Bamboozled by Bangkok Immigration
I have been living in Thailand for the past 17 years. I have a yearly non-immigrant visa, issued through my company. I am also married to a Thai and we have two children.
Two Fridays ago at around 5am I arrived back from Japan and approached the Immigration counters, where there were no queues. The official on duty was too busy playing with her iPad to notice me. I waited patiently while my wife quickly completed her processing at a neighbouring counter.
Finally I interrupted the official, only to have her wave at me as if she were shooing a fly. I think she was irritated because I had interrupted her game.
She then asked if I had a work permit. I usually carry my work permit whenever I travel, but somehow this time I forgot. And this was the first time I had been asked for it at Immigration.
She then called her superior and told her I had become argumentative. This was untrue – I was simply explaining that I had never been asked for my work permit before.
Half an hour later the superior returned my passport and said I could proceed through Immigration. When I asked whether I should carry the work permit with me at all times, she told me it should not be taken outside the country, and instead I should carry a photocopy. This blatantly contradicted the first official I dealt with.
So my question is, do Thai authorities demand that I carry my work permit with me, or just a copy? Is there a new law stipulating that holders of non-immigrant visas need to carry their work permits when travelling outside Thailand?
Raj Guendaraju
Bangkok
