Thai Immigration biometric system no longer functioning

[buksida]

Thai IT at its best again ...

The Immigration Bureau failed to collect the biometric data of about 17 million travellers who entered and exited Thailand last year after the system reached its maximum capacity, according to People’s Party deputy leader Rangsiman Rome.

“Thailand currently does not utilise the biometric system for border control security. This lack of data collection poses a significant risk of criminals re-entering the country,” the opposition politician said in a post on his Facebook account on Friday.

“Throughout the entire year of 2024 and up to today, there has been no actual collection of biometric data. What is being collected are merely photographs of facial images and fingerprint photos, not true biometrics,” added Mr Rangsiman, who chairs the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy and Reform.

Since the previous licence for the system expired, about 17 million people have arrived in and departed Thailand without their biometric details being recorded. It could take up to 29 months for the Immigration Bureau to get a new system up and running as the procurement process has not even begun, he said.

Mr Rangsiman stressed that many people, including immigration officers, are unaware of the issue.

He also revealed that the bureau had discussed the issue on seven occasions with the National Security Committee. However, higher authorities have not taken action, he noted.

“This is a complete failure of police organisation,” Mr Rangsiman said. “This loophole likely explains why so many transnational criminal groups continue to operate freely in Thailand. It is also difficult to remove them due to the inefficiency of state agencies.”

Pol Col Neti Khanboon, head of the database division at the bureau’s IT centre, admitted the system had reached full capacity while testifying before Mr Rangsiman’s committee on Thursday.

He said the current biometric system can store personal identity data for 50 million people. Purchasing an unlimited licence would require a budget of 500 million baht, he said, adding that a new personal identity collection system was being developed with a budget of 3 billion baht.

Personal identity data collection relies on facial photographs, fingerprint images and written records. In 2024, 17 million people entered and left the country without biometric records, he confirmed.

“The limited capacity of the biometric system is a weakness,” he conceded.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... unctioning

Back to bits of paper and cracking down on innocent people again then ...

[Dannie Boy]

You forgot……..and longer queues!!

[PeteC]

They bury that the event even happened for a year?! Typical idiotic save face above everything else mentality again.

Edit: The people who were pushing for the system initially shot up Big' Joke's car with him in it when he screamed and yelled not to get the system. He was bloody right!

The brown envelopes must have been too fat to resist.

[buksida]

Maybe someone else is profiting from letting all the Chinese call center scammers in without visas or biometrics.