BritTim

I, unfortunately, am unfamiliar with Phuket based immigration lawyers. A good one, for a price, could almost certainly file the appeal and get this decision reversed. It is easier if you can put the officials on notice that this will happen prior to being placed in the detention room.

Not, I think, in those countries. Although very unlikely, conceivably in some others.

Denial of visa exempt entry is often legitimate. The official is supposed, in that case, to exercise discretion is deciding whether the arrival is a genuine tourist (or other short term visitor). That is distinct from the situation when someone enters with a visa where the qualification process and investigation has already been done by the consulate.

A police officer harassing someone for having dirty shoes might believe he is serving society by keeping riffraff off the streets. Sure, in a country like Thailand, they might be able to get away with doing that. I am not saying that they cannot get away with it, simply that what they are doing is not lawful. I am also advising to stay away from lawless officials and go to entry points where the law is followed. The IO has done their job when they stamp you in, or deny you entry subject to one of the legitimate reasons listed in Section 12 of the Immigration Act. You are correct that they can lie about their reasons on the denial of entry stamp, and this can probably only be combatted with the help of an immigration lawyer. That fact does not ban me from recommending to the OP what to do when confronted with rogue officials. Just living in Thailand is not sufficient reason for an immigration official to deny entry with a tourist visa. It gives them a reason to be suspicious, and they might strenuously disagree with the decision of the consulate to issue you a visa. They still need a legitimate reason to deny entry, not just that they do not like stamping you in.

Your permission to stay expires on the expiry date of your permission to stay. Your 90-day report is completely separate. I am guessing that you are over the age of 50, and the agent obtained the extension based on retirement. It does not matter, if you do it yourself, you can do an extension based on marriage. A 60-day extension to visit your Thai wife should be possible if you have not had one since the last time you entered Thailand using a visa (or visa exempt). That is only necessary if you need time prior to August 29 to season 400,000 baht in your Thai bank account prior to applying for the one-year extension based on marriage. Unless you need to use the 60-day extension, save it. You might want it at some point in the future.

Unfortunately not, though they will issue you single entry Non O visas to visit your child.

Let me ask you a hypothetical question. If a police officer arrested you, stating it was for having dirty shoes, but wrote up a charge sheet that accused you of possession of a banned substance, would you consider that lawful exercise of their discretion? What the airport official did in this case is precisely analogous, and they did so without caring one way or another what the effect might be on what they consider "genuine" tourists. They were simply upset that some consular officials take a different view of what constitutes a "genuine" tourist than they do. They are not supposed to do this, regardless of what immigration officials in many other countries are given the power to do.

If he is suspected of working without a work permit (what they tend to suggest in the stamp denying entry) why do they not say so? What they told him was they felt he was a tourist for too long. That is not illegal abuse of a tourist visa, and there is no reason under Section 12 that justifies such a decision.

Section 12 of the Immigration Act which lists the sole reasons why you can be denied entry, does not mention "acting against the spirit of being a tourist" as one of the valid reasons for denying entry. In most countries, officials can deny you entry for any reason at their discretion. The Thai Immigration Act specifically disallows that.

Accurate, but with a warning Reason 22 (retirement) for extension of stay has been amended at least twice since that Police Order was issued. It is necessary to be aware of whether those amendments apply to you.

That would be a solution. Make sure you have a re-entry permit (or multiple entry visa) unless you want your current permission to stay cancelled. I am not sure of the situation with getting re-entry permits prior to departure at Ranong. It may be possible, but only during normal immigration opening hours. I doubt the office where you stamp out of Thailand has a re-entry permit desk. Perhaps, someone else knows.

All good things come to he who waits, so they say. True, apparently in this case. It was lucky that your landlord was around and was helpful.

I think he is referring to Non O (marriage) rather than Non O (retirement). You are correct that the money in the bank requirement is the same for extension of Non O-A and extension of Non O (retirement).

All this might well be true, and would still be completely legal. Certain immigration officials might think that this is against the spirit of what visa exemptions and tourist visas were designed for, but they are supposed to act according to the law, not their personal feelings about what the law ought to be. With visa exemptions, they actually have discretion (as do consular officials considering visa application) to deny entry. They are not supposed to refuse to honour legally issued visas without a valid reason.

Phuket should not (but might) refuse to process your 90-day report in person when showing them both passports. You have moved your residence, and it is their responsibility to update their system accordingly.

Essential information will be transferred from the old passport to the new passport when you leave Thailand. Assuming your new passport was received while still in Thailand, there will be nothing necessary that needs to be transferred on your return, but you will need to show both passports.

Which rules are you thinking of? Are you suspecting him of bribing the consular officials in Penang to give him a tourist visa he was not entitled to? Do you believe there is a law restricting how long you can be a tourist in Thailand (hint: there is no such regulation)?

That depends entirely on where you enter. If you are thinking of entering via Phuket airport again, in my view that is stupid. They have already demonstrated contempt for the laws they are supposed to follow. If entering via safe land crossings, you can enter now. If thinking of flying to Chiang Mai, allow a few days.

Up to you. In any case, choose a safe entry point the next time.

It is often possible, but a high risk strategy. I do not recommend it unless you are experienced in sizing up officials. For the future, have the phone number of an immigration lawyer in Phuket. If denied entry state that you wish to contact your lawyer to issue an appeal pursuant to Section 22 of the Immigration Act using form TM11. Just saying that might be sufficient for them to reverse their decision. If necessary, call the lawyer and explain the situation.

He could. If so, avoid the road crossing at Pedang Besar. Expect an uncomfortable ride from the officials entering at Sadao, but likely to be ultimately successful. In his situation, I would be extremely risk averse at this stage. A second denied entry stamp looks really bad.

Yes, it will. They will be aware of the denied entry. Depending on the reason they cited under Section 12, take evidence that what they stated was false, and enter somewhere that is strict in following the law. I already suggested the safest route (fly Air Asia to Vientiane and enter via the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai). You can then fly back to Phuket from Udon Thani airport (the domestic flight does not involve immigration).

He is probably in Penang, and you will not find a Thai immigration office there. Any appeal, to have any practical meaning, has to be made at the airport immediately after the airport immigration official states his decision. You are not told of your right of appeal.

You can return immediately, with the SETV you already hold, if entering through an entry point that follows the law. Airport immigration has absolutely no business overruling the decision of Penang consular officials to issue you a tourist visa. By the way, your denial of entry stamp contains a "reason" under Section 12 of the Immigration Act for the denied entry. They use Thai numerals, but if you have a Thai who can tell you which reason they cited, that would be interesting. In most cases in the past, they claim that you have no visible means of support for your stay in Thailand (code for they believe, without evidence, that you are working here without a work permit). They tell you the real reason, but this is not a valid justification for the denied entry.

Your understanding of what should happen is correct. Once you have a visa, the airport officials should only deny entry based on the reasons specified in Section 12 of the Immigration Act (which they probably pretended they did). There were sporadic reports of improper denial of entry with a visa at some airports (especially pre Covid) including at Phuket and the two Bangkok airports.