Thai Tourist Visa issued in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam? No more visa exempt allowed (Visa run 2022)

[seeriipaap]

During “my friend’s” 3rd visa exempt entry this year the IO (supervisor level) at DM airport almost denied entry and only gave a 30 day stamp after purchased a ticket out of Thailand right in front of them. IO said they were writing a note in the file that if a 30 day extension was requested it should be denied and would get a 1 year ban. That IO said have to apply for a visa from outside Thailand, no more visa exempt entries. I don’t know if just got unlucky with the IO who made up a new rule or if there is now a limit on visa exempt entries.

 

Intend to do a visa run to Vietnam to apply for a Tourist Visa.

 

Have any experience getting a Thai Tourist Visa issued in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam?

 

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by seeriipaap

[DrJack54]

10 minutes ago, seeriipaap said:

Have any experience getting a Thai Tourist Visa issued in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam?

Very simple process at consulate in Saigon.

Bonus is a very fun city.

Did your friend consider obtaining SETV at eg Vientiane.

The advantage is that avoids scrutiny at airport on reenter.

 

BTW Much of what the io stated was rubbish.

One example.....

"IO said they were writing a note in the file that if a 30 day extension was requested it should be denied and would get a 1 year ban"......rubbish.

 

You mentioned 3rd visa exempt. Where did friend fly into Thailand from? 

Also time between entries. 

Edited August 9, 2022 by DrJack54

[BritTim]

Going for a tourist visa from HCMC is a decent plan. Doing that, in addition to avoiding entering Thailand via either of the Bangkok airports would be even better. There is a small risk of Immigration (improperly) denying entry with a tourist visa at the Bangkok airports. This has not been reported ever at Chiang Mai airport as far as I am aware.

 

Also safe, twice per calendar year, is visa exempt entry at almost all land crossings. It is only at airports where there is close scrutiny of your immigration history.

[seeriipaap]

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Very simple process at consulate in Saigon.

Bonus is a very fun city.

Did your friend consider obtaining SETV at eg Vientiane.

The advantage is that avoids scrutiny at airport on reenter.

 

BTW Much of what the io stated was rubbish.

One example.....

"IO said they were writing a note in the file that if a 30 day extension was requested it should be denied and would get a 1 year ban"......rubbish.

 

You mentioned 3rd visa exempt. Where did friend fly into Thailand from? 

Also time between entries. 

If that IO was wrong, would it be an even better plan to use an agent to request the 30 day extension?

 

Friend spent a month in Canada between each visa exempt entry.

[seeriipaap]

The reason the low level IO passed this to supervisor IO is because was entering Thailand before the date of a COVID extension expired and IO didn’t know how to process that. 

 

Got a 60 day covid extension 

Stayed 7 days

Spent 30 days in Canada

Returned to Thailand 23 days before the 60 day extension end date

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by seeriipaap

[JoseThailand]

13 hours ago, seeriipaap said:

IO said they were writing a note in the file that if a 30 day extension was requested it should be denied and would get a 1 year ban.

This is just scaremongering. There is no limitation on airport entries. And a 1 year ban is a total nonsense. The reasons for a ban are clearly defined and always involve overstay.

Edited August 9, 2022 by JoseThailand

[darrenr]

 I thought you can get unlimited visa exemption ( 30 day tourist visa ) if you arrive and depart via airport ?

[DrJack54]

2 hours ago, darrenr said:

 I thought you can get unlimited visa exemption ( 30 day tourist visa ) if you arrive and depart via airport ?

People have been refused entry having entered multiple times visa exempt via air.

Especially if the entries are "back to back" with short periods out of Thailand.

 

[darrenr]

Thanks what’s considered ‘short periods,out of Thailand “ would going for 2-4 weeks to another country be long enough away so not refused re-entry?

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, darrenr said:

Thanks what’s considered ‘short periods,out of Thailand “ would going for 2-4 weeks to another country be long enough away so not refused re-entry?

That's the issue.

There are no written rules.

 

Unlike land entries (visa exempt) that have a limit of 2 per calendar year (some countries exempt) it's easy to know where you stand.

 

Re your question about how long out of Thailand it's again guess work. 

A few weeks would help.

 

Many previously were just flying places such as Saigon and return day or two later..

[Old Nomad]

The same happened to me about 2.5 years ago at DM airport. I made 3 trips out of TH (Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam) - each between 3 and 4 weeks long. Three IO talked to me for a long time. They insisted I needed a proper Visa. Had to sign a report. Will definitely get a visa next time.

[JoseThailand]

4 hours ago, Old Nomad said:

Had to sign a report.

What kind of report? You mean a complaint? Clearly that was a violation of the law, since there is no limitation on entries by air.

[Old Nomad]

16 minutes ago, JoseThailand said:

What kind of report? You mean a complaint? Clearly that was a violation of the law, since there is no limitation on entries by air.

No complaint. As far as I remember I had to sign something saying that I had been warned and was informed that I need a visa for my type of travel.
Violation or law or not: I will not go through this again, it took about an hour of waiting and discussions.
 

[JoseThailand]

49 minutes ago, Old Nomad said:

No complaint. As far as I remember I had to sign something saying that I had been warned and was informed that I need a visa for my type of travel.
Violation or law or not: I will not go through this again, it took about an hour of waiting and discussions.
 

If I were you, I would call the Immigration hotline and reported what happened.

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

What kind of report? You mean a complaint? Clearly that was a violation of the law, since there is no limitation on entries by air.

When you are entering visa exempt at an airport, the airport immigration has the same role as a consular official when applying for a visa. They are actually under instructions to screen those requesting visa exempt entry to judge if they are using the visa exempt entry to stay longer than is compatible with normal tourism. Obviously, that is very much open to interpretation by the officials. Airports vary a lot in how strictly they interpret those guidelines. Complaining that they denied visa exempt entry by following the instructions they have been given would be fruitless.

 

Denying entry to those with visas issued by embassies/consulates is a very different matter. They are only supposed to do that pursuant to conditions specified in Section 12 of the Immigration Act. On this, immigration officials at some airports follow the law, and some do not. When they decide to deny entry improperly to those with visas, they pretend (in the system and documentation) that this is for one of the reasons specified in the Immigration Act, but they will verbally tell you their real (improper) reason.

[darrenr]

 If you are denied entry do they hold you for days on end in a Bangkok jail or immigration detention centre (not at the airport ) ?

[treetops]

4 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

Clearly that was a violation of the law, since there is no limitation on entries by air.

There is if you're thought to be scamming the system.  That's been pointed out to you before so please stop repeating your drivel.

[Woof999]

4 minutes ago, darrenr said:

 If you are denied entry do they hold you for days on end in a Bangkok jail or immigration detention centre (not at the airport ) ?

No, they want you out of there ASAP. I was refused roughly 4 years ago on multiple visa exempt. Flew back Phnom Penh > Suvarnabhumi and was denied entry. Taken "downstairs" to immigration holding where the supervisor looked at me with a "why did they refuse you". face on. Booked the next flight back to Phnom Penh on my phone and was escorted to the gate after about an hour. Not a particularly pleasant experience, but not the worst either.

 

They wouldn't even let me move my car from the short term car park or meet anyone to give them my car keys.

[shdmn]

17 hours ago, darrenr said:

 I thought you can get unlimited visa exemption ( 30 day tourist visa ) if you arrive and depart via airport ?

I think you are only allowed 2 or 3 entries per year on a tourist visa or 30 day waiver.  I think that rule was always there but not sure.  Only now they seem to be enforcing it more.

 

I believe you can extend in country to theoretically stay up to 5 months in a year including the 2 entries.  If they allow a 3rd then you can theoretically stay up to 7 months in a year but I am not sure if they do.

 

Regarding getting a tourist visa in HCMC by physically going into the consulate.  Are they still doing that?  I thought it was all done through the e-Visa website now?  I believe you have to be in your home country to do that no?

Edited August 10, 2022 by shdmn

[BritTim]

26 minutes ago, darrenr said:

 If you are denied entry do they hold you for days on end in a Bangkok jail or immigration detention centre (not at the airport ) ?

No ... for denied entry (referred to as INAD: Inadmissible passenger) the airline that carried you to Thailand is ordered to take you out of Thailand as soon as possible. Most often, if you will be able to enter there, you will be taken back to the last airport where you boarded the flight to Thailand. This can be negotiable if you can get the airline representative to talk to you about it.

[BritTim]

2 minutes ago, shdmn said:

That is not what I am hearing.  I think you are only allowed 2 airport entries per year on a tourist visa or 30 day waiver, both of which you can extend in country.  I think that rule was always there but not sure.  Only now they seem to be enforcing it more.

There has never been any official rule limiting the number of entries with a visa or (at airports) visa exempt. Indeed, if you have a visa, the conditions under which you can be denied entry are clearly laid out in Section 12 of the Immigration Act. When entering visa exempt, officials at the airports have the power (more accurately, are ordered) to deny you entry if in their sole judgement you are abusing visa exemptions to stay longer in Thailand than is compatible with regular tourism.

[shdmn]

11 minutes ago, BritTim said:

There has never been any official rule limiting the number of entries with a visa or (at airports) visa exempt. Indeed, if you have a visa, the conditions under which you can be denied entry are clearly laid out in Section 12 of the Immigration Act. When entering visa exempt, officials at the airports have the power (more accurately, are ordered) to deny you entry if in their sole judgement you are abusing visa exemptions to stay longer in Thailand than is compatible with regular tourism.

It appears that there IS a 2x rule when entering by land/sea but not by air.

 

https://oslo.thaiembassy.org/en/page/visa-exemption?menu=60b77e3017c601673a27f782

 

Quote

For traveling to Thailand by land and sea, Norwegian and Icelandic passport holders are eligible for Visa Exemption Scheme with a maximum of twice in a calendar year. 

https://www.thethailandlife.com/thailand-tourist-visa#:~:text=However%2C the current rule is,the validity of the visa.

 

Quote

However, the current rule is that if you enter Thailand over land without a visa, you are allowed a maximum of two 30-day entries within any rolling 12-month period.

https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand-visa/thai-visa-exemption-and-bilateral-agreement

Quote

Holders of normal passports of the following countries are granted visa-free travel to Thailand for a period of up to 30 days. The exemption is granted at most twice in a calendar year when entering over land or via a sea border but there is no limitation when entering by air. 

 

Edited August 10, 2022 by shdmn

[JoseThailand]

2 hours ago, shdmn said:

It appears that there IS a 2x rule when entering by land/sea but not by air.

 

Thanks, cap. This is what we've been talking about.

[shdmn]

4 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

Thanks, cap. This is what we've been talking about.

OP said almost denied at airport for 3rd attempt at re-entry.

Edited August 11, 2022 by shdmn

[shdmn]

11 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

What kind of report? You mean a complaint? Clearly that was a violation of the law, since there is no limitation on entries by air.

An IO has the right to deny you entry with very little justification.  If you have entered multiple times in a year then that is most certainly justification. I think I read someone saying they were denied entry on this board not too long ago for that very reason.

[seeriipaap]

10 hours ago, shdmn said:

Regarding getting a tourist visa in HCMC by physically going into the consulate.  Are they still doing that?  I thought it was all done through the e-Visa website now?  I believe you have to be in your home country to do that no?

That’s the topic: 

 

Has anyone (who is not Vietnamese) gotten a Tourist Visa in Vietnam recently?

[Caldera]

2 hours ago, seeriipaap said:

That’s the topic: 

 

Has anyone (who is not Vietnamese) gotten a Tourist Visa in Vietnam recently?

I haven't seen any recent reports (unlike from Cambodia, Malaysia and Laos), but historically and also according to the information on their website which is up to date, they do not require residency in Vietnam when applying for a single entry tourist visa.

[problemfarang]

On 8/9/2022 at 4:54 PM, DrJack54 said:

BTW Much of what the io stated was rubbish.

One example.....

"IO said they were writing a note in the file that if a 30 day extension was requested it should be denied and would get a 1 year ban"......rubbish.

Same thing happened to me about many years ago at Cambodia (the one near bangkok) border. That was the time IO started not to accept people using non-o multi marriage visa. He told me im abusing the visa (and he was right) and will let me do the run one last time. And YES, he wrote a note with red color that if i try again it must be denied. So its true. But mine was land border not air. And he didnt mention anything about 1 year ban. All i can say is that he did write in red about last time doing this and no more

 

that was the time i decided to use an agency. 

Edited August 11, 2022 by problemfarang

[visarunner]

On 8/10/2022 at 12:11 AM, seeriipaap said:

The reason the low level IO passed this to supervisor IO is because was entering Thailand before the date of a COVID extension expired and IO didn’t know how to process that. 

 

Got a 60 day covid extension 

Stayed 7 days

Spent 30 days in Canada

Returned to Thailand 23 days before the 60 day extension end date

 

Sorry, but this it nonsense. The IO pulled your friend out because he stayed too long in Thailand without a proper visa. And he is no Tourist. 

[visarunner]

11 hours ago, shdmn said:

OP said almost denied at airport for 3rd attempt at re-entry.

The OP did not say in which period that third attampt was done.