Must Read Welcome to Thailand - and welcome to immigration queues!

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Welcome to Thailand - and welcome to immigration queues!

 

Image: Oo Spin9

 

A widely shared Tweet said there was chaos at Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday as massive queues greeted international passengers. 

 

Twitter user "Oo Spin9"  said that the new "biometric" fingerprint scanning was to blame for the delays, an observation confirmed by a tourist who spoke to Thaivisa. 

 

The Tweeter said: "Welcome to Thailand - and welcome to queues at immigration. Passengers needed to get all ten fingers scanned". 

 

This went viral being retweeted 5,000 times. 

 

 

A tourist arriving from Scotland told Thaivisa: "It took ages to clear through immigration. There was a huge queue. I had never seen this fingerprint scanning in Thailand before.

 

"As I got near I saw Asian people who couldn't speak English being asked to scan their fingers and it was very slow due to the language barrier.

 

"My early afternoon arrival was delayed then what with these queues I was caught up in the Bangkok rush hour  that I had also wanted to avoid. I got to my destination much later than expected".

 

Thaivisa notes that the official launch date of the new biometic system - installed at a cost of more than 2 billion baht  - is July 1st. 

 

The system has been hailed as state-of-the-art and designed to help keep Thailand secure. 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-06-28

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[Phuketshrew]

I arrived back through Phuket International terminal on Wednesday. No big queues and the process was just as quick despite having to do the biometric scanning. If only the baggage reclaim was as quick!

[kotsak]

Pick your choice, either stuck in traffic jams or at the immigration queue.

[Eligius]

This scanning of our fingerprints is so disgusting. For most of my life - decades and decades - it has always been only CRIMINALS who have their fingerprints taken.

Now the sheep all think it is perfectly acceptable for us all to be herded and monitored and branded. 

I will never agree with this insane Orwellian system of fake 'security' obsession and psychotic control-freakery - when the real monsters (yes, monsters) are the criminals in high places (the less than 1%) who are running the whole filthy show.

 

[bangkokfrog]

3 minutes ago, RobboR said:

Quelle surprise.

This lot couldn't organise a BJ in Bangkok

I thought BJ has been reduced to an inactive "post" these days.

[PerkinsCuthbert]

1 minute ago, Eligius said:

This scanning of our fingerprints is so disgusting. For most of my life - decades and decades - it has always been only CRIMINALS who have their fingerprints taken.

Now the sheep all think it is perfectly acceptable for us all to be herded and monitored and branded. 

I will never agree with this insane system of 'security' obsession - when the real monsters (yes, monsters) are the criminals in high places (the less than 1%) who are running the whole filthy show.

Don't worry, if Thai immigration can't get their heads round it without creating enormous queues backed up miles, they'll quietly junk the system and write off the 2B Baht it cost; they have form in this area.

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, bangkokfrog said:

I thought BJ has been reduced to an inactive "post" these days.

So no happy ending for him then.

[Salerno]

2 minutes ago, RobboR said:

If you say no what happens?

You get on the next flight back to where you come from after enjoying the hospitality in detention.

[bartender100]

And when you leave the finger printing is done now also

[Eligius]

1 minute ago, RobboR said:

I agree but can you actually oppose them taking your prints?

If you say no what happens?

You are right: as far as I know, we cannot say 'no'. If we do, we shall be refused entry. So outwardly we are forced to go along with it - but inwardly (if we are true human beings with spirit) we will be railing at the criminal way in which we are increasingly being treated.

 

There really needs to be a world-wide revolution against the dehumanisation of global society which is proceeding apace. People are being turned into zombified slaves, and as the great Aldous Huxley predicted, people are being trained to 'love their servitude'.

[darksidedog]

Hmmm. I suspect the fast lane ticket scam is going to make an inevitable return, just days after supposedly being shut down. The timing of sudden massive queues seems highly coincidental.

[bluesofa]

17 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

"As I got near I saw Asian people who couldn't speak English being asked to scan their fingers and it was very slow due to the language barrier. 

{snipped}

Thaivisa notes that the official launch date of the new biometic system - installed at a cost of more than 2 billion baht  - is July 1st. 

As they've spent 2 billion Baht in this, a few handouts in a dozen languages explaining the details wouldn't have been too much to ask would it?

 

Actually it probably would, when the RTP were getting the Interpol documents for the Red Bull killer translated a year or so back, it took them weeks of waiting to do that. The speed on that job was perhaps inversely proportional to any cash donations received from interested parties.

 

There again I'm using that non-understood foreign concept - forward planning.

[Genmai]

11 minutes ago, Eligius said:

This scanning of our fingerprints is so disgusting. For most of my life - decades and decades - it has always been only CRIMINALS who have their fingerprints taken.

Now the sheep all think it is perfectly acceptable for us all to be herded and monitored and branded. 

I will never agree with this insane Orwellian system of fake 'security' obsession and psychotic control-freakery - when the real monsters (yes, monsters) are the criminals in high places (the less than 1%) who are running the whole filthy show.

 

People who think like this tend to not realize just how much of our 'private' information is in the public domain already or available for sale to third parties. Nothing you can do about it. Personally if it means a reduced chance of actual criminals getting in and living among us then I'm all for it. Whatever privacy concerns I may have are outweighed by the benefits of living in a safer society. It's more an issue of sloppy implementation that's the problem here. Lines not managed, forms nowhere to be found, staff picking their noses and eating soup on a chair, gross scanners never cleaned, pens covered in scotch tape with the germs of 10000 travelers, IO taking their sweet time, etc. Thailand should really take notes from Japan where this system has been in place for many years.

[essox essox]

19 minutes ago, bangkokfrog said:

I thought BJ has been reduced to an inactive "post" these days.

no one really knows what this guy is doing now....perhaps they are checking all ten of his finger prints to establish WHO HE is??!!!

[Razek]

27 minutes ago, Eligius said:

This scanning of our fingerprints is so disgusting. For most of my life - decades and decades - it has always been only CRIMINALS who have their fingerprints taken.

Now the sheep all think it is perfectly acceptable for us all to be herded and monitored and branded. 

I will never agree with this insane Orwellian system of fake 'security' obsession and psychotic control-freakery - when the real monsters (yes, monsters) are the criminals in high places (the less than 1%) who are running the whole filthy show.

 

They just copy what european did .

[aqua4]

32m visitors each year. Thats a large portion of the globe fingerprinted by their own free will considering they knew about this before they arrived. 

[kralledr]

do they  Scan also on exit?

[Genmai]

13 minutes ago, Eligius said:

You are right: as far as I know, we cannot say 'no'. If we do, we shall be refused entry. So outwardly we are forced to go along with it - but inwardly (if we are true human beings with spirit) we will be railing at the criminal way in which we are increasingly being treated.

 

There really needs to be a world-wide revolution against the dehumanisation of global society which is proceeding apace. People are being turned into zombified slaves, and as the great Aldous Huxley predicted, people are being trained to 'love their servitude'.

Lol this is too funny. Do you want a warm cup of chamomile and an appointed therapist arranged for you on your arrival to swampy? Queues would start at the runway if everyone was treated as a "true human being with spirit". 

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, kralledr said:

so Hey Scan also on exit?

Absolutely. How else will they know who is on overstay?

[overherebc]

29 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

So no happy ending for him then.

Maybe he's sitting in his office looking happy and thinking it's someone elses problem now.

????

[bluesofa]

4 minutes ago, Genmai said:

Lol this is too funny. Do you want a warm cup of chamomile and an appointed therapist arranged for you on your arrival to swampy? Queues would start at the runway if everyone was treated as a "true human being with spirit". 

Sounds great! Can I be treated with spirit too? A bottle of Laphroaig Single Malt would do just fine thanks.

[nong38]

3rd world idea of how to impress the rest of the world with security, this what I experienced in early June. When I went out in May I forgot to take my keys out for the scanner, it did not go off. Looks like an impressive show of security if only it worked.

[Roy Baht]

For biometric identification purposes, fingerprints from only 1 or 2 fingers (index fingers or thumb) are usually sufficient. The fact that Thai immigration is taking prints from all ten fingers seems less like simple identification and more like they are gathering evidence for criminal prosecution.

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, nong38 said:

3rd world idea of how to impress the rest of the world with security, this what I experienced in early June. When I went out in May I forgot to take my keys out for the scanner, it did not go off. Looks like an impressive show of security if only it worked.

The two AA batteries were probably flat - or swapped with someone else's Gameboy batteries.

[zydeco]

Now, if they could only tie the TM30 reporting system into the finger scan.

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, Roy Baht said:

For biometric identification purposes, fingerprints from only 1 or 2 fingers (index fingers or thumb) are usually sufficient. The fact that Thai immigration is taking prints from all ten fingers seems less like simple identification and more like they are gathering evidence for criminal prosecution.

I follow your concern, but look at the reality of it:

The logistics needed to scan millions of fingerprints against one sample would take forever to setup, maintain and fund.

So more than likely another pipe dream - same as CCTV evidence: A large proportion of the time a lot of these cameras are faulty or the images not saved or archived - we know that from numerous reports already.

[RichardColeman]

I think I;m going to try and sell Thai immigration the idea of i.d. recognition at passport control by stool sample.

[bluesofa]

4 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Now, if they could only tie the TM30 reporting system into the finger scan.

C'mon, surely you can see the comical possibilities of that:

 

Dear Deirdre, I'm concerned about doing my 90 day report and filing a TM30.

On my last visit I was informed I had done my 90 day report late. My name however is not Who Flundung and I'm not Chinese but from Nigeria with more than 30 million dollars in my bank account.

Also on my TM30 confirmation I'm listed as a German Shepherd from the Isle of Dogs.

Surely some mistake?

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, RichardColeman said:

I think I;m going to try and sell Thai immigration the idea of i.d. recognition at passport control by stool sample.

Will there be sufficient DNA on there?

[GreasyFingers]

58 minutes ago, Eligius said:

You are right: as far as I know, we cannot say 'no'. If we do, we shall be refused entry. So outwardly we are forced to go along with it - but inwardly (if we are true human beings with spirit) we will be railing at the criminal way in which we are increasingly being treated.

 

There really needs to be a world-wide revolution against the dehumanisation of global society which is proceeding apace. People are being turned into zombified slaves, and as the great Aldous Huxley predicted, people are being trained to 'love their servitude'.

Are you talking about Amazon warehouse workers.