Swampy Arrival late las night

[orchidfan]

A lot has been said about the Imm "Crackdown" on Foreigner arrivals and how it might affect we "long term" foreigners living here.

 

I arrived late last night, on an EK A380 from Hong Kong.

 

Firstly, the walk from where the A380 gates are to Immigration is Long (despite the moving 'travelators'(?).....especially if you are over 70 yo !

De boarding of the full A380 was especially slow as every passenger was now required to show their boarding pass to cabin staff when they reached the door  - the crew member where i left the aircraft hinted that this was a new Thai Imm requirement!

 

Then after that long walk - "Arrival Hall 1" is closed off ( for some reason -- maybe full already?)

So, more walking to "Arrival Hall 2"

 

Finally I get to Hall 2 and, of course, take the "Priority/ Disabled" line.

 

The queue(s) to this "Priority" ( in name only) lane were quite long, as were the normal arrival zigzag lines.

BUT only 2 out of 4 positions manned, and moving VERY slowly as Imm officers carefully scrutinized passports and boarding passes.

One westerner in my line took forever to be processed - some people swapped lines , but really to no avail - just as slow.

 

Problem was not only the documents check, but the "fully monty" of finger prints of both hands and thumb, and photo !!!!

I was following a Korean couple with toddler - never follow families!  - so again, took forever.

 

In my case, I had PP and boarding pass ready - plus re-entry permit, but was still very slow..

I had noticed one man earlier on in the main arrivals queue opposite who was way back in the zigzag  and we both left Imm to get our bags at the same time!!! So much for the Priority Line.

 

All in all, a very slow , painful experience ( compared to other arrivals I've had here this year).

 

I know we probably shouldn't compare airports, but HKG Imm arrival ( for me) - 3 minutes - put ID card in the machine, then thumb print and gates open and off to get the bags

Even non-resident arrivals handled quickly and efficiently ( if there's a problem person they are stood aside and dealt with so as not to hold up the following people)

HKG has currently over 60 million arrivals per year and pre-covid, over 90 million. So, similar numbers to Thailand.

 

Just thought I'd pass on my latest experience, for what it's worth.

 

 

 

[freeworld]

So how long was the wait in the queue to reach the immig officer, 10 to 30 mins?

[Bday Prang]

Finger prints and photos have been standard for quite some time, Boarding passes have been required to be shown at immigration at least since covid, although it only actually tells you this at the immigration desks. Many people , myself included, often discard their boarding pass once they have successfully boarded the plane so its not a bad idea that airline staff check one is in possession of it before leaving the plane. It would be even better if the requirement was mentioned earlier in the journey, something printed on the ticket to that effect for example'

              I can't see that anything in the OP is relevant to any crackdown on any foreigners entering Thailand,  either long or short term visitors.

Looks pretty much like business as usual to me

Edited March 23 by Bday Prang

[DFPhuket]

It would make so much sense to have an announcement on board saying something like, "At immigration, you will be asked to show your boarding pass and passport. Please hand over both." 

[buick]

i recall providing fingerprints from both hands once but all other times it has been just the right hand.  and the thumb was not included.  i flew in from Saigon in February and Hall 1 (?  closest to E/F/G gates) was closed.  so i also had to proceed to the Hall nearest A/B/C gates.  this was a early evening arrival at BKK.

[impulse]

In contrast, arriving this past Monday afternoon on a flight from Chengdu, China, there was virtually no queue at BKK immigration.  So I guess it's luck of the draw.

 

Like the OP, we were shuffled past the first immigration section and onto the 2nd.  And like the OP, it was a long walk...  Over 1/4 mile according to the signs we passed.  I did get passed by a few courtesy golf carts but I'm not sure whether that's a strictly paid service or on offer to all old farts.

 

I'd also add that, now that China is visa exempt (same queue as me), I scooted along to get in front of the scrum.

 

The downside to the fast immigration was having to wait a long time at the luggage carousel...  Oh well...

 

[moe666]

19 hours ago, orchidfan said:

A lot has been said about the Imm "Crackdown" on Foreigner arrivals and how it might affect we "long term" foreigners living here.

 

I arrived late last night, on an EK A380 from Hong Kong.

 

Firstly, the walk from where the A380 gates are to Immigration is Long (despite the moving 'travelators'(?).....especially if you are over 70 yo !

De boarding of the full A380 was especially slow as every passenger was now required to show their boarding pass to cabin staff when they reached the door  - the crew member where i left the aircraft hinted that this was a new Thai Imm requirement!

 

Then after that long walk - "Arrival Hall 1" is closed off ( for some reason -- maybe full already?)

So, more walking to "Arrival Hall 2"

 

Finally I get to Hall 2 and, of course, take the "Priority/ Disabled" line.

 

The queue(s) to this "Priority" ( in name only) lane were quite long, as were the normal arrival zigzag lines.

BUT only 2 out of 4 positions manned, and moving VERY slowly as Imm officers carefully scrutinized passports and boarding passes.

One westerner in my line took forever to be processed - some people swapped lines , but really to no avail - just as slow.

 

Problem was not only the documents check, but the "fully monty" of finger prints of both hands and thumb, and photo !!!!

I was following a Korean couple with toddler - never follow families!  - so again, took forever.

 

In my case, I had PP and boarding pass ready - plus re-entry permit, but was still very slow..

I had noticed one man earlier on in the main arrivals queue opposite who was way back in the zigzag  and we both left Imm to get our bags at the same time!!! So much for the Priority Line.

 

All in all, a very slow , painful experience ( compared to other arrivals I've had here this year).

 

I know we probably shouldn't compare airports, but HKG Imm arrival ( for me) - 3 minutes - put ID card in the machine, then thumb print and gates open and off to get the bags

Even non-resident arrivals handled quickly and efficiently ( if there's a problem person they are stood aside and dealt with so as not to hold up the following people)

HKG has currently over 60 million arrivals per year and pre-covid, over 90 million. So, similar numbers to Thailand.

 

Just thought I'd pass on my latest experience, for what it's worth.

 

 

 

Arrive on a 380 what could go wrong

[edwardflory]

My last entry n Nov of last year was in about 15 minutes, 3 people ahead of me in "express line". At the IO, greet him in Thai, then fingerprints of right hand, PP check - Extension of Stay,  re-entry permit up to date and Yellow House Book in PP,  done in about 1 1/2 minutes.

[MJCM]

3 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

re-entry permit up to date and Yellow House Book in PP,  done in about 1 1/2 minutes.

 

What DO you mean by "YELLOW HOUSE BOOK in PP" ?????

[Chivas]

4 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Finger prints and photos have been standard for quite some time, Boarding passes have been required to be shown at immigration at least since covid, although it only actually tells you this at the immigration desks. Many people , myself included, often discard their boarding pass once they have successfully boarded the plane so its not a bad idea that airline staff check one is in possession of it before leaving the plane. It would be even better if the requirement was mentioned earlier in the journey, something printed on the ticket to that effect for example'

              I can't see that anything in the OP is relevant to any crackdown on any foreigners entering Thailand,  either long or short term visitors.

Looks pretty much like business as usual to me

 

Perfect response

Nothing in OP was remotely valid as regards any "new" checks

[G_Money]

OP, free up some of your cash and pay for the buggy service.  

[orchidfan]

4 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Finger prints and photos have been standard for quite some time, Boarding passes have been required to be shown at immigration at least since covid, although it only actually tells you this at the immigration desks. Many people , myself included, often discard their boarding pass once they have successfully boarded the plane so its not a bad idea that airline staff check one is in possession of it before leaving the plane. It would be even better if the requirement was mentioned earlier in the journey, something printed on the ticket to that effect for example'

              I can't see that anything in the OP is relevant to any crackdown on any foreigners entering Thailand,  either long or short term visitors.

Looks pretty much like business as usual to me

I have been traveling between HKG and BKK regularly over the past few years and have "normally " passed Imm with a quick look at the boarding pass, stamp the re~entry permit and on my way.

The other night was the first time  (for me) to get such a meticulous check (as for every pax, not just me) and the 2 hands fingerprints and photo in this "priority lane".

It was a noticeable difference....or maybe they were just (now) doing their job properly !

I don't know what the farang ahead of me's problem was, but I am guessing he didn't have his boarding pass.

He should have been moved aside and let following people through.

I agree with you that this Thailand requirement for the boarding pass should be made better known in advance.

At least Emirates did their best to ensure everyone leaving the aircraft had one. And if they didn't, they had some way of replacing it ~ I think with a phone image.

[Toby1947]

20 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

My last entry n Nov of last year was in about 15 minutes, 3 people ahead of me in "express line". At the IO, greet him in Thai, then fingerprints of right hand, PP check - Extension of Stay,  re-entry permit up to date and Yellow House Book in PP,  done in about 1 1/2 minutes.

Greet him in Thai, 😅😂😅 at least you think you did. My Thai lady friend just laughs at you jokers who think they can speak Thai. 😅😂😅 Her favourite English phrase is cannot do. 😅😂😅

[orchidfan]

12 minutes ago, G_Money said:

OP, free up some of your cash and pay for the buggy service.  

Yes, I noticed several rented buggies going by on the way. Mostly occupied by young people ! Not oldies.

 

[orchidfan]

29 minutes ago, Chivas said:

 

Perfect response

Nothing in OP was remotely valid as regards any "new" checks

I don't think I mentioned anything about "new checks" in my piece.

Only the widely mentioned affect that their (supposed) Crackdown might have on us.

I could clearly see that the IOs were being far more meticulous and following "full procedure".....as I guess they should.....but weren't so thorough in the past....in my experience.

[Chivas]

2 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

I don't think I mentioned anything about "new checks" in my piece.

Only the widely mentioned affect that their (supposed) Crackdown might have on us.

I could clearly see that the IOs were being far more meticulous and following "full procedure".....as I guess they should.....but weren't so thorough in the past....in my experience.

 

No idea what you're on about

Scan the passport check the boarding card....Check the Evisa print off against what the IO is viewing on sceeen

 

Fingers thumbs.....smile....passport stamped and away you go

 

Unless the Thai Immigration have now a complete criminal record check of potentially 8 Billion people  that approaches the booth (impossible) then tell me what else they can check

 

Just a standard periodical Thai announcement and nothing more

[transam]

53 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

My last entry n Nov of last year was in about 15 minutes, 3 people ahead of me in "express line". At the IO, greet him in Thai, then fingerprints of right hand, PP check - Extension of Stay,  re-entry permit up to date and Yellow House Book in PP,  done in about 1 1/2 minutes.

Yellow house book, did they.........🙄...........?

[CartagenaWarlock]

5 hours ago, freeworld said:

So how long was the wait in the queue to reach the immig officer, 10 to 30 mins?

I recently arrived at Chicago ORD airport. It took two hours to clear immigration because of the volume of people entering. I think if it were BKK, it would have taken all day with their slow processing time for each person. 

[freeworld]

42 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

Yes, I noticed several rented buggies going by on the way. Mostly occupied by young people ! Not oldies.

 

Shows oldies are fighting fit and tough as nails.

[alex8912]

1 hour ago, Toby1947 said:

Greet him in Thai, 😅😂😅 at least you think you did. My Thai lady friend just laughs at you jokers who think they can speak Thai. 😅😂😅 Her favourite English phrase is cannot do. 😅😂😅

Oh she sounds def like an intelligent keeper. 

[khunjeff]

21 hours ago, orchidfan said:

every passenger was now required to show their boarding pass to cabin staff when they reached the door  - the crew member where i left the aircraft hinted that this was a new Thai Imm requirement!

 

This was because your plane (EK 385) was continuing on to Dubai, and they wanted to be sure that no one was getting off at the wrong destination. It isn't a new requirement - they've done this for years for flights where BKK is only an intermediate stop and continuing passengers are required to remain on board.

 

21 hours ago, orchidfan said:

Problem was not only the documents check, but the "fully monty" of finger prints of both hands and thumb, and photo !!!!

 

As others have noted, this is the standard procedure that the machine runs automatically. The officer can stop it after the first hand is scanned - if she sees that you already have prints on record, and the first hand matches those - but that doesn't always happen.

[soi3eddie]

I was departing Suvarhnabhumi at 01:50am on Friday morning. Having got to the airport way too early, I visited both the Singapore Air and Thai lounges from 9:30pm until 1am. As some might know, the walkway on concourse "D" looks right down on the arrivals and immigration areas 1 & 2. Both looked very clear at 9:30pm, 11pm and 1am. I actually stopped for a few seconds to observe as they were nothing like as busy as when I arrived a few weeks ago. I guess it can be down to day of week (weekends busier?) and whether or not fully loaded A380s have just landed.

 

Another point of note regarding enhanced scrutiny of foreigners; on Thursday I renewed my Non-O retirement extension of stay at CW Bangkok. No appointment. Got queue ticket at 09:15am and was seen at 11:00am. Walked out with new extension in passport at 11:30am (all papers were in order). Easiest yet in last 5 years. No extra paperwork or requirements. Not a single question from a very polite and efficient I/O at desk L35.

 

Edited March 23 by soi3eddie

[orchidfan]

10 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

 

This was because your plane (EK 385) was continuing on to Dubai, and they wanted to be sure that no one was getting off at the wrong destination. It isn't a new requirement - they've done this for years for flights where BKK is only an intermediate stop and continuing passengers are required to remain on board.

 

 

As others have noted, this is the standard procedure that the machine runs automatically. The officer can stop it after the first hand is scanned - if she sees that you already have prints on record, and the first hand matches those - but that doesn't always happen.

Yes I am well aware that EK385 goes on to Dubai as I fly it many times from HKG to BKK and return (3 this year and more planned) and I have NEVER shown my boarding pass to cabin crew before deplaning ....nor has anybody else on the many flights I've taken hkg bkk with Emirates . Dubai pax have to remain onboard.

 

As for the IO, she took a longer than usual time to  visually scan my PP before the stamping was done.

(She was a good looking lady so it wasn't totally painful!)

 

At most (in this lane) I've only ever put right hand fingers on the scanner for a nano second before the OK and heading on.

 

Definitely more thorough "care" being taken by them than in the past.

And yes, I know this is just one.of those Thai short lived "Crackdowns" and won't last !

 

Unlike, as one Thai man said to me...

"Marriage is like a police Crackdown that never ends" 😅

[oldestswinger]

But.......the prime minister insisted that he had ordered the queues to disappear. Maybe that was just on the days that he was travelling.

[orchidfan]

38 minutes ago, oldestswinger said:

But.......the prime minister insisted that he had ordered the queues to disappear. Maybe that was just on the days that he was travelling.

I have to say that the zigzag queue next door appeared to be moving pretty well.

As I said in the original post, a guy way back in that line (bright lime green shirt...hard to miss) exited Imm at the same time as I did in the "Priority" queue.

IF they had had the 4 Imm booths open instead of 2, things would have been faster.

[PMZ]

I fly into BKK between 2 and 5 times each month, Immig varies every single time, depends on the time of day, the flights that came in just before you, day of week, how many Immig officers called in sick that day, etc etc, it's pot-luck...

[sikishrory]

What you describe sounds relatively normal.

I arrived at BKK a bit over a week ago at 1am and was surprised how fast the immigration officer was able to make sense of the mess of a passport I have. I always hand it over with the visa page open to help them but they always scan front page first.

Showing a boarding pass when boarding a plane is sometimes required and sometimes not. Last week it wasn't.

You point out the first arrival hall being full. This seems to be a change. The first arrival hall is now for Thai passports and you have to walk a bit further for the second.

Strange that they are so understaffed as you say though

[gargamon]

Stop your whining and fly business class. No lineups in VIP line. 

[orchidfan]

On 3/24/2024 at 7:44 AM, sikishrory said:

What you describe sounds relatively normal.

I arrived at BKK a bit over a week ago at 1am and was surprised how fast the immigration officer was able to make sense of the mess of a passport I have. I always hand it over with the visa page open to help them but they always scan front page first.

Showing a boarding pass when boarding a plane is sometimes required and sometimes not. Last week it wasn't.

You point out the first arrival hall being full. This seems to be a change. The first arrival hall is now for Thai passports and you have to walk a bit further for the second.

Strange that they are so understaffed as you say though

Thanks for your comments.

Note that is was the checking of boarding passes whilst DE~planning, at each aircraft exiting door which greatly slowed things up.

I had never experienced this before!

[orchidfan]

On 3/24/2024 at 8:20 AM, gargamon said:

Stop your whining and fly business class. No lineups in VIP line. 

Well, point taken, and I have flown Biz class on longer flights (Oz to BKK etc) but hardly worth the cost on a 2hr flight from Hong Kong.

Plenty of reasonable French red and white wines available on EK in cattle class.