Thailand Travel Information

Your Passport in Thailand

Your passport is much more than an identity device while you are traveling within Thailand. Besides bearing your travel visa or "permission to stay" stamp, your passport will often be used as a method of payment guarantee.

Hotels, guest houses, rental companies and other services often ask you to surrender your passport. Other than allowing them to make a copy, Don't Let Them Hold Your Passport! In the first place, many countries consider passports they issue to be government property.

Second, a devious service provider can essentially hold you hostage if he holds your passport. Many embassies do not like issuing additional passports. And even if they will issue you a new passport, Thai Immigration can keep you from leaving the country if your passport has no entry stamp.

Copies of Your Passport

One of the standard ways a service provider secures a rental is by making a copy of your passport. You will be asked / required to sign that copy. Your signature on your passport constitutes a tacit contract between you and the service provider. In case of a disagreement, authorities may well side with the provider.

It is a good idea to make additional notations on that copy of your passport that clearly states the purpose for which the copy was made. Dates may be added as well. As an example, "Rental of Bicycle. August 15, 2010."

When you have settled payment for the services, make sure to get back the passport copy. Ask the vendor to mark it "Paid in Full".

All this may seem a bit pedantic, but it can save you thousands .. even tens of thousands of Baht and a great deal of inconvenience.

About Thailand