Tourist Visa Rejected

[robbiecia]

Hi all

Just got back from Penang where i used an agent to apply for a tourist visa. Have TWO tourist visas issued earlier this year from singapore. Penang rejected me outright. Have a British passport

[Prakanong]

Maybe they thought you were not a tourist and using tourist visa's to live in Thailand so therefore do not qualify?

[robbiecia]

Thought Penang was a bit harsh rejecting me...... have been in Thailand for a total of six months this year. when i got my second tourist visa in singapore they remarked do not apply here again. Apparently Penang rejected me on the basis of that remark

[Jingthing]

Another case of a broken promise.

When the day counting rule was announced there were messages from immigration that it was still not a problem to be a long term tourist, just get tourist visas. Now the tourist visas are limited. If tourism is good, what's wrong with long term tourists? If individuals are breaking laws, go after the violations, not the entire pool of people who want to hang out here for innocent reasons. They like it here, they are spending money, what is the problem?

Anyway, my sympathy to the OP.

The times, they have a CHANGED.

Edited December 19, 2007 by Jingthing

[Prakanong]

Thought Penang was a bit harsh rejecting me...... have been in Thailand for a total of six months this year. when i got my second tourist visa in singapore they remarked do not apply here again. Apparently Penang rejected me on the basis of that remark

Singapore is supposed to be tight - as I have said before they will not give me or even my VP multi-entry non-imm B visa's and we areas legitimate household name MNC who visits our BKK office regularly??

And certain groups are up in arms in the UK as we wish to restrict it to 90 days instead of 180

[robbiecia]

Would love to know what is their policy. Just want to spend my money here for some time each year but i guess six months is enough for them. Had to come into Thailand on a 30 day stamp at the border. Does anybody know if you can extend 30 day stamps??

[lopburi3]

Not more than 7 days and the ticket outbound may have to be shown.

[robbiecia]

thanks guys.............but rejected visas and promoting tourism dont mix too well. Ive been to many countries and never had an experience like penang

[Heng]

Surely you can find a way to spend your money here within a 6 month time frame each year?

[robbiecia]

Thats the message ive got. TWO visas a year and that must be your limit.

[astral]

And certain groups are up in arms in the UK as we wish to restrict it to 90 days instead of 180

Surely 90 days is long enough for a holiday (vacation).

A bit of tit for tat from the UK, perhaps? Not that I think they had Thailand in mind.

Probably a continent a little nearer home??

Immigration to other nations is becoming more difficult.............

I must say like the idea of the sponsor deposit for family members visiting.

Exactly what the Australians do.

[cali4995]

The other option is to just plan on spending more time in some of the other countries

in the region. Sure, there are a lot of people working here illegally on tourist visas,

some of them very obvious to spot. Imposing punitive, blanket restrictions on everyone

is not the answer. I don't think the TAT really understands their own tourism base. Far

more people than they realize take long holidays in Thailand 6-12 months. They have

this mistaken perception that people will travel here for 30 days, shower money on the

local economy, and then jet back to their home countries to save money for next year.

[astral]

They have this mistaken perception that people will travel here for 30 days, shower money on the

local economy, and then jet back to their home countries to save money for next year.

I am sorry. You are the one who is mistaken.

Take a look at the TAT statistics.

The average visitor does not stay more than 9 days and that has varied little over the last 10 years.

The amount visitors spend has gone up, by 50%

[tropo]

Thats the message ive got. TWO visas a year and that must be your limit.

Penang has no such policy. The way things are looking there, if you have 2 visas in your passport over any time period you're likely to be refused. If you're lucky, you'll get a warning stamp with a visa.

[astral]

Perhaps you should have applied in person, then you could have asked why you request was rejected.

[tropo]

They have this mistaken perception that people will travel here for 30 days, shower money on the

local economy, and then jet back to their home countries to save money for next year.

I am sorry. You are the one who is mistaken.

Take a look at the TAT statistics.

The average visitor does not stay more than 9 days and that has varied little over the last 10 years.

The amount visitors spend has gone up, by 50%

Interesting stats. The average daily spend hardly changed from 1997 until 2005 when it dropped from the previous year. I suspect that 2006 and 2007 may be down further still reflecting the strong Thai baht and less value for money for the tourist.

Do you really think these stats reflect the spending of long-stay tourists? I don't think they do.

Long stay tourists usually left the country officially every 30 days or so (border and visa runs) at the time these figures were compiled, so that would bring down the official average length of stay considerably and not reflect the real situation. eg. A tourist who used to do monthly border runs would have registered as 12 tourists staying 30 days each time.

[Jingthing]

If they want to crack down on long term pseudo-tourists, they have every right. I don't like it but they can do what they want. I reject any comparisons of Thailand immigration to immigration policies of first world countries, completely irrelevant to compare.

[cali4995]

They have this mistaken perception that people will travel here for 30 days, shower money on the

local economy, and then jet back to their home countries to save money for next year.

I am sorry. You are the one who is mistaken.

Take a look at the TAT statistics.

The average visitor does not stay more than 9 days and that has varied little over the last 10 years.

The amount visitors spend has gone up, by 50%

Look at the T.A.T. statistics? That's a joke. I'm sure their numbers fit whatever

case it is their trying to build. Credibility isn't a strong suit here.

In the news clippings, the recent story about the senior TAT offical accepting 1.7 million US in

bribes concerning that bangkok film festival is a good example. You believe what they say?

Edited December 19, 2007 by cali4995

[frenchFARANGbkk]

Hi all

Just got back from Penang where i used an agent to apply for a tourist visa. Have TWO tourist visas issued earlier this year from singapore. Penang rejected me outright. Have a British passport

Don't understand why nobody here told you to go to Ventiane in Laos, this is the place now, they even give double entry tourist visa.

Edited December 19, 2007 by frenchFARANGbkk

[robbiecia]

Was aware of the situation in ventiane.............but considering i have never been to Penang, i thought it should be no problem. What worries me is that Penang rejected my tourist visa application on the basis of a remark(not red stamp) on my last visa recieved in Singapore.

I would like to add that im only a tourist on an extended holiday here in Thailand. By having a tourist visa i find it easier for longer term planning. Before my last entry i have never used the 30 day stamp.

My main concern is the fact that regional embassies (Penang) will reject your application when they see remarks or warning stamps from other embassies.

[LivinLOS]

They have this mistaken perception that people will travel here for 30 days, shower money on the

local economy, and then jet back to their home countries to save money for next year.

I am sorry. You are the one who is mistaken.

Take a look at the TAT statistics.

The average visitor does not stay more than 9 days and that has varied little over the last 10 years.

The amount visitors spend has gone up, by 50%

I would imagine inflation takes care of the 50% over that timescale..

Also wonder if those averages take all those visa runners into account.. 1 person having 12x30 trips back then etc. Are these 'unique visitors' ??

[Westerner]

robbiecia

Many people have lived in Thailand for many years on a tourist visa by going to Penang on regular "visa runs" - this is what Immigration wants to stamp out. Unfortunately they can't differentiate from 'long timers' and people like yourself who just want an extended holiday.

Edited December 20, 2007 by Westerner

[jonniebkk]

Singapore is supposed to be tight - as I have said before they will not give me or even my VP multi-entry non-imm B visa's and we areas legitimate household name MNC who visits our BKK office regularly??

Just curious, if this is the case, why does your MNC maintain a Bangkok office...if it is hard for their executive to get the legal right to visit these offices without allot of paperwork hassles. I mean, were they not a year or so back trying to promote LOS as a place for such MNCs to set up their regional headquarters. And then won't even issue multi-Bs for executives who work at such offices to visit them. Wasn't the one-stop-center supposed to assist corps like your's deal with these matters?

[jonniebkk]

Thats the message ive got. TWO visas a year and that must be your limit.

I sympathize with your position...just go have a great time in other countries in the area like others have said. Better scenery, beaches, outdoor sports, and friendly people can be found in Bali; Great eco-tours, trekking, cheap food, diving, etc, can be found in Malaysia/Borneo; Friendly people, dramatic scenery, better diving can be found in Philippines. No need to come to Thailand for any of this. The only area LOS really beats out these other places is quality/cost of food and availability of P4P (but of course, these can be found everyplace as well...just not so in your face).

So until more people start spending their time and MONEY elsewhere, things will not change here. I think many people just ALWAYS visit LOS out of habit...get out and explore the rest of Asia...Thailand does not want you...even if you are a real tourist with money to spend

[JR Texas]

Another case of a broken promise.

When the day counting rule was announced there were messages from immigration that it was still not a problem to be a long term tourist, just get tourist visas. Now the tourist visas are limited. If tourism is good, what's wrong with long term tourists? If individuals are breaking laws, go after the violations, not the entire pool of people who want to hang out here for innocent reasons. They like it here, they are spending money, what is the problem?

Anyway, my sympathy to the OP.

The times, they have a CHANGED.

For a few of us, the writing was on the wall six years ago...........some of us have tried hard to get the Love Thailand Or Leave It crowd......those that are, for the most part, sleeping in their grandfathered-in beds, to wake up and smell the coffee. To date, warnings have fallen on deaf ears.

Originally, this was allegedly about stopping terrorist......then it moved to stopping visa runners.....then it evolved to include stopping long-term tourists...then it started hurting foreign males married to Thai women, etc., etc. It is a xenophobic attack.......pure and simple.

Unfortunately, the huge expat protest will not happen until the grandfathered-in visa rules are finally abrogated. At that point you will see a major change in the attitude of many posters on TF. But, by then, it will be too late.

Face it.........LOS is no longer a nice place to live. It is on the decline; it is a sinking ship. It has become the place we wanted to get away from. THEY no longer want us.......just face it and take action (i.e., Plan . There are much better places to be right now.

[robbiecia]

I understand that regular visa runners have used Penang in the past, but surely having a clear record in my passport of not being in thailand for six months of the year, i would think that i cant be classed as a regular visa runner.

Penang rejected my application on the basis of the "do not apply here again" comment on my last visa from singapore.

From what i have seen in this forum, Thailand just doesnt have a clear-cut policy for longer term tourists like myself. Dont need to work here, and am not married to a Thai, so i dont qualify for any other visas apart from a tourist.

[tropo]

Was aware of the situation in ventiane.............but considering i have never been to Penang, i thought it should be no problem. What worries me is that Penang rejected my tourist visa application on the basis of a remark(not red stamp) on my last visa recieved in Singapore.

I would like to add that im only a tourist on an extended holiday here in Thailand. By having a tourist visa i find it easier for longer term planning. Before my last entry i have never used the 30 day stamp.

My main concern is the fact that regional embassies (Penang) will reject your application when they see remarks or warning stamps from other embassies.

This is not a fact. Penang may have rejected your TV application purely based on your having 2 TV's in your passport from this year.

[funfun]

Thought Penang was a bit harsh rejecting me...... have been in Thailand for a total of six months this year. when i got my second tourist visa in singapore they remarked do not apply here again. Apparently Penang rejected me on the basis of that remark

'robbiecia' who said this, not having a go at you, just trying to find out, was it the agent?

"Apparently Penang rejected me on the basis of that remark"

and where are you now back in thailand and what are your plans?

some of the people who are saying go to another country and spend your money i strongly think they are probobly still living here, you do what you want, and i think maybe viengeine is a good possible.

Good luck

chris

[JonnieB]

some of the people who are saying go to another country and spend your money i strongly think they are probobly still living here, you do what you want, and i think maybe viengeine is a good possible.

What you say is true...we have to make more of an effort to remain/return to LOS as we have property and commitments here...but in the op's case, it seems that he/she is just here on extended holiday. If that is the case, and LOS makes it difficult to come back, then just advising that there are many other places to have a great holiday in SE Asia. Give LOS a pass.

[robbiecia]

Thank you Chris

I used an agent in Penang on the advice of this forum. (next to Swiss hotel) The agent informed me that Penang rejected the application on the basis of the remark in Singapore. This came as a shock to me as my passport clearly shows that i dont live in Thailand.

Im back in Thailand on a 30 day stamp and weighing up my options right now. Looks like i will cut my holiday short as i dont want to be held hostage to the mood of an immigration officer.

This is an excellent forum with lots of good advice, but there does seem to be no clear idea of how many visas in a set period of time we are allowed. If it is only two per year then it would be nice to know this fact for holiday planning purposes.