Kathu Police held a meeting yesterday in collaboration with Phuket Immigration Police to try and promote the importance of the law and the reasons behind it, but only 24 accommodation owners on the island attended the meeting.
Immigration Police Captain Angkarn Yasanop explained the importance of the law, which requires the owner of a residence or hotel manager with foreign guests staying must report to the local Immigration Office within 24 hours.
This includes owners of private homes when they have foreign friends or relatives staying with them, whether they pay for accommodation or not.
Capt Angkarn explained to the audience that owners of hotels, guesthouses and rented houses played a “key role” to help. If accommodation owners were caught not reporting guests, they may be fined B8,000 per unreported guest.
“Problems occur when police need to find someone who has a criminal record, and we can’t find them. Also, when people go missing, we don’t know where to look.
“When guests arrive, please be the eye on behalf of the police,” Capt Angkarn told those at the meeting.
“To register, log on to www.immigration.go.th and click on accommodation information. The officer will approve your registration and send you a user name and email address to your email account. You can then use these details to log on to www.phuketimmigration.go.th," he said.
“You can also send a form via the post, but I suggest people use the internet because it is easier and quicker. Informing Immigration must be done within 24 hours after the guest checks in.”
Homeowners were only required to fill out a form once a guest arrives. For example, if a guest arrives and stays for a week continuously, only one form is required. However, if they leave the accommodation provider then return again, another form is required.
Accommodation owners should check the foreigner’s passport photo matches the person’s face, because sometimes there are issues with a person using a fake passport, Capt Angkarn said. Also required in the reporting form is the type and number of the visa, their arrival date to Thailand, the issue date and expiry date of the visa, and the number of entries to the country available (single or multiple).
In the meeting, Police Colonel Jirapat Pohchanapant, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, also mentioned the continued crackdown on drugs across the island.
“We have invited the owners of pubs, bars and restaurants in Patong to meet with us regularly, and they were advised to do regular urine tests on their staff members to check for drugs. We want to ask for their help to make Patong a “white zone” for drugs (drug-free).
Listed in Capt Angkarn’s Powerpoint presentation were details of foreign countries and the visas that were required to visit Thailand.
Cap Angkarn said visa on arrivals made things difficult for the authorities, because there were no screenings from the embassy or other authorities. “Sometimes the details for the international warrant database are not updated fast, or countries are not required to share such information and it’s not linked together,” he said.