I've been denied entry to Thailand - Now What ! ?

[Rob Browder]

On 6/23/2024 at 4:43 PM, Bangkok Alex said:

I was grilled for over 2 hours before they finally let me in. Main reason is they stated I used to have an Elite visa, but to not come back with no visa under no circumstances. 

...

My border run company offered to facilitate my arrival by plane even if I did just a 1 day trip out of Thailand and came back.

 

I was quite nervous honestly but went with it. I did a 1 day trip to Kuala Lumpur and when I came back to DMK, a female IO was waiting for me at a meeting spot, showed me my photo on her phone, I said yes. She escorted me to a booth, processed me and I was out in 2 minutes. 

 

Service costed me 4,500B but was most certainly efficient. Not afraid to travel anymore now.

 

Collecting money this way is Immigration's primary function.  To think otherwise is being naive.  It makes it much less stressful when you realize what the game is all about.  Then, it's just a matter of knowing what the "fee" is, for various situations, and who is the contact who handles the money.

[anotherfarangishere]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Bit surprised that you spend 6 weeks out and still denied.

Harsh. 

I was myself very surprised. I was coming back from Philippines, following some weeks in Kuala Lumpur. By the past, I made a lot of visa run or 2 or 3 days in Cambodia and I was sometimes nervous, but never had a problem. This time, I was very relax... And the irony, is 2018, since 2005, wat the year I've passed the less time in Thailand.

BTW, after reading many reports that people have their e-visa denied - and lost 1000 bahts - in HK because the weren't residents, I didn't try to get one and bought a ticket to Chiang Mai for July 2.

[anotherfarangishere]

On 6/23/2024 at 5:43 PM, Bangkok Alex said:

Main reason is they stated I used to have an Elite visa, but to not come back with no visa under no circumstances. 

??? I don't understand what you mean, could you explain? You've an Elive visa by the past (5 years? 10 years?), but it has now expired?

[MMCHKG]

4 hours ago, anotherfarangishere said:

I was myself very surprised. I was coming back from Philippines, following some weeks in Kuala Lumpur. By the past, I made a lot of visa run or 2 or 3 days in Cambodia and I was sometimes nervous, but never had a problem. This time, I was very relax... And the irony, is 2018, since 2005, wat the year I've passed the less time in Thailand.

BTW, after reading many reports that people have their e-visa denied - and lost 1000 bahts - in HK because the weren't residents, I didn't try to get one and bought a ticket to Chiang Mai for July 2.

After you had been denied entry at DM in 2019, did you finally manage to get back in?  If so, how? You said that you bought a ticket to go to Chiang Mai on July 2, so what actually happened between then and now?  Do you mean you have been outside the country for all these years?

Edited June 26 by MMCHKG

[JimTripper]

Interesting that people want back in after being denied. That would seal the deal for me to look for a new location, not find a new way in. I'm considering other countries just from the 90 day report hassle.

Edited June 26 by JimTripper

[Bangkok Alex]

On 6/26/2024 at 4:25 PM, anotherfarangishere said:

??? I don't understand what you mean, could you explain? You've an Elive visa by the past (5 years? 10 years?), but it has now expired?

I used to have an Elite visa from 2014-2019

 

They told me that it was the only reason they let me back in.

 

Meaning I was kind of proper in the past I guess and spent money here.

 

That's the best way I can speculate

[anotherfarangishere]

22 hours ago, MMCHKG said:

After you had been denied entry at DM in 2019, did you finally manage to get back in?  If so, how? You said that you bought a ticket to go to Chiang Mai on July 2, so what actually happened between then and now?  Do you mean you have been outside the country for all these years?

I stopped to go Thailand until 2021. Then, I came back in december 2021 - with a new passport - when they opened Thailand again at the end of the pandemic, doing everything needed. Then, thanks to the covid-19 extensions I stayed 10 months

I left in October 2022 and came back without visa the last days of February 2023. When they find I had stayed 10 months in 2022 - some people stayed 2 years with the covid extensions, just like me I stayed 22 months in KL -  again, they make me problem, this time at Suvarnabhumi. They checked my file and found I've been denied entry in 2018. It seems they can't see why, as they asked to me why I was denied entry and asked to see my previous passport but I don't have it with me anymore.

Eventually they let me in after they have checked I have bought a ticket to leave Thailand and I've booked something for my stay.

I got a 30 days extension without any problem and came back on July 1, 2023, but at Chiang Mai. I didn't have any problem and the lady who checked my passport was friendly. Again, I got a 30 days extensions once in Bangkok.

 

So, I stayed only 4 months in Thailand in 2023.

And last, I came back at Suvarnabhumi at the end of March 2024 with an e-visa I got in Korea. I didn't have any problem, the man at immigration looked very cold, didn't answer to my "Sawadee Khap" but while he was checking my printed e-visa - I confirm it must be printed, you can't show your smartphone - give me a smile and nodded to show me everything was okay (and even gave me back my wai!).

[anotherfarangishere]

53 minutes ago, Bangkok Alex said:

I used to have an Elite visa from 2014-2019

 

They told me that it was the only reason they let me back in.

 

Meaning I was kind of proper in the past I guess and spent money here.

 

That's the best way I can speculate

Ok, thank you very much for the explanation. Could you say a little bit more about "My border run company offered to facilitate my arrival by plane even if I did just a 1 day trip out of Thailand and came back." ? Some "border run" company can help you to clear immigration with money ?

 

Also, did you enjoy your Elite Visa? Could you really clear immigration very fast? Did you get some free car from airport to your booking or some other advantages you're missing now?

Edited June 27 by anotherfarangishere

[Bangkok Alex]

1 hour ago, anotherfarangishere said:

Ok, thank you very much for the explanation. Could you say a little bit more about "My border run company offered to facilitate my arrival by plane even if I did just a 1 day trip out of Thailand and came back." ? Some "border run" company can help you to clear immigration with money ?

 

Also, did you enjoy your Elite Visa? Could you really clear immigration very fast? Did you get some free car from airport to your booking or some other advantages you're missing now?

Regarding Elite, yes the visa and benefits were nice. I had a BMW series 7 pick me up and bring me back for international flights. I had a nice staff quickly bring me through immigration.

 

But I decided it was not worth the price. Espeically by today's standards. My personal choice.

 

Now, the agency i used also has services to do border runs to Cambodia. This time they recommended me their services for airport landing and for the price, I thought it worked very well.

 

I can give contacts in private if it is of interest.

[MMCHKG]

2 hours ago, anotherfarangishere said:

I stopped to go Thailand until 2021. Then, I came back in december 2021 - with a new passport - when they opened Thailand again at the end of the pandemic, doing everything needed. Then, thanks to the covid-19 extensions I stayed 10 months

I left in October 2022 and came back without visa the last days of February 2023. When they find I had stayed 10 months in 2022 - some people stayed 2 years with the covid extensions, just like me I stayed 22 months in KL -  again, they make me problem, this time at Suvarnabhumi. They checked my file and found I've been denied entry in 2018. It seems they can't see why, as they asked to me why I was denied entry and asked to see my previous passport but I don't have it with me anymore.

Eventually they let me in after they have checked I have bought a ticket to leave Thailand and I've booked something for my stay.

I got a 30 days extension without any problem and came back on July 1, 2023, but at Chiang Mai. I didn't have any problem and the lady who checked my passport was friendly. Again, I got a 30 days extensions once in Bangkok.

 

So, I stayed only 4 months in Thailand in 2023.

And last, I came back at Suvarnabhumi at the end of March 2024 with an e-visa I got in Korea. I didn't have any problem, the man at immigration looked very cold, didn't answer to my "Sawadee Khap" but while he was checking my printed e-visa - I confirm it must be printed, you can't show your smartphone - give me a smile and nodded to show me everything was okay (and even gave me back my wai!).

Many thanks for letting me know.  It does seem very arbitrary though.  They never give any specific period and there is really no rule on how many visa exempts would be issued for one person.

Edited June 27 by MMCHKG

[Yagoda]

On 6/22/2024 at 11:33 AM, Chivas said:

How many times have I said down the years on this forum always dress nicely, speak nicely and behave nicely at that immigration booth. Its not remotely difficult

The state of 95% of those that arrive make the other 5% that act nicely stand out should an immigration officer be in "two minds" over entry

 

I' bet very few denials are in that 5% element

 

Some of the utter peasants in those immigration queues defy belief

35 years of going in and out of Thailand here. Never once a hassle. Brush teeth before landing, wash face, wear unwrinkled collared shirt and long pants with shoes and socks, brush beard, tie back hair where applicable. Approach IO, male female whoever, say good morning/afternoon/evening, hand over passport open to whatever visa is applicable, smile.

 

 

[novacova]

4 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

35 years of going in and out of Thailand here. Never once a hassle. Brush teeth before landing, wash face, wear unwrinkled collared shirt and long pants with shoes and socks, brush beard, tie back hair where applicable. Approach IO, male female whoever, say good morning/afternoon/evening, hand over passport open to whatever visa is applicable, smile.

 

 

Have always arrived scrappy and unshaven after 24 hours of travel, never an issue.

 

[DrJack54]

30 minutes ago, novacova said:

Have always arrived scrappy and unshaven after 24 hours of travel, never an issue.

 

Agree.

It's all about visa/reentry permit.

Immigration are not interested in dress code despite ongoing misleading posts.

The issue is always regarding ongoing stay in Thailand without a visa

 

 

 

 

 

[anotherfarangishere]

On 6/27/2024 at 9:08 PM, Bangkok Alex said:

I can give contacts in private if it is of interest.

Sure, thank you!

[raz0r21]

Some people might be interested in this. My friend got questioned recently, and put in some area with alot of other arrivals who had a long history of stays in Thailand. This happened when he arrived in May.

 

In my friends case, he had been out of the country for over 6 months, but still got a harsh scolding because he didnt have a tourist visa. He kept repeating that he didnt know what rules he is breaking, or what the problem was. The IO finally let him in, but told him that he could not extend with 30 days at Immigration. A few days ago he extended through a visa service agent, without issues.

 

 

Edited June 30 by raz0r21

[DrJack54]

10 minutes ago, raz0r21 said:

The IO finally let him in, but told him that he could not extend with 30 days at Immigration.

The immigration officer was talking nonsense 

[raz0r21]

38 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

The immigration officer was talking nonsense 

 

Yeah, I was very surprised by this. Apparently the biggest problems were that he 1) had been to Vietnam many times 2) didnt have a tourist visa. The "interrogation" took around 30 minutes, and the IO also threatened that he might not be let in. He also had to show proof of funds, and he presented his bank balance as proof which they eventually accepted.

[Rob Browder]

6 hours ago, raz0r21 said:

He also had to show proof of funds, and he presented his bank balance as proof which they eventually accepted.

Next time he should DEFINITELY have:

• 20K Baht worth of CASH- can be in a foreign currency
• A flight out within 30 days to show
• A hotel booking for at least a few days

I would also have a Tourist Visa and enter at Chiang Mai - OR - fly to a nearby country and enter by-land (anywhere but Poipet/Aranyaprathet), which he can do 2x / calendar-year.

 

With 6-mo out, they could not possibly make the usual claim he was here "working illegally" - competing with Burmese for illegal under-the-table jobs, like all us other sneaky Westerners, who travel to Thailand to work 6-days/week, 10 hours/day hard-labor, for less than we could make in an 8-hour day in our passport-country flipping burgers.  /s

 

Maybe they think he was doing that in Vietnam, and the IO was just trying to help out his immigration-buddies over there deal with this pernicious and pervasive Western "illegal worker" crime problem, which plagues SE Asia.  /s

[ravip]

On 6/24/2024 at 1:19 PM, markus said:

I think by racist the OP meant that the officers are jealous of people who come to the country because they think they have more money ...

After seeing millions of foreigners passing by, they still have that jealous feeling?

There seems to be a huge phycological problem involved here...

[raz0r21]

6 hours ago, Rob Browder said:

Next time he should DEFINITELY have:

• 20K Baht worth of CASH- can be in a foreign currency
• A flight out within 30 days to show
• A hotel booking for at least a few days

I would also have a Tourist Visa and enter at Chiang Mai - OR - fly to a nearby country and enter by-land (anywhere but Poipet/Aranyaprathet), which he can do 2x / calendar-year.

 

With 6-mo out, they could not possibly make the usual claim he was here "working illegally" - competing with Burmese for illegal under-the-table jobs, like all us other sneaky Westerners, who travel to Thailand to work 6-days/week, 10 hours/day hard-labor, for less than we could make in an 8-hour day in our passport-country flipping burgers.  /s

 

Maybe they think he was doing that in Vietnam, and the IO was just trying to help out his immigration-buddies over there deal with this pernicious and pervasive Western "illegal worker" crime problem, which plagues SE Asia.  /s

 

Yeah he was definately not prepared. But still got in after a while. Probably the IO was on a power trip. I agree about the working illegally part!

[anotherfarangishere]

On 6/27/2024 at 8:49 PM, MMCHKG said:

Many thanks for letting me know.  It does seem very arbitrary though.  They never give any specific period and there is really no rule on how many visa exempts would be issued for one person.

Arrived today in Chiang Mai after 9 days in Hong Kong - so I stayed 9 days outside Thailand - without visa and no problem at all. Young lady at immigration was friendly: she answered when I said Sawadee Khap and gave me back my wai. I stayed 1 minute at the counter or maybe less.

[DonniePeverley]

Never chose a female agent. 

[it is what it is]

39 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

Never chose a female agent. 

 

always choose a female, in 25+ years never had a problem. must be something about you 🤭

[raz0r21]

8 hours ago, anotherfarangishere said:

Arrived today in Chiang Mai after 9 days in Hong Kong - so I stayed 9 days outside Thailand - without visa and no problem at all. Young lady at immigration was friendly: she answered when I said Sawadee Khap and gave me back my wai. I stayed 1 minute at the counter or maybe less.

 

Chiang Mai is known for being a friendly airport

[farangbuffalo]

Anyone ever been pulled aside and gently suggested to the IO maybe they could pay a 'fine' to be let in? 😅

[raz0r21]

4 hours ago, farangbuffalo said:

Anyone ever been pulled aside and gently suggested to the IO maybe they could pay a 'fine' to be let in? 😅

 

There are services for "Safe entry" to Thailand available. Not sure if they are allowed to be published here on the forum, but I am sure you can find it online. 

[Tod Daniels]

14 hours ago, anotherfarangishere said:

Arrived today in Chiang Mai after 9 days in Hong Kong - so I stayed 9 days outside Thailand - without visa and no problem at all. Young lady at immigration was friendly: she answered when I said Sawadee Khap and gave me back my wai. I stayed 1 minute at the counter or maybe less.

Never been one single confirmed case of someone getting denied entry flying direct into Chiang Mai, and I looked and looked but couldn't find even a single one. IF people need a "user friendly airport" that is the one (other than those b/s tiny ones in the south that are okay too)

[Rob Browder]

5 hours ago, farangbuffalo said:

Anyone ever been pulled aside and gently suggested to the IO maybe they could pay a 'fine' to be let in? 😅

Unlikely to work, and potentially dangerous.  The "extra fee" must go through an agent, in advance, so "nothing happens" at the immigration checkpoint. 

[MMCHKG]

1 hour ago, Tod Daniels said:

Never been one single confirmed case of someone getting denied entry flying direct into Chiang Mai, and I looked and looked but couldn't find even a single one. IF people need a "user friendly airport" that is the one (other than those b/s tiny ones in the south that are okay too)

So I believe for example either Krabi or Hat Yai would also be ok?

[anotherfarangishere]

On 7/3/2024 at 3:51 PM, Tod Daniels said:

Never been one single confirmed case of someone getting denied entry flying direct into Chiang Mai, and I looked and looked but couldn't find even a single one. IF people need a "user friendly airport" that is the one (other than those b/s tiny ones in the south that are okay too)

It complicates things and you've to spend more money. Also, not all cities have direct flights to CM.

BTW, I hoped until the last moment that the new 60 days exemption will become effective, but on July 2 I got 30 days... (can't find a truly crying emoji)