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Internal Passports in Thailand?

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing internal travel documents for movement of persons within Thailand and as of the time of this video, there are multiple provinces here in Thailand that are under highest or strictly controlled area, is what they are being designated.

As we have discussed in another video that we made contemporaneously with this one, it seems the Government is going to great effort at least as of the time of this video to not term this “lockdown” because a lockdown has different ramifications, especially legal ramifications associated with it. However, this current situation, different provinces are deemed to be highly controlled or strictly controlled. The staff here in the office assisted me in doing a translation for the guidelines associated with this, an English language translation. 

Guidelines for Screening Tests for Traveling out of the highest and strictly controlled areas for five provinces consisting of: Samut Sakorn, Chonburi, Rayong, Chantaburi and Trat. Guidelines for the person who wishes to travel outbound from the highest and strictly controlled areas. 

1.1 General matters: must present a certificate of necessity which can be requested from the relevant government officer or the local government officer. Duties: so these are the criteria under which someone can gain one of these for lack of a better term "Certificates of Necessity" which then allows someone to travel over a border. In a very real sense, it is what has sometimes been described in the context of other jurisdictions in the past as an "internal passport" because it allows you to travel over these borders. So basically, like delivery of goods and necessary goods, food, medicine, medical supplies, consumer goods under certain circumstances, food, industrial goods, the post, postage, newspapers, import export under certain circumstances it appears, public utility workers, telecommunication, construction, maintenance and the employees who work in factories, then you have got workers in medicine, banking, education transportation. Then you have got government officers etc. There is another thing under here called a Certificate of Duty for lack of a better term. It is a certificate where your duty is necessary. This is somewhat akin to what I have seen in the United States being described as "essential /non-essential" or "essential workers versus non-essential workers"; folks that need to be somewhere due to essential need. 

So getting into some of the logistics associated with this, quoting from an article in the Pattaya News, thepattayanews.com, quoting directly from an article titled: How to Register for Interprovincial Travel in and out of High Control Zones including Chonburi. Quoting directly: The Pattaya News first published the orders by the Royal Government Gazette yesterday afternoon after it was released regarding five provinces being placed under the highest state of control including needing official permission for interprovincial, not inter-district travel. Quoting further: "First the five provinces are: Chonburi including Pattaya, Rayong, Trat, Nontaburi and Samut Sakorn. It involves entering and leaving the province." Then they get into the process to obtain a registration letter. Quoting directly: "To certify the importance and need for traveling interprovincially between high control zones of the five provinces listed above." Quoting further: "You will need to provide evidence that your trip out of the province is essential and urgent." Here again: necessary, essential, urgent. These seem to be the operative verbiage here. 

Another article from the Bangkok Post, this is bangkokpost.com, this article is titled: CCSA Reveals Permit Issuers List - Bid to Quash Interprovincial Good Trade Chaos. Quoting directly: "Chaos descended on many District Offices in five provinces last week as people, most of them making a living on interprovincial goods trade clamored to apply for the permits." Yeah this has caused a lot of consternation. Before I continue this quote, this started off and there was a limited number of folks who could even issue these most notably it was basically only done in the district office. However they seem to have expanded the amount of people that can issue this documentation. Quoting further: "For the public, the papers may be released by District Chiefs, Directors of District Offices, Kamnans, Village Heads, Assistant Chiefs of Local Administrative Organization and Heads of Police Stations." So it appears that they are doing what they can to try and get this documentation out to people who need it, they are essential. Again that word came up again. 

Long story short, yeah at least for the time being, this currently looks like the regime that is in place in order to get to and from or in between these five provinces here in the Kingdom of Thailand.