A crackdown on foreigners has begun in Phuket: more than 1,000 tourists who overstayed their Thai visas have been arrested, according to local media. The detection of illegal immigrants is carried out through cooperation between the Phuket Immigration Service and the 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 the number of foreign guests registered at hotels in Phuket over the past two months was more than 20% higher than the number of “legal” foreign tourists who arrived during that time. So the raids will continue.
Also, according to the official report, from May 1 to 25, immigration police conducted raids at 1,550 target points in Phuket, resulting in the arrest of 11 foreigners who had overstayed their visas and four more people who had 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 leave the country illegally. Another 331 tourists from the detained applied for visa extension, one received Thai citizenship during this time, and another was in the hospital, confined to a bed. The list also includes 109 “dead souls” – foreigners who died in Thailand during this time.
As a result, as stated by Thanet Sukchai, only nine overdue visas face serious prosecution. He also urged anyone “who has information about tourists who have overstayed their visas or otherwise broken the law” to report it to Phuket Immigration or through the Traffy Fondue app.