Thai Immigration Boosts Biometric Screening to Curb Crime

Thai Immigration Boosts Biometric Screening to Curb Crime

Immigration announced on 25 November, enhanced screening and verification measures for all foreign nationals entering and exiting Thailand. The initiative applies across all international airports and border checkpoints nationwide to prevent individuals disguising themselves as tourists from committing crimes or engaging in unlawful activities.

Police Major General Jaturapat Bhiromkaew, Deputy Spokesperson, stated that the measures are preventive and applied equally to all nationalities, without targeting any specific group. Screening focuses on identifying high-risk behaviours, such as unusually frequent entries and exits, misuse of visas, or suspicious information from INTERPOL and security intelligence agencies.

Operationally, immigration checkpoints have been instructed to increase inspection thoroughness using biometric systems and international databases. This approach aims to prevent document forgery, illegal entry, and movements of individuals potentially linked to human trafficking, illegal labour, call-centre fraud, money laundering, and emerging transnational crimes.

Despite the increased measures, authorities emphasise adherence to human rights standards, ensuring law-abiding tourists are not adversely affected. The measures are part of the government, Immigration and Royal Thai Police’s broader policy to strengthen tangible prevention of transnational crime while maintaining public and tourist confidence.

Police General Kittharath Punpetch, Commissioner-General, reinforced that all officers involved are strictly prohibited from soliciting or accepting any benefits. Any violations will result in immediate criminal and disciplinary action.

Immigration will continue monitoring and refining screening procedures, ensuring effectiveness against high-risk individuals while safeguarding the travel experience of legitimate tourists. Regular assessments and collaboration with international law enforcement are expected to maintain robust prevention standards.

Thaitabloid also reported that Immigration police have also stated they are focusing on blocking foreigners, particularly scammers, who exploit Thailand’s visa-free entry scheme by making repeated “visa runs” to extend their stay. Pol Maj Gen Choengron Rimpadee, deputy chief of the Immigration Bureau, said that officers would carefully question foreigners making a third consecutive visit with back-to-back visa-free requests to stay for up to 90 days each time. Officers would also examine those who had stayed at least 45 days during previous visits.

“These foreigners do not visit Thailand for tourism. Many of them work or operate businesses with Thai nominees as fronts. They use the visa-free scheme to avoid official visa requests before travelling, and their data is not included in Thailand’s systems controlling occupations and taxation,” the deputy commissioner said. Some visitors had made as many as seven visa runs in a row, with accumulated stays exceeding 200 days.

Immigration police would deny repeated entry to such visitors, preventing scammers fleeing suppression in neighbouring countries from relocating illicit businesses to Thailand, Pol Maj Gen Choengron said. He added that those cashing in on visa-run services had begun spreading false information, claiming immigration was targeting visitors from specific countries, including China.

The deputy immigration chief emphasised that the measures are applied fairly to all nationalities and do not affect genuine tourists. Real tourists typically stay in Thailand for an average of 15 days per visit, providing clear information about accommodation, trips around the country and departure dates, he said. Immigration police welcomed such visitors.

Key Takeaways

• Biometric and international database checks have been strengthened at all Thai entry points.

• Measures are preventive, applied to all nationalities, and respect human rights.

• Officers are prohibited from accepting benefits, with strict penalties for violations.

Adapted by Asean Now from Thaitabloid 2025-11-26

Source: https://aseannow.com/topic/1379867-immigration-boosts-biometric-screening-to-curb-crime/