Don Mueang Report

[gilo]

A few points. First regarding ATM machines before immigration for those who wanted to get money out. I asked and there is not any - however at the Bureau de Change if you hold an account with the particular banks (certainly Kasikorn and SCB) then can use ATM card to withdraw funds. I inadvertently passed through immigration on the way out of the country and realised I had not taken out enough money and went to the Kasikorn BdC and no problem to take money out of the account. There is also a kasikorn before immigration as wanted to convert dollars back into baht on arriving back into Thailand to make sure that I had the 20k in Baht (I know that any denomination should be acceptable but wanted to have it in Baht). The second point was that immigration was significantly improved regarding processing. Before reaching immigration, there is staff to check that everyone has properly completed the TM6 (arrival/departure card) thereby reducing the delays caused by people doing them at the immigration desks. Also rather than a scramble to select which booth to go to, a snake system is in place and then an official directs people to available immigration desks. It was such a pleasant contrast to previous experiences as I was through in no time at all. Came in on a non-imm B and no request to show money but not sure of what was the case for others as the process was so streamlined today that I didn't have the opportunity to observe other people's experiences. 

[jacko45k]

Good to hear things have improved. I deliberately booked flights via Swampy recently to avoid Don Mueng and paid a higher price for the convenience.

[jeab1980]

36 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Good to hear things have improved. I deliberately booked flights via Swampy recently to avoid Don Mueng and paid a higher price for the convenience.

I wonder if lots of others have as well as when i went there two days ago it was exceptionally quite. Very quick and no hassle.

[AlQaholic]

Really?? I entered through Don Muang just a few weeks ago and I am not kidding I had to wait in the immigration Que for more than an hour. All counters (around 10 - 15 of them I think) where open that I could see. I arrived in late afternoon and the place was absolutely packed with people. My Wife and Daughter went through the Thai passport counters and it took less than a minute, she then had to wait for me for another hour.

It seems it depends on what time of the day you arrive.

 

[SooKee]

It's improved from what it was sure (the snake system was in place from May this year at least) but it's still an airport that I make sure I arrive at at least 3 hours prior to departure. Be unlucky enough to catch a few Chinese flights and, as last time, it took 55 minutes to clear outward immigration. The problem rate with incorrectly filled in departure cards or passport issues seems to increase dramatically with some nationalities!

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[jeab1980]

13 minutes ago, AlQaholic said:

Really?? I entered through Don Muang just a few weeks ago and I am not kidding I had to wait in the immigration Que for more than an hour. All counters (around 10 - 15 of them I think) where open that I could see. I arrived in late afternoon and the place was absolutely packed with people. My Wife and Daughter went through the Thai passport counters and it took less than a minute, she then had to wait for me for another hour.

It seems it depends on what time of the day you arrive.

 

If you had family you could have gone through thai lane with them i always do.

[AlQaholic]

3 minutes ago, jeab1980 said:

If you had family you could have gone through thai lane with them i always do.

Wow, didn't know that. reason I didn't try was I saw some other people try to sneak through there and they where stopped, I didn't want to loose my place in the Que....

[ICECOOL]

As others have said go through with partner. No waiting.

[Othello]

Wow, didn't know that. reason I didn't try was I saw some other people try to sneak through there and they where stopped, I didn't want to loose my place in the Que....

Except that where the Thais now use the biometric scanners to get back in , we foreigners cannot. Had this at Swampy 2 weeks ago. Wife thru ages before me.


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[dean2926]

They've definately shortened the immigration queues.

They've made people stand closer together.

Went through two times last month and was an absolute shit fight.

Ramming more people into the same space doesn't make it quicker.

[jeab1980]

1 hour ago, Othello said:

Except that where the Thais now use the biometric scanners to get back in , we foreigners cannot. Had this at Swampy 2 weeks ago. Wife thru ages before me.


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Yep there is that when they are working of course. Mrs just goes to booth if im with her IO seems to realise and stamps us both in.

[chuang]

2 hours ago, AlQaholic said:

Wow, didn't know that. reason I didn't try was I saw some other people try to sneak through there and they where stopped, I didn't want to loose my place in the Que....

Just follow behind your wife, when she has finished with IO ask her to let the IO knows that you are her husband/freang,

most if not all will allow you...good luck next time...

[thairookie]

Is it the law that "every tourist" must carry 20,000 baht in order to enter Thailand?

[jeab1980]

Just now, thairookie said:

Is it the law that "every tourist" must carry 20,000 baht in order to enter Thailand?

Slightly of topic but i belive for certain visa's the IO can ask you to produce 20k bht or other currency to the same value. Not heard of any holiday makers coming in on Exempt being asked to show.

[Bangkok Barry]

It would be really nice if they called us aliens over to the Thai desks when they have no Thai 'customers', instead of just sitting there watching aliens queue for up to an hour. But they don't care about us as we aren't Thai. It can't be because they can't speak English if needed, because none of them can.

[jeab1980]

Just now, Bangkok Barry said:

It would be really nice if they called us aliens over to the Thai desks when they have no Thai 'customers', instead of just sitting there watching aliens queue for up to an hour. But they don't care about us as we aren't Thai. It can't be because they can't speak English if needed, because none of them can.

Feel better now

[gilo]

The "snake" system has been in place for departures for a while. However for arrivals was not in place (at least it wasn't 90 days ago when I last came through). Also pre-screening that the TM6 forms had been filled in properly before allowing individuals to join the immigration queue was/is a great additional measure as a significant number were not being allowed to enter in to the immigration arrivals hall until their paperwork had been verified thus eliminating undue delays at the counters with individuals filling them in at the actual arrivals immigration desks. They were mumblings by those who were not allowed to proceed until they showed their completed forms but for the rest of us it certainly made it smoother. However, there were no large Chinese tour groups when I attempted to enter so how they react to being prevented from joining the queue until they have their TM6 forms properly filled in is another matter. Those doing the pre-screening seemed to be trainees as they were not in immigration police uniforms, so maybe actual AOT staff? In any event, it was a significantly better entry than previously.  As for no ATM's before arrivals so long as you have an account with SCB or Kasikorn Bank it is possible to effectively withdraw money at that point just before arrivals immigration rather than having to have it on your person for a prolonged period of time and can then simply place it back into your account once cleared through immigration.  

[Bangkok Barry]

2 minutes ago, gilo said:

The "snake" system has been in place for departures for a while. However for arrivals was not in place (at least it wasn't 90 days ago when I last came through). Also pre-screening that the TM6 forms had been filled in properly before allowing individuals to join the immigration queue was/is a great additional measure as a significant number were not being allowed to enter in to the immigration arrivals hall until their paperwork had been verified thus eliminating undue delays at the counters with individuals filling them in at the actual arrivals immigration desks. They were mumblings by those who were not allowed to proceed until they showed their completed forms but for the rest of us it certainly made it smoother. However, there were no large Chinese tour groups when I attempted to enter so how they react to being prevented from joining the queue until they have their TM6 forms properly filled in is another matter. Those doing the pre-screening seemed to be trainees as they were not in immigration police uniforms, so maybe actual AOT staff? In any event, it was a significantly better entry than previously.  As for no ATM's before arrivals so long as you have an account with SCB or Kasikorn Bank it is possible to effectively withdraw money at that point just before arrivals immigration rather than having to have it on your person for a prolonged period of time and can then simply place it back into your account once cleared through immigration.  

 

They've had the snake and 'checkers' at Swampy for ages. It works.

[gilo]

3 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

They've had the snake and 'checkers' at Swampy for ages. It works.

Then it is good that it is now in Don Mueang as per the topic title :-)

[Bangkok Barry]

2 minutes ago, gilo said:

Then it is good that it is now in Don Mueang as per the topic title :-)

 

It does raise the question that if they could do it at one Bangkok international airport, why has it taken them years to install it at the other. Better late than never though.

[JackThompson]

2 hours ago, jeab1980 said:

Slightly of topic but i belive for certain visa's the IO can ask you to produce 20k bht or other currency to the same value. Not heard of any holiday makers coming in on Exempt being asked to show.

It is 10K Baht for exempt, and can also be asked to show proof of an outgoing ticket within 30-days.  Not having this is legal cause for refusal of entry, so I'd advise anyone to be prepared - though very unlikely to be asked unless one has a history of longer stays (even months ago) in Thailand.

[Monomial]

The "snake" system in the arrivals hall of Don Muang was added the week of August 7. Not sure exactly what day, but it was not there on Aug 6 and it was in place by Aug. 11. It improved things immediately if for no other reason than it stopped all the Chinese from from forming a mob that pushed to the front at the expense of everyone else.

I go through this airport every week, and over the last month my average wait to get through immigration on returning to Thailand has dropped from a normal 2-3 hours to only around 15 minutes. They have really improved their service. Whatever problems have plagued this airport for the last year, they are all gone now. Someone finally did something about it, and they have my gratitude. I used to really loathe that part of my travel, and now it is almost bearable.

[Bangkok Barry]

All it needed was a bit of social media exposure to make them get off their a**es.

[AlQaholic]

20 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It would be really nice if they called us aliens over to the Thai desks when they have no Thai 'customers', instead of just sitting there watching aliens queue for up to an hour. But they don't care about us as we aren't Thai. It can't be because they can't speak English if needed, because none of them can.

Good point, couldn't agree more. On the other hand, if you think about it, it would be pretty hard to manage, lets say you wave over a line of "Farang" to the Thai desk and then some Thai arrive, should they go before the "Farang" already in line or should they stand in Que after the "Farang"? and what to do if more people start moving over to the Thai Que and you stop them and they start complaining "why are those people over there allowed but not us?" etc. etc.

[BritTim]

24 minutes ago, AlQaholic said:

Good point, couldn't agree more. On the other hand, if you think about it, it would be pretty hard to manage, lets say you wave over a line of "Farang" to the Thai desk and then some Thai arrive, should they go before the "Farang" already in line or should they stand in Que after the "Farang"? and what to do if more people start moving over to the Thai Que and you stop them and they start complaining "why are those people over there allowed but not us?" etc. etc.

It would be doable in conjunction with the snake system (assuming an official is controlling where people from the front of the snake go). It is just a matter of directing a couple of people at a time to the empty Thai counter, suspending sending people there when a group of Thais arrives.

[elgenon]

23 hours ago, SooKee said:

It's improved from what it was sure (the snake system was in place from May this year at least) but it's still an airport that I make sure I arrive at at least 3 hours prior to departure. Be unlucky enough to catch a few Chinese flights and, as last time, it took 55 minutes to clear outward immigration. The problem rate with incorrectly filled in departure cards or passport issues seems to increase dramatically with some nationalities!

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In my experience, the residents of "The Middle Kingdom" never have their departure cards filled out.

 

Reminds me of McDs. Once in a great while I will eat at McDs because I can take a book and read.

But if I see an Arab or Indian in line I will switch to another line. They ask a jabillion questions and keep consulting all 8 members of their group. Nothing personal, just a matter of how I want to spend my time.

[elgenon]

Are the new departure cards in use yet? What do they look like?

[pearciderman]

18 hours ago, JackThompson said:

It is 10K Baht for exempt, and can also be asked to show proof of an outgoing ticket within 30-days.  Not having this is legal cause for refusal of entry,

 

Are you sure that not having proof of onward travel is a valid reason for refusal of entry ?

 

I have never heard of anyone being refused for that reason and can't remember it being in Sect 12, (the bit they quote about reasons for denial of entry), whereas lack of funds is.

[AlQaholic]

25 minutes ago, BritTim said:

It would be doable in conjunction with the snake system (assuming an official is controlling where people from the front of the snake go). It is just a matter of directing a couple of people at a time to the empty Thai counter, suspending sending people there when a group of Thais arrives.

Agree, completely doable if snake system in place. Just have to care enough to do it:)

[ubonjoe]

16 minutes ago, elgenon said:

Are the new departure cards in use yet? What do they look like?

October 1st is the planned date.

Similar to this one but the one I have seen recently posted in the news has the same questions on the backside of the arrival part instead of being blank.