Thai govt to temporarily scrap TM6 immigration form

The Thai Prime Minister has revealed the government will temporarily scrap the TM6 immigration form.
The form is the arrival and departure card foreigners fill in to provide passport details, name, address, etc., on their entry and exit from Thailand.

Deputy Government Spokesperson Traisuree Traisoranakul says scrapping the TM6 would facilitate immigration checks and reduce congestion at airport immigration checkpoints.

The government did not provide a timeframe of when the measure will come into effect but it is expected to take around a week.

Traisuree says the temporary measure will be introduced because the number of foreign arrivals has increased significantly over the past 2 months and completing the TM6 form and Covid screenings have resulted in bottlenecks.

In response to how the government will collect the data of incoming foreign travellers, Traisuree replied the government can collect the data through the biometric system and information from airlines and tour agencies. This begs the question, why then do we even need the TM6 at all?
Meanwhile, the internet has responded to the announcement with mixed reactions.
One commented “What queues? Sailed through yesterday. Scrap Thailand Pass, there were 2 checks between the aircraft and immigration.”

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES