Thai ID card for foreigners

[brake034]

Lately I heard from some people in Chiang Rai about these ID's so today we went to Thoeng town hall to apply for a ID card for me. I was the first foreigner to apply so it took some time and back and front with papers. They wanted copies of my passport with valid visa extension and a copy of the yellow house book. The ID card is in Thai writing only, is pink and is the same card as the hill tribes get, it costs 60 baht and it is valid for 10 years.

 

[CraigBKK]

What are the benefits of having one?

 

[brake034]

It shows proof of your registered address, it will help in the same way Thai people need to present their ID.
Means, it will help applying for a bank account, for a transfer of a bike or car license, it helps in the fact that you do not need to carry your passport all day out. It helps when you board a domestic airplane, it will even help to apply for a bank loan for your next bike........

And what are the drawbacks of having one?

 

[CraigBKK]

Useful and more convenient than carrying a passport. However, it doesn't appear to do anything that a passport can not. I would still want to take my passport for all of the examples you have given because as this is Thailand it's very likely that ONLY a passport will he accepted however much you explain and plead as 'that's what the staff member was told/that's what the outdated form states' etc. etc.

Nice to know they exist though. If I can get one I will. Posted a Jiffy bag/padded envelope yesterday at the local post office. Was told I need my passport. Showed my Thai DL and it was accepted but I was explicitly told next time I will need my passport to post anything.

Try posting something and show your new ID, see how you get on

 

[brake034]

When posting something there is a bit of a draw back, the Thai ID has a chip on it with a registered finger print.
The pink one does not but it can transfer the info digitally by means of the magnetic strip....
In the Thoeng post office I have never showed my passport or any other ID so far, we are talking rural area here

 

[CraigBKK]

When posting something there is a bit of a draw back, the Thai ID has a chip on it with a registered finger print.
The pink one does not but it can transfer the info digitally by means of the magnetic strip....
In the Thoeng post office I have never showed my passport or any other ID so far, we are talking rural area here

Was told by a Thai after my PO experience that the need to show ID only arose earlier this year, prior to then it was not necessary. Another example of 2016 being more like 'Nineteen Eighty Four'...

 

[brake034]

This ID issue for post parcels started after the bomb attack at Erawan shrine in 2015.

 

[KTMphil]

It shows proof of your registered address, it will help in the same way Thai people need to present their ID.
Means, it will help applying for a bank account, for a transfer of a bike or car license, it helps in the fact that you do not need to carry your passport all day out. It helps when you board a domestic airplane, it will even help to apply for a bank loan for your next bike........

And what are the drawbacks of having one?

Cant you just use your Thai driving license?

 

[brake034]

Cant you just use your Thai driving license?

Not in all cases, the ID card shows your address and your DL does not.

 

[blackwolf]

Not in all cases, the ID card shows your address and your DL does not.

Actually, this is incorrect. The Thai DL DOES show your address, it's on the back. It's written ONLY in Thai though, unlike the rest of the licence, which is bilingual nowadays.

 

[blackwolf]

Useful and more convenient than carrying a passport. However, it doesn't appear to do anything that a passport can not. I would still want to take my passport for all of the examples you have given because as this is Thailand it's very likely that ONLY a passport will he accepted however much you explain and plead as 'that's what the staff member was told/that's what the outdated form states' etc. etc.

Nice to know they exist though. If I can get one I will. Posted a Jiffy bag/padded envelope yesterday at the local post office. Was told I need my passport. Showed my Thai DL and it was accepted but I was explicitly told next time I will need my passport to post anything.

Try posting something and show your new ID, see how you get on

Sure, of course it's not meant to replace a passport per se, but as a Thai language ID card issued for a specific purpose, it does largely achieve that purpose.

I would still say, carry your passport around when you know you will need it. However, for most everyday purposes where ID is requested, this ID card can replace your passport.

For domestic air travel in Thailand (I don't really fly domestically anymore) but still, a passport is not required. A Thai DL already does the trick, but presenting the pink card is even better.

I have been showing only my Thai DL for checking into hotels here for years. Even when I've had my passport with me I don't show it (which I obviously need to carry when traveling overland to neighboring countries). Even so, when a hotel instinctively asks for my passport, they get my Thai DL and this has been questioned only once, and I travel a lot. In 2014 one hotel in Mae Sot of all places wanted to see a passport (out of the 4 people in my group) I grabbed one of my Vietnamese friend's passports and this was accepted for all guests. I can't speak for all hotels and I know some hotels/towns/cities are stricter than others but aside from that one incident where I was traveling with others anyway I have never needed it. Not in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Isarn, Krabi and a host of other places. However, as I speak/read Thai fluently I seem to be able to get away with things that English only speaking expats/foreigners can't.

I can imagine a pink ID card wouldn't be rejected for hotel check-ins - besides, some migrant workers effectively use these cards in place of their passports/temporary passports. Although they typically don't travel (I think they aren't allowed to) but can't imagine a hotel clerk would demand a passport from a Burmese worker in possession of such a card.

 

[CraigBKK]

Just purchased tickets at Kanchanaburi train station for Nong Khai this weekend and Chiang Mai at the end of July.

First attempt they refused me as I didn't have my passport with me. I tried showing my Thai DL and my passport number on it but they weren't having any of it saying that the passport number was an 'ID card number' not a passport number, as this is what it says in Thai (เลขปนะจำตัวประชาช&#3609.

Went away and tried to find a photocopy, which I normally have, but didn't bring. I did however have the bike's green book so showed them my passport number on there, which is the same as the number on the DL, they accepted it!

 

[blackwolf]

Just purchased tickets at Kanchanaburi train station for Nong Khai this weekend and Chiang Mai at the end of July.

First attempt they refused me as I didn't have my passport with me. I tried showing my Thai DL and my passport number on it but they weren't having any of it saying that the passport number was an 'ID card number' not a passport number, as this is what it says in Thai (เลขปนะจำตัวประชาช&#3609.

Went away and tried to find a photocopy, which I normally have, but didn't bring. I did however have the bike's green book so showed them my passport number on there, which is the same as the number on the DL, they accepted it!

OK but since when does one need to use a passport to purchase a train ticket? Never heard of that before in Thailand. Even to purchase a plane ticket, it's not required especially not a domestic airline ticket.

 

[MastaMax]

Do you get the thai prices at NP? That would be useful but I doubt it.