Warning - Bangkok airport immigration shenanigans

[MrPancake]

As you probably already know, getting into Thailand on an exemption works only twice by land and is unlimited by air. Well in theory. I just got arrested at bkk airport for coming and going too much on exemptions.

 

I told them my moves were legal based on thai immigration own website but they said I had to get a visa coz I would be kicked out otherwise. I asked them for what reason - coz what I'm doing is legal - and of course they couldn't give me an answer.

 

So after 5 minutes of useless chatter, I told them that I respected them but that I didn't care and would go spend my money elsewhere if they couldn't follow their own rules. They let me in.

 

I don't know what the f is going on here but I think Thailand is struggling with its tourist industry and is trying to pressure people into getting a proper visas to get in so they make more money.

 

Another interesting fact is that they seemed pretty annoyed that I was also in Vietnam a lot. I think they might be a bit concerned by the great visa scheme in place over there.

 

Anyways. Stand your ground respectfully and politely underline the lack of coherence of the arrest if that happens to you and you should be good. They are essentially trapped in a self-contradicting logic anyways. They want you in for as long as possible but they would like to force their terms on you even though those terms violate their own rules.

 

At the same time they give 90 days to russians and ask for a visa-free access to Shengen....

 

This is so dumb......... 😄

 

Anyways.

Good luck.

[Pattaya57]

15 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

I just got arrested at bkk airport for coming and going too much on exemptions.

 

So after 5 minutes of useless chatter....

 

They let me in.

 

These are the points of your rant that seem to matter. You claim you were arrested but 5 minutes of chatting later they let you in

 

Definitely not arrested so what's the big deal?

 

[Regyai]

The overall point is that a couple of 'foreigners behaving badly' incidents of late stimulated a typical knee jerk reaction with clarion calls for 'tightening-up' on foreigners by immigration.

 

As I confidently foresaw tightening-up on the ACTUAL laws a bit ho-hum and won't amount to anything, but the 'go get em floyd' rah rah speech to the troops is only likely to engender the rabid pursuit of their IMAGINED laws - as endured by the O.P.

[MrPancake]

11 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

These are the points of your rant that seem to matter. You claim you were arrested but 5 minutes of chatting later they let you in

 

What's the big deal?

 

It's not a rant. I'm warning you guys so you don't get caught off guard. And no it wasn't 5 minutes. More like 30. The 5 minutes were about listening to their deportation threats backed by zero logic.

 

The big deal is thai immigration offering exemptions under certain conditions and then threatening you so you feel like you have to give up on what you are legally entitled to.

[quake]

Drama Queen alert.  

 

[MrPancake]

Just now, quake said:

Drama Queen alert.  

 

Yeah right 😄

[quake]

Just now, MrPancake said:

Yeah right 😄

 

You were let in. 

 

[NativeBob]

4 minutes ago, quake said:

Drama Queen alert.  

 

Good one!

referring to thai imm. officer something posted on the website - priceless! See that scene almost every visit to Changwattana.
LOL

[TaoNow]

11 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

 

It's not a rant. I'm warning you guys so you don't get caught off guard. And no it wasn't 5 minutes. More like 30. The 5 minutes were about listening to their deportation threats backed by zero logic.

 

The big deal is thai immigration offering exemptions under certain conditions and then threatening you so you feel like you have to give up on what you are legally entitled to.

 

No foreigner is "legally entitled" to enter Thailand.

 

That fact is what so many posters here seem not to grasp.

[impulse]

I'd be curious what the OP's immigration history is.

 

Last week, I entered Thailand visa exempt for the 12th time in the past 12 months, and it was all smiles and less than a minute.  I fly in, stay a week and fly out.  It resets the 30 day clock on my China visa.   My buttcheeks always pucker up a little on both ends of the visa run, so I'm interested in what folks have done (if anything) to merit the extra scrutiny.

 

BTW, US citizen, 67 yo, worked in Thailand on BOI WP for 7 years and haven't had a Thai visa since.  Just exempt entries by air.  (One by land when I pursued a wild hair to take the train from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok- never again)

 

Edit:  I also wonder how close the posters are to being denied entry when they post about extra scrutiny, and being curious I always wonder how they dressed on the day.  I see guys and gals I'd ban just for bad taste and disrespectful apparel.

 

[simon43]

I came into Thailand last Wednesday at Swampy.  The IO looked in my passport for a visa (since I have been living and in/out of Thailand for the past 22 years or so.  I explained (in Thai) that I had no visa to enter Thailand because I was just coming for shopping and would return back to Laos in a few days, and I pointed out my 1 year Lao visa in my passport.  "Ah no problem" said the friendly female IO and stamped me in for 30 days.

[Dan O]

41 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

As you probably already know, getting into Thailand on an exemption works only twice by land and is unlimited by air. Well in theory. I just got arrested at bkk airport for coming and going too much on exemptions.

 

I told them my moves were legal based on thai immigration own website but they said I had to get a visa coz I would be kicked out otherwise. I asked them for what reason - coz what I'm doing is legal - and of course they couldn't give me an answer.

 

So after 5 minutes of useless chatter, I told them that I respected them but that I didn't care and would go spend my money elsewhere if they couldn't follow their own rules. They let me in.

 

I don't know what the f is going on here but I think Thailand is struggling with its tourist industry and is trying to pressure people into getting a proper visas to get in so they make more money.

 

Another interesting fact is that they seemed pretty annoyed that I was also in Vietnam a lot. I think they might be a bit concerned by the great visa scheme in place over there.

 

Anyways. Stand your ground respectfully and politely underline the lack of coherence of the arrest if that happens to you and you should be good. They are essentially trapped in a self-contradicting logic anyways. They want you in for as long as possible but they would like to force their terms on you even though those terms violate their own rules.

 

At the same time they give 90 days to russians and ask for a visa-free access to Shengen....

 

This is so dumb......... 😄

 

Anyways.

Good luck.

You didn't get arrested so to post that is pure bs. They questioned you about over use of entries without proper visas and most like too often "as a tourist",  which is their job,  just like Imm officers in any other country in the world. They can deny you for any number of reasons so to act the entitled foreigner isn't a good option. If they stopped you and questioned you then you are probably coming in and out to much and can be considered a nuisance to society with no visible means of support and toss you.  

[Dan O]

29 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

 

It's not a rant. I'm warning you guys so you don't get caught off guard. And no it wasn't 5 minutes. More like 30. The 5 minutes were about listening to their deportation threats backed by zero logic.

 

The big deal is thai immigration offering exemptions under certain conditions and then threatening you so you feel like you have to give up on what you are legally entitled to.

You aren't entitled to anything as a foreigner other than what they allow you so you may not want to play that card as they can block your entry and tag the system and send you packing  pack to wherever you came from you dont want a denial stamp in your passport.

[retarius]

51 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

As you probably already know, getting into Thailand on an exemption works only twice by land and is unlimited by air. Well in theory. I just got arrested at bkk airport for coming and going too much on exemptions.

 

I told them my moves were legal based on thai immigration own website but they said I had to get a visa coz I would be kicked out otherwise. I asked them for what reason - coz what I'm doing is legal - and of course they couldn't give me an answer.

 

So after 5 minutes of useless chatter, I told them that I respected them but that I didn't care and would go spend my money elsewhere if they couldn't follow their own rules. They let me in.

 

I don't know what the f is going on here but I think Thailand is struggling with its tourist industry and is trying to pressure people into getting a proper visas to get in so they make more money.

 

Another interesting fact is that they seemed pretty annoyed that I was also in Vietnam a lot. I think they might be a bit concerned by the great visa scheme in place over there.

 

Anyways. Stand your ground respectfully and politely underline the lack of coherence of the arrest if that happens to you and you should be good. They are essentially trapped in a self-contradicting logic anyways. They want you in for as long as possible but they would like to force their terms on you even though those terms violate their own rules.

 

At the same time they give 90 days to russians and ask for a visa-free access to Shengen....

 

This is so dumb......... 😄

 

Anyways.

Good luck.

Why don't you just get a visa you silly ass?

[Jingthing]

I know enforcement of this varies, but my take is that we are not allowed to live indefinitely Thailand based on tourism based entries and that immigration police have every right to question us if they see evidence that we are, and they also have every right to deny entry if they aren't satisfied with our answers. Often related of course to suspicion of working illegally. Obviously what happens on any given day can be random and related to luck, but i seriously ask, am I wrong?

[foreverlomsak]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I know enforcement of this varies, but my take is that we are not allowed to live indefinitely Thailand based on tourism based entries and that immigration police have every right to question us if they see evidence that we are, and they also have every right to deny entry if they aren't satisfied with our answers. Often related of course to suspicion of working illegally. Obviously what happens on any given day can be random and related to luck,

Fully agree

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

but i seriously ask, am I wrong?

Nope

[MrPancake]

18 minutes ago, TaoNow said:

 

No foreigner is "legally entitled" to enter Thailand.

 

That fact is what so many posters here seem not to grasp.

 

Bad for business.

[riclag]

55 minutes ago, Regyai said:

The overall point is that a couple of 'foreigners behaving badly' incidents of late stimulated a typical knee jerk reaction with clarion calls for 'tightening-up' on foreigners by immigration.

 

As I confidently foresaw tightening-up on the ACTUAL laws a bit ho-hum and won't amount to anything, but the 'go get em floyd' rah rah speech to the troops is only likely to engender the rabid pursuit of their IMAGINED laws - as endured by the O.P.

The op didnt mention any of this , to infer this type of  interrogation.

Yes it is true , IO is on the look out for dirty falangs / unscrupulous Sods.

But he did mention what appears to be a possible money grab scheme!

Lets face it

Land borders & air entries have different rules , as mentioned and IO around Thailand and interpretation of them are different at times .

It has been very confusing over the years.

 

imop

[DrJack54]

51 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

It's not a rant.

It is a rant and thinking the forum would be more appreciative of details of your history in Thailand. 

Especially amount of time spent out of Thailand.  You mentioned Vietnam.

 

You would not have been deported you perhaps could be denied entry. Very different. 

[NoDisplayName]

49 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

 

It's not a rant. I'm warning you guys so you don't get caught off guard. And no it wasn't 5 minutes. More like 30. The 5 minutes were about listening to their deportation threats backed by zero logic.

 

The big deal is thai immigration offering exemptions under certain conditions and then threatening you so you feel like you have to give up on what you are legally entitled to.

 

Dude, an immigration officer pulled you aside and asked some questions.

 

You were not "arrested."

 

Had they not let you in, you would have been denied entry, not "deported."

 

As to being denied what you are entitled to, no, you are "entitled" to nothing.  However, you may be seen as abusing the visa-free entry for genuine tourists.

 

So, yeah, that was a "rant."

[MrPancake]

23 minutes ago, retarius said:

Why don't you just get a visa you silly ass?

 

Too complicated irl.

Too long online (1 month).

Visa should be a formality not something that sits at the heart of your existence.

[Pattaya57]

5 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

 

Too complicated irl.

Too long online (1 month).

Visa should be a formality not something that sits at the heart of your existence.

I just got a non-imm O 90 day visa issued in 72 hours (was sent to me on a saturday). What's this 1 month claim?

 

Probably just the same exageration that you "were arrested"

 

[Eloquent pilgrim]

 

You were not arrested, stop telling attention seeking porkies 

[koolbreez]

6 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

 

Bad for business.

You seem to think you are entitled to stay here long term because you are thinking you can use a loophole in what you think is the law. Any official reference concerning law that this that you find will also say at the discretion of immigration. When they decide you are trying to stay long term as a tourist then you experience exactly what you experienced. Immigration isn't stupid, and this has been going on for over a decade. It's not new. Also, when immigration decides you aren't entering they don't arrest you. You simply are refused entry and go back where you came from to get the correct visa.

[MrPancake]

5 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

It is a rant and thinking the forum would be more appreciative of details of your history in Thailand. 

Especially amount of time spent out of Thailand.  You mentioned Vietnam.

 

You would not have been deported you perhaps could be denied entry. Very different. 

 

My history is my business.

I have no criminal record or money problems and that in itself should be enough for me to travel all over SE Asia inline with immigration rules without being arrested for no reason.

I told them very clearly that I wasn't looking for a debate or a fight and that I could go away if they wanted to. Nobody bullies me or plays the spin doctor to try and make me believe that somehow I did something wrong. That btw what the last straw. An officer telling me that if i was arrested at the immigration counter it must have been for a reason. Of course couldn't find the reason 😄

F that.

They were wrong doing what they did.

[marin]

2 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

F that.

They were wrong doing what they did.

You will not last long here. Which going by your posting history is not that bad of a thing at all. 

[MrPancake]

7 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

I just got a non-imm O 90 day visa issued in 72 hours (was sent to me on a saturday). What's this 1 month claim?

 

Probably just the same exageration that you "were arrested"

 

 

Depends where you come from.

E visas are processed by the applicant country's embassy. The thai embassy in Paris asks for a month time to deliver. Super slow...

[foreverlomsak]

2 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

My history is my business.

I have no criminal record or money problems and that in itself should be enough

How would the Immigration Officer know that with you acting all "entitled", precisely what somebody that has something to hide would act.

Next you'll be saying there is no need for passports either.

[Dan O]

22 minutes ago, MrPancake said:

 

Bad for business.

You don't have to come here, it won't affect them 1 bit if another foreigner that feels and acts entitled doesn't come back. It also won't make the rest of us looked at in that same view

[MrPancake]

8 minutes ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

 

You were not arrested, stop telling attention seeking porkies 

 

Whatever. Call it what you want. I think what happens to me is pretty easy to picture.