Denied Entry at Poipet

[tropo]

Just now, goegoe said:

 

it's anyway already known since a long time by anybody with a brain and internet.

 

 

1

What a strange comment. It's not a measure of intelligence. Even a genius might be unaware of what's going on in Poipet and for most people besides border runners, it's unimportant.

[puchooay]

31 minutes ago, elviajero said:

I know expats like that too, but the fact remains that most using this visa do so to circumvent the income requirements. Virtually every post asking for info on getting an ME visa from Savannahket wants conformation that finances are not required.

 

It’s the correct visa for how you want it to be, not how the Thai visa system or immigration look at it.

First you disbelieved the OP now you disbelieve the rules of immigration. How strange.

[Jip99]

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

Entering at a border is not the same as leaving and immediately returning to extend a stay. That is what the bosses at Aranyaprathet reportedly object to.

 

The Non Immigrant O visa states that you have to exit Thailand within 90 days - nowhere does it say that you cannot immediately re-enter.

 

 

In/outs at the local border (Chong Chom) attract a 300 Baht 'fine' for not staying in Cambodia one night.

 

 

The comment to my friend was "you have had too many land entries".

 

 

Totally inappropriate for a visa holder - the limit of 2 in a year applies to visa exempt entries.

[goegoe]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

What a strange comment. It's not a measure of intelligence. Even a genius might be unaware of what's going on in Poipet and for most people besides border runners, it's unimportant.

 

Even people like you who spend their life online do not know a lot it seems ?

 

I have never been to Poipet and do not need visa runs, but of course I know that it's not a place to do in-out, it has been told so many times on this forum.

 

 

 

 

 

[tropo]

 

2 hours ago, lkv said:

The fact that people live continuously 365 days in a year on multiple entry visas doing border hops every 90 days, when in fact they should be on extensions of stay with reentry permits.

Where have you been hiding? It's very difficult to live here long term on tourist visas. There are reports on here nearly every week about people with tourist visas being refused entry. The days of trouble-free residence on tourist visas are long over.

[tropo]

4 minutes ago, goegoe said:

 

Even people like you who spend their life online do not know a lot it seems ?

 

I have never been to Poipet and do not need visa runs, but of course I know that it's not a place to do in-out, it has been told so many times on this forum.

 

1

Seriously? Do you have so little of interest to read that you peruse daily visa issues that have no relevance to your life?

 

For example, I read all reports on retirement extensions. Why? Because that is my kind of visa. Information about other kinds of visas is usually of no interest to me.

 

The mention of extortion piqued my interest here...otherwise I could have lived the rest of my life WITHOUT any knowledge of what goes on in Poipet. If that makes me dimwitted, then so be it.?

 

 

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, puchooay said:

First you disbelieved the OP now you disbelieve the rules of immigration. How strange.

Again. I don’t disbelieve the OP.

 

What rules do you believe I disbelieve?

[elviajero]

43 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

The Non Immigrant O visa states that you have to exit Thailand within 90 days

No it doesn’t. There is nothing written on the visa stating how long you can stay our when you must leave.

 

44 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

nowhere does it say that you cannot immediately re-enter.

Correct. But the visa doesn’t give permission to enter. It’s the IO that decides that, and border immigration can stop anyone leaving that doesn’t have the right to enter the neighbouring country. They can also stop anyone doing a border hop to extend a stay. Anyone with the right to extend a stay can do so in country.

 

[lkv]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

 

Where have you been hiding? It's very difficult to live here long term on tourist visas. There are reports on here nearly every week about people with tourist visas being refused entry. The days of trouble-free residence on tourist visas are long over.

I'm not hiding anywhere, I buy reentry permits on those SETVs whenever I travel so I'm not really stretching them to the max.

 

But let's just say that so far I am still enjoying a trouble free "residence".

 

When I get into trouble I will let you guys know. From the same username.

Edited July 27, 2018 by lkv

[RT555]

This has. Been known foe quite a while... 

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

Where have you been hiding? It's very difficult to live here long term on tourist visas. There are reports on here nearly every week about people with tourist visas being refused entry. The days of trouble-free residence on tourist visas are long over.

My own sense is that people with tourist visas are rarely denied entry. Almost all denied entries are of people attempting visa exempt entry. You are certainly correct that long term stays on tourist visas have become harder, but that is due to more restrictive policies on issuing the visas, rather than denied entry once you have them.

[Jip99]

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

  But the visa doesn’t give permission to enter. It’s the IO that decides that, 

 

 

 

statement of the obvious ..... and not relevant to this case.

 

If you want to start a thread on the technicalities of visas/extensions/border runs please feel to do so.... this thread is about warning people of issues at Poipet so they can decide whether to avoid that border, or at least be aware of what they might face if they choose to go there.

 

Anything else is off topic.

 

[kurtmartens]

I love how this has degenerated in less than 24 hours to 7 pages of bashing each other back and forth.  Versus a long time member just posting a helpful warning .... the usual sad state of affairs with some folks on thaivisa.org.

 

?

[Jip99]

Just by way of update, I received this a few minutes ago from the horses mouth ?.

 

If anyone wishes to pick up on the fact that I thought the $600 was shown at the border (rather than withdrawn as a precaution for the Don Mueang landing)  -  flame away!!

 

 

Ok here is my own blow by blow account of the Poipet entry refusal , sensible questions will be welcomed .

 

I do have a 12 month non immigrant O multiple entry visa from Savannakhet as I find two days turn around more attractive than waiting over a month to finalise the process at the local immigration with a potential pain in the ass visit from immigration officials. So I have had a Laos visa for two years and crossed the border at Poipet 4 times a year with no issues same day on this occasion I was not so lucky.

All went well and seemed normal after leaving Thailand until 2 Cambodian agents started talking to me saying that if I have any problems reentering Thailand I should talk to them ( didn't give this a second thought but they seemed very convinced I may have trouble) -  so I departed from Cambodia the same day with no fine or tea money paid and as normal got to passport control Thai side. As soon as I handed my passport in I was ushered to one side to a desk where the IO quite clearly said he didn't like my Laos visa as he knew I had not shown money in order to obtain it  - then he said I have crossed land borders too many times back to back.

 

Just to clarify, I wasn't actually asked to show money but  as I sat there a young man joined at the desk who asked what the IO needed from him and he was asked to show 10k Baht which he showed immediately only to be told he must fly back and was not allowed to pass !

 

Then a man with three kids arrived and was told he had too many land border crossings and must fly back in !

 

At this point I tried to discuss the facts about my visa but he was very abrupt and had already made his decision I was not getting in , so all passports were taken and stamped as refused entry for not having sufficient funds ( remember I wasn't asked to show funds ) we all got issued with a letter which we had to sign as well.

 

Then we headed out to where the Cambodian fixers were remarkably waiting to arrange things for us to either get into Thailand or to the airport.

 

So first things first,  500 Baht to cancel the departure stamp from Cambodia then sit in a dodgy cafe waiting for the boss to confirm cost and if they could get me in or not.  Of course they said we can get you through for 20k !!!!!!!!!! I said thanks but no thanks and headed for the taxi only after did all of the events click together in my mind and I started to smell a rat.

 

On arrival at Siam Reap I met two nice guys in Starbucks who had also been denied entry and told they must fly however they were only on a visa on arrival and not a non immigrant O - they eventually got flights booked for next day. I also covered my bases due to the stamp saying insufficient funds in my passport I took an extra 600 dollars to add to my 14 k Thai Baht .

 

On arrival at Don Muaeng I was shitting bricks but the IO called his supervisor over who looked at my visa said "OK, no problem and have a nice safe journey back to Buriram" again no funds required to be shown.

 

On returning home I contacted Buriram immigration who I told the whole saga to and exactly what visa I had and was told as long as I leave the country every 90 days by any route land sea or air I was fine and I could do back to back border crossings purely to satisfy the visa requirements .

 

Hopefully this will clear up some of the ASSumptions being made about this and as Jip99 said in the opening post this was just a heads up that there is a potential scam going down in Poipet.  ( make your own decisions based on my experience please) Good luck.

 

If there is any discrepancy between Jip's post and my account, it is because we had a hasty phone call, seeking his advice, when I was stuck in Cambodia.

 

[Fairynuff]

5 hours ago, elviajero said:

I didn't call him a liar. I am disputing that his friend was being extorted based on the OP's "probably" and "I think" comments, which are totally pointless. Either he was extorted or he wasn't.

No you didn’t use the word liar.....

[gilo]

24 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

Just by way of update, I received this a few minutes ago from the horses mouth ?.

 

If anyone wishes to pick up on the fact that I thought the $600 was shown at the border (rather than withdrawn as a precaution for the Don Mueang landing)  -  flame away!!

 

 

Ok here is my own blow by blow account of the Poipet entry refusal , sensible questions will be welcomed .

 

I do have a 12 month non immigrant O multiple entry visa from Savannakhet as I find two days turn around more attractive than waiting over a month to finalise the process at the local immigration with a potential pain in the ass visit from immigration officials. So I have had a Laos visa for two years and crossed the border at Poipet 4 times a year with no issues same day on this occasion I was not so lucky.

All went well and seemed normal after leaving Thailand until 2 Cambodian agents started talking to me saying that if I have any problems reentering Thailand I should talk to them ( didn't give this a second thought but they seemed very convinced I may have trouble) -  so I departed from Cambodia the same day with no fine or tea money paid and as normal got to passport control Thai side. As soon as I handed my passport in I was ushered to one side to a desk where the IO quite clearly said he didn't like my Laos visa as he knew I had not shown money in order to obtain it  - then he said I have crossed land borders too many times back to back.

 

Just to clarify, I wasn't actually asked to show money but  as I sat there a young man joined at the desk who asked what the IO needed from him and he was asked to show 10k Baht which he showed immediately only to be told he must fly back and was not allowed to pass !

 

Then a man with three kids arrived and was told he had too many land border crossings and must fly back in !

 

At this point I tried to discuss the facts about my visa but he was very abrupt and had already made his decision I was not getting in , so all passports were taken and stamped as refused entry for not having sufficient funds ( remember I wasn't asked to show funds ) we all got issued with a letter which we had to sign as well.

 

Then we headed out to where the Cambodian fixers were remarkably waiting to arrange things for us to either get into Thailand or to the airport.

 

So first things first,  500 Baht to cancel the departure stamp from Cambodia then sit in a dodgy cafe waiting for the boss to confirm cost and if they could get me in or not.  Of course they said we can get you through for 20k !!!!!!!!!! I said thanks but no thanks and headed for the taxi only after did all of the events click together in my mind and I started to smell a rat.

 

On arrival at Siam Reap I met two nice guys in Starbucks who had also been denied entry and told they must fly however they were only on a visa on arrival and not a non immigrant O - they eventually got flights booked for next day. I also covered my bases due to the stamp saying insufficient funds in my passport I took an extra 600 dollars to add to my 14 k Thai Baht .

 

On arrival at Don Muaeng I was shitting bricks but the IO called his supervisor over who looked at my visa said "OK, no problem and have a nice safe journey back to Buriram" again no funds required to be shown.

 

On returning home I contacted Buriram immigration who I told the whole saga to and exactly what visa I had and was told as long as I leave the country every 90 days by any route land sea or air I was fine and I could do back to back border crossings purely to satisfy the visa requirements .

 

Hopefully this will clear up some of the ASSumptions being made about this and as Jip99 said in the opening post this was just a heads up that there is a potential scam going down in Poipet.  ( make your own decisions based on my experience please) Good luck.

 

If there is any discrepancy between Jip's post and my account, it is because we had a hasty phone call, seeking his advice, when I was stuck in Cambodia.

 

Glad that you got back in. Must have been extremely frustrating and indeed worrying. Thanks for taking the effort to recount your experience. 

[tropo]

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

My own sense is that people with tourist visas are rarely denied entry. Almost all denied entries are of people attempting visa exempt entry. You are certainly correct that long term stays on tourist visas have become harder, but that is due to more restrictive policies on issuing the visas, rather than denied entry once you have them.

I quick search of the forum over the last couple of years will reveal quite a few reports of tourist visa holders being refused entry... and of course, as you indicate, they are getting harder to obtain.

[PoorSucker]

Remember to get a haircut before entry. 

[ubonjoe]

This topic just got shorter after I removed several baiting, bickering, off topic and inflammatory posts. Time to end it now.

Edit: And now a reply to a post that has now been removed that I missed in my earlier cleanup.

Edited July 28, 2018 by ubonjoe

[overherebc]

One point you made in your post is something may cause concern for some/many maybe, was the IO's comment on the multi entry from Sav'  ' I know you don't have to show any money to get the visa'  not sure where that would go in the future if it started to become a comment from more and more of the IO's.

Imm' officers do move around and obviously take their own attitudes, good or bad, with them.

Anyway good you are back home.

 

 

[5633572526]

On 7/27/2018 at 3:01 AM, ChiangMaiLightning2143 said:

The Army should assume command over that border crossing for 5 years.

Transfer the whole lot there to "inactive positions".

So as punishment you would transfer them to an inactive position and pay them for doing nothing???

[stud858]

1 minute ago, 5633572526 said:

So as punishment you would transfer them to an inactive position and pay them for doing nothing???

Yes.  Firing squads are so 80's. 

[JackThompson]

On 7/27/2018 at 9:07 AM, Lovethailandelite said:

If as you say, he showed them the funds, I have no idea why he would denied under that clause.

It turns out, they never asked to see it - just told him "too many land-entries" - which is a lie, since no such regulation exists for Non-O-ME visa-holders. 

Expecting any degree of honesty from IOs is not wise.  This is especially true at many offices, at Poipet, and at the capital-city airports.  I and others have had the "you must fly in" lie fed to them at Poipet.  As well, many times people showed the funds at the Bangkok airports, only to have their passports stamped as if they didn't have the money.

 

On 7/27/2018 at 11:02 AM, CelticTam said:

My understanding is that you are not allowed to leave/exit Thailand and return/re-enter on the same day - even with a relevant visa. I was stopped at Sadao some three years ago and was informed this new regulation had just been passed to this effect. It may be that the regulation is now  being applied more strictly.

Another case in point regarding dishonesty - because there is no such rule.  "New Regulation" was likely them requesting a bribe, for which Sadao is/was famous.  Unfortunately for them, with their relatively inexpensive bribe-costs, they did not pay off the people high up enough to prevent their scheme getting shut-down (which they were, twice).  At this point, they may still be doing this out of spite, if not for a bribe. 

The Poipet folks are doing it "smarter," by asking for enough to cover all the corrupt-hands.  This is similar to why "agent assistance" fees, paid to avoid extension-requirements, are in that price-range (15K baht and up) - there are many supervisors to pay off.

 

On 7/27/2018 at 9:37 AM, MrMo said:

Not to "inactive positions".   Fire them with loss of pension and all the other privileges.   Audit of assets by tax authorities would help too.

That, and a trial and a fine of multiples of the money stolen, plus jail-time.  Also important, however, is a good wage for the honest folks.  That combination works in civilized countries, which is why there is less low-level corruption in those locales.

 

High-level corruption is another story.  "Buying off the 'lawmakers'" is a more difficult problem to solve.

[JackThompson]

On 7/27/2018 at 6:34 PM, tropo said:

Where have you been hiding? It's very difficult to live here long term on tourist visas. There are reports on here nearly every week about people with tourist visas being refused entry. The days of trouble-free residence on tourist visas are long over.

Reports of trouble entering With a Tourist Visa have occurred consistently (for years, now) only at Poipet and some airports.  Other land-border crossings are still OK.  If one avoids these dangerous locations, and carries 20K Baht worth of cash (especially if coming from Malaysia), entry with a valid Tourist Visa is not a problem.

[tropo]

2 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Reports of trouble entering With a Tourist Visa have occurred consistently (for years, now) only at Poipet and some airports.  Other land-border crossings are still OK.  If one avoids these dangerous locations, and carries 20K Baht worth of cash (especially if coming from Malaysia), entry with a valid Tourist Visa is not a problem.

OK, thanks for the update. Apart from many reports from people on Tourist visas being turned back at Suvarnabhumi due to staying too long on tourist visas, I'm out of touch, but if you can't come in at the main airport in Thailand, I would consider that a very big problem. Back when I used to do the tourist visa "shuffle", that was always the safe entry point.

[lkv]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

OK, thanks for the update. Apart from many reports from people on Tourist visas being turned back at Suvarnabhumi due to staying too long on tourist visas, I'm out of touch, but if you can't come in at the main airport in Thailand, I would consider that a very big problem. Back when I used to do the tourist visa "shuffle", that was always the safe entry point.

That is Jack's opinion, he is afraid of airports.

 

As BritTim said earlier, the problems mostly appear at visa exempt level, after repeated entries. Holders of tourist visas should not encounter issues. Don't believe all the reports on this forum, many are written by trolls.

Edited July 29, 2018 by lkv

[ubonjoe]

A post containing a quote which had its context changed by snipping it has been removed.

[elviajero]

3 hours ago, tropo said:

OK, thanks for the update. Apart from many reports from people on Tourist visas being turned back at Suvarnabhumi due to staying too long on tourist visas, I'm out of touch, but if you can't come in at the main airport in Thailand, I would consider that a very big problem. Back when I used to do the tourist visa "shuffle", that was always the safe entry point.

It is a problem. It was a "safe entry point" until 'visa runners starting using airports more often; immigration are now reacting to, and dealing with, that change.