Travellers detained for tampering with passports
Images adapted from: Nomadcapitalist, Komchadluek
Earlier this week, a Facebook user named Cherry Tour Korea posted a picture of some Thai passports that seemed to have some sacred symbols drawn on their pages.
Image credit: Komchadluek
Cherry Tour Korea wrote in the post that these passports’ holders had a monk draw these symbols on the back page as a blessing. This was so they would have a safe flight. Unfortunately, they got detained and ended up missing their flight.
They also added that no one should be writing or drawing on their passport pages, or they might face the same fate as these people.
Not the first time this has happened
In May, a similar case made the headlines after a family was denied from boarding their plane to Taipei after an airline staff found Hello Kitty stamps on their passports.
Images adapted from: Amarin, Line
Separately, a Thai man was also denied entrance to Singapore after immigration officers noticed an unofficial stamp in his passport. Turns out, he got it from a tourist attraction in Japan.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs speaks out
After the post took over the internet, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted an infographic on their Facebook page to inform Thai passport holders of proper regulations.
Image credit: กรมการกงสุล กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ
Pages in a passport are only for official documentation and stamps. Your passport will be marked as “damaged” for tampering if it has unofficial writing, drawings, or decorative stamps in it.
This will result in being detained from boarding the plane or entering destination countries. Or worse, there’s a chance of getting blacklisted from travelling in the future.
If you love to collect stamps at tourist attractions, make sure you get yourself a pocket-size journal in which you can use freely – just leave your real passport for the airport!
Treat your travel documents with care
It is normal that we all want to feel safe when travelling, especially by air. But we reckon that paying full attention to an in-flight safety demonstration or signing up for travel insurance is way more effective than having a monk writing over your travel documents. More importantly, none of these options will stop you from catching a flight.
For Thai residents who have any questions regarding their passports, you can reach out to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 02-572-8442.
Enjoying The Smart Local Thailand? Follow us on Instagram at @TheSmartLocalTH for more local stories in Thailand!