Foreigners rounded up in Phuket: according to local media, more than 1,000 tourists arrested for overstaying their Thai visas . The identification of illegal immigrants is carried out through cooperation between the Phuket Immigration Service and 800 accommodation providers on the island. The latter, according to the Thai press, have “taken measures to combat crime” and report any suspicious activity involving their foreign guests.
However, Phuket immigration chief Thanet Sukchai said that the number of foreign guests registered at hotels in Phuket in the past two months is more than 20% higher than the number of “legal” foreign tourists who arrived during this time. So the raids will continue.
Also, according to the official's report, from May 1 to May 25, immigration police raided 1,550 target points in Phuket, resulting in the arrest of 11 foreigners who overstayed their visas and four more people who entered Thailand illegally.
In total, the Information Technology Center of the Immigration Bureau reported that 1,050 foreigners overstayed their visas, 391 did not live in registered housing, and 228 managed to illegally leave the country. Another 331 of the detained tourists applied for visa extensions, during which time one received Thai citizenship, and another was in the hospital, bedridden. Also on the list were 109 “dead souls” – foreigners who died in Thailand during this time.
As a result, according to Thanet Sukchai, only nine overstayers face serious prosecution. He also urged anyone “who has information about tourists who have overstayed their visas or otherwise violated the law” to report it to the Phuket immigration office or through the Traffy Fondue app.
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