TM 6 forms suspended for land and sea arrivals

Walk intended to ease congestion and improve security at border gates

TM 6 forms suspended for land and sea arrivals
On Wednesday, Lao people who want to participate in the local Songkran festivities line up at the immigration station in the northern county of Nakhon Phanom. ( Photo: Pattanapong Sripiachai )

The state has suspended the deadline of April 15 until October 15 for immigrants entering Thailand by land or sea to complete TM 6 immigration varieties.

Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul made the recommendation, the government voted to suspend the suspension on April 9, according to government representative Traisuree Taisaranakul on Friday.

She said avoiding the requirement for the TM 6 form, which requires foreign visitors to provide important information for regulators to follow, will ease traffic at immigration gates and promote tourism.

International travelers traveling by air do not need to fill out the form.

The TM 6 expulsion will take effect for access by land at eight immigration gates: Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo, Muang region in Mukdahan, Muang region in Nong Khai, Chiang Saen in Chiang Rai, Padang Besar and Sadao in Songkhla, Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat and Betong in Yala.

The checkpoints for entry by sea are at Pattaya, Sri Racha and Sichang in Chon Buri, Map Ta Phut in Rayong, Samui in Surat Thani, and Phuket, Krabi and Surat Thani immigration checkpoints.

The ministry is confident that the initiative will help to ease traffic at immigration checkpoints and boost tourism and the economy, according to Ms. Traisuree. The government will also track down various aspects of the effects and develop appropriate measures in the future.

In a related development, more than 10, 000 Cambodian migrant workers have returned to their hometowns for the long Songkran holiday, said Pol Col Naphatpong Suphaporn, superintendent of Sa Kaeo provincial immigration office.

He claimed that immigration police officers were on every Sa Kaeo checkpoint counter and were able to clear all queues in three hours.

Many Lao migrant workers in Nakhon Phanom in the Northeast also came home for the extended holiday. One Lao worker claimed that because her business had been closed for two weeks, she had made the decision to purchase a lot of goods from Thailand and bring them back to Laos.

However, not many Myanmar workers want to go home during Songkran due to the conflict in their country, and many are afraid that they will be conscripted, according to local reports.

From April 1 through May 15, the Ministry of Labour will waive re-entry fees for migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar.

The goal of the initiative is to raise migrant workers ‘ morale and encourage reunification with their families without having to pay extra.