The abrupt welcome on my 3rd Visa Exempt

[popabear]

On my onward trip to Thailand in November last year, I got that uneasy feeling of going through Immigration, which most of us do,

as this was my 3rd VE I was a little more uneasy than usual, not that makes much difference I am uneasy on the 1st VE for the year .                               

 

    I am 81 years old and wheelchair assisted, so when I was wheeled into  immigration for wheelchair assisted people, I could see that what was Coming and to my horror a young female immigration officer and straight away new that things would not be easy .   

           

I know The Lady IO was only doing her job, but as I put my fingers onto the finger print test,  she started how long you stay in a very very abrupt high tone non welcome voice, 39 days I replied in a soft voice ( had bite my lips ) ,next who are saying with,  are staying with someone  ( meaning a lady  ) ,that's my private life, anyway I replied going fishing  and to get Thai massage  for the bad legs I have, next where you stay ,I replied I have a hotel booking on my phone do you want to look, so she l looked and then stamp me in. 

 

I do understand the lady IO was only doing her job, but in the all  44 years  of  coming to Thailand  nothing has changed ,this time I felt so un welcome , it would be nice to be spoken to nicely,  I use to think Thais had a lot of respect for older people 

 

I had the  feeling my 3rd VE was maybe some of the issue in her abrupt tone, but  she did not bring that up.  Kind Regards Popa

 

 

[Upnotover]

Sounds fine to me, you arrived and they let you in.  Enjoy the fishing.

[Phillip9]

That's it?  She asked you how long you are staying and who are you staying with?  And you are complaining about that?

 

I get more questions than that when I enter my home country....

[DrJack54]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:30 AM, popabear said:

On my onward trip to Thailand in November last year, I got that uneasy feeling of going through Immigration, which most of us do,

as this was my 3rd VE I was a little more uneasy than usual, not that makes much difference I am uneasy on the 1st VE for the year . 

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You stated 3 visa exempt entries however did not mention time between visits and how long you stayed.

The questions she asked were normal for visa exempt entries. 

Think you are jumping at shadows 

[Nick Carter icp]

Your only complaint was her tone of voice ?

You seem to want her to speak to you like youre a child .

[popabear]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:46 AM, DrJack54 said:

You stated 3 visa exempt entries however did not mention time between visits and how long you stayed.

The questions she asked were normal for visa exempt entries. 

Think you are jumping at shadows 

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Sorry, you don't get the meaning of my post ,why be spoken to like I am a piece of Sh,,,t    Kind Regards Popa.

[DrJack54]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:11 AM, popabear said:

Sorry, you don't get the meaning of my post ,why be spoken to like I am a piece of Sh,,,t    Kind Regards Popa.

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She asked you basic questions and you were stamped in.

BTW she helped with fingerprints.

 

If you want some balance to travel experience fly into Vietnam and compare  immigration personal.

[Nick Carter icp]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:11 AM, popabear said:

Sorry, you don't get the meaning of my post ,why be spoken to like I am a piece of Sh,,,t    Kind Regards Popa.

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   You were being spoken to normally , she was working and that's how people speak when they are working .

   Its even not a big deal if she spoke to you abruptly , she may have been considering refusing you entry and not allowing you to enter Thailand .

   She may have been thinking that you should have got a retirement visa as you aren't a tourist and she should refuse you entry . 

   Maybe that was the reason for her abrupt tone ?

[popabear]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:19 AM, DrJack54 said:

She asked you basic questions and you were stamped in.

BTW she helped with fingerprints.

 

If you want some balance to travel experience fly into Vietnam and compare  immigration personal.

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Been to Vietnam many times ,,  they hardly said word and treated me in a polite manner. Kind Regards Popa

[norfolkandchance]

Your 4th VE could be interesting.

[marin]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:28 AM, popabear said:

Been to Vietnam many times ,,  they hardly said word and treated me in a polite manner. Kind Regards Popa

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With the attitude you are carrying it sounds like you might be off for there quite soon. Her job is to admit you not kiss your you know what.

[novacova]

Some Thai women can be quite bombastic, especially ones from the south and the girlymans 

[Upnotover]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:11 AM, popabear said:

Sorry, you don't get the meaning of my post ,why be spoken to like I am a piece of Sh,,,t    Kind Regards Popa.

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Because in her mind......

[impulse]

I've done 20 consecutive monthly visa exempt entries. I stay about a week each month, then fly out.  For me, it's a visa run to reset my China visa.

 

US citizen, age 67, worked legally in Thailand for years pre-Covid and haven't needed a visa since things opened up.  YMMV.  BTW, I always wear long pants, a collared shirt and a smile going through the queue.  I figure it can't hurt.  And that's the way I dress in public in LOS.

 

About 1 in 3 IOs ask me how long I'm staying this visit.  I'm sure that's on a standard list of questions, but they seem more curious than ominous. 

 

I would contend that any issues with visa exempt entries are probably related to the length of stay as opposed to the number of entries.  But that's based only on my experience. 

 

If you wear raggedy cut-off shorts, sandals and a wife beater, please let us know how that's working at immigration.  I'm curious.

 

[riclag]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:28 AM, popabear said:

Been to Vietnam many times ,,  they hardly said word and treated me in a polite manner. Kind Regards Popa

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Nobody but you knows how the IO

conveyed her demeanor !

Come in with a proper visa next time, perhaps! You did express concern (3 VE),before you were questioned.

 

[Nick Carter icp]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:45 AM, impulse said:

 

 

If you wear raggedy cut-off shorts, sandals and a wife beater, please let us know how that's working at immigration.  I'm curious.

 

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   Immigration officers can only see you from the chest uo , so it doesn't matter what you are wearing below that level 

[impulse]

  On 1/15/2025 at 11:02 AM, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Immigration officers can only see you from the chest uo , so it doesn't matter what you are wearing below that level 

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They see pretty much the whole me when I'm standing behind the yellow line in the queue.

 

 

[popabear]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:35 AM, norfolkandchance said:

Your 4th VE could be interesting.

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No problem, Icame 3 VE the year before and the year before that, be doing it consistent for more than 20 years except for Covid, first time this  has happen .   Kind Regards Popa

[Nick Carter icp]

  On 1/15/2025 at 11:05 AM, impulse said:

 

They see pretty much the whole me when I'm standing behind the yellow line in the queue.

 

 

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  OK, next time you go there , ask the I.O what trousers and shoes you are wearing , see whether they know or not

[impulse]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:30 AM, popabear said:

I do understand the lady IO was only doing her job, but in the all  44 years  of  coming to Thailand  nothing has changed ,this time I felt so un welcome , it would be nice to be spoken to nicely,  I use to think Thais had a lot of respect for older people 

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I had a good female friend in high school whose complexion turned almost beet red a few days a month.  We all knew to give her a wide berth on those days.  Sadly, the ones whose ladydays weren't obvious were just labeled bitches.  Life's not fair.

 

[popabear]

  On 1/15/2025 at 10:35 AM, marin said:

With the attitude you are carrying

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Come on mate , what attitude , I  hardly said a word and what I said was polite . Kind Regards Popa.

[GroveHillWanderer]

  On 1/15/2025 at 11:08 AM, popabear said:

No problem, Icame 3 VE the year before and the year before that, be doing it consistent for more than 20 years except for Covid, first time this  has happen .   Kind Regards Popa

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You're saying that in twenty years of doing 3 VE entries a year, you were never previously asked how long you were staying, and/or where you were staying (except during Covid)? I find that very hard to credit.

 

Also, have you considered that her short questions might simply betray a lack of English language fluency?

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

Seems unlikely they'd refuse an 81 year old in a wheelchair but who knows for sure.  If she tried you could fake a heart attack to make her think twice.

[popabear]

  On 1/15/2025 at 11:23 AM, GroveHillWanderer said:

you were never previously asked how long you were staying, and/or where you were staying (except during Covid)? I find that very hard to credit.

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I never said i had never been asked , sure i been asked many times , but in a polite voice ,even one time joking with 2 immigration officers. Kind Regards Popa

[Nick Carter icp]

  On 1/15/2025 at 11:27 AM, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

Seems unlikely they'd refuse an 81 year old in a wheelchair but who knows for sure.  If she tried you could fake a heart attack to make her think twice.

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   Then get rushed to hospital and then get given a 500 000 Baht medical  bill and then having a REAL heart attack 

[Gaccha]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:30 AM, popabear said:

to my horror a young female immigration officer

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We have a very different view of reality. 

 

On the way back from a business trip to Malaysia, owing to rain damage to my passport, Malaysian immigration control came very close to blocking me from leaving their country. Even saying that I would need to obtain a new passport. Luckily, a top supervisor let me through.

 

With this in mind you can imagine my extreme concern at Thai Immigration letting me in. I carefully selected a young female officer. It was a good choice. I giggled slightly when she looked in shock at the rain damaged passport, I promised her I'd get a new one, she laughed, and through I went.

[popabear]

  On 1/15/2025 at 11:37 AM, Gaccha said:

We have a very different view of reality. 

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Yes all in all I properly got this immigration officer  on her bad day , I have had plenty other pleasant lady immigration officers. Kind Regards Popa .

[Nick Carter icp]

  On 1/15/2025 at 11:51 AM, popabear said:

Yes all in all I properly got this immigration officer  on her bad day , I have had plenty other pleasant lady immigration officers. Kind Regards Popa .

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   Next time, why don't you ask her to be really nice and peasant to you  ?

Ask her to treat you like you were special or in first class . Next time , tell them in advance when you will be arriving and ask for a red carpet to be rolled out 

[NoDisplayName]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:30 AM, popabear said:

I got that uneasy feeling of going through Immigration, which most of us do,

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Honestly, never got that feeling.

 

Just the annoyance at having to search all the bins for TM-6 entry cards, or having to wait in the long, long, long lines.

[GroveHillWanderer]

  On 1/15/2025 at 9:30 AM, popabear said:

I could see that what was Coming and to my horror a young female immigration officer and straight away new that things would not be easy.        

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Based on your own words there, you had evidently already made up your mind that this was going to be an unpleasant experience before she even opened her mouth. 

 

This comes across like a case of confirmation bias. You'd already decided how this was going to turn out, so perhaps unsurprisingly, that's the way things went (or at least, it's how you perceived it).

 

What I can't quite understand is why seeing a female IO would evoke a feeling of horror for you. Especially when you said you've never had a similar experience before, and other female IO's had been very pleasant, why did you expect this particular encounter to be so bad, before it had even started?