Bad experience at Phuket Airport today

[fatdrunkandstupid]

What was the total cost for your day excursion for your visa (exempt) run.

Not too bad, 5,000 baht for the Air Asia day-return ticket, 500 baht for lunch at LCCT and some sweets for the kids, 200 baht parking fee at Phuket Airport.

OT, but whilst waiting for my return flight, the departure lounge was entertained by a 'giggle' (most descriptive word, not 'gaggle') of scantily-clad and rather pretty young ladies in handcuffs who were being invited to leave the country on the next flight (back to Taiwan I think).

They were certainly dressed for the hot weather in KL

Well that is another tick for remaining on tourist visa forever. Between Singapore, Penang and KL one should be able to regular obtain return tickets for (less than 4000THB) with promos. So worst case scenario one flys out every month for a total cost of less than 50K per year.

[simon43]

Parking fee Simon ? Thought you were located very close to Phuket Airport.

I do, but I was too lazy at 6am to walk......

[B1ade]

I had a slight issue at Phuket Airport today also, I posted this in another thread in the visas section but it is relative to this thread too and may help someone in future.

Today I went to get my 3rd back to back VE 30 day on arrival, phuket airport to KL and back, same as the OP. I did 1 30 day VE at ranong in March (I went there to get my 3rd and final multi entry tourist visa 60 day entry stamp but arrived a day after the visa utilisation expiry date, my own fault! First and last time i'll make that mistake), I got my 2nd consecutive VE 30 day entry in April but this time at phuket airport with no problems. Today was my third and final VE entry before I leave for the UK in 3 weeks, the immigration officer looked through my passport then a supervisor came over and took me to an empty desk and went through the passport (I think the original officer may have thought i'd already done 3 which I had not), I was ok as it was only my 3rd back to back, but the supervisor who I was sent to see informed me that I would be unable to do another VE next month and would be denied entry unless I had a visa.

So as I was warned of a 4th being denied and there was a successful 4th today with the OP at the same airport on the same day it must be down to the discretion of the officer. 1 thing that is clear, 3 back to backs are ok.

[Showbags]

They know you are working illegally, they read this place and will know all about your hotel empire and that crow.

They are not silly people.

[ggt]

"the officer was rude and unprofessional"...I dread going to immigration every 90 days for this same reason...it seems little folk with a little power...love to throw their weight around...so unnecessary...

[Som wat]

1) You've been working illegally whether you believe so or not.

2) He was just a resentful, angry Thai. Plenty of them about.

3) Get a proper visa while you're down there.

Maybe he was this immigration officer.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/246887-brit-faces-two-years-in-thai-jail-for-being-rude/

[simon43]

You've been working illegally whether you believe so or not.

How so?

- I had a WP when I was working as Manager of my 1st airport hotel.

- My ex-wives own the 2nd and 3rd hotels and I was working in Myanmar and Laos

- Legally-employed Burmese and my Thai BIL built the 4th hotel, but I built my own house by that hotel which I am legally-allowed to do

- Now that the 4th hotel is soon to open, I am registering a ltd company and applying for a WP as manager of that business

Not sure where the illegal work is, unless you mean me giving directions to tourists at the airport as a TPV ....

Maybe that crow is bringing me bad luck - I will go and strangle it.....

BTW, on my return to the airport, I considered the attitude of the immigration officers to be 'as normal'. But I overheard quite a few tourists complaining about how rude the officers were, not speaking to tourists, not smiling, and in several cases just walking away from their desks (without closing the desk), and causing the tourists to go and find another line.

Another BTW:

Has anyone noticed the large new sign at airport immigration that warns (in English), that you will be denied entry to Thailand if you have any Buddha tattoos?

Edited May 7, 2014 by simon43

[fatdrunkandstupid]

Parking fee Simon ? Thought you were located very close to Phuket Airport.

I do, but I was too lazy at 6am to walk......

Ahhh...your assimilation is complete...

[Guitar God]

If you were in the process of starting up a company here, why didn't you apply for a 3 month non-B visa?

I did that in Europe by submitting a couple papers from my lawyer and did it a second time (due to delays) in KL. The first time was no problem, the second time they wanted a permission to work letter but granted it anyway after a little discussion.

I am doing a visa-run to KL today, (I'm in KL right now, waiting for my return flight and will re-enter Phuket on a 30-day VoA)....

[thurien]

This should significantly impact upon the Farang population of Koh Phayam and Koh Chang Noi. Every expat on those island does back to back tourist visas. If they truly do enforce this then they will all be screwed

no problem, all those farang know about screwing

besides, a very good (the only?) way to partly return all those islands to their natural beauty

Edited May 7, 2014 by thurien

[stickylies]

Has anyone noticed the large new sign at airport immigration that warns (in English), that you will be denied entry to Thailand if you have any Buddha tattoos?

but symbols remain allowed/legal right ?

[stickylies]

ps. there was this buddha tattoo incident recently in sri lanka.

Edited May 7, 2014 by stickylies

[ALFREDO]

Another co-worker of mine said he met another visa runner in Burma across from Ranong that was stuck there, denied re-entry to Thailand. The guy kept trying to sneak onto long tails to try to walk past immigration and into Thailand at the pier, which can easily be done, but even the long tail drivers would not allow him across, probably told so by immigration.

He should possibly sneak on a boat to get to the Andaman Casino Island Hotel,

boats from there visit Victoria point from time to time and try his luck from there?

[stickylies]

This should significantly impact upon the Farang population of Koh Phayam and Koh Chang Noi. Every expat on those island does back to back tourist visas. If they truly do enforce this then they will all be screwed

no problem, all those farang know about screwing

besides, a very good (the only?) way to partly return all those islands to their natural beauty

most farangs i know on ko chang noi are decent folks who do not spoil/contaminate the island at all. it's thx to these farang that the families on ko chang, mostly from surathani originally, make a decent living year round, easy life, with a very low eco-footprint.... i cannot speak for phayam but chang is still very lowkey and peaceful....these people bother nobody with their joints and yoga stuff... i do agree that this will indeed have great impact on a lot of people on the islands.

[canarysun]

What was the total cost for your day excursion for your visa (exempt) run.

Not too bad, 5,000 baht for the Air Asia day-return ticket, 500 baht for lunch at LCCT and some sweets for the kids, 200 baht parking fee at Phuket Airport.

OT, but whilst waiting for my return flight, the departure lounge was entertained by a 'giggle' (most descriptive word, not 'gaggle') of scantily-clad and rather pretty young ladies in handcuffs who were being invited to leave the country on the next flight (back to Taiwan I think).

They were certainly dressed for the hot weather in KL

" 500 Baht for Lunch " ????? I have been living in Thailand for more than 3 years and have never spent more than 30 Baht on a meal!!!! LOL

[stickylies]

Another co-worker of mine said he met another visa runner in Burma across from Ranong that was stuck there, denied re-entry to Thailand. The guy kept trying to sneak onto long tails to try to walk past immigration and into Thailand at the pier, which can easily be done, but even the long tail drivers would not allow him across, probably told so by immigration.

so that guy is in kawthoung with no burmese visa and cannot get back in thailand ? in other words he can stay 15 days in kawthoung and then what "political asylum" or joining rohingyas refugee boat ? if the burmese are smart they should start selling visas in kawthoung (VOA) which i think they will do eventually. people can then travel up to myeik or moulmein or yangon or mandalay and fly back into thailand getting 1 month visa exempt. (i'm not sure if the myeik directly into thailand is operational yet).

[stickylies]

What was the total cost for your day excursion for your visa (exempt) run.

Not too bad, 5,000 baht for the Air Asia day-return ticket, 500 baht for lunch at LCCT and some sweets for the kids, 200 baht parking fee at Phuket Airport.

OT, but whilst waiting for my return flight, the departure lounge was entertained by a 'giggle' (most descriptive word, not 'gaggle') of scantily-clad and rather pretty young ladies in handcuffs who were being invited to leave the country on the next flight (back to Taiwan I think).

They were certainly dressed for the hot weather in KL

" 500 Baht for Lunch " ????? I have been living in Thailand for more than 3 years and have never spent more than 30 Baht on a meal!!!! LOL

LCCT = KL and not in thailand

[ALFREDO]

Why didn't you just get a 60 day extension based on visiting Thai family ?

According to Phuket Town immigration, you can do that once and once only - and I did that about 5 years ago.

Again, from Immigration to Immigration, from Supervisor to Supervisor different execution.

Immigration in Udon Thani had once, limited these extensions you could have in a year, same time Khon Kaen Immigration gave me an extension,

but nowadays also, no restrictions in Udon. Change of Boss-Supervisor. Good!

[sanuk21]

How was the availability of car parking at the airport this morning?

Is the long -awaited Phuket X Terminal multi-storey car park open yet?

Thanks and Cheers

Sanuk

[ALFREDO]

" 500 Baht for Lunch " ????? I have been living in Thailand for more than 3 years and have never spent more than 30 Baht on a meal!!!! LOL

LCCT = KL and not in thailand

-canarysun-

1st, same =stickylies= writes,

LCCT is the "Low Cost Carrier Terminal" Airport part in the Kuala Lumpur Airport area,

2nd

you will have there and also inside Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok have problems to eat in your 30 Baht budget range a meal in a Airport Restaurant!

By the way, you must have a special low cost appetite, even Thais eat sometimes to 30 + Baht prices, something a bit more sophisticated, lol.

[B1ade]

tomorrow is the last day of LCCT, most of the shops were closed today already at LCCT and definitely the 30 baht food store haha: http://english.astroawani.com/news/show/lcct-to-be-closed-on-may-9-32960 hopefully the new KLIA2 will be good for a quick visa run

Edited May 7, 2014 by B1ade

[KarenBravo]

(i'm not sure if the myeik directly into thailand is operational yet).

I was in Myeik two months ago and there was no flight to Thailand then.

[Guest]

- My ex-wives own the 2nd and 3rd hotels and I was working in Myanmar and Laos

...

- Now that the 4th hotel is soon to open, I am registering a ltd company and applying for a WP as manager of that business

So, does this mean that you are getting married again?

You are still quite a lot behind the master, King Solomon. He had 700 wives to whom he liked to build temples.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon#Wives

[phuketjock]

No, they tend to do back to back visa exempt entries.

I think it is very clear from his post where the exchange took place: with immigration at the airport upon exiting the country.

Yes, that is correct, back to back VEs...nonetheless they will be screwed.

I thought you could only get visa exempt entries by flying into Thailand

I was also under the impression that there is no limit to how many of these you can have, again so long as you are flying out of Thailand and flying back again.

From a related thread

This is NEWS?

That rule has been in effect for years. I would have thought most people knew this.

Am I wrong?

You are correct, I got caught on this very rule when it first came in, that was before I finally retired

6 years ago, so it has been applicable for at least 6 years to my knowledge, and I think there was a

time limit from your last time in on the 90 days to your returning on a visa free entry, can't remember

but I think it was 90 days before you could come back without a visa?

At the time I was pulled on this rule I was flying in and out of Thailand working time on time off so not

just enforced at land crossings.

As far as I can remember I think the rule was you were only allowed 3 visa exempt entries in 6 months

then you had to wait until the 6 months were up before you could again enter on a visa exempt stamp,

not 100% sure on that but I think that was the case.

[stevenl]

So all in all not a good experience for the op. But what really happened?

He decided to leave thailand and entervagain visa exempt for a 4th time, flaunting the rules, not using any other options like non-immigrant B application, tourist visa application or extension because of family. Then he was not approached friendly, no surprise looking at the above.

Have your papers in ordervand this would not have happened.

[simon43]

He decided to leave thailand and entervagain visa exempt for a 4th time, flaunting the rules, not using any other options like non-immigrant B application, tourist visa application or extension because of family.

AFAIK, the limit on back-to-backs applied only to land border crossings, not flying in by air. (I may be wrong).

Definition of 'flaunt':

to ignore or treat with disdain:

I didn't do that - I politely explained to the immigration officer that my non-B documents were not yet ready.....

Others may have had success with getting more than one 60-day family extension, but I have not, and I have to base my decisions on my own personal experiences with getting visas/visa extensions.

The officer never asked me if I was travelling to KL to get a tourist visa, B visa, O visa etc. He was moaning because I had 3 back-to-backs, not 4.

Some posters seem to enjoy 'stirring the pot'....

[LivinginKata]

Inflammatory post removed

[Spoonman]

You've been working illegally whether you believe so or not.

How so?

- I had a WP when I was working as Manager of my 1st airport hotel.

- My ex-wives own the 2nd and 3rd hotels and I was working in Myanmar and Laos

- Legally-employed Burmese and my Thai BIL built the 4th hotel, but I built my own house by that hotel which I am legally-allowed to do

- Now that the 4th hotel is soon to open, I am registering a ltd company and applying for a WP as manager of that business

Not sure where the illegal work is, unless you mean me giving directions to tourists at the airport as a TPV ....

You acted as manager to build you latest hotel.

[simon43]

You acted as manager to build you latest hotel.

Well, that's stretching the definition of 'work' somewhat....

I sit at ex #2's hotel, drink beer, discuss the project with her - she directs the workers on the build site, she keeps track of expenses and salary payments etc etc, she pays all bills on my behalf. I sit and drink beer 100 metres away...

Now that the project is almost finished, it is the correct time to apply for a WP to be manager of the hotel

[stevenl]

He decided to leave thailand and entervagain visa exempt for a 4th time, flaunting the rules, not using any other options like non-immigrant B application, tourist visa application or extension because of family.

AFAIK, the limit on back-to-backs applied only to land border crossings, not flying in by air. (I may be wrong).

Definition of 'flaunt':

to ignore or treat with disdain:

I didn't do that - I politely explained to the immigration officer that my non-B documents were not yet ready.....

Others may have had success with getting more than one 60-day family extension, but I have not, and I have to base my decisions on my own personal experiences with getting visas/visa extensions.

The officer never asked me if I was travelling to KL to get a tourist visa, B visa, O visa etc. He was moaning because I had 3 back-to-backs, not 4.

Some posters seem to enjoy 'stirring the pot'....

This thread may explain things for you Simon. The limit of 3x back to back visa exempt entry is (supposed to be) nationwide, so flying or border crossings should make no difference.