Suvarnabhumi Immigration Ensures 20-Min Wait or Less for Tourists

[ujayujay]

8 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Absolute tosh & they know it.

Excessive wait times have been an issue for years.

 

Last year there was a report that it was 90 seconds… great, if true.

That was the actual processing time per passport… again great if true !!! 
it’s closer to 3mins.

 

So, this 20 second wait time is rubbish. They mean they are targeting a 20 second processing time. 

 

All pretty irrelevant if they don’t have enough immigration booths open & the problems always exist when immigration don’t tie in their ‘manning’ with flight patterns.

 

20 Sec.??? Visit your prefered optician and read the topic again

[ignore it]

I'm sure immigration is all ready for the surge of Kazakh tourists.

All three or four of them.

Kazakhstan's top ten outbound tourist destinations do not include Thailand. The #10 is Tajikistan. Guess somebody at TAT is pushing for a "dog and pony" expo in Astana the Capital. Or having a laff.

 

[Mavideol]

8 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

tell you what!  i want to see before i believe

am with u..... “to see is to believe”

[Woof999]

My home country includes such border entry efficient location such as Heathrow and Manchester, so I'm in no position to criticise Thai immigration on this one.

 

At least they are giving some thought beforehand, which doesn't seem to happen here all that much.

[Marley01]

Just when you think these guys can’t say anything more ridiculous, they come out with a doozy.

[Sig]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

Nothing worse that reading a ridicules statement in the morning coming from the people who are the least trusted to make such promises, i think they meant 1 hour and 20 second,

Relating to that, my sister is currently staying in a 5+ stars resort in Pattaya and while there are plenty of staff very few of them speaks english, much less than Kazakh and Chinese...

Well... maybe the immigration authorities should have some sort of star rating system for airports around the world! I wonder how they would find a way to award themselves 5+ stars here???? But, in actuality, I've had a MUCH better experience with immigration over the past 6 or 7 years than the previous 15+. Maybe I've just been lucky?

That's hilarious, but not hilarious at all in other respects, re the English ability at a 5+ star resort! It's also, sadly, not surprising. What I'd like to know is, who on earth says they are a 5+ star resort!??? Do these places give themselves that status?

[Colabamumbai]

B. S. 

[Sig]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

gearing up to welcome an influx of Chinese and Kazakh tourists

Kazakhastan would be a fascinating place to visit. But a country of 20 million wouldn't be a place I'd figure there'd be an influx of tourists from to the degree to worry about the infrastructure of being able to handle them, especially when you have countries around you who are much more wealthy and more populous by a large margin and travel more, like South Korea, Japan, and Australia and other more populous countries right nearby that may not be as rich, but have a lot of people and they travel like Malaysia, Indonesia, India, etc... but noooooo here comes Kazakhastan!!????‍♂️????‍♂️
Well... at least they are trying?

[Sticky Rice Balls]

1 hour ago, Quit said:

Took me 3 minutes a while ago in low season. Landed in the morning with Thai Airways. Even my suitcase came out early although I flew Economy.

agreed i arrived may 1 and was the fastest yet---5-10 mins tops as the IO was thumbing thru FB as he was checking me in  lol.......he asked about a visa and I always say im leaving after the 30

 

suppose it could depend on arrivals times too....got lucky this time.....flew in from taiwan

[Phulublub]

1 hour ago, damo1967 said:

At last.. someone with some actual facts and reasoning.. I commend you on your reply.

Too many old sad lazy gits just waiting to have a whinge about ANYTHING...  those people should take a look in the mirror, and get out more...  

Agree 100%.  These guys never travelled through Heathrow?  Or O'Hare? Swampy is heaven compared to either of those. 

 

But hey, don't let uncomfortable home truths get in the way of your superiority complex and need to bash our hosts as much as you can to try and make yourelf feel a little better, eh!

 

PH

[mikeymike100]

2 hours ago, stix40 said:

Great more Chinese and Kazaks ? 

Excellent news ????

Love the sarcasm!!????

[sambum]

".............to prepare for the expected surge in visitors ........."

 

They've been talking to TAT and filching their buzzwords!!!

[Toby1947]

Who gives a toss, what's the rush, everyone needs to calm down. Thats the problem with the world today 

[ross163103]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

The government is confident in its ability to manage this influx efficiently

That's funny! What govt anywhere in the world has ever done ANYTHING efficiently?!

[thailand49]

11 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Absolute tosh & they know it.

Excessive wait times have been an issue for years.

 

Last year there was a report that it was 90 seconds… great, if true.

That was the actual processing time per passport… again great if true !!! 
it’s closer to 3mins.

 

So, this 20 second wait time is rubbish. They mean they are targeting a 20 second processing time. 

 

All pretty irrelevant if they don’t have enough immigration booths open & the problems always exist when immigration don’t tie in their ‘manning’ with flight patterns.

 

You got that right look at the photo the meeting must be top heavy reason not enough booth opened how many are in charge?

Brsin dead and tone deaf to actually believe what they are actually selling. ????

[PETERTHEEATER]

For my last two trips to Thailand from London I was through Immigration at Suwanabhumi in a few minutes whereas re-entering UK  at London Heathrow queuing through the dreadful up-and-down lane just to get to an IO took 90 minutes and 36 minutes respectively so I can't complain about BKK although, in the past, I have stood in line for over an hour

[superal]

While they are at it , maybe they should consider departures which is often way over crowded with queues from security to the elevator and immigration desks . Airport staff walking up and down the queues asking what time is your flight so as to bring you forward to the immigration desks to avoid missing your flight . BTW I flew out on the 17th this month and the Thai air plane was 1 hour late docking but made time up and was 30 minutes late at Heathrow but the Thai Air flight was good . 3 meals were all good and plenty of drinks and snacks . Cabin crew very courteous . ( had to mention Thai Air experience  because they were criticized on this forum a couple of weeks ago )

[passiflora]

Language trained staffs.... They even  unable to speak a fluent English, they will speak Kazakh ????????

[Muzzique]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

The government is confident in its ability to manage this influx efficiently

Good, as the rest of us aren't

 

14 hours ago, webfact said:

The government is ............is aiming to process each visitor in under 20 minutes.

And I'm aiming to have 100 graduates from my pigs flight training school.

 

 

[StayinThailand2much]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Additionally, language-trained staff will assist tourists, particularly Chinese and Kazakh visitors.

LOL. They speak Kazakh??

[treetops]

7 hours ago, damo1967 said:

ps. they say 20 minutes...  NOT 20 seconds you dill

 

7 hours ago, ujayujay said:

20 Sec.??? Visit your prefered optician and read the topic again

The topic title and the OP both said 20 seconds originally and have subsequently been changed.

[Kalasin Jo]

I don't believe it. And what about departing? I've experienced massive queues and a long wait at Departure Immigration during high season in the past. They had to switch of the camera and fingerprint gizmos to process us faster. Nearly missed my long haul flight.. If I had that would change been awkward all round. Thais sailing through the automatic gates, the rest of us anxiously fidgeting in what was more of a restless mob than a queue.

[circa02]

9 minutes ago, Kalasin Jo said:

I don't believe it. And what about departing? I've experienced massive queues and a long wait at Departure Immigration during high season in the past. They had to switch of the camera and fingerprint gizmos to process us faster. Nearly missed my long haul flight.. If I had that would change been awkward all round. Thais sailing through the automatic gates, the rest of us anxiously fidgeting in what was more of a restless mob than a queue.

Yeah they do that often I think, but also Malaysia uses the same cheap fingerprinting garbage, so it often gets switched off at Penang too, not before immigration halls are at bursting point though.   If they drop the physical dinosaur stamps they can easily configure the automatic gates, at least for exit, for most of the modern world, just like Taiwan and Singapore do if you have a bio-metric passport.

 

 

[metisdead]

Some posts in violation of our Community Standards and the replies have been removed.

[DJ54]

It will be a modern miracle if it happens…. 

[Caldera]

My prediction is that the influx of visa exempt Kazakhs will totally overwhelm them for months. ????

[JemJem]

2 hours ago, Kalasin Jo said:

I don't believe it. And what about departing? I've experienced massive queues and a long wait at Departure Immigration during high season in the past. They had to switch of the camera and fingerprint gizmos to process us faster. Nearly missed my long haul flight.. If I had that would change been awkward all round. Thais sailing through the automatic gates, the rest of us anxiously fidgeting in what was more of a restless mob than a queue.

Yep. Departure can also be quite a bit of a hassle sometimes. And, last time I departed Thailand via Suvarnabhumi, in June of this year, the body/baggage check was really frustratingly thorough. They were way too strict with everyone, often having the people and the things go through the machine more than once. Maybe, there were some inspectors observing those officers at that time, so they were being like that ? I don't know. It was the first time I saw them this strict.

 

As for arrivals, I think early or mid-morning arrival at Suvarnabhumi is usually fine, regarding the time spent at passport control. Only once, I waited quite long (around 45 minutes). The other times, around 10-15 minutes on average.

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by JemJem

[Fortean1]

Our first trip in 9 years to the U.S.  Departure on 1 June was quick.  We return on 3 Oct from Las Vegas so I expect a quite full plane.  Wheelchairs both ways.  Nine years ago I and my Thai wife used the Thai immigration lanes, just a few minutes.

[Greenhill]

I was in line for 40 minutes waiting to go out of the country through 'Emigration' at Suvanabhumi airport 2 weeks ago - an absolute disgrace!!!!!!

[hotchilli]

Just ensure enough staff are at their post when the aircraft lands...

simple management.