Back you go! Thirteen foreigners with no money denied entry to Thailand

[scorecard]

50 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Please, help me.....I'm so afraid to carry $700. USD cash, the bad man may rob me. 

If your an American easy answer just keep carrying your sidearm.

[EVENKEEL]

2 minutes ago, scorecard said:

If your an American easy answer just keep carrying your sidearm.

Comment makes no sense, I take it you're one of the many fraidy cats.

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Badbanker said:

Let's realise that we are dealing with a legal system that is still very much into paper in all forms.

Most countries are into plastic credit cards.  We do paper cash!

 

Frankly in the past 10 years I have always travelled internationally with the equivalent of USD 500 cash in some form or I would be stupid!

 

Just think about it this way.  If you don't have a chunk of cash in your hand before you leave, and there is a potential to get denied entry you are stupid. 

 

I'm sure the cost of your plane ticket is a lot more than USD 500, so if you are ready to leave home without USD 500 cash, be prepared to also throw away the cost of the plane ticket, and screw up your trip.

 

Most other countries in Asia give non resident ID cards to keep track of foreigners.  We have to do paper TM30 reports every time we travel in country!

 

A minor point, folks who travel with just one source of funds. typically an ATM card useable internationally are taking quite some risk, theft, loss, leave your bag in a taxi etc., etc. All travellers should have a second way to gain funds, for some it's cash and there are plenty of ways to hide cash. 

 

[Number 6]

2 hours ago, stillhereandlovinit said:

And so it should, either money in the bank or mandatory insurance.

For tourists? Surely you jest.

[Sujo]

I have never travelled with anything more than $50 cash to any country. I just use an atm at the airport to get local currency. 

 

I have also never had any kind of insurance at all, ever.

 

So I think Thailand is off the list more my long weekends away every month.

[Briggsy]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

Note that having the required 10,000/20,000 baht as laid out in the regulations will not help if the immigration official wants to deny entry.

Absolutely correct.

 

When I was denied entry, under sections (2) & (3), nobody asked me if I was carrying any cash.

[Smiles]

2 hours ago, Badbanker said:

Sadly this Article 12 (2) and (9) has been used against people without them knowing about it on many occasions when arriving in the kingdom.  This has become the most common excuse to deny foreigners entry into Thailand.

 

The real reason is that the person has too many visa exempt entries into Thailand in the computer and in their passport!  

 

I know that in the past year on some days at land borders, 30 plus people were denied entry on visa exempt stamps and sent back.

 

I have gone so far at to recommend that friends who visit Thailand on a regular basis on a visa exempt stamp, actually have the requisite 20,000 baht cash and a return ticket in hand and put them on the counter with their passport when approaching the immigration officer.

 

Most times it works, but sometimes it doesn't!

 

Did they get back the 20,000 baht? A small misunderstanding if the custom officer kept it LOL

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

The insurance thing keeps popping up.

It's a slow burner but it's coming soon for everybody!!

 

The same questions were asked last time this subject popped up for incoming tourists with Immigration.

 

There IS no current requirement for any kind of insurance for folks arriving on visa exempt or tourist visas.... and even the proposed O-A health insurance requirement hasn't actually gone into effect yet, AFAIK.

 

So how is it exactly that Immigration is citing lack of insurance as the basis for denying entry to people... The lack of money part, that's clear. But insurance, not.

 

[Sticky Wicket]

6 minutes ago, Sujo said:

I have never travelled with anything more than $50 cash to any country. I just use an atm at the airport to get local currency. 

 

I have also never had any kind of insurance at all, ever.

 

So I think Thailand is off the list more my long weekends away every month.

The stupid thing is you aren't even allowed to go to a cash point and withdraw it ( if asked)

[Briggsy]

2 hours ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

And you know this how?

Just curious......

Do I have millions of baht in bank accounts? Yes, sure do.

Do I have lots of credit cards? Yes

Was I denied entry for "having no means to support myself"? Sure was. ????

 

Nothing was ever asked about money. Just a bogus reason stamped in the passport and held in detention till the flight out.

 

Trust me, Mr Mcseismic. It happens every day.

 

 

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, Sticky Wicket said:

The insurance thing keeps popping up.

It's a slow burner but it's coming soon for everybody!!

Says who?  That has not been mooted anywhere.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Just Weird

[grantbkk]

Immigration looks at travel history and many other factors besides not carrying cash. These are people taken to secondary and questioned before they are expelled. I personally think they are lazy thinking they will get back in again without any cash on them.  

[Time Traveller]

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Put a boot mark on the back of their pants.

Goodbye!

And you too.  

[Just Weird]

3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I find it hard to believe that so many people in one day arrived without any money. As we all know the ATM machines are located AFTER immigration, and we have all heard of countless occasions when people with plenty of money have been denied before they got that far. 

As we all know, the location of the ATMs is immaterial.  Doesn't the Act state that visitors may need to show evidence of funds before they're granted entry, not on the basis of "let me in and I promise I'll go to an ATM after you've stamped permission to stay in my passport?

 

We have all heard of countless occasions when people who claim to have plenty of money have been denied before they got that far and then expect the regulations to be changed just for them. 

[onekoolguy]

26 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

A minor point, folks who travel with just one source of funds. typically an ATM card useable internationally are taking quite some risk, theft, loss, leave your bag in a taxi etc., etc. All travellers should have a second way to gain funds, for some it's cash and there are plenty of ways to hide cash. 

 

Good point. A friend visiting here left his atm card in the machine while he counted his money. It dinged a few times and then sucked the card back in and no amount of argument with the bank could get his card back!

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, webledink33 said:

EMPTY PURSES!  Tourism is a quality seeking venture now! New Que at the airport will read EXPRESS ONSITE VISA/ Have wallets and bank books open prior to approaching Immigration desk... Those deemed rich enough may pass!

 

Que?

[smedly]

2 hours ago, userabcd said:

If they were genuine tourists then, as a minimum, they would have before their departure from their home country purchased a travel insurance for the duration of their stay. Not very expensive.

totally agree, some banks and CC companies even give it free but it has limits on how many times in a 12 month period - it would certainly put an end to visa runners

 

mandatory travel insurance is for sure a good idea but doesn't work for all - especially for long trips that many young people do as an example 

[Time Traveller]

35 minutes ago, scorecard said:

If your an American easy answer just keep carrying your sidearm.

oh... I get it, you're having a go about American gun laws in a topic about Thailand immigration.

Does Trump really get you that upset? Need a man's shoulder to cry on?

[Traubert]

1 hour ago, Sticky Wicket said:

I'm not convinced, I've heard numerous stories about it being thai baht only.

How would they be able to read the country of origin of the notes?

IMO they aren't going to mess about verifying the country of origin and working out if it is over 20k

A few years ago I got to Victory Monument and I had no Thai cash. 

Trying to change a 20 quid note with Thais was like I was some kind of witch doctor. It was early in the morning and no exchanges were open. It took almost an hour before somebody could recognise the note and it's worth

Sigh.....

 

https://travelhappy.info/thailand/new-proof-of-cash-requirement-for-all-tourists-entering-thailand/

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, KittenKong said:

The carrying cash requirement is straight out of the dark ages. Thailand really needs to wake up.

 

I spent three entire months in the US and Europe armed with just three credit cards and the equivalent of 100USD in cash. At the end of the trips I still had 80USD cash left, as all my expenditure had been done with cards. That included hotels, car rentals, fuel, all meals ......

Yes, but you probably had a visa to enter the country!  

[madmen]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

they were three each from Ethiopia, India and Myanmar and two each from Vietnam and South Korea. 

This group was targeted. Where are the europeans, americans etc ? no way they were all carrying 20k

[geronimo]

I doubt if any person with no funds could enter any country these days .....

[Time Traveller]

1 minute ago, madmen said:

This group was targeted. Where are the europeans, americans etc ? no way they were all carrying 20k

Yeah those Ethopian/Indian/Myanmar/Vietnamese are such high spending tourists. Strange they were targeted. Very strange indeed. 

[geronimo]

8 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Que?

Spanish for "what"

[Sticky Wicket]

3 minutes ago, Traubert said:

Sigh.....

 

https://travelhappy.info/thailand/new-proof-of-cash-requirement-for-all-tourists-entering-thailand/

You may well sigh.

You link a page from 2010 way before the country was taken over by the Junta

In 2010 you could travel at will without a question being asked on various visas

I think you will find things have changed drastically since then

[Time Traveller]

2 minutes ago, geronimo said:

I doubt if any person with no funds could enter any country these days .....

Drug mules often do. Others buy their tickets.

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, Lee65 said:

People are being refused entry who have millions of baht in their bank accounts, and several credit cards.

Really?  How do you know that much about the contents of visitors' bank accounts? 

By the way, credit cards are irrelevant, they provide no evidence of having money.

[jacko45k]

3 hours ago, stillhereandlovinit said:

And so it should, either money in the bank or mandatory insurance.

Which bank? They were claiming to be tourists.

[david555]

3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I find it hard to believe that so many people in one day arrived without any money. As we all know the ATM machines are located AFTER immigration, and we have all heard of countless occasions when people with plenty of money have been denied before they got that far. As for being denied for no insurance, I wasn't aware that had become mandatory yet.

Wrong ..!! there are ATM on air side a few even 1 just before reaching immigration 

[smedly]

2 hours ago, nev said:

What if you transfer money to your bank account in Thailand before you come and you only carry small cash and credit cards.

Sure I they are not going to knock you back because you don't have 20,000 Baht cash on you.

I have never heard of a tourist having a bank account in a country they travel too