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Recent Changes to Laws Regarding Firearms in Thailand

Transcript of the above video:

In this video today we are going to be talking about some recent developments with respect to firearm laws here in the Kingdom.

A recent article in the Nation newspaper, it was entitled “Stricter Controls over Firearms, Fireworks and Explosives”…Basically, to quote directly, “The National Legislative Assembly on Thursday, passed the third reading of amendments to the 1947 Weapon, Firearm, Explosives and Firework Act. The Amendments were proposed to keep the legislation abreast of the weapons technology and changing conditions in society. (This is notable) Weapon silencers and electric darts will also come under the legislation. The amendment also specifies that only Thais can register a gun with authorities. Previously, nationality was not an issue and foreigners residing in Thailand could apply. This was passed by the National Legislative Assembly.  I think that this is one of the many laws that has been updated recently these past few months and years at this point. So as noted in that excerpt, where it was possible in the past for foreign nationals, generally speaking, it is my understanding that mostly they wanted to see foreign nationals who had permanent residence in the Kingdom, but I guess it was theoretically possible  for non-immigrant visa holders to do so as well could register firearms. Again, firearms are registered lawfully, basically at the discretion of relevant authorities but that being said, the option was open to foreign nationals previously.

It remains to be seen whether or not those foreign nationals who registered firearms previously will be “grandfathered” in, notwithstanding this legislation whether or not the licenses previously issued will still be valid or will still be renewable, that remains to be seen. That being said, moving forward, it seems pretty clear that firearms registrations by foreign nationals in the Kingdom is simply not going to be a possibility any more. That being stated, again, how this plays out with respect to foreign nationals who previously had licenses remains to be seen. I would urge those interested in this topic to research it further most notably by going to the Nation website and going directly to the article and begin your research there. There are other specifics in the act with respect to things like fireworks and explosives which in actually commercial context, the explosives aspect could be rather significant as foreign owned companies and things might be restricted from obtaining certain types of licenses with respect to explosives material in the future and I can think of certain industrial uses, or certain kinds of explosives where that can be an issue. But that being said, it remains to be seen exactly how this is going to be implemented and as noted, it remains to be seen whether or not certain legalities which existed in the past will carry forward under a “grandfather” regime in multiple different forms under this legislation. It’s just too soon to tell. If there’s further update with respect to this issue, we will be updating you via this channel.