Departure Tax If Transit Passenger Goes Outside

[hyperdimension]

I posted this in an existing thread in the "Thailand Travel Forum", but have just realized there is a forum specifically for Suvarnabhumi Airport, so it would be more appropriate here.

I have a friend who will be in transit in Bangkok for a few hours on her way from China to Australia.

I'm planning to see her at the airport during this time, but am wondering whether she'd have to pay the departure tax when she goes back in to catch the flight to Australia.

I'm aware that there are no longer booths for paying the tax. But would she be asked to pay at any other stage?

[tw25rw]

As I understand it, if you transit for less than 24hrs, you don't pay departure tax, however I can't find any documentary proof of it.

[hyperdimension]

I've been doing some research and people say a lot of different things. Here's what I found from http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/archive/ind...p/t-736504.html that might give an answer:

If you get your boarding pass at your origination point, or even at the transfer desk on the arrivals level at BKK before going through inbound immigration, then there's no need to stop at the check-in desk on the departures level when your officially "transit" visit ends; instead you can just display your BP to the inspectors and go through outbound immigration, no tax paid.

You must get your onward boarding pass before leaving the airport and not checkin the next day if you want to avoid paying the tax. If your connection time was less than 24 hours they probably did not collect the TS departure tax on your ticket so you should have paid it on checkin.

So when you land in Bangkok get your boarding pass (e.g. at the transfer counter) before going outside. I think once you have the boarding pass then there's nothing that they can see for them to ask you for tax. Does that sound possible?

Also, is 3h transit time enough to go out to meet someone and then go back to catch the flight?

[tw25rw]

Also, is 3h transit time enough to go out to meet someone and then go back to catch the flight?

I would say it was plenty as you won't have to wait for your luggage to come off. Take a look at the passport control at departures as sometimes there's no queue and other times there's an hour wait.

[IMA_FARANG]

I posted this in an existing thread in the "Thailand Travel Forum", but have just realized there is a forum specifically for Suvarnabhumi Airport, so it would be more appropriate here.

I have a friend who will be in transit in Bangkok for a few hours on her way from China to Australia.

I'm planning to see her at the airport during this time, but am wondering whether she'd have to pay the departure tax when she goes back in to catch the flight to Australia.

I'm aware that there are no longer booths for paying the tax. But would she be asked to pay at any other stage?

The reason it's hard or impossible to find a booth to pay your departure tax is that is usually now included in the taxes on the ticket cost.

I'm not sure of how long you can stay in "transit" at the airport, but unless she officially enters Thailand (by getting an entry stamp) I think she is still in transit. My (uneducated) guess is...no departure tax required for that reason.

I think if they don't ask as she checks in for her flight to Australia...I would just keep my mouth shut and not ask until or if the airline brings up the subject.

[hyperdimension]

I'm not sure of how long you can stay in "transit" at the airport, but unless she officially enters Thailand (by getting an entry stamp) I think she is still in transit. My (uneducated) guess is...no departure tax required for that reason.

She will definitely will have to get an entry stamp because to go out to meet me she'd have to go through Immigration and Customs.

What I've deduced from the quotes from the flyertalk forums is that if she has a boarding pass for the next flight when she goes back in to the airport after meeting me, they won't ask for tax.

If she didn't have a boarding pass and instead showed her ticket, (which would show that she has not paid tax because she is a transit passenger), then she may be asked for tax at the normal check-in counter. So the way she can avoid the departure tax is for her to to get the boarding pass at the transit counter before leaving "airside" to meet me.

The question then is whether she can get a boarding pass just a short while after landing in Bangkok. I assume the transit counter will be open for her to get the boarding pass that early. I haven't often been in transit before so I don't know much about transit procedure.

Edited September 26, 2008 by hyperdimension

[frankthetank]

hi,

every time I have transited Abu Dhabui/Dubai/doha/vienna on-route to Bangkok, i have already been in posession of the onward boarding card, as it was given to me at the check in back in the U.K..

tell your friend to ask to be checked thru to her destination, the airline should do this for her, that way she will not need to use the transfer desk at alll.

as already posted, she will have to go thru immigration and get a 30 day waiver, anyone know if there is a charge for the transit visa proper, as opposed to the 30 day waiver?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I posted this in an existing thread in the "Thailand Travel Forum", but have just realized there is a forum specifically for Suvarnabhumi Airport, so it would be more appropriate here.

I have a friend who will be in transit in Bangkok for a few hours on her way from China to Australia.

I'm planning to see her at the airport during this time, but am wondering whether she'd have to pay the departure tax when she goes back in to catch the flight to Australia.

I'm aware that there are no longer booths for paying the tax. But would she be asked to pay at any other stage?

The reason it's hard or impossible to find a booth to pay your departure tax is that is usually now included in the taxes on the ticket cost.

I'm not sure of how long you can stay in "transit" at the airport, but unless she officially enters Thailand (by getting an entry stamp) I think she is still in transit. My (uneducated) guess is...no departure tax required for that reason.

I think if they don't ask as she checks in for her flight to Australia...I would just keep my mouth shut and not ask until or if the airline brings up the subject.

After 12 hours a passenger is deemed to have arrived in Thailand. And that is without leaving the transit area.

[bino]

Would it be possible to go airside and greet your friend at the gate?

Another member appears to have done so in this thread where he is meeting his daughter's flight.

Since your friend is on a more limited schedule than you are, this would save her the time and hassle of clearing immigration, visa issues et al. You could arrive earlier to get this sorted out and would have more "quality time" to spend with your visitor.

I have no idea how to go about getting the clearance to go airside without a ticket / boarding pass, but another member might?

Edit - URL didn't work.

Edited September 29, 2008 by bino

[misterme]

It's an airport tax, not a departure tax. It depends on your ticket, not if you enter Thailand or not. If your connection time doesn't require the tax being collected, no amount of entries can change the ticketing guidelines. Fare collection will have been acurate at issuance. Any atempt to impose surcharges or deny passage will have legal implications, including the accomodation and rebooking of your flights.

If intimidated to pay, use credit card only and follow by disputing the charge with your credit card.

[GeorgeW]

Even if you get a boarding pass you will still have to pay the tax if you haven't already paid it in your ticket. The boarding passes indicate on them which airport they are issued at. If it doesn't say 'BKK' or if it's a transit boarding pass issued at the BKK transit counter the immigration officer won't allow you through. It happened to me. I had to go back to the check-in counter and get a new BKK boarding pass before they'd allow me through and had to pay the 700 baht fee before check-in would issue me the new boarding pass.

[lomatopo]

I posted this in an existing thread in the "Thailand Travel Forum", but have just realized there is a forum specifically for Suvarnabhumi Airport, so it would be more appropriate here.

I have a friend who will be in transit in Bangkok for a few hours on her way from China to Australia.

I'm planning to see her at the airport during this time, but am wondering whether she'd have to pay the departure tax when she goes back in to catch the flight to Australia.

I'm aware that there are no longer booths for paying the tax. But would she be asked to pay at any other stage?

Can you share the itinerary? Specifically carrier(s)? Is this all on one ticket?

I just looked at quite a few one-stop routings via BKK and none indicated the 700 THB passenger service fee. I'd say that if your friend gets a ex-BKK boarding card at original check-in or BKK-transit then they could probably enter/exit Thailand without paying the 700 THB. In the event check-in is used airside at BKK I doubt they will add the fee nor do I think Immigration will flag them upon exit for payment?

In theory you could buy a fully refundable ticket, check-in, exit Thailand and meet your friend airside, then cancel the ticket, refund the amount paid (including the 700 THB) and re-enter Thailand. I wouldn't do this but know that it can be done.

[Spee]

As I understand it, if you transit for less than 24hrs, you don't pay departure tax, however I can't find any documentary proof of it.

I flew out from Suv on Saturday and was looking for the machines to buy the departure tax ticket. I asked the girls working the entry point to passport processing and they said there was no more departure tax.

[GeorgeW]

I'd say that if your friend gets a ex-BKK boarding card at original check-in or BKK-transit then they could probably enter/exit Thailand without paying the 700 THB. In the event check-in is used airside at BKK I doubt they will add the fee nor do I think Immigration will flag them upon exit for payment?

This didn't work for me. Wherever you get your ex-BKK boarding pass they will print the code for the airport it was printed at on the boarding pass. Immigration checks this code. If it doesn't indicate the boarding pass was printed in BKK they will send you back to get a BKK printed boarding pass, or at least that's what they did to me. If you use the transfer counter airside at BKK to get a boarding pass it will be marked as a transit boarding pass and the same thing will happen. Once you go back to get the BKK issued boarding pass the check-in counter will ask you to pay the 700 THB fee. There is no way around this unless they forget to check at immigration or if they forget to ask for the fee at the check-in counter.

[GeorgeW]

As I understand it, if you transit for less than 24hrs, you don't pay departure tax, however I can't find any documentary proof of it.

I flew out from Suv on Saturday and was looking for the machines to buy the departure tax ticket. I asked the girls working the entry point to passport processing and they said there was no more departure tax.

You were told wrong. There is still a departure tax (or airport tax if you prefer that terminology) and it is 700 THB. There are no machines anymore because tickets are supposed to include the tax automatically. If you didn't pay the tax as part of your ticket you will be asked to pay it when you check in. For Thai Airways you have to go to the ticket office and pay the fee then show the receipt at the check-in counter before they will give you your boarding pass.

[Spee]

As I understand it, if you transit for less than 24hrs, you don't pay departure tax, however I can't find any documentary proof of it.

I flew out from Suv on Saturday and was looking for the machines to buy the departure tax ticket. I asked the girls working the entry point to passport processing and they said there was no more departure tax.

You were told wrong. There is still a departure tax (or airport tax if you prefer that terminology) and it is 700 THB. There are no machines anymore because tickets are supposed to include the tax automatically. If you didn't pay the tax as part of your ticket you will be asked to pay it when you check in. For Thai Airways you have to go to the ticket office and pay the fee then show the receipt at the check-in counter before they will give you your boarding pass.

Hmm ... interesting.

I booked my flight on a US carrier and the Tokyo to Suv leg was on JAL. When I booked and paid for the ticket, there was nothing stating that the Suv departure fee was included in the price. Nor did anyone at the Suv immigration entry point check my boarding pass to see if I had paid through the ticket. Possibly there was some indication on the boarding pass for the immigration processor to see, but I sure didn't notice anything.

[GeorgeW]

Hmm ... interesting.

I booked my flight on a US carrier and the Tokyo to Suv leg was on JAL. When I booked and paid for the ticket, there was nothing stating that the Suv departure fee was included in the price. Nor did anyone at the Suv immigration entry point check my boarding pass to see if I had paid through the ticket. Possibly there was some indication on the boarding pass for the immigration processor to see, but I sure didn't notice anything.

Was your destination Thailand or were you just transiting? If your destination was Thailand then they almost certainly included the tax in your ticket. I you were just transiting and it was all on one ticket then they shouldn't have included the tax. If you had Bangkok as a stopover, then they should have included the tax. They use a lot of cryptic codes so unless you know how to read the codes you wouldn't know if your ticket included the tax or not.

Immigration doesn't know if you paid the tax or not. All they care about is that the boarding pass was issued at a check-in counter at BKK. If a check-in counter at BKK issues a boarding pass then the airline has to pay the tax, which they presumably have collected from you. Their computer will show the e-ticket and will show on their screen if you have paid the tax or not. There is no indication on your boarding pass to what taxes you have paid.

If I remember correctly, the codes printed on your boarding pass have the airport code where the boarding pass was printed and the code for the destination airport. So if you were flying from Bangkok to Tokyo, the code would read "BKKNRT". Most people probably never even notice the code. I only noticed the code when immigration pointed to it and said my boarding pass wasn't issued at BKK.

[AlKing]

All this discussion for 700 baht (less than US 20). Do you know how much extra charges they have hide in your tickets? My guess is more than US 200 (10 times more).

I think there is a say "Penny wise, pound foolish" or something like that. Sorry, English is not my 1st language.

Edited October 7, 2008 by AlKing

[hyperdimension]

The boarding passes indicate on them which airport they are issued at. If it doesn't say 'BKK' or if it's a transit boarding pass issued at the BKK transit counter the immigration officer won't allow you through. It happened to me.

Are the boarding passes that are issued at a transit counter different from passes from a normal land-side check-in counter?

I had to go back to the check-in counter and get a new BKK boarding pass before they'd allow me through and had to pay the 700 baht fee before check-in would issue me the new boarding pass.

So did you actually try to get back in using a boarding pass that you got from the Suvanabhumi transit counter?

If the departure tax is going to have to be paid for transit passengers and there's no way around it then it may not really be worth going out to land-side for a short period of time (less than 30 minutes).

[GeorgeW]

I'm not sure about all airlines but the boarding passes printed by Thai Airways at their BKK transit desk are bright orange at the top and I believe say "transit boarding pass" or something like that. They are instantly recognizable compared to the boarding passes issued at the Thai check in counters.

I tried to get back in using my connecting flight boarding pass issued at a different airport but they told me that I had to get a new one issued by the check-in counter before they'd let me through. When I went to the check-in counter they said I couldn't use a transit boarding pass because my departure tax wasn't included and I had to pay it before they'd issue me a new boarding pass. They said regardless of how long time you spend landside you have to pay the tax. They said many people complain about this because they didn't know they have to pay the tax even if they come out for only a few minutes. On my next trip after that while I was waiting in line at immigration the two guys in front of me had the orange BKK transit boarding passes and they were sent back to the check-in counter by the guy at the immigration counter.

So it doesn't matter if your boarding pass is issued at the transit desk or at another airport. If you haven't paid the departure tax and you exit immigration you must pay unless you get lucky and nobody catches it.

[Crossy]

Coming in this morning TG from Bangalore a specific announcement was made to transit passengers, "Go outside the transit area and you must pay 700 Baht", clear enough warning