007 RED

22 minutes ago, phutoie2 said:

Has the postal order option totally finished now?.

 

Looking at the revised notes that accompany the request form... it states (in red)...Postal Orders are no longer accepted. This change has been effective since October 2016.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/631665/Attachment_2.pdf

Another service enhancement

FYI - I sent my request in last Wednesday together with the card authorisation form (VISA Debit Card details given) by EMS, and it was received by the Embassy the next day. 

I have just looked at my online bank account, and it shows that £52 was taken from my account yesterday by the FCO Thailand.  No mention of Thai Baht plus exchange fees thank goodness.

10 hours ago, waxon said:

Obviously not a frequent traveler through BKK or not observant.

 

The USD/Euro ATMs are located in the duty-free shopping area on FL4 after passing through immigration. Obviously, if you are arriving at BKK, you can take the escalator/elevator from FL2 to FL4 before passing through immigration.

 

A prior poster provided a link. The pictures show the bank kiosks located near the check-in area (prior to departure immigration). This map (sorry for the poor quality) shows ATMs which can be accessed by arriving passengers prior to going through immigration.

 

 

 

I agree with BritTim comments above…. If your arriving at BKK on an international flight, and want to enter Thailand at BKK, there is no way that you will gain access to the ATMs in the departure area unless you are transferring to another international or certain domestic flights.

If you want to enter either the international or domestic departure areas from the international arrivals area at BKK you need to show your onward ticket/ boarding pass at the entrance to the transit area.  Without an onward ticket/boarding pass you will not be allowed entry.

Sorry to say, but using your own words... "Obviously not a frequent traveler through BKK or not observant".

The stupid thing is that the Junta has been actively promoting Thailand 4.0 and that it expects Thailand to be a ’cashless’ economy with the introduction of electronic banking etc. 

So why don’t they have CC machines available on the IO’s desk so that he/she can check the fund availability?  Don't answer that question... I already know the answer.

3 minutes ago, perthperson said:

Most likely they will go for your option 2.   Those involved with/using fake passports are not "innocents"  they are actively involved with criminality. 

 

A case in Phuket recently involved two such criminals being arrested at the airport. 

Were they arriving or departing? 

 I totally agree that presenting fake documents is illegal.  However, if the discovery is made at arrivals then the senior IO and prosecutors will tend to take the course of action which causes the least problems for them or the tax payer.  If departing, then they have to take action because if they allow the individuals to depart the chances are they will be returned by the country they were hoping to fly to so they end up with the problem.

FYI.... There have been several 'fly on the wall' TV programs over recent years showing behind the scene activities at various airports in the UK, Australian, Dubai, Columbia and the US.  In nearly all of these programs they have shown immigration officials at work and what happens when document irregularities are discovered (arrivals/departures).  In all cases of arrival shown of individuals arriving the individuals was sent back and departing they were arrested and prosecuted. 

OK I know this is Thailand and they do things differently, but I still maintain they will opt for the course of least problems/cost.

15 hours ago, darrendsd said:

 

I very much doubt that someone who tried to enter on a fake PP or visa would just be allowed to fly back out again, do you really think that would happen?  they would be arrested

Regarding document irregularities discovered by immigration on arrival at the airport.  If you were the IO you have a number of options available to you:

Option 1:  Turn a blind eye and let the person enter the country.

Option 2:  Arrested the person, have him/her detained for several months pending a Court hearing, a Court hearing, jailed for whatever time and then arranging deportation once released from jail. 

Option 3:  Because the airline should have checked the documentation before accepting the passenger for travel, they are legally responsible for conveying him/her back to the point of embarkation on the next available flight.  The airline bears the cost of repatriation plus a substantial fine.

Option 1 ... Extremely unlikely, bearing in mind that if he/she is caught at some later date your details may well be on the computer system as having allowed him/her to  enter – inactive post may be pending.

Option 2... Feasible, but at considerable financial cost to the tax payer.

Option 3... Costs nothing to the tax payer and actually generates an income from the fine levied on the airline.  Also the problem of the document irregularities will then be the responsibility of the country where he/she came from.

So which option do you think the IO’s will go for?  I suspect Option 3 will figure at the top of their list.

3 hours ago, JackThompson said:

.......  Recently, everyone has been sent "back" where they came from.  There was at least one report, awhile back, where the person who was denied-entry was not even permitted to go back where they came from, and were "force-sent" back to their passport-country. 

I agree that in the two recent cases of entry refusal at BKK the individuals concerned returned to where they had come from, but that may have been their choice.

My understanding is that in the case of a refused entry (as distinct from deportation) the individual can decide where they want to go and they need to make the arrangements and bear the cost. 

Consider the following scenario:  If I have just flown into BKK from China, where I originally entered on a single entry tourist visa.  I am refused entry to Thailand for whatever reason.  The IO says I must go back to China.  I doubt very much that the airline will accept me for travel because my original single entry visa has been used and most certainly the Chinese authorities will allow me back in the country without a new visa which I cannot obtain whilst I'm in the 'holding area' at the airport.

It is only when an individual has been admitted to the country and subsequently being deported that immigration can/will specify where the individual is sent to which is normally to the country which issued their passport.

I’ve endeavored to find regulations, but to no avail, so happy to be (gently) corrected.

10 hours ago, tonray said:

I think you are directed to the carrier that brought you and you will be sent on the next flight back to where your embarked from.

I think you will find that once you reach the arrivals immigration desk there is no turning back.  You will need to clear immigration and customs and go to the departure level to arrange a flight.  You may be able to persuade the airline which brought you to Thailand to change your return flight, but that will no doubt cost you extra.

If for some reason the IO decides to refuse you entry, then depending upon the nature of the refusal one of two things will happen once you have been escorted to ‘holding’ area.

If the refusal is based for example on fake passport, visa etc. which the airline that transported you to Thailand should have picked up at your point of departure, then immigration will instruct that airline to return you to your point of departure on the next available flight. The airline will have to bear the cost of transporting you and they will also face a heavy fine.

If the refusal is based for example on lack of funds to support your stay (which is somewhat  topical at the moment), then you will be allowed to arrange a flight to any destination outside Thailand at your own expense. Immigration will also charge you for ‘board and lodgings' whilst you are in the ‘holding’ area.

6 hours ago, BritTim said:

http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/en/896-atm-suvarnabhumi-airport

 

This is a mix of those airside and elsewhere. Note that passengers in the transit area (and those departing once through immigration) can only withdraw US dollars.

As you mentioned in an earlier post (#8), there are no ATMs between the arrivals gate and arrivals immigration, all of the airside ATMs are in the departure area which most arriving passengers will not have access to.

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Only a letter from your bank confirming the balance and your account. And copies of your bank book will be accepted.

A friend of mine was extending his none-OA (retirement) last year at Nakhon Pathom IO using a letter from his bank stating his account balance in GBP (with conversion to BHT).  This was his 5th or 6th renewal using the required deposited funds method.  The bank letter was dated a week before he went for his renewal.

During the renewal process the IO asked to see the bank book which, fortunately, he had taken with him.  Upon inspecting the book the IO said that the last entry in the bank book was month ago and he would need to get it updated. 

My friend showed the IO that the balance in the book corresponded with that indicated in the bank's letter.  The IO said that since the letter had been produced (a week earlier) he could have withdrawn his funds. 

The IO advised my friend that the balance should be as of the day before he submits his application.  After some gentle pleading on my friends part, the IO agreed to extend his stay, but made it very clear that next year my friend must get the bank book update the day before he submits his application for an extension.

Although the IO has a point regarding date of letter and funds subsequently being withdrawn are correct, I suspect it could be a case of another IO just wanting to show who is in charge. 

Ms MoneyBaht and I regularly travel to various parts of Thailand for holidays (as though life as a retiree isn’t already one long holiday).  These trips last anything from a couple of days to a couple of weeks.  We have stayed in a mix of guest houses and hotels.  Ms MoneyBaht always checks us in using her Thai ID and the guesthouse/hotel has never asked for my passport.  As a result, I doubt immigration have any record of my travels. 

Question 1….. How do I stand if the guesthouse/hotel has not registered me?  Should I inform my local IO when I go on ‘walkabouts’?

Ms MoneyBaht and I live in Phutthamonthon (house in Ms MoneyBaht’s name) which I consider to be my main place of residence.  I have a yellow book linked to the house and I’m registered with the Nakhon Pathom IO.  I also I have a condo (in my name) in BKK which Ms MoneyBaht and I use on a regular basis when we come into BKK shopping or need to visit the hospital etc. Stays at the condo are usually only a couple of nights at most.

Question 2… Should I also be registered with the local IO in BKK?

Many thanks in advance for any constructive comments.

2 minutes ago, perthperson said:

No mistake ! It has been challenged and the response (if I remember correctly ) cited that "difficulties" were associated with accepting £sterling or any other currency 

'Someone' is saying that the British Government are having "difficulties" with accepting GBP ?????  Next they will be asking UK citizens to pay their income tax in USD.  I know that the UK is paddling up the preverbal creek with Brexit, but that would be the last straw.

Sorry I've gone off post.  But I will check with my colleague back in the UK.

1 hour ago, perthperson said:

Check the link and discover the cost of a UK visa --- All charged in US$ if applied or from Thailand. 

 

https://visa-fees.homeoffice.gov.uk/y/thailand/usd/visit/standard-visitor/all

Thanks for the link… It certainly does states 120$ for a standard short term visa.

I see that at the top of the page it states BETA trial service… I am aware that the FOC is currently in the process of standardising their website so that they look the same throughout the world, with only minimal local info - see the British Embassy Thailand website… There is no logical reason why the UK Government would charge for its services in US$, so I suspect this could be a mistake.  I’ll query this with one of my old colleagues who works in the FOC.

As you are no doubt aware, UK visa applications in Thailand are handled by VFS.GLOBAL.  If you go to their website for Thailand, click on ‘KNOW YOUR VISA TYPE’ and then follow the link on the page to UK Government website for visa and immigration in Thailand, then by inputting Thailand then standard visitor you will go to https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa. At the bottom of this page you will see the visa fees. The cost of a standard visitor visa as £89.  The page was updated 11 July 2017.

3 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Aw shit, mine's only a normal visa..........linked to a Flex Account. Cheers.

It's only a couple of quid anyway, but it's the principle. Why should we pay the BRITISH Embassy in AMERICAN dollars?

Are you sure the British Embassy asked you to pay in US$ ????  If so, what was the service they provided? 

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Just did probably my +200th entry to Thailand over about 24 years after a short business trip to Saigon, flipping the passports as I do to stop one filling up too fast. No questions asked about the other passport that enabled my previous entry and stay and was processed through their system less than 3 days earlier.

 

Both my current passports, renewed within a month of each other, have identical photographs, same name, same date of birth, same place of birth, just different issue/expiry dates and numbers.

 

Still no questions asked by Immigration about either passport.

 

To whom should I write to make a complaint?

Not sure why you want to complain.   There’s nothing illegal in holding two, or more, passports provided that they are yours and they are genuine.

When a person has dual citizenships they are entitled to hold a passport from each country.  Obviously the country code and passport numbers will be different, but the immigration system is capable of linking the two passports together using the other data contained in the code at the bottom of the photo page.

In others cases a person may request a second passport from his/her country of citizenship because they visit certain countries (for example Israel) and this may subsequently hinder them from entering another country (for example: an Arab country).

Where someone has two passports issued by the same country, with either a change in number or names, the immigration system will pick this up and again link both passports together.

As I said before, we (forum members) don’t have all the facts.  We only have one side of the ‘story’, which with no disrespect to the OP can be ‘clouded’ and prejudiced by the events that have suddenly be fronted him.  Unfortunately it’s all too easy to jump to conclusions, which in some cases in this thread have been way off the mark.

1 hour ago, Hockley said:

To clear up the eye scan query, airports and border check points have installed or are installing eye scanners but for now it is only available for those holding a Thai passport. 

FYI….  In October 2015 RTP announced that they were going to introduce facial recognition systems at all boarder checkpoints in order to speed up the immigration screening process.  They have also indicated that they propose to introduce fingerprinting.

I think what you’re talking about is in fact facial recognition systems, not an iris scanning systems.  Most modern passports now incorporate biometric chips which contain the image of the passport holder.  The biometric image can then be used by a facial recognition system to compare with the person in front of the camera which in turn can be linked to automatic gates.  These have been introduced at swampy for Thai nationals only at the moment.

In order for an iris scanning system to function, the person must first have their iris data registered in the system.  The system is then able to compare a person’s iris in front of the scanner with the those contained in its database.  Iris scanning was introduced at several UK airports in late 2004 but they were subsequently withdrawn a few years latter due to poor reliability and constant problems encountered by travelers trying to get their eyes properly aligned with the camera.  May people found it quicker to join the queues and get their passport checked by an IO.

1 hour ago, tolsti said:

Whilst I do understand that many countries require APIS I am not aware that Thailand does, at this time, require it. Most refusals at the check in desk are based on the airline database of requirements (i.e. Ticket out of the country within the stated duration of stay) but not APIS. If it were when how do all the criminals and kiddie fiddlers get in? it would be so easy for the courts to add a block to their APIS info.

FYI....   API came into effect in Thailand in December 2015.  The airlines are only required to provide passenger passport details (Name, Gender, Date of Birth, Nationality, Country of Residence, Travel Document Type/Number/Expiry Date) before flight’s departure.  The airlines do not have access to any passenger’s criminal history.

Upon receiving the API from the airlines, immigration run the data through their systems to check if any of the passengers are known to them.  If a passenger is banned from entering Thailand for any reason then immigration will notify the airline not to accept the passenger for travel.

Disclosure of a passenger’s criminal history is very much dependent upon the law enforcement agency of the country of origin of the passenger.  In most cases such information is only shared in exceptional cases or when Interpol issues an international arrest warrant.

Bazza73… The link below is to the UK embassy page which will give you some idea of what the British embassy requires in order to provide a letter confirming income.  Obviously your embassy requirements may well differ.  I’ve looked at the Autralian embassy website, but they don’t appear to provide any guidance on obtaining a letter confirming income, so you may do well to contact your embassy and ask what info and documents they require.

FYI… The letter confirming income from the British embassy states the requestor’s; passport details; address; income amount monthly and annually; income sources (not amounts).   The letter is signed by an approved consular official.

Hope this helps

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/573863/Pension_7_12_16.pdf

1 hour ago, asean said:

007 correct, why did you think the IO used section 12(3)?  Because he  had no evidence of and couldn't apply the other sections 12 (1) to (12). And because neither foreigner or the IO will be able to disprove 12(3) no appeal will be allowed.

Sorry, but once again neither you, or I, are in possession of the full facts and we should not jump to conclusions.  With no disrespect, you are making assumptions that the IO did not have any evidence to support his/her refusal under Section 12(3).  As I said in an earlier post, if the OP unfortunately had a CV or certificates in his luggage when the IO inspected his bag(s) then this would be sufficient grounds for the IO to suspect that the OP may be intending to seek work.

FYI… Section 12 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 only comprises 11 paragraphs, not 12 as you indicated.  Also you are incorrect when you state that "no appeal will be allowed".  Section 22 of the Immigration Act gives the individual the right to appeal against IO’s decision to refuse entry.  If the OP exercises his right to an appeal, then the IO will need provide evidence to support his/her grounds for refusing entry.

18 minutes ago, asean said:

007 they saw his passport and saw too many tourist entries. That is all. It has nothing to do with work. They telling him if you want to stay here that long then go get a real visa. This has happened many many times and more often lately and this is simply how the officers explain it to me. Unless he can prove he has family here then his chances of appeal are very very slim. Many times showing directorship or shareholding on a Thai company can help too. Also note that many business people travel frequently to Thailand on tourist visas and the reason they rarely get pulled up is their lengths of stay are pretty short.

I should be interested to know what law there is that states you cannot have more than ‘x’ Tourist Visas in your passport.  If such a law exists, then the IO would have endorsed the OP’s passport accordingly and not refused entry under Section 13(3) of the Immigration Act which relates to obtaining work.

As I said, we don’t have all the facts so we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.