Suvarnabhumi Automated Passport Gates Not Available for Visa Holders with Re-Entry Permits?

[Danderman123]

Per a sign at the airport, if you hold a re-entry permit, but exit the country through the automated gates, your re-entry permit will be cancelled.

 

Is this true?

[Pattaya57]

Where's proof of the sign. Sounds like rubbish

[retarius]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:38 AM, Pattaya57 said:

Where's proof of the sign. Sounds like rubbish

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TIT, nothing is rubbish here until proven to be rubbish. 

[bamnutsak]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:26 AM, Danderman123 said:

Per a sign at the airport

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Can you share a photo of this sign? 

 

The only thing I could find is this...

 

 

[Danderman123]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:38 AM, Pattaya57 said:

Where's proof of the sign. Sounds like rubbish

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Sorry, I didn't take a photo of the sign. It was propped up by the gates.

 

However, someone with a long term visa can report on using the automated gates.

[bamnutsak]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:50 AM, Danderman123 said:

Sorry, I didn't take a photo of the sign. It was propped up by the gates.

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Can you elaborate on the text of this sign?

 

In Thai and English? Just one sign propped up somewhere?

 

 

Isn't the re-entry permit desk, for those wishing to purchase one at the airport, AFTER departing Immigration at Suvarnabhumi? (I understand one can have a re-entry permit in hand.)

 

 

[Foxx]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:53 AM, bamnutsak said:

Isn't the re-entry permit desk, for those wishing to purchase one at the airport, AFTER departing Immigration at Suvarnabhumi?

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No.  Before.  (It's after at Don Mueang.)

[Foxx]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:38 AM, Pattaya57 said:

Where's proof of the sign. Sounds like rubbish

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Actually, sounds pretty reasonable.  The automated gates are only intended for tourists; individuals with longer term visas are stuck, with the old queuing and procedures.  This was reported by the Bangkok Post, but I'm not allowed to post a link.

[Danderman123]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:53 AM, bamnutsak said:

 

Can you elaborate on the text of this sign?

 

In Thai and English? Just one sign propped up somewhere?

 

 

Isn't the re-entry permit desk, for those wishing to purchase one at the airport, AFTER departing Immigration at Suvarnabhumi? (I understand one can have a re-entry permit in hand.)

 

 

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One sign in English, propped up at the automated gate.

 

I have a multiple entry permit, so the implication is that it would be cancelled if I use the automated gates.

[Danderman123]

https://www.facebook.com/100063996370105/posts/pfbid0Kz1jBv5gm2gBZLKAuGZb3B1amzNyXHMQAe7wU4dSncPuDnixTF3QwEh3ZG69CtGsl/?app=fbl

 

A brief discussion about this issue, with better wording.

[bamnutsak]

  On 1/7/2024 at 2:48 AM, Danderman123 said:

One sign in English, propped up at the automated gate.

 

I have a multiple entry permit, so the implication is that it would be cancelled if I use the automated gates.

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So you saw the sign, then headed for a staffed booth, and were stamped out of Thailand.

 

Seems like you were in the best position to ask your question.

 

 

[eyeman]

  On 1/7/2024 at 2:35 AM, Foxx said:

No.  Before.  (It's after at Don Mueang.)

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Nope, it's after at BKK too, same location though. It changed recently, it's got the red tape across the entrance now and tell you to clear immigration first then take a left.

[eyeman]

It won't be too bad for us re-entry permit holders if all the tourists with bio-metric passports are pushed towards the automated gates, but there was no one pushing tourists towards them the other day in zone 2.

[ba ba]

i am leaving through saumpy on wednesday with a no O muiti and i will be useing  maned gate ,also how do you get stamped out at the auto gates 

[Danderman123]

No one here has used the automated gates?

[Peterw42]

Neither staff or automatic gates are checking for a re-entry permit as you leave, why would they ?. A re-entry permit is checked on entry. So long as you have a re-entry permit, how, when, where you left the country is largely irrelevant.

Logically, a scanner at an auto gate wont be able to read any stamps in a passport, the stamp could be on page one or page 20. Therefore, an auto gate could only ever process visa exempt stays.

 

[sandyf]

  On 1/8/2024 at 12:33 AM, Peterw42 said:

So long as you have a re-entry permit, how, when, where you left the country is largely irrelevant.

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It is a bit irrelevant for people to suggest how things should work. When you enter the country IOs want to see  as much as they can and I can see that they may find someone turning up at the border with a re-entry permit and no exit stamp a bit disconcerting.

When I came in across the bridge at Nong Khai last year the IO asked if I had a visa and I said no it was a re-entry permit. He said "where your visa?", it was an e-visa and I said on my phone. He just shook his head and stamped the passport.

It could be that there has been cases of fake re-entry permits that we are unaware of, or that change can be a bit slow to be accepted.

[bamnutsak]

There is one report on reddit about someone (non-b, wp, reep) who used the autogate on departure and faced challenges upon returning, for lack of a stamp. The issue was sorted quickly and they were stamped in. That incident might be down to the relative newness of this option.

 

I probably wouldn't risk it (just like the OP), even facing a two-hour wait.

 

 

[eyeman]

  On 1/8/2024 at 12:33 AM, Peterw42 said:

Logically, a scanner at an auto gate wont be able to read any stamps in a passport, the stamp could be on page one or page 20. Therefore, an auto gate could only ever process visa exempt stays.

 

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You are thinking logically in Thai, very limiting, do not confuse this logic with the international standard for logic.  Logically, just as the scanner are able to process exemptions, by verifying the passport identifier has a correlating record of a valid exemption, it should be just as easily possible to find your current valid permission to stay as these are all recorded in the same system, the stamp is just an extra artifact of the permission issued in the system. It is neither necessary or desired for an automated system to emulate an old relic thumbing through your passport pages looking for a ink stamp when the information is recorded in a centralized system (just as exemptions) and just needs correlating based on the information gleaned by the scan.

 

[Danderman123]

The sign on the gate specifically stated that a re-entry permit would be canceled if the gate were used.

[brianthainess]

  On 1/8/2024 at 1:43 AM, eyeman said:

You are thinking logically in Thai, very limiting, do not confuse this logic with the international standard for logic.  Logically, just as the scanner are able to process exemptions, by verifying the passport identifier has a correlating record of a valid exemption, it should be just as easily possible to find your current valid permission to stay as these are all recorded in the same system, the stamp is just an extra artifact of the permission issued in the system. It is neither necessary or desired for an automated system to emulate an old relic thumbing through your passport pages looking for a ink stamp when the information is recorded in a centralized system (just as exemptions).

 

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Thailand 0.0000000004 when it comes to Immigration.

[al valio]

  On 1/7/2024 at 2:52 AM, Danderman123 said:

https://www.facebook.com/100063996370105/posts/pfbid0Kz1jBv5gm2gBZLKAuGZb3B1amzNyXHMQAe7wU4dSncPuDnixTF3QwEh3ZG69CtGsl/?app=fbl

 

A brief discussion about this issue, with better wording.

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Uh, I can see no official statement on the page except "Please ask Immigration Bureau". Where on TAT page did you see the info?

[WorriedNoodle]

  On 1/8/2024 at 1:30 AM, sandyf said:

I can see that they may find someone turning up at the border with a re-entry permit and no exit stamp a bit disconcerting.

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Why? If the person has a re-entry permit and a extension of stay what difference does an exit permit stamp or use of an automatic exit gate (which would have recorded data) make?

[bbi1]

  On 1/7/2024 at 1:50 AM, bamnutsak said:

 

 

Can you share a photo of this sign? 

 

The only thing I could find is this...

 

 

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How do these auto gates stamp your passport with an exit stamp next to your entry stamp? Curious to know this.

[Danderman123]

  On 1/8/2024 at 2:00 AM, al valio said:

Uh, I can see no official statement on the page except "Please ask Immigration Bureau". Where on TAT page did you see the info?

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The official statement is silent on this issue.

 

The better wording was in a comment:

 

" Visa holders can't use those gates."

[bamnutsak]

  On 1/8/2024 at 2:31 AM, Danderman123 said:

The better wording was in a comment:

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A comment from whom?

 

An Immigration official? Some schmoe on the interwebs? I inferred the latter when I saw that "comment".

 

 

I think we need some sort of official announcement from Pol Lt Gen Itthipol Itthisarnronnachai.

[Danderman123]

At the very least, someone exiting Thailand through those gates could take a photo of the sign.

[Grusa]

Signs everywhere:- "No Photos", and a few enforcers around!

[Haveasay]

Checking baggage still slow and still fronted IO to be stamped out. Nothing changed for all the rhetoric!

[Maestro]

  On 1/8/2024 at 4:01 AM, Haveasay said:

Checking baggage still slow and still fronted IO to be stamped out. Nothing changed for all the rhetoric!

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With your comment "...Nothing changed...", are you saying that you tried using the automatic channel on departure from BKK and the system refused to process it and you had to join the queue for the manual passport control?