Suwanapoom Immigration

[JoseThailand]

11 hours ago, Taa_Saparot said:

But, why?

Stay too long in the country. 

[Taa_Saparot]

25 minutes ago, JoseThailand said:

Stay too long in the country. 

Yes, but this does not explain why you were questioned to begin with.

[striderman]

sept 2018 despite having entered with a valid tourist visa issued with no problem uk i got referred by a female immigration officer to her superiors............(you come thailand too mutt)

i got escorted to a nearby desk where a distinctly hostile officer was giving 2 chinese a hard time. luckily cos it took him so long to deal with them another guy turned up and i could tell he was going to be easier than the first one.

i had a valid london issued visa, a tkt back in 59 days and way more cash than required on landing. no overstays either. 

he's asking me why i come so much.................i like leo, i like thailand etc etc.

so he starts asking me.............you good guy u bad guy etc etc.

more questions followed but by this time i figured he could speak english well enough to understand a joke cos things were pretty tense. 

so he asks again ...............good guy bad guy..............to which i replied............" do i look Nigerian ?" 

maybe not politically correct but almost certainly the best line he had heard all day or all month. he says nothing but smiles and goes to open an empty booth and stamp me in.

 

[JoseThailand]

On 20/12/2019 at 10:33, dave01 said:

So, this thread has been up 3 months and no-one has been denied...some have been asked a few routine questions is about as bad as it gets, according to the replies. TV has a rep for "overstating" the severity of things... I guess it gets them clicks.

You don't see many reports about denied entry here because it's a mongering forum, not an expat forum. Mongerers don't stay in Thailand long, they just come for a couple of weeks, empty their blue balls and go back to their shithole countries.

Edited December 25, 2019 by JoseThailand

[mryang]

Short story: I arrived yesterday and I had to pay 15000 to entry.

Long story:

I'm a regular Swedish/Korean on Visa on Arrival AND TR 2 months VISA during 9 years and never had any problems until yesterday. Last time I LEFT Thailand was June 2019 and I stayed in Thailand total 4 months for the entirety of 2019, so this time should be no problem as I was only going to stay 4 weeks.

As soon as I enter the immigration zone where everyone fills in their papers, one Immigration Police, Chinese looking, calls me in to see my Passport. He browse through my passport and asks why I come to Thailand so many times. Dialogue is similar to this:

IO: Why you come to Thailand so many times?

ME: I have girlfriend here

IO: Why you have tablet?

ME: I read a lot.

IO: Prove that you have girlfriend - call her.

ME: Calling her. I ask her to speak with IO.

IO with GF: You have boyfriend coming now, why we not married etc. etc.

IO to me: Talk with my partner. He will take care of you.

So I go to their desk and wait for another IO.

IO 2: Why you come here so often?

ME: I have girlfriend here.

IO 2: But you have no VISA! You must have the correct VISA.

ME: What VISA is that? I'm staying here only 4 weeks.

IO 2: You must have correct VISA. You are not on Holiday, you have GF!

ME: But holiday WITH gf IN Thailand?

IO 2: No, you are not tourist.

What follows here is a repeat of the same questions and same answer from me. This goes on around 15 minutes or so.

IO 2: Why you not married?

ME: WE are planning to, maybe next year. I save money for it (This is a lie but at this time, I don't know what to say to this guy to make him happy).

IO 2: You must have correct VISA.

ME: Is there a Girlfriend VISA? I have not heard about that?

IO 2: Where do you stay?

ME: GF House

IO 2: Can you prove it, show contract of house

ME: Are you serious?

IO 2: (Changes his mind)

IO 2: How much money you have?

ME: I sent GF 100K. But on me I have 5K. But I have ATM card so if you allow me to go to ATM I can withdraw 20K.

IO 2: No, must be cash!

At this time, I start to sense that this is going to be a long long night as these guys obviously just harass me for money.

ME: So, you don't allow me to go to ATM, it is just over there (points to the other side of the hall)

IO 2: No, must be cash.

IO 2: Can I talk with your GF

I call my GF and give phone to IO 2. Then, suddenly, he goes away while talking with GF on phone. He comes back after 10(!!) minutes and looks very happy. I have no idea what has happened except that my GF says that everything is clear. I'm so impressed by her that everything seems to be ok now.

THEN - in the taxi - she tells me that they had been negotiating for my "release". It started with 2000. Then 5000. Then she asked him, how much does it cost, and the IO 2 had said; "how much can you pay" - and after a lengthy talk they settled with 15K, even though I didn't know, and I was not "charged" with anything illegal. Again, their argument of not having the proper VISA for visiting GF is UNHEARD of (at least to me).

I am still a bit shocked. Actually, it is not for the money - but the mafia way. Their style of just harassing me for time and see how long time and how much they get.  For you guys with O-Visa this is obviously not a problem. Also, my mistake was that I wrote Girlfriend as reason for visit. I should just have written HOLIDAY. And also, I guess my GF (as she was seriously sick as well from food poisoning) was just tired of this guy and paid whatever he wanted.

I also think this is easy to solve with having an UNSTAMPED passport as they have no computers with them. So ultimately, one just has to be more aware of this kind of things if you visit a country where bribery is very common.

EDIT:

I also think that with more patience - just waiting them out - they would have let me go. Everything they asked me for I gave to them. My GF also sent her bank statement to prove that I had sent money. (In fact, they also asked why I sent so MUCH money). I also showed them my return-ticket. I had no overstay in passport. I had no illegal items. Every time I asked them what happens now, they immediately just repeated the questions and statements that I was wrong and they were correct. I also tried to show them the Thai Embassy VISA rules but they completely refused to see them and said "We are not embassy. We are police. We have different rules." And of course, I could have argued that police must follow the stated laws, but hey guys... I didn't want to make a bigger mess. I was also polite during the entire conversion, never raised my voice etc. 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2020 by mryang

[zq11]

My tourist visa gives me 30 days. I've done 10+ visa runs to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar etc. Never questioned once at BKK.

[xtremedude]

On 02/01/2020 at 15:47, mryang said:

Short story: I arrived yesterday and I had to pay 15000 to entry.

Long story:

I'm a regular Swedish/Korean on Visa on Arrival AND TR 2 months VISA during 9 years and never had any problems until yesterday. Last time I LEFT Thailand was June 2019 and I stayed in Thailand total 4 months for the entirety of 2019, so this time should be no problem as I was only going to stay 4 weeks.

As soon as I enter the immigration zone where everyone fills in their papers, one Immigration Police, Chinese looking, calls me in to see my Passport. He browse through my passport and asks why I come to Thailand so many times. Dialogue is similar to this:

IO: Why you come to Thailand so many times?

ME: I have girlfriend here

IO: Why you have tablet?

ME: I read a lot.

IO: Prove that you have girlfriend - call her.

ME: Calling her. I ask her to speak with IO.

IO with GF: You have boyfriend coming now, why we not married etc. etc.

IO to me: Talk with my partner. He will take care of you.

So I go to their desk and wait for another IO.

IO 2: Why you come here so often?

ME: I have girlfriend here.

IO 2: But you have no VISA! You must have the correct VISA.

ME: What VISA is that? I'm staying here only 4 weeks.

IO 2: You must have correct VISA. You are not on Holiday, you have GF!

ME: But holiday WITH gf IN Thailand?

IO 2: No, you are not tourist.

What follows here is a repeat of the same questions and same answer from me. This goes on around 15 minutes or so.

IO 2: Why you not married?

ME: WE are planning to, maybe next year. I save money for it (This is a lie but at this time, I don't know what to say to this guy to make him happy).

IO 2: You must have correct VISA.

ME: Is there a Girlfriend VISA? I have not heard about that?

IO 2: Where do you stay?

ME: GF House

IO 2: Can you prove it, show contract of house

ME: Are you serious?

IO 2: (Changes his mind)

IO 2: How much money you have?

ME: I sent GF 100K. But on me I have 5K. But I have ATM card so if you allow me to go to ATM I can withdraw 20K.

IO 2: No, must be cash!

At this time, I start to sense that this is going to be a long long night as these guys obviously just harass me for money.

ME: So, you don't allow me to go to ATM, it is just over there (points to the other side of the hall)

IO 2: No, must be cash.

IO 2: Can I talk with your GF

I call my GF and give phone to IO 2. Then, suddenly, he goes away while talking with GF on phone. He comes back after 10(!!) minutes and looks very happy. I have no idea what has happened except that my GF says that everything is clear. I'm so impressed by her that everything seems to be ok now.

THEN - in the taxi - she tells me that they had been negotiating for my "release". It started with 2000. Then 5000. Then she asked him, how much does it cost, and the IO 2 had said; "how much can you pay" - and after a lengthy talk they settled with 15K, even though I didn't know, and I was not "charged" with anything illegal. Again, their argument of not having the proper VISA for visiting GF is UNHEARD of (at least to me).

I am still a bit shocked. Actually, it is not for the money - but the mafia way. Their style of just harassing me for time and see how long time and how much they get.  For you guys with O-Visa this is obviously not a problem. Also, my mistake was that I wrote Girlfriend as reason for visit. I should just have written HOLIDAY. And also, I guess my GF (as she was seriously sick as well from food poisoning) was just tired of this guy and paid whatever he wanted.

I also think this is easy to solve with having an UNSTAMPED passport as they have no computers with them. So ultimately, one just has to be more aware of this kind of things if you visit a country where bribery is very common.

EDIT:

I also think that with more patience - just waiting them out - they would have let me go. Everything they asked me for I gave to them. My GF also sent her bank statement to prove that I had sent money. (In fact, they also asked why I sent so MUCH money). I also showed them my return-ticket. I had no overstay in passport. I had no illegal items. Every time I asked them what happens now, they immediately just repeated the questions and statements that I was wrong and they were correct. I also tried to show them the Thai Embassy VISA RULES but they completely refused to see them and said "We are not embassy. We are police. We have different RULES." And of course, I could have argued that police must follow the stated laws, but hey guys... I didn't want to make a bigger mess. I was also polite during the entire conversion, never raised my voice etc. 

 

 

How was the bribe settled?  Obviously it would have been some sort of electronic transfer and not paid in cash.  Transfer of 15K from your GF's account to IO 2 personal account?  It seems to me leaving an electronic trail that can be traced back would be highly risky to IO 2.

[deejayguy]

I've entered six times in the past year at BKK. The first four entries were on 30 day visa-exempt stamps, and the two most recent were on a 6 month METV. No issues and no questions asked.

[NicetoBenice]

Entered the Kingdom something like 50 times on last 10 years.

Twice on airport immigration i have had an somewhat odd situation. One time i came to desk with my passport with an valid visa on it, it took 10 minutes total silence from officer, no questions asked about anything. Immigration officer asked other officer to came to desk and pointed something in the screen. They checked it out, i have only wondered what it was but they let me trough and stamped my passport and in i went. Just have some ideas of their computer was messing up or they just checked my past countless in and out statistics. Who knows..

Last year happened other situation. I had no visa on my passport and i indeed had go and comeback ticket but the length of stay was 45 days according to my ticket. I noticed this on my way to thailand day before and bought another ticket to Vientiane just in case for the next 14 days which was my ticket out of thailand. Immigration officer asked me how long i will stay in thailand which i said 30 days, then asked my return ticket and i gave her fully paid ticket to Laos which she took and checked it out and everything was fine after that. Stamp and in i went. Surely i would have little problem there with immigration if i didnt have any ticket to show out of thailand inside 30 days period.

Edited February 28, 2020 by NicetoBenice

[Kane137]

Can someone answer a question that I seem unable to get definitive clarity on...

My passport is full of tourist visas, exemption on arrival stamps, and extensions for both. The earliest is dated December 2015; the latest is 2 weeks ago.

Although my passport doesn’t expire for another 5 years, I am running out of pages. I will be returning to England soon and doubt I’ll be back in Thailand for around a year.

So the question is: if I get a new passport, and then return to Thailand (be that within a few months or indeed a year), is immigration going to browse through my new passport and see I have no used visas/stamps, or are they going to pull me up in the system anyway and see I’ve made X number of entries/exits over Y period?

Essentially is there merit in getting a new passport to circumvent the visual scare that officers get when they browse through your passport?

Clearly I will have a new passport number with new issue and expiry dates, but I am still the same person...

Thanks

[Greg_B]

12 minutes ago, Kane137 said:

Can someone answer a question that I seem unable to get definitive clarity on...

My passport is full of tourist visas, exemption on arrival stamps, and extensions for both. The earliest is dated December 2015; the latest is 2 weeks ago.

Although my passport doesn’t expire for another 5 years, I am running out of pages. I will be returning to England soon and doubt I’ll be back in Thailand for around a year.

So the question is: if I get a new passport, and then return to Thailand (be that within a few months or indeed a year), is immigration going to browse through my new passport and see I have no used visas/stamps, or are they going to pull me up in the system anyway and see I’ve made X number of entries/exits over Y period?

Essentially is there merit in getting a new passport to circumvent the visual scare that officers get when they browse through your passport?

Clearly I will have a new passport number with new issue and expiry dates, but I am still the same person...

Thanks

Shouldn't be an issue, but you could have your old one in your bag also (Most old ones are returned, correct..?)

[Ru4Real]

35 minutes ago, Kane137 said:

Essentially is there merit in getting a new passport to circumvent the visual scare that officers get when they browse through your passport?

No.

[Evilfriar]

13 hours ago, Kane137 said:

Can someone answer a question that I seem unable to get definitive clarity on...

My passport is full of tourist visas, exemption on arrival stamps, and extensions for both. The earliest is dated December 2015; the latest is 2 weeks ago.

Although my passport doesn’t expire for another 5 years, I am running out of pages. I will be returning to England soon and doubt I’ll be back in Thailand for around a year.

So the question is: if I get a new passport, and then return to Thailand (be that within a few months or indeed a year), is immigration going to browse through my new passport and see I have no used visas/stamps, or are they going to pull me up in the system anyway and see I’ve made X number of entries/exits over Y period?

Essentially is there merit in getting a new passport to circumvent the visual scare that officers get when they browse through your passport?

Clearly I will have a new passport number with new issue and expiry dates, but I am still the same person...

Thanks

Don't think it will make any difference, I'm 8 years into my passport, do 4 trips a year so it's got plenty of stamps in it.

Was advised about 5 years ago to get a visa before I arrived next time after 3 trips that year already. I didn't bother and had no problem next trip and never been spoken to since at Immigration.

So bottom line, I think they had some sort of crack down 5 years ago and that was quickly forgotten about as these things usually are.

Cheers

[Kandinski]

Don't seem to be any consistency in why some are having a hard time with the IOs and some dont.
For years I been visiting LOS on tourist visa 5-6-7 times a year and never a eyebrow lifted or question asked...at the priority lane

[mryang]

On 29/02/2020 at 05:19, Kane137 said:

Can someone answer a question that I seem unable to get definitive clarity on...

My passport is full of tourist visas, exemption on arrival stamps, and extensions for both. The earliest is dated December 2015; the latest is 2 weeks ago.

Although my passport doesn’t expire for another 5 years, I am running out of pages. I will be returning to England soon and doubt I’ll be back in Thailand for around a year.

So the question is: if I get a new passport, and then return to Thailand (be that within a few months or indeed a year), is immigration going to browse through my new passport and see I have no used visas/stamps, or are they going to pull me up in the system anyway and see I’ve made X number of entries/exits over Y period?

Essentially is there merit in getting a new passport to circumvent the visual scare that officers get when they browse through your passport?

Clearly I will have a new passport number with new issue and expiry dates, but I am still the same person...

Thanks

100% YES.

One less thing they CAN argue about. One less thing they have reason to doubt. In many borders they don't have access to computers and can check the real numbers anyway. When I did the VISA run with that company in Soi 6, the girl said explicitly that it is always clever to clear out a passport now and then to just make it a tad easier.

[Ru4Real]

7 minutes ago, mryang said:

100% YES.

I would take that with a mountain of salt.