Thailand forum

Do you speak Thai? You left when you were young, so if it wasn't nurtured, then you shouldn't speak it well anymore. I know a girl who lives in Germany and left when she was four. Her Thai sucks. If you can't speak the language then you have no value to them. That's a plus.

Some potential issues I see. You did not serve as a baby tiger obviously, since your high school days weren't here. So you should have been vulnerable to being drafted. I believe you have to register for the draft here, which you have failed to do. The only place this has any chance of being questioned is when you enter the country. If you don't speak Thai, I doubt they would want to draft you, but you could fact legal consequences that cost money and perhaps some jail time (nothing money shouldn't be able to get you out of if you have enough of it).

The way I see it, as soon as you come into Thailand the immigration official is going to scratch his head - Thai passport but no entry or exit stamps from Thailand. If you don't speak Thai, they're going to probe some. I mean, I would. I'd be asking is this guy legit? But unless there is a warrant for your arrest and the airport officials have you in the system (possible, but I don't think probable, although I am speculating) then it probably won't occur to them "hey, this guy should have registered for the draft."

Last, but not least, if you can enter Asia via Hanoi, instead of BKK, I would think your chances of successfully crossing into Thailand with less hassle someplace like Mukdahan or Nakhon Phanom would be better than BKK. If I were a betting man, I would bet that access to a centralized data base in BKK is a lot more efficient (and in the sticks maybe no access at all) than it is at the airport.

I have a good friend of mine who evaded the draft here for eight years and was finally caught (not because he was hiding, but because the system was so inefficient in pursuing him). I'll talk to him about how his court case went and what light he can shed on it.

Thanks guys. You guys are really great help compared to the ignorant responses I got on other travel forums haha... From what I hear, The way the draft works is somewhat like the lottery. I don't fully understand it though. All i know is that there are red balls (or cards) and black balls and if a red ball is drawn you get drafted and if a black ball is drawn, you're in the clear. Would it be safe to say that if I do go out there and they ARE aware that I have not registered for the draft, I still have a 50/50 chance that I'm in the clear? Do you know how that works?

MADMAC, what kind of consequences did your friend have to face when he was caught? and how much do you think is "enough" money to avoid a prison senctence?


SBE, you make a good point about pretending. I speak thai good enough to hold a simple conversation but it is very broken anyway so pretending to not be able to speak it will be a breeze. plus i can read or write anyhow.

Thanks a lot pal. I really appreciate it!!