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IF you are planning to visit Thailand’s resort province of Phuket,
you will now be required to furnish a host of personal information,
including banking account and social media details to the nation’s
Immigration bureau.
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Otherwise, failure to submit applications when entering the province
will result in consequences, a Immigration official has warned.
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Immigration Bureau’s crime suppression unit Deputy Commissioner Maj
Gen Chachaval Vachirapaneegul said the details to be filled in the
“Foreign National Information Form”, released last Monday, was now a
mandatory requirement.
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“If a foreigner doesn’t want to fill in their information by
themselves, they will be questioned for our records anyway. If they
don’t fill in the form, we will suspect their reason,” Chachaval was
quoted as saying in Phuket News.
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SEE ALSO: Thailand asking foreigners for bank account, social media, and hangout details
Apart from social media and account details, the three-page form asks
for foreigners’ contact numbers and email addresses, vehicle
registration, and places frequented by the foreigner.
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In the form, visitors were warned that: “Providing false information to an officer, shall be punishable under the Penal Code.”
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According to the paper, the form covers most types of applications for foreigners.
“This form shall be used for making record of information of every
alien entering and staying in the Kingdom of Thailand and shall be
submit with Notification of residences for Aliens (section 37, 38 of
Immigration Act, BE, 2522), or 90-days notification, or Extension of
Stays (all purposes), or Re-entry Permits, or in all cases involving
alien labors,” the header reads.
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SEE ALSO: Thailand: Foreigners vexed by ‘intrusive’ immigration forms
However, Chachaval did not confirm whether failure to provide certain
information would form a basis for applications to be rejected and
clarified that the social media account details was optional. He said
all other sections were mandatory.
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“We will not force people to provide their social media details,” he said.
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Source: Asiancorrespondent.com/
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