Almost denied at Suvarnabhumi airport

[jacko45k]

2 minutes ago, yogi100 said:

Do you not think that what folk see happening in Pattaya is unique to that city and not typical of the experiences of others elsewhere in Thailand.

It is more stark in Pattaya. But not really relevant to someone being denied entry at Swampy. 

I expect this topic will be clipped of the off-topic posts soon. 

[yogi100]

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

It is more stark in Pattaya. But not really relevant to someone being denied entry at Swampy. 

I expect this topic will be clipped of the off-topic posts soon. 

They are both examples of how things in Thailand are not so rosy in the garden for expats and visitors as they used to be in the past. It's part of the over all experience.

 

You or a friend may have a problem with an IO at the airport and that impression of the country is compounded when you or friends have other negative experiences when you get to wherever you may be going in Thailand. In my case and that of many others that destination just happens to be Pattata.

 

Others are free to give their accounts of instances in Khon Khen, Samui, Surin, BKK or Phuket or anywhere else that is relevant to their experiences.

[yogi100]

An individual may have an unpleasant episode upon arrival at the airport. First impressions count for a lot.

 

When he or she gets to their hotel they find the staff surly and unwelcoming.

 

They then finds it all more expensive than they'd hoped it would be. They also get ripped off in bars and possibly shops and restaurants.

 

Their reception at immigration is just part of their total holiday experience and may well result in their never ever coming back If their hosts do not nip this behaviour in the bud.

 

My friend got grilled at the airport upon arrival and it's made me bit concerned about any future trips to Thailand. It's a long way to come at considerable cost to fly to a country where some bad tempered IO who got out of the wrong side of the bed that morning decides to refuse you entry!

 

Word will get about and folk will stop coming and the people who rely on tourism such as airport workers, taxi drivers, hotel staff, bar and restaurant workers, coach drivers and vendors and so on will all suffer in the future. Don't forget ex pats use the services of these people as well, probably more so than the two week wonders ever will.

 

Whether or not the Thai authorities are concerned about this remains to be seen.

[Thaidream]

1 hour ago, yogi100 said:

But whether you like Pattaya or not is not the issue. What is happening in Pattaya must surely be an indication of what is happening elsewhere in the resorts and ex pat enclaves of the LOS?

 

We're hearing similar concerns and tales of woe from falangs in Phuket and Bangkok etc.

 

Things may not be much different up in the boondocks nor the villages where fewer falangs live but in the more popular resorts and larger towns and cities many falangs are beginning to feel just a little bit jittery if not decidedly unwelcome.

Absolutely spot on-  it's not only Pattaya - the number of Western tourists has declined vastly over the last few years.

 

I always go by the 'eye test'-  what I see not hear. 

 

I have lived in Bangkok for decades and many of the old haunts are either closed or devoid of customers.  That not only includes the  'entertainment sections'- like Nana and Cowboy but even the smaller  bars on Soi 22 and Soi 33. When  I check into a hotel   along Sukhumvit- there are hardly any Westerners there- where in the past it was  packed. Immigration at CW used to  be 70% Westerners 30% other and it is now reversed.

 

A few months ago went to Issan and in 5 days there- near the Mekong River- I saw 2 Western tourists, closed small hotels on the river and  hardly any entertainment except a few bars-mostly devoid of people.

 

A recent article i read showing the  top 10 Nationalities  coming to Thailand- showed only the Russians at number 9 on the list. All the rest were from Asian countries. There was a time when the British; Americans; Germans and French were in the top 10/

 

The fact is that there are less and less Western tourists coming and living in Thailand and situations like the  OP reported are happening more often and being reported almost weekly on this forum. (Not the helping but the rejection)

 

I persona;;y have never  experienced  any issues with Immigration except once years ago when they asked me to present a 25 year old passport so they could make sure I was in Thailand  the same day my Thai marriage certificate indicated .  This was simply a ruse and when I went back later with the passport they were quite surprised and issued me the extension.  

 

IMO  the Immigration officers at the airport- where most of the visitors come into Thailand, have been ordered to pull out people they view as 'suspicious' or fitting a certain profile-  young; many visits to Thailand; dressed shabbily; many tattoos; looking jittery or sweating; no means of support' no ongoing  reservations.  Once in the back room- the norm would be to speak loud; accuse the visittor of violating Immigration law etc.  At this point most visitors give up-get rattled- and can't wait to leave. Sometimes an offer of help is agreed to.

 

IMO, I don't think it happens only to Westerners but all Nationalities. We just don't hear about the other Nationalities as they don't post to this Board. It is rather interesting to note that the Thai Tourist Minister wants Visa Free entry for Chinese and Indian tourists but was denied- the Thai news  quoted General Prawit as indicating that China and India had billions of citizens and visa free entry would allow people to come in who would never leave and he scuttled the scheme.

 

This whole crackdown on entry and Visas started as a National Security issue when Thailand realized  there were  alot of criminals getting in; potential terrorists; illegal workers and thousands of overstayers. They started to strictly enforce certain laws based upon their profiles; dragged out dormant laws and generally  swung the pendumlumfrom  left to right. 

IMo- at some point the powers to be will realize that they have contributed to a perfect storm- fewer tourists due to the enhanced security measures; overvaluation of the Baht; bad publicity; increased competition; poor management and  attempting to turn Thailand from an exotic destination into Singapore.  

[Straight8]

On 9/1/2019 at 5:12 AM, bigginhill said:

You showed them you had Thai friends waiting for you? On line and facebook, and that resolved the entry? Not sure that I understand why that works 

probably friends in high places... well connected.

[Celer et Audax]

Fred, What's 'very much 555' code for?

The Thai word for 5 is Ha so 555 = hahaha as in laughing at the situation/comment or post


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[JohnnyBKK]

One of my friends couldn't enter and the IO asked him to buy some whisky bottles to help him "think" about his situation. He did so and he was let in. It seems like whisky is a good helper to take the right decision.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, JohnnyBKK said:

One of my friends couldn't enter and the IO asked him to buy some whisky bottles to help him "think" about his situation. He did so and he was let in. It seems like whisky is a good helper to take the right decision.

Unless you're just taking the P (I really can't tell, considering all these mind-boggling threads recently), this thing seems to be spreading like crazy. Have they figured out that extracting a payment for passage is more lucrative than getting a kickback from the detention room company?

[Straight8]

On 9/1/2019 at 12:19 PM, mockingbird said:

I know logically, why would you get a tourist visa when you can enter on a 90 day visa exemption, but the reality is that you are far more exposed to having problems with immigration on a visa exempt than a tourist visa.

which makes no ******* sense. Why have a 90 day exempt entry option at all if it makes you a possible target.

 

[Martyp]

21 minutes ago, Straight8 said:

which makes no ******* sense. Why have a 90 day exempt entry option at all if it makes you a possible target.

 

Visa exempt is great for first time visitors. The OP was a target because of his previous travel history in Thailand. There are no requirements for visa exempt. For a proper visa he would have to meet the visa requirements with would, presumably, make him less of a target.

[MadMuhammad]

On 9/1/2019 at 1:42 AM, donnacha said:

Terrific, thank you.

@Farangland Was your donation roughly in the same ballpark?

 

A close friend had the same situation returning after a previous denial on an SETV. He started with $100us, head shake. $200us, head shake. $300us was the magic number 

He had a long history of VE, ED and TV’s

[donnacha]

11 hours ago, MadMuhammad said:

$300us was the magic number 

Almost 10K baht, that's shocking but what choice do we have given the cost of flights, accommodation, disruption etc?

Perfect shakedown situation, they know we all have large amounts of cash thanks to the ridiculous 20K rule.

On the bright side, it still works out cheaper than an Elite visa if you only get hit a few times per year  ????

 

 

11 hours ago, MadMuhammad said:

He had a long history of VE, ED and TV’s

 

My worry is that, as the definition of "undesirable" continues to expand, the temptation to expand this shakedown to almost any westerner who visits more than once per year will be too much to resist. Pocketing 10K a few times per shift would be life-changing for any Thai - this is probably the only country in which someone could start as a policeman, as Thaksin did, and end up as one of the richest and most powerful men in the country.

A lot of us might end up being glad we have a "friend" we can arrange to give a mere 3.5K to instead, as it has been suggested is now happening at certain airports.