My brother is flying into Phuket from Singapore next week to then catch a flight to Samui for a short visit. He is American and would probably find it simplest to get a visa on arrival since he will be busy during his short stay in Singapore doing business. I have waited quite a long time to get stamped in at Phuket airport and I wouldn't want him to miss his connecting flight (about 2 to 2.5 hours layover and no checked luggage) because he got in the wrong line. Is there a separate line for getting a visa on arrival? Would he then have to get into one of the main lines for entry the same as all the people who already have visas? Is there anything else he should be aware of? Thank you for help in avoiding unnecessary problems or frustrations.

Americans are not eligible for visa on arrival - they get the normal 30 day visa exempt stamp if they do not have a visa and should use the normal immigration queues.

Why not fly direct to Samui from Singapore with Bangkok airways.

Max wait time through Phuket Immigration is about 30-45 mins. if your flight arrives during peak hours (2-6PM)

You said:

Americans are not eligible for visa on arrival - they get the normal 30 day visa exempt stamp if they do not have a visa and should use the normal immigration queues.

Sorry, I am not clear on this point. Are you saying that he will be fine to not have a visa when he arrives, and that that is no problem? Thanks for the help, it has been a long time since I was in his situation, I always have had some kind of visa prior to arrival in recent years.

As far as not flying direct, despite being the kind of 'good' tourist that Thailand talks about preferring, he still found the direct flights with Bangkok Airways overpriced. There is a savings doing the first leg on Air Asia, and in this case, an earlier arrival into Samui.

As long as he has outbound ticket within 30 days there should not be a problem with visa exempt entry. If there were a problem it would likely be from airline not wanting to carry rather than at Immigration.