Exilerunner Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Ok guys before you start laughing here is my story. I am new here and need your help for my return. I just came back from a 9 month stay (on new European passport) in Thailand on METV earlier this year. Made border runs as advised on this site using land borders (no problems). Before I was in the country around 2016/2017 for 3 months and 2015/2016 for twice 60 days. Well, as my title says the IO was not very happy and scanned my passport twice, shaking his head and looking at me like <deleted> but did not say a word. Is flying out Always safe? Now for my return I plan after a few months out to return on METV (Europe) and do the entry via Nong Khai or Songai Golok (exotic but maybe an advantage)? I plan to transit via BKK to pick up there the 20K baht (will have return ticket etc for land border as well) . Safe to transit in BKK? Any problems at land borders when coming with 2 large bags over the bridge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salengrider Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 As long as you are a genuine tourist you should not have any problems coming in on your tourist visa. He was probably just having a bad day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 A off topic inflammatory post has been removed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubascuba3 Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 20,000 baht equivalent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 (edited) 16 hours ago, Exilerunner said: Well, as my title says the IO was not very happy and scanned my passport twice, shaking his head and looking at me like <deleted> but did not say a word. Is flying out Always safe? Maybe he had a difficult time finding your entry or extension stamp and was just frustrated by that. Flying out will always be safe since they cannot prevent your from leaving the country unless there is a hold on you leaving the country. I would not be overly concerned about entering the country with your history. Just be sure you have the equivalent of 20k baht in cash to show if asked and financial proof that you have enough to support yourself here without the need to work here. Edited April 1, 2018 by ubonjoe fixed typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post anon789561 Posted March 31, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted March 31, 2018 maybe your passport wasn't scanning properly on his machine and he was getting pissed off. could be anything but rarely been given a big smile and welcome to thailand here. to be fair, must be a soul destroying job doing that all day long 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubascuba3 Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 12 hours ago, ubonjoe said: I would not be overly concerned about entering the country with your history. Just be sure you have the equivalent of 20k baht in cash to show if asked and financial proof that you have enough to support yourself here without the need to work here. "Would be overly concerned" or "wouldn't be overly concerned"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exilerunner Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 Thank you Ubonjoe, Yes, will show my previous earnings as well if needed. In fact, I am pretty concerned coming back even land border. I know JackThompson always says land border are fine. But with my luggage coming across the bridge after staying a night in Laos maybe, one could question why is this guy not flying straight into BKK. Also will it ok to have 2 METV in my passport in a row? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 The same thing happened to me and more. I stay here on METV's. On leaving Suwannaphum and flying back to the UK, the IO is going back and forth in my passport tutting and shaking her head. This display goes on for so long (about 3 minutes) I am forced to ask in Thai politely, "Is anything the problem?" The reply was, "Where you visa?" in poor English. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa and I had not overstayed. The reply in poor English, "Why you no visa?" "Why you go Laos?" I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. "Next time you visa," was the next shot. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. She finally stamped me out and I left. There were no repercussions. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exilerunner Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 Thank you Briggsy. Interesting to know, as long as the IO is hopefully not making any marks in our record ... I am ok with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJAS Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said: 20,000 baht equivalent 530 euros at the present time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsensam Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 42 minutes ago, Briggsy said: The same thing happened to me and more. I stay here on METV's. On leaving Suwannaphum and flying back to the UK, the IO is going back and forth in my passport tutting and shaking her head. This display goes on for so long (about 3 minutes) I am forced to ask in Thai politely, "Is anything the problem?" The reply was, "Where you visa?" in poor English. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa and I had not overstayed. The reply in poor English, "Why you no visa?" "Why you go Laos?" I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. "Next time you visa," was the next shot. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. She finally stamped me out and I left. There were no repercussions. came into DM on METV two months ago, first the IO shows me the visa in my passport and asks 'is this your visa?', seemed a bit of an obvious question... she then spent ages going through every page and seemed to be doing a calculation. after five mins or so she stamps my passport and hands it to me. she didn't smile but then i didn't expect one or read anything into it; doing a mundane job dealing with hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists every day can't be the most stimulating of jobs. anyway, i've been asked more and more q's during recent entries so am going to a retirement visa in future. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post NutsMango Posted March 31, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted March 31, 2018 Thai immigration - angry, lemon faces. Vietnam immigration - smile and "welcome" 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiangMaiLightning2143 Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 Last time I entered Thailand (February) I was “questioned” by a female IO at Swampy. This is in the fast track lane and I have Thailand elite visa.Do you have business here, Do you have Thai family? Why you come so many times? What’s your job? Where you stay condo?Are they just questioning to check a box? Then I thought she maybe liked me. Honestly I was taken aback as I never hear a peep from Thai IOs and returning to the US is more hassle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OJAS Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, NutsMango said: Thai immigration - angry, lemon faces. Ditto American & French immigration Edited March 31, 2018 by OJAS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Andrew Dwyer Posted March 31, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted March 31, 2018 Came into LOS Tuesday thru Swampy at around noontime.I could see the IO was already having a bad day before my turn !!When I stepped up to the mark he decided that he needed his ear phones in ( connected to his phone ) at that exact moment. There then followed about 5 minutes of him unraveling said earphones and fiddling with his phone.I remained calm and poker faced as he studied my passport then, literally, threw it across the counter at me !!If I hadn’t put my hand down on it quickly it would have been on the floor !!Needless to say there was no “ khop khun khrap “ from me !!That will teach him [emoji51] 3 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exilerunner Posted March 31, 2018 Author Share Posted March 31, 2018 Well, for reentry I will use a land border as that has been recommended on this site (JackThompson) and as I won't have the guts with my record to go through airport immigration. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 6 hours ago, Briggsy said: The reply was, "Where you visa?" in poor English. I have a feeling the immigration official had difficulty finding your last arrival stamp. They have a habit of referring to any stamp that shows your permission to stay as a visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poanoi Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 7 hours ago, Briggsy said: The same thing happened to me and more. I stay here on METV's. On leaving Suwannaphum and flying back to the UK, the IO is going back and forth in my passport tutting and shaking her head. This display goes on for so long (about 3 minutes) I am forced to ask in Thai politely, "Is anything the problem?" The reply was, "Where you visa?" in poor English. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa and I had not overstayed. The reply in poor English, "Why you no visa?" "Why you go Laos?" I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. "Next time you visa," was the next shot. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. She finally stamped me out and I left. There were no repercussions. but....why won't you make a proper visa ?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AYJAYDEE Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 27 minutes ago, poanoi said: but....why won't you make a proper visa ?!? he said he has a multi entry tourist visa 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poanoi Posted March 31, 2018 Share Posted March 31, 2018 1 hour ago, AYJAYDEE said: he said he has a multi entry tourist visa you have a medical condition if you didnt find that conversation comical 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 12 hours ago, scubascuba3 said: "Would be overly concerned" or "wouldn't be overly concerned"? Fixed it. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearciderman Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 12 hours ago, samsensam said: came into DM on METV two months ago, first the IO shows me the visa in my passport and asks 'is this your visa?', seemed a bit of an obvious question... she then spent ages going through every page and seemed to be doing a calculation. after five mins or so she stamps my passport and hands it to me. she didn't smile but then i didn't expect one or read anything into it; doing a mundane job dealing with hundreds, if not thousands, of tourists every day can't be the most stimulating of jobs. anyway, i've been asked more and more q's during recent entries so am going to a retirement visa in future. Maybe they thought you were working? "it's not about getting the app to do my job - actually i dont teach, i work in educational management -" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggsy Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 7 hours ago, Maestro said: I have a feeling the immigration official had difficulty finding your last arrival stamp. They have a habit of referring to any stamp that shows your permission to stay as a visa. This is a rational comment to make but clearly the IO was making a point about me staying on continuous Tourist Visas. The arrival stamp was plain to see. She was focussed on the number of Tourist Visas in the passport. It was strange because this harassment is not usually on the way OUT. I was leaving. Is that not what they want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerryd Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Just a thought. Does your passport have the scannable information on it ? Years ago I got a new passport in Canada. It had the new format that allowed it to be electronically scanned. A couple years later I had to get a new one as the old one had no more room for visas/stamps (they used to be just 24 pages and I filled it less than 3 years). I went to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok, did all the paperwork and went back 10 days later to get my new "business" passport (48 pages for only twice as much as the 24 page "personal" version). The only problem was, for some ID-10-T reason, passports issued through Embassies didn't have the scannable information on them, even though they were printed in Canada and mailed to the Embassy. As a result, for the next couple of years every time I went through any Immigration check, they'd start off by trying to scan the passport. When it didn't work they'd turn it around and try again. Then they'd look at it and turn to the computer and enter the information manually. I've seen a couple of them get a bit of an annoyed look on their face but they never gave me a hassle about it. The next time I needed a new passport I decided to make the trip to Canada to do it (had to renew my driver's license as well anyways and couldn't do that remotely). New passport (of course) has the "scannable" info on it which I think makes all the IO's a bit happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritTim Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 29 minutes ago, Briggsy said: This is a rational comment to make but clearly the IO was making a point about me staying on continuous Tourist Visas. The arrival stamp was plain to see. She was focussed on the number of Tourist Visas in the passport. It was strange because this harassment is not usually on the way OUT. I was leaving. Is that not what they want? I speculate that something was wrong in the immigration computer. This led to confusion in the official's mind, and it took time for him to confirm the accuracy of the stamps in the passport, and make the appropriate correction in the computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackThompson Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 20 hours ago, Exilerunner said: the IO was not very happy and scanned my passport twice, shaking his head and looking at me like <deleted> but did not say a word. Is flying out Always safe? There is no definition of "genuine tourist" other than following the laws and regulations on Tourist Visa use - not working, not overstaying, etc. But some airport IOs seem to think the immigration laws are wrong, so he was probably angry you managed to spend so much time and money in Thailand, helping small businesses and such. Even so, we do not have any reports of problems leaving by air, so I would not worry about this. I was once interrogated on-exit from Poipet, though (basically a "what you do here" interview, with questions going back to previous-passport history - which was ok with me). But avoid that border-crossing *Always* on entry, as they have the same attitude as the airport IOs. Maybe arrive a bit early for air-departures, just in case they start doing "exit interviews" like Poipet. 20 hours ago, Exilerunner said: Now for my return I plan after a few months out to return on METV (Europe) and do the entry via Nong Khai ... Good Choice. No problem with a valid visa at that or any other land-crossing except Poipet/Aranyaprathet. 15 hours ago, Exilerunner said: will it ok to have 2 METV in my passport in a row? Only the IOs at the airport or poipet would care, based on current reports. 20 hours ago, Exilerunner said: I plan to transit via BKK to pick up there the 20K baht (will have return ticket etc for land border as well) . Safe to transit in BKK? If you enter the country at Nong-Khai, all air-travel from there is domestic, and there is no more immigration to deal with. It is unlikely you would need the 20K worth of cash to enter at Nong Khai, but a good idea to always have it. Note it can be in any exchangeable currency (maybe not "kip"). 20 hours ago, Exilerunner said: Any problems at land borders when coming with 2 large bags over the bridge? You will have to get your bags to / on / off the bus, so hope wheels are part of the load. Note: You cannot count on catching the same bus after going through immigration - it may leave before you get in - so take those bags with you when you get off the bus to go through Thai immigration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post scorecard Posted April 1, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted April 1, 2018 (edited) 12 hours ago, OJAS said: Ditto American & French immigration Agree about US Immigration officers. I took a team of six Thai MBA to the US for an invited international business competition. All of the Thai students had been to the US before, 4 had previously completed short-term courses in the US. The US embassy in Bkk issued visas to all of them for the business competition without question. On arrival I went first (I can walk-in and get visa), no problem whatever, Imm. lady was courteous to me, then the first Thai student, Imm. lady instantly changed to be the Imm. lady dragon from hell, totally and strongly rude to each student, including asking them insulting questions. Sure she's got a job to do, but her rudeness was not appropriate and regardless of whether she's having a busy day. On the other hand in the Imm. arrivals line at Shanghai airport I saw an American woman get rude to the elderly chinese immigration officer who was walking nearby, she yelled at the guy 'I'm an American citizen, I don't have to put up with this'. In reality there are many many arrivals in Shanghai and the lines are often long but they move very quickly and most people are through the passport stamping within a few minutes. The Imm. officer quickly radioed and two security guys arrived within seconds, they picked her up under her arms, with feet dangling they carried her to the end of the line and gently put her down. Older imm. guy carried her cabin bag etc., and put it down alongside her. Then they all disappeared, not one word spoken. Edited April 1, 2018 by scorecard 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jools Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 15 hours ago, Briggsy said: The same thing happened to me and more. I stay here on METV's. On leaving Suwannaphum and flying back to the UK, the IO is going back and forth in my passport tutting and shaking her head. This display goes on for so long (about 3 minutes) I am forced to ask in Thai politely, "Is anything the problem?" The reply was, "Where you visa?" in poor English. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa and I had not overstayed. The reply in poor English, "Why you no visa?" "Why you go Laos?" I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. "Next time you visa," was the next shot. I replied in polite Thai that I had a visa. She finally stamped me out and I left. There were no repercussions. Perhaps you had an incompetent newbie. They are never in short supply in Thai bureaucracy. At Jomtien, their habit of staffing the front desk with young college girls, caused me to have to make an unnecessary trip to Laos because the two girls wanted to argue with each other rather than ask someone in authority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anon789561 Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 8 minutes ago, scorecard said: Agree about US Immigration officers. I took a team of six Thai MBA to the US for an invited international business competition. All of the Thai students had been to the US before, 4 had previously completed short-term courses in the US. The US embassy in Bkk issued visas to all of them for the business competition without question. On arrival I went first (I can walk-in and get visa), no problem whatever, Imm. lady was courteous to me, then the first Thai student, Imm. lady instantly changed to be the Imm. lady dragon from hell, totally and strongly rude to each student, including asking them insulting questions. Sure she's got a job to do, but her rudeness was not appropriate and regardless of whether she's having a busy day. On the other hand in the Imm. arrivals line at Shanghai airport I saw an American woman get rude to the elderly chinese immigration officer who was walking nearby, she yelled at the guy 'I'm an American citizen, I don't have to put up with this'. In reality there are many many arrivals in Shanghai and the lines are often long but they move very quickly and most people are through the passport stamping within a few minutes. The Imm. officer quickly radioed and two security guys arrived within seconds, they picked her up under her arms, with feet dangling they carried her to the end of the line and gently put her down. Older imm. guy carried her cabin bag etc., and put it down alongside her,. Then they all disappeared, not one word spoken. i went through JFK immo with my mrs many years ago. bloody nightmare. 1st took me to an interview room as the passport i had then said issued british embassy bangkok and also all the print on the front of the passport had pretty much all worn away so it raised suspicions. kept asking why i was in thailand etc. was in there around half an hour. came out and said where's my wife, she was in another interview room. 15 minutes later i was starting to get pissed off and tried to go in the room but they kicked me out. i asked what the problem was and they said the picture on her visa (she was using thai passport back then) was not clear. the visa also incorporated a picture we supplied to the embassy. in the end they come out and are asking me about it. we showed them the passport pic we supplied to the embassy as she had the sames ones on her. i basically said if the pic on the visa isn't clear then tell your embassy to buy a new printer, they printed it! anyway, after a lot of pissing around they eventually let us through. on the upside the people of new york were much friendlier than their immo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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