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Dave The Dude
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Criminal Law in Thailand Part 17: Licensing a gun in Thailand
These considerations would be in addition to those mentioned last week of the persons who by law are absolutely prohibited from having gun licences and give the Registrar further discretion to deny permits on a number of grounds.
There are many of these guidelines and the following are the generalised areas of inquiry and discretion that the Registrar has in connection with deciding whether to issue or not to issue a gun permit:
- The age of the applicant. Adults (20 years of age and over) are preferred. In practice, for this category, only adults will be allowed gun permits.
- Are there particular reasons for which the applicant needs a gun, for example, does the applicant live in an isolated, dangerous area, engage in a profession that might expose him or her to particular danger or have special professional responsibilities that require him or her to protect money or valuable property?
- Has the applicant been convicted of a criminal offence? Does he or she known to associate with criminals? Is he or she known to be free of mental illness or impairment?
- Is the applicant considered a stable, normal member of the community?
- Has the applicant had previous permission to own a firearm?
- Will a local government officer such as a police officer, police chief, sub-district or village headman recommend the applicant?
- Does the applicant have a strong belief in any doctrine that could pose a security threat to Thailand?
- Has the applicant been guilty of any misconduct, even if not a crime, that might affect public order?
There are criteria that relate only to foreigners.
As we mentioned last week, however, applications by foreigners are now scrutinised much more strictly than applications by Thais.
Practically speaking, a new gun permit will only be issued to a foreigner under the most extraordinary of circumstances, if at all. The criteria are:
- Is the applicant a permanent resident in Thailand? As mentioned last week, a foreign applicant must be able to produce a yellow book showing that he or she has been a resident for at least six months at the address contained in the yellow book.
- Does the applicant speak Thai? This is not a strict requirement, but would be one factor in determining whether the applicant is a permanent resident.
- Does the applicant have family members in Thailand? This is yet another factor that the Registrar might use to determine whether the applicant is a permanent resident.
Next week we'll talk about the procedure for obtaining a gun licence.
James Finch of Chavalit Finch nad Partners (finch@chavalitfinchlaw.com) and Nilobon Tangprasit of Siam City Law Offices Ltd (nilobon@siamcitylaw.com).
Researcher: Sutatip Raktiprakorn.
For more information visit Hua Hin Thailand Legal Services, Hua Hin Thailand Lawyers, Attorneys, Solicitors - Chavalit Finch & Partners.
Comments? Questions? Contact us at the email addresses above.
- Published: 1/08/2010 at 12:00 AM
- Newspaper section: Spectrum
These considerations would be in addition to those mentioned last week of the persons who by law are absolutely prohibited from having gun licences and give the Registrar further discretion to deny permits on a number of grounds.
There are many of these guidelines and the following are the generalised areas of inquiry and discretion that the Registrar has in connection with deciding whether to issue or not to issue a gun permit:
- The age of the applicant. Adults (20 years of age and over) are preferred. In practice, for this category, only adults will be allowed gun permits.
- Are there particular reasons for which the applicant needs a gun, for example, does the applicant live in an isolated, dangerous area, engage in a profession that might expose him or her to particular danger or have special professional responsibilities that require him or her to protect money or valuable property?
- Has the applicant been convicted of a criminal offence? Does he or she known to associate with criminals? Is he or she known to be free of mental illness or impairment?
- Is the applicant considered a stable, normal member of the community?
- Has the applicant had previous permission to own a firearm?
- Will a local government officer such as a police officer, police chief, sub-district or village headman recommend the applicant?
- Does the applicant have a strong belief in any doctrine that could pose a security threat to Thailand?
- Has the applicant been guilty of any misconduct, even if not a crime, that might affect public order?
There are criteria that relate only to foreigners.
As we mentioned last week, however, applications by foreigners are now scrutinised much more strictly than applications by Thais.
Practically speaking, a new gun permit will only be issued to a foreigner under the most extraordinary of circumstances, if at all. The criteria are:
- Is the applicant a permanent resident in Thailand? As mentioned last week, a foreign applicant must be able to produce a yellow book showing that he or she has been a resident for at least six months at the address contained in the yellow book.
- Does the applicant speak Thai? This is not a strict requirement, but would be one factor in determining whether the applicant is a permanent resident.
- Does the applicant have family members in Thailand? This is yet another factor that the Registrar might use to determine whether the applicant is a permanent resident.
Next week we'll talk about the procedure for obtaining a gun licence.
James Finch of Chavalit Finch nad Partners (finch@chavalitfinchlaw.com) and Nilobon Tangprasit of Siam City Law Offices Ltd (nilobon@siamcitylaw.com).
Researcher: Sutatip Raktiprakorn.
For more information visit Hua Hin Thailand Legal Services, Hua Hin Thailand Lawyers, Attorneys, Solicitors - Chavalit Finch & Partners.
Comments? Questions? Contact us at the email addresses above.