jet jammed up by the cops. Now if you're being a jerk that's another story. But then I spent most of my time in BKK.


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## tod-daniels

If you are on any type of Non-Immigrant Type visa extension (be it 90 days or yearly), it's very easy to get a Thai Driver's License, especially if you hold a valid driver's license from your home country.

It meets the criteria of carrying "valid Thai I/D" (and means you DON'T have to carry your passport or copies of it around at all). True, it says nothing about the legality of your stay in Thailand, however you're unlikely to be shaken down by the Police showing you hold a Thai D/L. 

The first time you get a Thai D/L it says "temporary" and is good for a year, after it expires you go back out and get a new one for 5 years. 

It's easy to get and in 8+ years I've been here I've never had to show more than my Thai D/L; which BTW, also has your passport number on it and your address written in Thai on the back.


As an aside; I routinely volunteer for several Police Stations here in Bangkok as a translator. Every week we get between 50 and 100 foreigners coming in and filing reports for lost or stolen passports. 

I'd say there is NO reason to ever carry your passport, no matter what the "law" states. 
If the Police are dead set on seeing the real thing, they can lug you back to your apartment so you can show it to them.

Good Luck


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## Wayward Wind

Not sure about other locations, but here in Pattaya the police accept a card created from your passport: face sheet on one side, passport cover and latest visa on the other, reduced down to wallet size and laminated. There is a guy who does it for 200 baht, but certainly easy to do yourself.

I was told that the acceptance is the result of an agreement between the police and one of the expat clubs.


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## tod-daniels

A person would be hard pressed indeed to find a city "less-Thai" in the entire country than Pattaya. 

So with that being said, what the police there will accept while anecdotally interesting IF you happen to hang your hat in that city it's much interesting for everyone else. 

FWIW: Almost every photo shop in lower Sukhumvit will do the same thing. They'll scan your picture page and the page with your extension of stay on it, shrink 'em down and laminate them back to back as a psuedo I/D. One of the Police Districts I volunteer for accepts them, the other doesn't, go figure...

I still stand by my assertion that the best I/D to have IF you live here is a Thai D/L.

Your mileage may vary...


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## marvelsm

Well said tod-daniels: A photo copy should do every time although I have been in Thailand now for a few months now and have not been asked for ID yet


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