It finally happened! Denied entry at BKK on METV

[racket]

3 hours ago, Steviee said:

Racket, I suppose the OP has a 2 month METV. Do you know if the situation is different for the (relative) new 6 months METV's ? I have had a few and never had an issue although last time they asked my to explain why i wanted to go back to Thailand and to explicitly state i won't be working.      

 

There's no 2 month METV and I suppose you mean by the single entry which gives you 2 months plus 30 extra days optionally. There shouldn't be any issues with having a history of METVs in your visa compared to SETV. The biggest enemy will be if you abuse the entries within a calendar year - keep it at 3 entry maximum to stay safe. Those with a METV should stay in the kingdom for 8-9 months and stay off for at least 3 months after applying for a new. 

Edited September 26, 2019 by racket
corrected sentence.

[stevenl]

11 hours ago, bbi1 said:

Please explain which non-immigrant visa is suitable for a person under 50, isn't married to a Thai, doesn't work in a company here and only stays here for long-term holidaying?

Elite or ed.

But why do you want to stay in a country where the visa situation is difficult for you?

[Mitkof Island]

I would have asked the person asking for money what their name and rank was. This is something that should be posted in a Letter To The Editor to the Bangkok Post and also have a story written in your local newspaper.

[bigginhill]

10 hours ago, mngmn said:

Five years in Thailand initially VE and then four consecutive multiple entry non immigrant O's. Monthly trips in and out of Thailand all in my Australian passport.

 

Refused a fifth non immigrant visa and so switched to UK passport and have to date made six VE entries. UK passport had never been used to enter Thailand.

 

UK passport is linked to biometrics but Australian is not. As soon as the two passports are linked by biometrics it's game over. Also wondering how many more VE entries I can do on my UK passport.

Grow a beard long side burns, change your parting, and take a photo.  I,d give it a try.

 

[SABloke]

20 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Even people with METV (for which proof of employment and /or sufficient funds is required) from their home countries are now refused entry. Utterly absurd. 

A more accurate statement would be: "Some person claims that he/she was denied entry on a valid visa (no photo of it) in his brand new passport (denial stamp on page 9 so maybe not so new after all - yes, IOs can stamp where they want, but in 10 years I never had an IO stray more than a page from my last stamp) for not having enough funds. That's all we truly know.

[Steviee]

1 hour ago, racket said:

 

There's no 2 month METV and I suppose you mean by the single entry which gives you 2 months plus 30 extra days optionally. There shouldn't be any issues with having a history of METVs in your visa compared to SETV. The biggest enemy will be if you abuse the entries within a calendar year - keep it at 3 entry maximum to stay safe. Those with a METV should stay in the kingdom for 8-9 months and stay off for at least 3 months after applying for a new. 

That is even more confusing or maybe i don't get it. If the problem for immigration is that they don't want foreigners living/working in thailand, why then would it be ok to stay 8/9 months at a time (which still requires at least 2 outside trips and 3 local visa extentions) rather then a few trips per year? people living/working in a country tend to stay therefor longer periods of time, tourists tend to fly in and out of countries.  

[BritTim]

9 hours ago, onera1961 said:

I think every IO through out the world has the same power - to deny entry even with a visa.

14 hours ago, BritTim said:

If they believe Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff in embassies are issuing visas improperly, they should take it up with the MFA. It is just not reasonable that they override the decision of the embassy to issue the visa, and simply state that you are denied entry because you should not have been issued that visa. That is really precisely what they are doing.

In Thailand, they do not officially have the power they are given by law in most other countries. With the exception of the Minister, immigration officials are supposed to decide on whether someone should be granted or denied entry strictly according to criteria in the Immigration Act. I believe those drafting the Act wrote it that way specifically because giving officials discretion greatly increases the scope for corruption. Of course, if the law as written is not being followed, and officials can ignore it without consequences, then immigration officials do have a lot of power in practice.

 

There was, in fact, very little corruption with respect to entry through Thai airports for many years until recently (customs was another matter). Now, the law as specified in the Immigration Act is not being enforced at certain airports, people are being denied as and when officials feel like it, and (as you can read on this and other threads) corrupt practices are becoming common.

[BritTim]

52 minutes ago, Mitkof Island said:

I would have asked the person asking for money what their name and rank was. This is something that should be posted in a Letter To The Editor to the Bangkok Post and also have a story written in your local newspaper.

The Bangkok Post would not publish it for legal reasons. The fact that it is 100% true and backed up with incontrovertible evidence would be irrelevant. You can face jail time and large fines for posting true information about someone in Thailand if it makes them look bad.

[Scott]

Troll post reported and removed.  

 

[SteveK]

The OP still hasn't said why it is that he needs to spend so much of his time in Thailand.

[donim]

Are you from Vancover?

[Mitkof Island]

11 minutes ago, BritTim said:

The Bangkok Post would not publish it for legal reasons. The fact that it is 100% true and backed up with incontrovertible evidence would be irrelevant. You can face jail time and large fines for posting true information about someone in Thailand if it makes them look bad.

At the very least have a article written about it in Canada

[jackdd]

28 minutes ago, SABloke said:

denial stamp on page 9 so maybe not so new after all - yes, IOs can stamp where they want, but in 10 years I never had an IO stray more than a page from my last stamp

The way they count pages in a passport is afaik different in each country, also the number of details and info pages.

For example in a German passport the first page which somebody could use is page 7, but they like to skip this page, i never had anybody put anything on this page. So if they would attach the sticker of a visa in a completely new passport on page 8, then the very first entry / denial stamp would also end up on page 9.

Can very well be that it's similar to this for a Canadian passport.

[Happy Grumpy]

5 hours ago, bbi1 said:

Well, look at the oldie grey nomad visa aka retirement visa. Lots of old retired who don't work, study, marry or parent and are on the retirement visa. Guess they are also "absolutely arrogant" too.

Thanks.

 

But I'm not yet 40. ????

[elviajero]

13 hours ago, bbi1 said:

Would it help the OP if he had a Thai gf and if she was waiting at the airport to pick him up?

Yes it might help. I would recommend anyone with a Thai friend to get a letter inviting them to stay and giving the address. Also a copy of the persons ID and phone number is a good idea. No guarantee it will help, but it won't hurt and it has swayed IO's in the past to let the tourist in.

[Steviee]

1 hour ago, SteveK said:

The OP still hasn't said why it is that he needs to spend so much of his time in Thailand.

Why is that of concern to anyone? 

[Tayaout]

2 hours ago, SABloke said:

A more accurate statement would be: "Some person claims that he/she was denied entry on a valid visa (no photo of it) in his brand new passport (denial stamp on page 9 so maybe not so new after all - yes, IOs can stamp where they want, but in 10 years I never had an IO stray more than a page from my last stamp) for not having enough funds. That's all we truly know.

For some reason I got my denial stamp on the page before the last one. There was still about 8 free pages. My Thai wife they skipped the first page. When I went to Egypt on another passport they stamped the last page on a passport with only 3 used pages probably because they read from right to left. 

Edited September 26, 2019 by Tayaout

[SteveK]

1 hour ago, Steviee said:

Why is that of concern to anyone? 

Because he is effectively living in Thailand on tourist visas, which is exactly what Thailand's immigration department is going all out to prevent people from doing - if we knew more about his situation and why he feels the need to keep coming back to Thailand, perhaps someone could offer a suitable way of staying longer without him being hassled and sent back to Canada?

 

[sampson]

1 hour ago, SteveK said:

Because he is effectively living in Thailand on tourist visas, which is exactly what Thailand's immigration department is going all out to prevent people from doing - if we knew more about his situation and why he feels the need to keep coming back to Thailand, perhaps someone could offer a suitable way of staying longer without him being hassled and sent back to Canada?

 

 

The OP hasn't complained or said anything that merits him having to justify his actions to strangers on the internet. He's just pointed out the facts which many regular tourist visa users appreciate.  Also, without a comprehensive list of his dates we can't say he's living here, he's just had 2 months out for a start. 

 

There are many reasons why he might be coming on a tourist visa regularly. For example, you might have a Thai GF you want to spend 6 months of the year with over 3 or 4 trips, but you don't want to go all in on marriage just yet, perfectly normal and sensible. Elite is expensive if the relationship breaks down and you may not want to come back, and business visa's aren't really viable as you won't be here for so long.  So in that scenario, you'd want to use tourist visa's until you'd had time to make your next decision or your hand was forced.  

 

Not everybody uses them to flog tours and live on Phi Phi for 12k a month

 

[Selatan]

3 minutes ago, sampson said:

 

Not everybody uses them to flog tours and live on Phi Phi for 12k a month

 

How widespread do you think foreigners are misusing tourist visas to live on the cheap and working illegally in Thailand? Do you think the higher rate of rejection of entries are justified or not?

[sanemax]

12 hours ago, Selatan said:

How widespread do you think foreigners are misusing tourist visas to live on the cheap and working illegally in Thailand? Do you think the higher rate of rejection of entries are justified or not?

Most of the TV reported rejections , nearly every time , the IO has made the right call .

[sanemax]

12 hours ago, sampson said:

 

There are many reasons why he might be coming on a tourist visa regularly. 

 

He has been asked , but he hasnt given an answer

[Selatan]

2 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Most of the TV reported rejections , nearly every time , the IO has made the right call .

As a Malaysian, this is the part that I do not understand - why would many young farangs want to waste their career opportunities back home by coming to live in Thailand long term anyway?

[Ron jeremy]

51 minutes ago, Selatan said:

As a Malaysian, this is the part that I do not understand - why would many young farangs want to waste their career opportunities back home by coming to live in Thailand long term anyway?

Same as most men, hookers. Certainly not beaches and temples.

[ukrules]

On 9/26/2019 at 12:31 AM, jsmith22 said:

Any suggestions?

I wouldn't ever come back if they did this to me and I'd make sure all the newspapers, etc were informed about how you've been randomly extorted and then booted out of the country for not paying a bribe.

[Tayaout]

2 hours ago, Selatan said:

As a Malaysian, this is the part that I do not understand - why would many young farangs want to waste their career opportunities back home by coming to live in Thailand long term anyway?

What career? I don't need work. Go spend the winter in Canada and we can talk ????

 

I remember the first time I went to Langkawi in December. I was floating on my back in the warm sea and then exploded in laughter when I thought about my current situation vs the misery that was the Canadian winter at the exact same time. 

 

Since then, I got married and now have a child. If I had to choose between spending my best years working on a career or my current life the choice is easy. I respect those who choose career vs enjoying themselves but I don't need billions. 

 

I came to Thailand by luck when I was traveling the world. I genuinely enjoy the place and spent only 5 months in Sukhumvit before getting out of the usual expat destination. I very rarely drink and really hates any kind of bar or pub (for some reason I can't hear anyone when they talk) so I'm not here for the redlights. 

Edited September 26, 2019 by Tayaout

[Tomahawk21]

On 9/26/2019 at 1:53 AM, Ron jeremy said:

Why would you take another chance????? They don't want you there! Perhaps it time to move on. 

Last I checked Thailand was not the only country in the world. 

Dont understand why people are putting themselves thru all this aggravation.

pussy ???????????

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, donnacha said:

Whatever the potential of those new markets, there was no credible economic reason to destroy their existing western tourist business, they could have developed their Chinese and Indian business alongside it. It is an act of stunning pique and short-sightedness.

I actually see this response as short sighted. It is more efficient to pursue the mass markets which, in case you had't noticed, come from much closer to Thailand. Chinese tourists can get here overland. I also do not see it as intentionally destroying existing tourist base, just natural development, taking the path of least resistance. Let me see, 200 Chinese in the hotel or 2 whinging Westerners.... 

Edited September 26, 2019 by jacko45k

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, donnacha said:

I often wonder if the members who indulge in this form of virtue signaling are simply very young.

I wish.....

It appears to me it is the young who show this arrogant self appointed sense of entitlement and believe they have a right to abuse the Visa system of foreign places, and live in Thailand... then cry to their governments when it all goes wrong. 

[ubonjoe]

This topic has already run its course. Over 250 posts in less than 24 hours on the same subject that has been discussed many times in other topics with no new information. Just a lot of bickering, Thai bashing and flaming posts.

Topic now