Border Crossing Problem at Poi Pet (sa kaeo) (cambodia border)

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, Media1 said:

Surely these people can not decline a legitimate multi entry VISA. This is really becoming a proper scam job. He has every right to use the VISA. I think these people need to be reported formally 

Of course they can. The visa does not give any right to enter. It is the IO that decides whether or not you can enter.

 

I wouldn’t recommend anyone living in the country using a 90 day ME visa to complain to anyone!  They are in the wrong.

[Media1]

36 minutes ago, elviajero said:

Of course they can. The visa does not give any right to enter. It is the IO that decides whether or not you can enter.

 

I wouldn’t recommend anyone living in the country using a 90 day ME visa to complain to anyone!  They are in the wrong.

Rubbish only in Thailand do you hear such rubbish

[elviajero]

38 minutes ago, Media1 said:

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

Of course they can. The visa does not give any right to enter. It is the IO that decides whether or not you can enter.

 

I wouldn’t recommend anyone living in the country using a 90 day ME visa to complain to anyone!  They are in the wrong.

Rubbish only in Thailand do you hear such rubbish

10.  Royal Thai Embassies and Royal Thai Consulates-General have the authority to issue visas to foreigners for travel to Thailand.  The authority to permit entry and stay in Thailand, however, is with the immigration officers.  In some cases, the immigration officer may not permit foreigner holding a valid visa entry into Thailand should the immigration officer find reason to believe that he or she falls into the category of aliens prohibited from entering Thailand under the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979).

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15405-General-information.html

[thecyclist]

Both Ban Laem and Ban Pakkard, 25 km apart, are good for visa runs,I have crossed there numerous times and never paid more than 30$ for the Cambodian visa. They ask for 35, but are not as persistent and nasty as at Had Lek. 

[JackThompson]

15 hours ago, Media1 said:

Rubbish only in Thailand do you hear such rubbish

Not only here - I have heard wild tales of experiences entering nations run by warlords, etc - where the local head-man's "what I say goes." is the final say in all matters.  But, this behavior is not reported to happen in nations as civilized and well-developed as Cambodia, Vietnam, and The Philippines (within the region). 

 

There are specific reasons in the Immigration Act for which one can be denied entry even with a visa.  But then, there are "other" reasons for denial that IOs at only certain points of entry tell people is "the law," after which they stamp a different reason in their passport from what they just said.  This sad and shameful situation is specific to Thailand, within the SEA region.

[Ginkas]

17 hours ago, Media1 said:

Rubbish only in Thailand do you hear such rubbish

Also the UK, the USA and most other countries.

I worked at Heathrow for a while and saw Immigration turn many people away each day, even though they had valid visas - I've seen it happen to Thais as well as other nationalities.

A visa gives the right to travel to the country, it does not guarantee entry.

 

[4evermaat]

1 hour ago, Ginkas said:

Also the UK, the USA and most other countries.

I worked at Heathrow for a while and saw Immigration turn many people away each day, even though they had valid visas - I've seen it happen to Thais as well as other nationalities.

A visa gives the right to travel to the country, it does not guarantee entry.

 

Could you elaborate on the most common reasons why these people were turned away?  

Were there any particular nationalities that stuck out the most?

 

 

[Ginkas]

The officers said that they were not satisfied that the intentions of the arrival were the same as stated at the time they applied for the visa.

Sometimes just questioning was enough, or a search would turn up offers of a job, or they were carrying tools of their trade, or they did not have access to sufficient funds for their stay.

I wasn't working directly with immigration, and was only at Heathrow for a short time before moving on to another port of entry, but travellers from West Africa and South and South East Asia were often refused; I did see two young Americans refused entry (and they didn't need visas), they were back to the USA on the next flight out.

[JackThompson]

11 hours ago, Ginkas said:

The officers said that they were not satisfied that the intentions of the arrival were the same as stated at the time they applied for the visa.

Sometimes just questioning was enough, or a search would turn up offers of a job, or they were carrying tools of their trade, or they did not have access to sufficient funds for their stay.

I wasn't working directly with immigration, and was only at Heathrow for a short time before moving on to another port of entry, but travellers from West Africa and South and South East Asia were often refused; I did see two young Americans refused entry (and they didn't need visas), they were back to the USA on the next flight out.

This sort of thing is very common when a person is traveling from a nation with lower-wages to one with higher-wages - where a strong incentive exists for foreigners to enter with the intention to take a higher-paying job than they could get in their home-country. 

This reason for entry is unlikely going in the other direction - the exception in Thailand being foreign-teachers, who are often refused work-papers by their Thai-employers.  Foreigners are often misled by school personnel into believing a "probationary" period of teaching w/o a work-permit is legal - which it is not.

As to the Americans, a criminal history could trigger this - and in that case, it's a shame whatever background-checks were not run before they made the flight.

[cowbee]

This issue is real, two of my friends also reported that they had a difficulties when entering the kingdom, one from Poi Pet imm, and the other one is from Suvarnabhumi airport, both of them was suspecting for abusing the visa, they asking for hotel booking reservation, return ticket and need to showing money at least 3K baht (can raise up to 20K baht if you don't have hotel reservation and return ticket).

[JackThompson]

On 9/19/2018 at 6:27 PM, cowbee said:

This issue is real, two of my friends also reported that they had a difficulties when entering the kingdom, one from Poi Pet imm,

Best to Never enter there, unless it is your first trip to Thailand, or you only visit once a year for a week.  If coming from Phnom Penh, you can stop at Battambang (which is on the bus-route to Poipet), and get a shared-taxi to the Ban-Laem entry-point.  The taxis leave a couple blocks from where most bus-stations in Battambang operate, and personnel at the bus-stations will direct you to them.

 

Quote

...

and the other one is from Suvarnabhumi airport, both of them was suspecting for abusing the visa, they asking for hotel booking reservation, return ticket and need to showing money at least 3K baht (can raise up to 20K baht if you don't have hotel reservation and return ticket).

The official, written rule for "cash to show" is 10K Baht worth for visa-exempt entry and 20K Baht worth for entering with a Visa.  There is no "3K Baht" rule.  The money can be any readily-convertible currency or travelers checks. 

 

But, there was a report of a lady being denied Visa-Exempt entry with 10K at the airport, when the IO lied and told her it was 20K.  So, in general, it is best to bring as much as possible.  Another fellow was detained and threatened when entering by air, and showed them 150K Baht worth of USD, before being allowed in.

 

When I was using Tourist Visas, I used travelers checks to carry an otherwise unnecessary (in this day and age of electronic-banking) stack of "cash" safely - providing peace-of-mind - especially in seedy border-areas. 

Edited September 21, 2018 by JackThompson