45 day visa exempt - lots of questions asked at BKK airport

[geisha]

So what if you don’t have a Thai friend or his/ her number ? What if you don’t have a Thai number yet ? Do you put your country number ?  I do hear that some people are targeted. Been coming though for many years now ( since they abolished the double entry visa) and never been asked a single question. I always have an onward ticket to somewhere but never been asked for that either. My PP pages were full of entrée and  exit  stamps plus visas from,Cambodia/ Myanmar and Bali etc.

[ultramarine]

I just wanted to say I had a similar experience landing at Suvarnabhumi two days ago.  The male IO shook his head as flipped through my passport showing all my previous years of METVs and visas from bordering countries.  The grilling then commenced. 

 

I was very surprised because I thought the visa exempt entry was trouble-free.  Not true it seems.  I think he looked at my past history of staying between 4-6 months every winter and thought that the 45-day visa exemption was the wrong approach for me.  He asked me if I had cash on hand, I said I had 2000 CAD.  He asked where I was staying and if I had "friends" here.  No request for anyone's phone number though.  

 

I'm not sure if he would have ultimately denied me entry, but when I mentioned that I tried to get a proper tourist visa, maybe that changed things.  Thing is I tried to get a 60-day visa but couldn't get it and also lost the fee. ("No refunds")  The E-Visa is a subject worthy of other threads of course.  I wonder if this is a problem  specific to the Thai embassy in Ottawa or with the E-visa system as a whole.  Because I got no feedback from my email follow-up and phone message I left as my departure date approached. 

 

Finally, on the same day I was leaving, I finally got an email from them saying I was missing two documents when actually I had already submitted one of them (bank statement pdf).  Although they had a point about the other one -- hotel reservation for first 7 days, where I had only given my hotel for the first 3 days.  And they screwed up my phone number that my file was associated with. Totally wrong number and wrong area code.  So why would they wait until the very last day before telling me there was something wrong with my application?  It's beggars belief. What is going on with this E-visa system?  Sorry for the long digression.

 

Anyway, it was after I mentioned my failure to obtain an E-visa that his body language changed a bit.  Maybe that worked in my favour.  At least it would explain why I was trying to enter Thailand on a 45-day visa exemption. 

 

So anyway folks, be careful out there.  Just when you thought that the post-covid period would mean things would be easier, they may not be. 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2022 by ultramarine
clarity

[ioothaivisa]

On 10/7/2022 at 8:00 AM, Pattaya Spotter said:

You'd rather wait 30 minutes to an hour with the plebs to pass immigration rather than answer a fee simple questions...seems rather odd. And maybe thus is something new, I've used the Fast Track lanes many times and never been asked any questions. I'll test it again in November when I return from the State's in SQ Biz. 

What is the requirement for using the Fast Track Immigration lanes, do you have to pay in advance or are you allowed to use them if you have a Business class ticket or does your specific airline have to subscribe to that benefit?

 

Do you know if Eva air business class qualifies for the Thai Immigration Fast Track lane?

[ioothaivisa]

20 hours ago, ultramarine said:

Thing is I tried to get a 60-day visa but couldn't get it and also lost the fee. ("No refunds")  The E-Visa is a subject worthy of other threads of course.  I wonder if this is a problem  specific to the Thai embassy in Ottawa or with the E-visa system as a whole.  Because I got no feedback from my email follow-up and phone message I left as my departure date approached. 

So you applied for an e-visa what was the result, did they reject it or did you just not get it in time and you are still waiting?

 

From the other thread it sounds like the other users that applied at Ottawa did not get theirs either and entered on a visa exempt and they are still waiting.

[ultramarine]

14 minutes ago, ioothaivisa said:

So you applied for an e-visa what was the result, did they reject it or did you just not get it in time and you are still waiting?

 

From the other thread it sounds like the other users that applied at Ottawa did not get theirs either and entered on a visa exempt and they are still waiting.

I never got it. But it's also my fault though. I didn't allow enough time for the process.   The new system will take a while to get used to. But it's almost more trouble than it's worth. 

[ioothaivisa]

3 minutes ago, ultramarine said:

I never got it. But it's also my fault though. I didn't allow enough time for the process.   The new system will take a while to get used to. But it's almost more trouble than it's worth. 

Okay so what is the current status of that visa request? Did they reject it or did they request additional documents and you just left it? It sound like you paid the fee so I assume that the application they would at lease end in an approval or rejection status, correct?

 

How much time did you give it from the start of the application until you left for Thailand?

[arithai12]

On 10/6/2022 at 10:33 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Nonsense, it is their job and they do have relevance. 

You are completely right, and it's always amazing to see how some people here think that Thai immigration is difficult. Perhaps they should try a few other countries, or to travel with a passport with less entitlement. As for the "lots of questions" (5!) I find them perfectly normal and easy to answer.

[arithai12]

On 10/7/2022 at 5:16 AM, DrJack54 said:

Nonsense.

 

From the OP......

 

"Arrived back after over 2 years not being here."

 

Over the top questions from the io..

you pick "2 years", conveniently forgetting that it was Covid-time. The OP had visited repeatedly before, and in any case I don't see what question was "over the top". In fact, I don't see what the problem was with answering 5 simple questions.

Perhaps you should try the immigration system of a few other countries, or even of your own country when entering as a single Thai tourist.

 

[ukrules]

On 10/8/2022 at 2:45 PM, mikeymike100 said:

Surely if you have a British passport entering the UK, immigration cannot refuse you entry, Why would they ask any questions?

They collect intelligence information on you, it's the same reason why they wanted a phone number of a 'friend' in Thailand from the OP.
 

 

[ukrules]

40 minutes ago, arithai12 said:

You are completely right, and it's always amazing to see how some people here think that Thai immigration is difficult. Perhaps they should try a few other countries, or to travel with a passport with less entitlement. As for the "lots of questions" (5!) I find them perfectly normal and easy to answer.

I once had an immigration officer pull out a huge magnifying glass and scrutinise my passport, he then asked me to fill out a form with all the details on the passport while not being able to look at it - I guess he was trying to catch me out ????

 

This was at Riga airport in Latvia long before they joined the EU. Very weird situation in an almost empty airport.

There was nothing wrong with my passport either and I used it on a regular basis back in those days. Maybe they were looking for someone trying to sneak in who fit my age / profile - you never know I guess.

 

Edited October 20, 2022 by ukrules

[ultramarine]

7 hours ago, ioothaivisa said:

Okay so what is the current status of that visa request? Did they reject it or did they request additional documents and you just left it? It sound like you paid the fee so I assume that the application they would at lease end in an approval or rejection status, correct?

 

How much time did you give it from the start of the application until you left for Thailand?

Tbh I haven't checked. I will check later today. They requested more docs which I haven't sent because I'm already in Thailand. I've written it off. My mistake was leaving it far too late. Just 10 days before arrival. I got some bad advice on that score. I think they delete all applications after 14days IIRC. 

[DrJack54]

7 hours ago, arithai12 said:

In fact, I don't see what the problem was with answering 5 simple questions.

As you are aware the TM6 card has been removed/suspended.

Reason given was to speed up the process. 

BTW think that's weird. The TM6 is filled in prior to dealing with the io.

 

Most of the answers to the 5 questions are provided on the TM6.

 

The question about name and phone number of a Thai friend is straight up ridiculous. 

 

[timoti]

I also got questioned yesterday.

 

So what happened was I was in my queue at suvarnabhumi airport and then another agent came and said he will take me. So after looking at my stamps he asked how long i will stay, I said 30 days. Then he said how long I stayed last time. I said 15 days because I did cambodia visa run. He said you only stayed there 1 hour.

 

He said he will call the supervisor so he pressed the yellow button.

 

Then supervisor woman came and brought me to another place for questioning. She asked what's my purpose of visit. How long I will stay? What's my work? Because my work is public she asked if she will find me there if she googled my name. She did of course.

 

Then she said where I will stay. Address of that place, and if I paid for the stay. How long I paid for.

 

Also asked return ticket which I had. She took photo of the address and the return ticket.

 

She asked why I didn't apply for visa but she didn't know visa was for 60 days, instead of 30 which I corrected her. She also didn't know it was 45 days not 30 days which I told her. I basically said just for 15 days more, it seems a lot more hassle to apply for visa and outside the country, which you need time and planning.

 

She said VOA is for short term visit.

 

Then she took me to another booth to stamp me in, it says 45 days extension, but I wonder if with all the info she collected, she flagged me on their system in case I actually didn't leave after 30 days (per ticket) to cause issues for extension inside the country or the next arrival to Thailand.

[bbi1]

On 10/20/2022 at 5:26 AM, ultramarine said:

I just wanted to say I had a similar experience landing at Suvarnabhumi two days ago.  The male IO shook his head as flipped through my passport showing all my previous years of METVs and visas from bordering countries.  The grilling then commenced. 

 

I was very surprised because I thought the visa exempt entry was trouble-free.  Not true it seems.  I think he looked at my past history of staying between 4-6 months every winter and thought that the 45-day visa exemption was the wrong approach for me.  He asked me if I had cash on hand, I said I had 2000 CAD.  He asked where I was staying and if I had "friends" here.  No request for anyone's phone number though.  

 

I'm not sure if he would have ultimately denied me entry, but when I mentioned that I tried to get a proper tourist visa, maybe that changed things.  Thing is I tried to get a 60-day visa but couldn't get it and also lost the fee. ("No refunds")  The E-Visa is a subject worthy of other threads of course.  I wonder if this is a problem  specific to the Thai embassy in Ottawa or with the E-visa system as a whole.  Because I got no feedback from my email follow-up and phone message I left as my departure date approached. 

 

Finally, on the same day I was leaving, I finally got an email from them saying I was missing two documents when actually I had already submitted one of them (bank statement pdf).  Although they had a point about the other one -- hotel reservation for first 7 days, where I had only given my hotel for the first 3 days.  And they screwed up my phone number that my file was associated with. Totally wrong number and wrong area code.  So why would they wait until the very last day before telling me there was something wrong with my application?  It's beggars belief. What is going on with this E-visa system?  Sorry for the long digression.

 

Anyway, it was after I mentioned my failure to obtain an E-visa that his body language changed a bit.  Maybe that worked in my favour.  At least it would explain why I was trying to enter Thailand on a 45-day visa exemption. 

 

So anyway folks, be careful out there.  Just when you thought that the post-covid period would mean things would be easier, they may not be. 

 

 

 

5 hours ago, timoti said:

I also got questioned yesterday.

 

So what happened was I was in my queue at suvarnabhumi airport and then another agent came and said he will take me. So after looking at my stamps he asked how long i will stay, I said 30 days. Then he said how long I stayed last time. I said 15 days because I did cambodia visa run. He said you only stayed there 1 hour.

 

He said he will call the supervisor so he pressed the yellow button.

 

Then supervisor woman came and brought me to another place for questioning. She asked what's my purpose of visit. How long I will stay? What's my work? Because my work is public she asked if she will find me there if she googled my name. She did of course.

 

Then she said where I will stay. Address of that place, and if I paid for the stay. How long I paid for.

 

Also asked return ticket which I had. She took photo of the address and the return ticket.

 

She asked why I didn't apply for visa but she didn't know visa was for 60 days, instead of 30 which I corrected her. She also didn't know it was 45 days not 30 days which I told her. I basically said just for 15 days more, it seems a lot more hassle to apply for visa and outside the country, which you need time and planning.

 

She said VOA is for short term visit.

 

Then she took me to another booth to stamp me in, it says 45 days extension, but I wonder if with all the info she collected, she flagged me on their system in case I actually didn't leave after 30 days (per ticket) to cause issues for extension inside the country or the next arrival to Thailand.

This is starting to get a bit concerning. Another 2 reports from different people about being questioned in depth by BKK immigration on arrival. This time by a two male IO's. Seems it doesn't matter if you go to a male or female one.

 

Did you both use the Fast Track lane like me or the regular queue?

 

The most concerning is the last report, where he was pulled aside into another room for an extra grilling.

Edited October 21, 2022 by bbi1

[it is what it is]

2 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

 

This is starting to get a bit concerning. Another 2 reports from different people about being questioned in depth by BKK immigration on arrival. This time by a two male IO's. Seems it doesn't matter if you go to a male or female one.

 

Did you both use the Fast Track lane like me or the regular queue?

 

The most concerning is the last report, where he was pulled aside into another room for an extra grilling.

 

i don't see what the issue is. surely we should be happy, thankful(?) that IOs are doing their job?

 

Any genuine tourist, or anyone with a genuine reason to be entering the kingdom, has absolutely nothing to worry about. just answer their questions honestly and calmly and proceed.

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

This is starting to get a bit concerning. Another 2 reports from different people about being questioned in depth by BKK immigration on arrival

Just the usual jerks at immigration searching for relevance.

 

Perhaps unaware the tourism is knackered currently in Thailand.

 

So one hand increases visa exempt to 45 days and the other hand plays games for folk entering visa exempt.

 

Let me think.....tv 60 day vs visa exempt 45.

No brainer. 

[DrJack54]

11 minutes ago, it is what it is said:

Any genuine tourist, or anyone with a genuine reason to be entering the kingdom, has absolutely nothing to worry about. just answer their questions honestly and calmly and proceed.

Please give definitive definition to the term "genuine tourist" (not from Google) and "genuine reason"

 

Thai immigration have set zero limit to visa exempt entry via air.

Would be very easy to make clearly defined rules. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by DrJack54

[MrJ2U]

On 10/6/2022 at 10:33 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Nonsense, it is their job and they do have relevance. 

No relevance whatsoever.

 

 

[timoti]

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

 

This is starting to get a bit concerning. Another 2 reports from different people about being questioned in depth by BKK immigration on arrival. This time by a two male IO's. Seems it doesn't matter if you go to a male or female one.

 

Did you both use the Fast Track lane like me or the regular queue?

 

The most concerning is the last report, where he was pulled aside into another room for an extra grilling.

I used regular lane.

 

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Just the usual jerks at immigration searching for relevance.

 

Perhaps unaware the tourism is knackered currently in Thailand.

 

So one hand increases visa exempt to 45 days and the other hand plays games for folk entering visa exempt.

 

Let me think.....tv 60 day vs visa exempt 45.

No brainer. 

When i told this to her about 45 vs 60, and how much work you get to do for 60 and the wait time that requires more planning she couldn't say anything.

 

But i didn't know there was no limit to VOA.

[DrJack54]

8 minutes ago, timoti said:

But i didn't know there was no limit to VOA.

Not being picky but what you mean is "no limit on visa exempt entry"

 

Visa on Arrival is something completely different. Available to certain countries. 

[timoti]

40 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Not being picky but what you mean is "no limit on visa exempt entry"

 

Visa on Arrival is something completely different. Available to certain countries. 

I didn't know they were different. I thought if you are visa exempt, then what you get was VOA. Is this not the case? For example for Canada.

 

The officer told me, if you don't have proper visa the officer might reject your entry. After asking why I am not applying for visa.

Edited October 21, 2022 by timoti

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, timoti said:

I didn't know they were different. I thought if you are visa exempt, then what you get was VOA. Is this not the case? For example for Canada.

You can Google VOA countries for Thailand.

For example India is one example. Usually 15 days currently 30.

 

 

For visa exempt (also referred to as visa waiver) there are many countries that qualify.

Canada is one. Usually 30 days currently 45. 

Edited October 21, 2022 by DrJack54

[Caldera]

3 hours ago, it is what it is said:

Any genuine tourist, or anyone with a genuine reason to be entering the kingdom, has absolutely nothing to worry about. just answer their questions honestly and calmly and proceed.

Like they never make mistakes, either honest ones or less honest ones to extort people. Sounds naive to me. 

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, Caldera said:

Like they never make mistakes, either honest ones or less honest ones to extort people. Sounds naive to me. 

When has anyone ever been extorted by an IO on arrival at the airport?  You must have a link?

[Big FranK]

Actually visa exempt gives you now 45 days, and 30 days more if you leave the country doing a visa run.

The tourist visa still gives you 60 days, and 30 days more without leaving the country.

 

So the tourist visa is still very relevant, 15 days more and no need for visa run. 

[DrJack54]

12 minutes ago, Big FranK said:

Actually visa exempt gives you now 45 days, and 30 days more if you leave the country doing a visa run.

The tourist visa still gives you 60 days, and 30 days more without leaving the country

Visa exempt currently gives 45 day stamp.

Tourist visa gives 60 day stamp.

Both can be extended by 30 days in Thailand at immigration office.

1900baht. 

[Big FranK]

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Visa exempt currently gives 45 day stamp.

Tourist visa gives 60 day stamp.

Both can be extended by 30 days in Thailand at immigration office.

1900baht. 

My bad. You are right, visa exemption can also be extended by 30 days at immigration center...So 75 days for visa exempt against 90 days for tourist visa. 

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, Big FranK said:

..So 75 days for visa exempt against 90 days for tourist visa

Yeah.

Unless someone is staying between 75+ and 90 days ....sorta makes the choice to arrive visa exempt a no  brainer.

Those with extensive history of recent time in Thailand prob best with the tourist visa option.

[new2here]

On 10/7/2022 at 9:28 AM, DrJack54 said:

The OP had not been in Thailand for TWO years.

No questions were required.

Certainly not the ones outlined by the OP.

Her job was to stamp the pp indicating 45 day permit.

Not rocket science. 

 

BTW .. current thread running OP with similar history to OP in this thread.

Just arrived same airport and posted this ....

 

"In Thailand! You guys were right.. immigration was a breeze ????".

 

Immigration officers and consistency do not go hand in hand. 

I agree with “… Immigration officers and consistency do not go hand in hand.”. But that is because really each person, each case is is somewhat unique.

 

True, immigration law is rather explicitly defined as to what situations are legal for entry and which ones are not.. and further, under each type/class of entry, what are the specific conditions for said type/class.

Where *I* think sometimes things go a bit off track is rooted in the fact that while an individual officer can’t essentially create their own law as to you’re admissible or not, they DO have the right to question and request any documentation they deem reasonable to ascertain that you meet the requirements in full.. Essentially the burden of proof falls to you to prove you’re eligible … Immigration really does not have the burden to DISprove your eligibility. 

 

Of course, to be extensively questioned is never a positive nor enjoyable event - but in the end, it’s just a part of the process ... and a part that does allow for officer discretion in terms of scope, depth, breadth and such as far as questioning goes. 

[thecyclist]

There might be a much more "innocent/mundane reason for all these questions, like :

1)She was relieving her boredom with a little bit of small talk. 

2)she was practicing her English 

3) She was showing off her language skills.