Nattapon criticizes the draft amendments to the Immigration and Hotel Acts as minimal fixes that fail to solve problems and instead create new complications, preparing to continue the fight in the House of Representatives after unsuccessful objections.
On 19 Aug 2026 GMT+7 at the Parliament, Nattapon Towijakchaikul, People's Party MP for Chiang Mai District 3, presented concerns to the special committee reviewing draft amendments to the Immigration Act and Hotel Act. As a committee member reserving his alternative proposals, he stated clearly that the draft law "makes minor changes, fails to solve problems, and creates new issues," which not only fails to address existing problems but also severely impacts small business operators.
Nattapon cited three key issues highlighting flaws in this draft law. First, the repeal of Section 37 (2) removes the Immigration Bureau's power to handle foreigners who report false addresses. This provision is a vital tool for tracking and prosecuting dubious investors or those entering the country dishonestly. Such amendments do not facilitate honest foreigners but rather open opportunities for malicious actors to infiltrate the country more easily.
Second, the draft law extends the period during which foreigners can disappear and shifts all reporting responsibilities onto accommodation operators. It requires foreigners to report their addresses only twice: upon entry and after 90 days. The gap in between places the entire burden on owners or occupants to report on their behalf. In reality, many small accommodations cannot properly register due to legal restrictions under the Hotel Act. This amendment thus widens loopholes allowing foreigners to stay undetected longer instead of addressing the root problem.
Third, and a clear structural injustice, is the unfair fine system that burdens small accommodations more heavily than large hotels. Non-hotel accommodations that fail to report foreign guests face fines per person, up to 2,000 baht each, whereas legally registered hotels are fined per incident, ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 baht.
To illustrate, a small accommodation with 8 rooms housing 16 guests who fail to report could face fines up to 32,000 baht. Meanwhile, a legally registered hotel with 10 rooms and 20 guests failing to report would face only a single minimum fine of 20,000 baht. This structure unfairly penalizes smaller operators with lower income more than large hotel groups, which is ambiguous and unjust. ,
After presenting these three points, the special committee rejected all objections and confirmed the draft law as proposed. Therefore, Nattapon reserved the right to submit alternative proposals to bring these fairness concerns into debate and voting in the House of Representatives.
"This law is not yet finalized. The public and small accommodation operators nationwide should stay informed about what is happening. The People's Party will fully protect the interests of small stakeholders in the larger parliament," Nattapon said. Nattapon reiterated his position.