ตรวจสอบโดย ThaiLawOnline สำนักงานกฎหมายไทยที่ได้รับใบอนุญาตและดำเนินกิจการในประเทศไทยตั้งแต่ปี พ.ศ. 2549 ทนายความผู้รับผิดชอบสำนวน: วิชุดา อรรถเมธากุล, น.ม., ใบอนุญาตเนติบัณฑิตไทย เลขที่ 3149/2556.
อัปเดตล่าสุดเมื่อ 5 กันยายน 2569
เอ criminal record (ประวัติอาชญากรรม, prawat atchayakam, also criminal history หรือ police record) in Thailand is the file held by the Criminal Records Division of the Royal Thai Police on a person who has been fingerprinted as a suspect, indexed by fingerprints and identity details and updated with the outcome of the case. It is the database searched for a police clearance certificate. Foreigners meet it when applying for a visa abroad after living in Thailand, for permanent residence or citizenship, or when a past arrest surfaces in an immigration check.
สารบัญ
What the record contains and who keeps it
A file opens at the fingerprinting stage. When the inquiry official takes a suspect’s fingerprints for an offence carrying imprisonment, the prints and the charge are sent to the Criminal Records Division, which opens or updates the file. The court’s judgment is added later: conviction and sentence, acquittal, or a prosecutor’s decision not to indict. A settlement fine paid at a police station or at immigration for a petty offence, a traffic matter or an overstay is not a conviction and creates no record.
The Royal Thai Police’s own regulations govern what is kept. Under the rules adopted in the early 2020s, records of cases that ended in non-prosecution, withdrawal of a compoundable complaint, acquittal or dismissal are to be removed from the disclosure file on request, and petty offences and negligence offences punished by fine only are not disclosed. A conviction with a prison sentence, whether served or suspended, stays on the file.
Who can see a Thai criminal record
The police, the อัยการ, the courts and the สำนักงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง consult the database directly. Other government agencies see it when the law lets them ask: the work permit authorities, the permanent residence committee, the Department of Provincial Administration for citizenship applications, and the Teachers Council. A private employer, landlord or business partner in Thailand cannot search the database; the only route is to ask the person to obtain a ใบรับรองประวัติอาชญากรรม and hand it over, which is what schools and some multinationals require.
Foreign authorities do not have access either. When a foreign immigration department asks for a Thai police certificate, it relies on the applicant applying in person or by power of attorney. The common mistake is to assume that a case that ended in a settlement or a suspended sentence has disappeared: a suspended sentence is a conviction and appears, and a case that was withdrawn stays on the internal file until removal is requested.
How a record affects visas, residence and re-entry
Section 12 of the Immigration Act bars entry to a foreigner who has been imprisoned by the judgment of a Thai or foreign court, other than for a petty offence, a negligence offence or an offence exempted by ministerial regulation. A Thai conviction can therefore lead to revocation of the stay, deportation and a blacklist entry, and a conviction abroad is asked about in every long-stay visa, permanent residence and citizenship application. A fine-only sentence does not trigger Section 12 by itself, but immigration officers see the file and use discretion at each extension. Records abroad are not shared automatically with Thailand; they enter the file only if a foreign court or Interpol notice is brought to the attention of the Thai authorities.
คำถามที่พบบ่อย
Does a fine in Thailand show on a criminal record?
A fine imposed by a court after conviction is recorded, although petty offences and fine-only negligence offences are not disclosed on a clearance certificate under Royal Thai Police rules. A settlement fine paid at a police station, at immigration for overstay, or for a traffic offence is not a conviction and creates no record.
Can a criminal record in Thailand be expunged?
Partly. Under Royal Thai Police regulations a person whose case ended without prosecution, was withdrawn, or resulted in acquittal or dismissal can ask the Criminal Records Division to remove the entry from the disclosure file. A conviction that carried a prison sentence, served or suspended, remains on the record.
Can a foreigner with a criminal record enter Thailand?
It depends on the sentence. Section 12 of the Immigration Act bars entry to anyone imprisoned by a Thai or foreign court except for petty or negligence offences, although this is enforced mainly when the record comes to the officer’s attention. A foreign conviction must be disclosed in applications for long-stay visas, permanent residence and citizenship.
ดูเพิ่มเติม: ใบรับรองประวัติอาชญากรรม, โทษจำคุกรอลงอาญา, immigration blacklist, การพำนักถาวร, and the guides criminal record checks in Thailand และ how to get a police clearance certificate in Thailand.
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