Thailand’s Immigration Bureau confirms its biometric system has reached full capacity, preventing new foreign arrival records. A new system with unlimited storage is in development, while authorities manually record arrivals and use an online database for checks.
System Capacity Reached, Prompting Concerns
Thailand’s Immigration Bureau announced on Thursday that its biometric system has hit its storage limit, preventing the addition of new foreign arrival records. The system, designed to store up to 50 million records, is now at full capacity.
Revelation During National Security Hearing
Pol Col Neti Khanboon, commander of the bureau’s database division, confirmed the issue while testifying before the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, and National Strategies and Reforms.
The committee, chaired by Move Forward Party MP Rangsiman Rome, had called officials from the Royal Thai Police, the Immigration Bureau, and Airports of Thailand Plc to discuss the repatriation of Chinese nationals rescued from call-centre gangs in Myanmar’s Myawaddy border town.
During the hearing, Rangsiman expressed concerns that if China managed the repatriation independently, Thailand could miss the chance to collect biometric data on individuals linked to scams, making it harder to blacklist them.
Manual Data Collection as a Temporary Measure
Neti reassured the committee that all individuals sent back from Myawaddy would have their biometric data manually recorded by Tak’s immigration office. He noted that Myawaddy is not a major tourist destination, so any foreigners illegally crossing the border would be flagged and added to a blacklist.
When questioned about why the automatic biometric system was not being used for blacklisted individuals, Neti admitted the system had maxed out its storage.
Plans for Expansion and New System Development
Originally designed with 30 million storage licences before being expanded to 50 million, the system is now at its limit. To address the issue, the bureau is developing a new biometric system with unlimited capacity, a project estimated to cost 3 billion baht and take 29 months to complete.
Additionally, the bureau is allocating 500 million baht to purchase more storage licences for the current system as a stopgap measure.
Alternative Methods for Security Screening
Despite storage limitations, immigration authorities have manually recorded 17 million foreign arrivals over the past two years, collecting facial photos and fingerprints.
While the biometric system’s capacity issues prevent automatic flagging of blacklisted individuals, Neti assured the committee that authorities are cross-checking arrivals using an online database to identify suspicious travelers.
