How to activate my multiple entry O visa in Aranyaprathet / Poipet without getting ripped off?

[ShannonT]

I have a multiple entry "O" visa based on marriage. The last time I went to activate my 30 days in Aranyaprathet / Poipet, I ended up paying probably a lot more than I should have. One of the visa guys there (which I later read are scams), offered to get me a Cambodia visa for 1,500 Baht. He came back a while later with the visa stamped in my passport and then offered to escort me to the border for another 500 Baht, which I declined.

Once inside the "casino zone", I noticed that I never got a Cambodia entry stamp after leaving Thailand. I assume that after you go out from Thailand, you don't automatically get into Cambodia, but into the casino zone. I asked the Cambodian police guys there which offered to stamp my passport with a Cambodia entry and exit stamp for another 500 Baht. I didn't know what to do, so I chose that option, then went back to Thailand to get my 90 days activated again.

In total, I paid 2,000 Baht but I figure there has to be an easier and cheaper way?

So my questions are..

- Do I really need a Cambodia visa? Or can I just walk across the border without one?

- How do I get stamped in an out of Cambodia? Do I have to walk past the casinos and further or...?

Thank you

[ubonjoe]

Yes you have get a visa and enter Cambodia. To cut down on part of the problem you can get a e-visa plus you don't loose a full passport page for a visa. Info: http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/

You could end the border runs every 90 days by getting an extension of stay based upon marriage at immigration.

[ShannonT]

Thank you very much I'll apply for that right now.

After that, in Poipet, do I need to go into Cambodia to get stamped in and out? Is it at the very end of the casinos or where exactly? Last time I walked into the casino zone without even getting any Cambodia stamp.

[lopburi3]

You will normally need the Cambodian visa/stamp to get stamped into Thailand for a new entry.

[ubonjoe]

Thank you very much I'll apply for that right now.

 

After that, in Poipet, do I need to go into Cambodia to get stamped in and out? Is it at the very end of the casinos or where exactly? Last time I walked into the casino zone without even getting any Cambodia stamp.

Be sure to take a copy of e-visa with you. You will need it when you leave Cambodia.

Can't help on where you get stamped in and out never been there.

[CPT]

You can get a Cambodian visa on arrival. After passing through Thai immigration you will see the border control office across the road to your right. Tourist visas cost $20 USD plus a 100 baht bribe when I was there (disgusting but they don't really leave you with a choice). From there go to the arrivals passport control window (leave the office and turn right, you can't miss it) to get stamped in (no additional charge) and use the departure window on the other side of the road when you return.

It's pretty much the same as any border though there are a ton of scammers around. Just cross the border like you would anywhere else in the world and you'll be fine.

As you have already discovered, the whole area is pretty much the armpit of the world and best avoided if possible.

[ShannonT]

You can get a Cambodian visa on arrival. After passing through Thai immigration you will see the border control office across the road to your right. Tourist visas cost $20 USD plus a 100 baht bribe when I was there (disgusting but they don't really leave you with a choice). From there go to the arrivals passport control window (leave the office and turn right, you can't miss it) to get stamped in (no additional charge) and use the departure window on the other side of the road when you return.

It's pretty much the same as any border though there are a ton of scammers around. Just cross the border like you would anywhere else in the world and you'll be fine.

As you have already discovered, the whole area is pretty much the armpit of the world and best avoided if possible.

Thank you very much, I will give it a try this weekend

Just to be clear, the $20 I'll have to pay in US currency if paid on location at the border? Or Thai Baht equivalent? And the Cambodian stamp-in and out offices are right after the Thai immigration, right? Not all the way down the street after the casinos...

[hullupullo]

Check this

http://wikitravel.org/en/Poipet

[CPT]

You can get a Cambodian visa on arrival. After passing through Thai immigration you will see the border control office across the road to your right. Tourist visas cost $20 USD plus a 100 baht bribe when I was there (disgusting but they don't really leave you with a choice). From there go to the arrivals passport control window (leave the office and turn right, you can't miss it) to get stamped in (no additional charge) and use the departure window on the other side of the road when you return.

It's pretty much the same as any border though there are a ton of scammers around. Just cross the border like you would anywhere else in the world and you'll be fine.

As you have already discovered, the whole area is pretty much the armpit of the world and best avoided if possible.

Thank you very much, I will give it a try this weekend

Just to be clear, the $20 I'll have to pay in US currency if paid on location at the border? Or Thai Baht equivalent? And the Cambodian stamp-in and out offices are right after the Thai immigration, right? Not all the way down the street after the casinos...

If you pay in USD it is $20, I don't know how much in Baht but it is almost always cheaper to use US dollars when crossing borders. You may be requested to pay a 100 baht bribe to 'expedite' the process.

When you walk out of Thai immigration you'll be only a short walk from the Cambodian border control office (I think the sign says 'border control' but it will be obvious when you see it). This is where you go to get your visa (NB: after passing through Thai immigration, anything offering Cambodian visas on the Thai side of the border is a scam). Just walk straight along the road and the border control office will be on the other side of the road (to your right). After you get your visa you keep walking to the far end of the Casino/duty free zone (maybe 200m?) where you get stamped in. It's on the same street as where you get your visa and on the same side of the street so it is hard to miss.

There is signage, you just have to look for it. Go by the signage and don't believe anything anyone tells you that contradicts the signage (this includes immigration officials). Everything is located along a 500m stretch of one street: Thai passport control, office for visas on arrival, Cambodian passport control. Just take your time and look for the signs. Good luck.

Edited November 5, 2013 by CPT

[SantiSuk]

When I complained on Thaivisa about a similar 'rip off' by the Cambodians at the Chong Jom border in Surin, someone pointed out that it is not a rip-off but a properly mandated additional fee for those who are only using the border as an in and out facility. You don't get charged if you are staying more than a dayI was charged it on exit rather than entry though, so maybe its a different animal.

It's easy to jump to the assumption that you are being ripped off in this hub-of-corruption region.