KRABI, Thailand – To the relief of all, Welsh tourist Daniel Davies, 26, has been found alive and well in a south Thailand hostelry. Immigration police tracked him down to the Guest Hotel and Hostel on Phi Phi Island, Krabi, as he slept in his bunk bed according to the Daily Mail. He had not been in touch with UK family or friends since March 13 when he was staying in Bangkok. His ongoing silence was apparently due to a dispute with his family.
Amongst the unexplained aspects of the case are the comments of Nicola Doran, his aunt, that Daniel had lost his passport and had “not yet” picked up the replacement one from the Bangkok based British embassy. But the procedure for obtaining an emergency passport would require Daniel to be in personal touch with the embassy’s consular section, to give his precise location and to pay the fee online – which apparently did not happen.
Daniel entered Thailand on a 60 days visa-free pass which would expire at the end of April. Currently, visa-free entrants are not required to complete any immigration paperwork in advance or at the point of entry. From the beginning of May, all foreign visitors with or without a visa will be required to submit online in advance a Thailand Digital Arrival Card which requires an initial address in Thailand, contact details and the opportunity to update later. Daniel’s case is being quoted as a justification for the new online procedure.
It is unclear how Daniel was able to stay in a hotel on Phi Phi Island without the immigration police being aware. Hotels are required under the 1979 immigration act to report (now online) the arrival of all foreign guests “within one day” under the TM30 regulation named after the original bureaucratic reference number. This obviously did not happen via the appropriate regulations and has prompted the immigration bureau nationally to remind hotel and condominium owners of their responsibilities.
