I just want to share my experience in Poipet last week. I have a UK passport, no Thai entries at all. It was issued in phnom pehn last  December where I'm volunteering. I have tourist visas with extensions and I renewed by day trips to Bavet (Vietnam).

 

Well, I checked in a hotel Poipet side  and went to the border about 7pm. The guy looked through it and asked if I was coming back (to Cambodia) the same day and I said yes. He said they don't allow this. I'd have to be screened. They sent me off to another desk where a guy was playing music on his phone. He asked what I was doing and I told him the truth. He said they don't allow one day entries like this. I said OK, then I'll stay in Aran and come back tomorrow but he said no. I have three one day visits to Vietnam in my passport and on this basis he can't allow me to enter. Please go back, have my exit cancelled any fly in, and then it will be no problem.

 

I stayed calm and friendly (golden rule number one) and discussed it for about half  an hour. He spoke English OK but kept saying he doesn't understand a word  and is looking it up (clearly chatting to someone, headphones never  came off). I asked to see the person in charge but he said they're on holiday. Quite arrogant really. Anyway, after about half an hour he said go and book a hotel,  and show the booking on the screen of  my tablet.  Then he changed  his mind, told me to go to the casino and ask for a printer.

 

So I went in the casinos. No one helped. I went to True coffee outside  the casino, as soon as I  walked in holding my passport and looking worried, he said 'prints are two dollars a page, for air ticket, yes?'. Well no, a hotel, thank god he didn't ask for an air ticket.

 

I booked a seven dollar bed on agoda and paid it, printed it, tried to go through again without saying anything but was referred to the screener. Short argument about whether it was a paid booking (it was). So he took  the sheets and my passport to the three people on duty and showed them while they stood and laughed at me, talking in Thai with the word 'booking' hahaha repeated frequently. I just kept nodding and smiling. He went into a booth, stapled the papers together and stamped me in for a month.

 

I went to the next  building and came back to Cambodia.

 

So looking back, bit of a close call. A cancelled stamp in my passport wouldn't look good. The problem was  the day trips, plus I admitted it. It's ironic, all the trouble they go to to make sure people don't stay too long without a visa... and my trouble was they were worried I wouldn't stay long enough. Anyway, the moral is, don't ever admit you're on a day trip.

Just want to clarify. My UK passport was issued in Phnom Pehn. I've been here since December. I have no visits or visas for Thailand and I went to Poipet to enter Cambodia on a new tourist visa (as I know most people are doing things the other way around and trying to stay in Thailand).

An interesting report. It reinforces the impression that Poipet/Aran has quite the worst Thai immigration officials of any border crossing. At least you knew enough to keep your cool, and be polite but insistent.

18 hours ago, lifemagic said:

Just want to clarify. My UK passport was issued in Phnom Pehn. I've been here since December. I have no visits or visas for Thailand and I went to Poipet to enter Cambodia on a new tourist visa (as I know most people are doing things the other way around and trying to stay in Thailand).

Do you mean no visits to Thailand ever or just in new passport, the IO can see all entries to Thailand as older passports are linked in the computer system. 

Good to know, thanks. Visits on previous passports yes, but not many and no overstays.

If you came back the same day and tried for an exempt I'm honestly surprised they even let you in.

I was coming back to Cambodia, therefore they didn't know my actual intention when giving me the waiver. 

If you meant 'came back' after being denied, he told me to. He said they close at 10, do it before then.

On 6/3/2018 at 2:57 PM, lifemagic said:

I went to True coffee outside  the casino, as soon as I  walked in holding my passport and looking worried, he said 'prints are two dollars a page, for air ticket, yes?'.

Two dollars a page?  I hope he gets bed-bugs. 

 

Hopefully, some enterprising Cambodian kid will figure out a way to hook a Rasberry Pi (tiny computer) and small printer up to an inverter and a moto-battery, and make good money at 50-cents/page. 

23 hours ago, Yeahbutwhytho said:

If you came back the same day and tried for an exempt I'm honestly surprised they even let you in.

Read again. You have misunderstood.