APEC card (what do I write on my arrival form and what to say at immigration.)

[inalyat]

Having been a member for a number of years and taking on board many suggestions and comments, I tend to stay silent and soak it all in, not comment nor post. 

To get to the point of my question I’ll give some background information which may bore some people, but please bear with me. 

I have lived In thailand for approx the last 10 years, done all the silly things including married, children (not the silly thing) and divorced (again not the silly thing, however the outcome was) several costly court appearances I eventually got joint custody of my children. 

Having also worked internationally I have never really required a proper visa and always got the rubber stamp 30 days on arrival. The last few years haven’t been favorable, haven’t worked and had no income (although I have the amount required in a thai bank account for any visa), this required me to get a non o visa to stay to jointly look after my children, but here is the dilemma,

i now live in Roi Et, my children in Nong Bua Lam Phu, (why Roi Et I hear you ask, well it’s the mid way point between my children and my current Missus family to keep my kids close enough and her parent far enough away, the happy medium so to speak), I pick my children up after school on fridays and have them with me until they start school Monday mornings, or longer if there is a public holiday and I have them on all school holidays. I further pay all school fees and medical insurances as was court ordered. Despite doing this I can not turn the non o into a dependent parent visa as I live in a different province and immigration don’t see how I “jointly” look after them from a different location. Sure, I could bullshit my way through and get a false address etc etc which I did and submitted in Nong Bua Lam Phu to meet this but again, for reasons too hard to explain I was knocked back again. This left me with an only option of non o multi entry which I have had and renewed for 2 years. 

Now going out of the country every 90 days is a pain in the bum, not to mention the stamps quickly fill a passport which causes another headache, just to meet requirements of not breaching a visa to allow me to stay and look after my kids, but now I digress. 

I have recently tried to renew the visa but was knocked back on multi entry but paid the price of hotels and visa (single entry only) and other minor expenses, nothing that breaks the bank but still unnecessary . 

I have a legitimate APEC card that I have never used for Thailand is I try to do it right, but now I am forced into using it, if anything it will save on unnecessary hotels and visa costs to get the same 90 day stay on a single entry non o (unless someone gives me other options and instructions on how to stay in Thailand another way without having to leave, note well I am not old enough for a retirement visa)

 

so after the long winded pre amble, can some one advise me what I need to put on my arrival card when using the APEC card, obviously not tourist, transit. Maybe business? But then I’m not on business and don’t have a business visa or do I put “other” and if so what do I write as other, particularly if questioned. And what will happen if I use my APEC card at the same border or even at different land borders on multiple back to back entries? Has there been any knockbacks with this, do they always give 90 days or do I have to request it and give a reason why?

 

I know its its long winded but don’t want the authorities to get me on some jumped up technicality (even though I’m using APEC for a purpose other than its intention) but i feel I’m left with little legitimate choices. 

 

Im open to all comments. 

Thanks in advance. 

 

 

[Lamkyong]

for those who dont know like me

Thai businessmen can apply for a business card for the APEC business (ABTC), which is a project in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) framework that aims to facilitate Travel between businessmen of APEC members. ABTC cards are like visas. 5 years validity. ABTC cardholders can use in conjunction with passports to enter other economies participating in the APEC business travel card program (instead of business visa). 
 

[kmw]

I had an apec card about 10 years ago, as i worked in wholesale travel back then, did lots of travel both for business and pleasure, mainly dealing with airlines and ground operators, always used the diplomat lanes for immigration, never an issue, on the arrival card I would always tick both holiday and business, 

 

Apec cards are now much harder to obtain these days, well for Australian based business that is, they don't hand them out as much as before, 

 

I would assume that an IO seeing an apec card would treat the individual the same as seeing an elite card, diplomatic passport etc, so I don't see much issue, in the very unlikely event you get asked just tell them the truth, your here seeing family, however the chances of them questioning apec, dip, elite holders is non existent

[thedemon]

The entry rules vary slightly from economy to economy but all are quite clear that entry using an APEC card is only allowed for business purposes (but not paid employment). However there doesn't appear to be any definition of "business" in the rules.

 

I don't use the card for entry to Thailand but I have used it to enter Vietnam at least 50 times and probably a couple of dozen entries to China. I don't recall ever being asked a single question by an immigration officer. They have always simply stamped me in for the prescribed period.

 

It was a different story though when last year I made a brief visit to Japan. I went there primarily to visit an old friend and as such had ticked "tourist" on the landing card. I was running late and was dismayed to see a long queue at immigration until I noticed the sign for ABTC with no queue at all. So I quickly jumped under the barrier and into the ABTC lane. That caught the attention of an officer who came up to me and asked to see my APEC card. He scanned my docs and said I can't enter with APEC because it's only for business and I have ticked tourism. I hadn't been expecting that so quickly said sorry that was a mistake to which he raised his eyebrows but nevertheless altered my landing card and let me go. When I got to the Immigration officer, I was asked what my business in Japan was and what was the name of the company I would be visiting as he entered my answer into his computer terminal. Luckily I could remember my friends company name so gave him that. Fortunately that was it and he let me go. Multiple years using the card without question had made me blasé about the rules so that was a bit of a wake-up.

 

A Vietnamese friend of mine that also has an APEC card told me that some Viets have been refused entry to other APEC member countries when they were not able to provide sufficient proof of a business reason for visiting and have been sent back.

 

So to answer your question about what box to tick on your TM6 arrival card - definitely business and just in case, have some vague business reason for entering. Could be just e.g. considering an investment.

 

I have a friend that enters BKK very frequently using his APEC card. He says that he has never been queried but occasionally gets an IO that doesn't know the rules i.e. 90 days entry. As the previous poster mentions, APEC cards have got harder to obtain in recent years so there possibly aren't enough of them being used for Thai Immigration to worry about. Perhaps also the fact that ABTC cards are part of a multilateral agreement between APEC countries, Immigration would be less inclined to kick up a fuss about potential abuse.

 

I would have thought that if an ABTC holder was to start using the card to enter at land borders on back-to-back 90 day entries, that is bound to attract unwanted attention. But that's only my opinion. Maybe Immigration officers would see that the rules don't forbid it and so not care.