Riversider wrote:This is standard procedure for lots of destinations, it allows authorities to check and see if any "undesirables" are planning to travel. It has more to do with security than immigration. As stated by others the information is asked for on landing cards anyway.
Nah, nah - sorry, and absolutely no offense intended, but this is complete nonsense, unless of course the undesirables in question are daft enough to use their own identities. Almost every government immigration or security agency in the world has access to flight lists for names, dates of birth, etc. of passengers on every flight. And in any case they don't rely on some honest terrorist using genuine documents in his or her real name.
As far as addresses are concerned, you could state 'Hotel, Bangkok (or wherever)', whether on a landing card or on some pre-departure form, and have absolutely no comeback whatsoever. There is no requirement to have a pre-booked hotel room, or any specific address, to qualify as a tourist. Otherwise half the world's tourists would be unable to leave home.
As far as checking up on addresses is concerned, Steve G is absolutely right. Big Brother may be watching you, but he doesn't have enough resources to watch (or even care about) your every move in the US or Europe, never mind in Thailand. The arrival cards that standard tourists/visitors complete before arrival in the UK are a complete waste of time/effort/paper. 99% of them are shredded without any of the information being recorded.
There is a lot more international cooperation than there used to be, but, frankly, that isn't saying much. Money, politics and self-interest reign supreme.
This pre-boarding info is simply a way of saying, after some awful event, 'but look how careful we are.' The address is irrelevant unless the individual is of interest, and if the individual is of interest, he's hardly likely to give a genuine address.
Just me being over-cautious seeing something that I've done dozens of times suddenly change