Russian denied entry at Phuket International Airport over 'visa' crackdown

[dutch2usa]

I live in the Pratamnak area of Pattaya. There are a dozen of these single women living in my large condo. They sunbathe at the pool in the afternoon and ploy their trade at night. I want to know how this woman could afford to live in Phuket all this time. I am not a rocket scientist but I know a hooker when I read this kind of story. Congratulations to the immigration authorities

were finally recognizing why these blond haired single Russian women can afford to stay months and months and months. I have lived here for 25 years and never saw English or German or Dutch women on walking street soliciting customers.

[balo]

I am very happy for the crackdown and hope immigration will continue this all over the kingdom . If you cant even show 20000 baht in cash , you really don't belong here. As an expat I have a local Thai bank account, and a blue book showing I own a condo here. I am not here to work or break the law, let's get rid of all the idiots and Thailand will be a better place for everone.

Sent from my SM-P601 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited May 12, 2014 by balo

[Phuketboy]

“I think for some people who want to do a visa run, the biggest problem is that they can deport you without any reason"

Once in Malaysia she was told the official reason was “not clear reason to visit Phuket”.

“The first question they asked was if I had a departing ticket from Thailand"

A visa doesn't guarantee entry into a country, and yes immigration can refuse entry to someone if they believe a person is not in accordance with the terms of their visa or reason for visa waiver...this is same in any country in the world, and once in country if an immigration department deems your are no complying with the T&C's of your entry they can kick you out

These are not new rules, all that's happening is that Thai immigration is now enforcing the rules and its been a long time coming

Seems to me immigration acted correctly in terms of the posted laws/rules for entry and even offered to try and help the lady with a ticket purchase (how many other immigration departments in other countries would offer help)

You are correct in every way. She didn't have a visa nor a forwarding ticket, she also couldn't show them funds except a bank account. It seems immigration were concerned it may not be her account, totally understandable. Why didn't she offer to get the money out of an ATM instead of just showing them the account? As mentioned in the quote, even if you have a visa (she did not), it doesn't guarantee you entry into a country. It is at the discretion of the immigration officer at the time of entry. This is the case across the globe and definitely not anything new.

If it wasn't for the people trying to stay here for the sake of just being here, doing multiple visa runs every month or every three months, then one could assume immigration wouldn't need to have crackdowns like this. I guess the bottom line is .... keep your visa runs to a minimum, if you don't need to go, then don't. If you are here working then have a work permit with 1 year visa (single entry, if need to leave then get a re-entry permit), if you are married then have a marriage visa, if retired then a retirement visa.

[lmaxv]

Hmmm...withdraw the 20K from the bank, show them the MONEY, later deposit the money back in the bank...?

[ClutchClark]

I live in the Pratamnak area of Pattaya. There are a dozen of these single women living in my large condo. They sunbathe at the pool in the afternoon and ploy their trade at night.

What was the name of that condo again?

[ATF]

That's what you get for invading Ukraine!

[easybullet3]

Maybe if she just gave showed them the 20K in cash.

then again,,, 20k baht is not really enough money for 1 month to live on.. rent, food etc...

so it doesn't paint a very positive picture about her working (or not working).

if she had to get a friend to buy her ticket,, then *possibly* she was breaking the law and working in Thailand.

[bubba]

Maybe if she just gave showed them the 20K in cash.

then again,,, 20k baht is not really enough money for 1 month to live on.. rent, food etc...

so it doesn't paint a very positive picture about her working (or not working).

if she had to get a friend to buy her ticket,, then *possibly* she was breaking the law and working in Thailand.

Possibly? Well, here is her LinkedIn profile again.

Mariia Sgibneva: Assistant Manager at Sea Bees Diving on Phuket. For more than a year?

http://th.linkedin.com/pub/mariia-sgibneva/94/710/530

Edited May 12, 2014 by bubba

[Thai at Heart]

I believe the shit may well hit the fan over this incident and the inevitable others which will follow.

I hope she's already notified the Russian Embassy about this as I believe she was singled out for being a Russian. If she wasn't a russian it wouldn't have happened.

Note to Mariia when you read this - please contact your Embassy to make an official complaint about this incident.

Yep. This will be the begining of all Russian and western tourists deserting Thailand causing economic collapse which will bring Thailand to it's knees.

If they start enforcing this strictly it will cause big problems in the resorts. At the end of the day there is this huge volume of long stay tourists in a grey area.

[lostinisaan]

Reading that made me understand why they drink soo much Vodka.

[rbmcn]

The Russians export prostitutes to as many receptive countries as possible. It is a major cash earner for the organized Ivans. They are ruthless.

[realenglish1]

I have to say that immigration had every right to deport you . You did not have a return Ticket. It is clearly a rule that if you do not have a Visa you must have a return Ticket.

I have no sympathy for people like that that flaunt the rules

[Phuketboy]

Meanwhile, thousands of Burmese work on constructions sites here everyday.

Yep and as I have asked before with no answer.

1. how can they do this when construction work is reserved for Thai only?

2. the Russian clubs on Bangla employ many Russian and Ukrainian girls, 4 Thai's = 1 foreign work permit. Each club has approx 20 russian girls but they sure as hell don't have 80 Thai staff.

Maybe she couldn't get a work permit due to her boss/s not doing the right thing. Remember the bust last year when 40 Russian girls were arrested from these clubs on Bangla for not having work permits? They should shut these places down for good and deport the owners and bosses with a never to return stamp. Alternatively, they could simply stop Russians from having businesses here.

[mikebike]

Not derailing.

She was refused entry because they suspected she was working illegally, which it appears, she was.

Thousands of Burmese, everyday, are working in occupations reserved for Thai's only, yet, it is allowed, on a big scale. They are working illegally.

This girl was working in the dive industry and has been deported.

Just comparing the two case when it comes to enforcement.

You are confusing the employment laws for westerners vs, Burmese. The labour/employment laws which apply to Burmese are covered by Thai Migrant Worker Policy. See a primer here: http://www.thailawforum.com/articles/Burmese-Migrants-in-Thailand-4.html

It states, in part:

With growing demands by employers to allow employment of foreign workers, the Thai government developed a registration program through Cabinet Decisions to monitor and permit migrant employment. Prior to 2001, the Thai government cautiously experimented with registration programs to regularize and control migration into Thailand from Myanmar. Initially, the cabinet decisions to regularize migration were limited to certain geographical locations and made applicable to only a few occupational sectors. For example, in 1992, employers in only ten provinces near the Myanmar border were allowed to legally hire and register migrants with the Thai government. The registration program for migrant workers has expanded consistently throughout the years. Cabinet Decisions in 2002 and 2003 permitted migrant to work in all sectors and provinces. In 2004, over 1,280,000 migrants registered with the Ministry of Interior and 814,000 of those registrants applied for work permits with the Ministry of Labour.

[lazygourmet]

Same happened to me three weeks ago at Suvarnabhumi airport...

To make a long story short, arriving from Frankfurt, I was denied a 30 days visa exempt stamp and accompagnied to an office downstair.

Some higher ranking immigration officers statuted that according to, not only my three years old -Belgian- passport pages ; but as well their computer in/out references -back to 2004!- of numerous tourist visas and stamps on arrival: I was suspected of doing illegal activities in Thailand.

In the mean time, while in the office, I never open my mouth or try to ask and/or argue as it was never requested...

Noticing after being asked for, that I have a Thai Airways multi-city ticket, a Royal Orchid gold card and something like two thousand euros cash in my pocket : officers just said nicely to me that for today (sic!) it's impossible to enter the country -because they already stamped my "book"- and that I have to organize a new ticket to my destination of choice.

Thai Airways deportation/re-routing office is next to them... and they were looking very busy!!

Anyway it was only 7:30am, so I asked for two hours to make up my mind about where I want to be re-routed: No problem, they said...

Around 8:30am, I made THAT phone call who saved my badly started day.

At 9:30am: I had my passport back with deportation order cancelled, some big smiles and apologizes for all misunderstandings.

Better ending story anyway...

But for how long?!?

[Gats]

Any other country would have refused entry long before if there was any question whatsoever about how you were supporting yourself if you were not working illegally. I believe the problem here was the lack of cash and explanation as to where said cash was coming from.

If she'd been able to go to an atm and pull out the cash, or even explained her boyfriend was legally working here and supporting her, she'd likely have been let through. Fundamentally I don't think this was particularly bad treatment. Any govt will do their best to keep jobs for tax paying citizens over cash in hand travellers breaking the law (not assuming you were, but I agree with Thai immigration that it sure appears that way).

Got to agree that these guys were just doing their job.

(Also worth noting that if you are refused entry, the airline in almost every country is obligated to fly you back to country of origin at their own cost - if your friend bought the ticket, then you wasted the money).

[wilcopops]

They seem to be making up the rules as they go?

[fabphil]

I'm trying to understand her timeline of visa-runs:

After arriving in Phuket in October, Ms Sgibneva left to get a three-month tourist visa in November. She then completed a visa run in February. Subsequently, she left the country on March 21 for a visa run, then again to visit friends in Kuala Lumpur on March 30 and April 18.

- Arrives sometime in October, (presumably by air ==> 30 day visa exempt)

- Leaves within that 30 days to get a 3-month tourist visa

- 3 month tourist visa expires sometime in February and she does (I assume) a 15-day visa-run to Ranong

- Another Ranong visa-run on March 21st (so she must have been on overstay) - gets 15 days

- Leaves (assume by air) to visit friends in KL, not on overstay

- Returns from KL on unknown date, will get 30 days visa-exempt

- Goes again (assume by air) to KL to visit friends, not on overstay

Now unless immigration know something about her that we do not know (criminal etc), it looks like she did 2 visa-runs to Ranong, (one on overstay), and left Thailand well within the validity of her subsequent visa exempts.

So why was she denied entry at the airport???

who cares why...more russkies get stopped the better

[fabphil]

Same happened to me three weeks ago at Suvarnabhumi airport...

To make a long story short, arriving from Frankfurt, I was denied a 30 days visa exempt stamp and accompagnied to an office downstair.

Some higher ranking immigration officers statuted that according to, not only my three years old -Belgian- passport pages ; but as well their computer in/out references -back to 2004!- of numerous tourist visas and stamps on arrival: I was suspected of doing illegal activities in Thailand.

In the mean time, while in the office, I never open my mouth or try to ask and/or argue as it was never requested...

Noticing after being asked for, that I have a Thai Airways multi-city ticket, a Royal Orchid gold card and something like two thousand euros cash in my pocket : officers just said nicely to me that for today (sic!) it's impossible to enter the country -because they already stamped my "book"- and that I have to organize a new ticket to my destination of choice.

Thai Airways deportation/re-routing office is next to them... and they were looking very busy!!

Anyway it was only 7:30am, so I asked for two hours to make up my mind about where I want to be re-routed: No problem, they said...

Around 8:30am, I made THAT phone call who saved my badly started day.

At 9:30am: I had my passport back with deportation order cancelled, some big smiles and apologizes for all misunderstandings.

Scanned Document.jpg

Better ending story anyway...

But for how long?!?

Can i have THAT number just in case

[stevenl]

They seem to be making up the rules as they go?

Very strange post. Which rule was made up in your opinion, the one of the onward/return ticket or the one showing sufficient funds?

Oh, and on top of that it looks like they were correct in their suspicion of working illegally.

[Phuketboy]

They seem to be making up the rules as they go?

How is this making up the rules as they go? Did you read any of the posts before yours? One member uncovered she was the assistant manager at Sea Bees Diving Phuket. Where was her work permit/paper work? Why didn't she have a non-B visa? So.... no visa, no work permit/documentation, no money, no onward travel ticket. Seems to me they should deport her arse and stamp her passport "never to return".

[neverdie]

I understand [...] BUT please try to understand

Same garbage I used to hear in Meruca from assorted bullies. that's why I don't live there anymore.

Perhaps you'd like to take this to PM, and perhaps send me a message in Russian, I will have it translated because English really isn't working out for you. Gonki, I haven't tried to bully anyone, actually it was you that was going on about not messing with Russians.

At this point your posts seem nonsensical and are nothing more than attempt to derail the topic.

Please understand, I didn't deny entry to the young Russian Lass, however I applaud the Thai authorities for doing so and would do the same irregardless of race or creed of the deportee.

Relax Gonki, I'm not your enemy and for a guy that wants to talk about hate so much, you really need to have a cup of tea, take a deep breath and relax. perhaps check your meds.

[JoeLing]

I wonder how long it goes until Immigration realizes that their visa rules are outdated.
They should get in line with what we foreigners think it should be.

"Transit Visa" = For shortish term tourists with an onward ticket in their pocket.

"Visa Exempt" = For long stay tourists without money.

"Visa On Arrival" = For Nigerians, Ghanes and Somalian crocks scamming tourists in Thailand

"Tourist Visa" = For people who want to work but don't want to pay taxes
"Education Visa" = For people correcting spelling mistakes of TV members.

"Investment Visa" = For people supporting poor Isaan Girls in Samui, Phuket and Pattaya.
"Work Permit" = For people preferring to drink beer in front of their own office and enjoying what Thailand has to offer.
"Residence Permit" = For people who don't know what to do with their money.
"Thai Passport" = For people who have no where to go but Montenegro is no option.

Maybe a Visa for people who don't want to visit the LOS could dramatically increase Thailand's lost tourist revenues.

Edited May 12, 2014 by JoeLing

[NotMyUsualid]

I believe the shit may well hit the fan over this incident and the inevitable others which will follow.

I hope she's already notified the Russian Embassy about this as I believe she was singled out for being a Russian. If she wasn't a russian it wouldn't have happened.

Note to Mariia when you read this - please contact your Embassy to make an official complaint about this incident.

So you are saying that they refused her entry because she was Russian and not because she was in violation of numerous laws?

Note to Maria when you read this - please follow the rules.

I wonder how many non Russians have been deported at the airports since this crackdown started...

Your timeline is off. This incident is not directly related to the current land crossing issue. This is a simple case of an individual failing to follow numerous requirements of entry:

--Not having a "return/onward ticket"

--Not having "Proof of sufficient funds"

Both of these are required by most every country in the world.

Not 'entirely' true.

I've been a frequent flyer since 98', and in all that time, I've been asked for a forwarding ticket, maybe six times only. Three occurrences of which were all one airline / airport (Etihad / Al-Khobar Saudi Arabia). So three times coming back from work to see my gf, I had to buy a throw-away onward ticket to KL. The Saudi's are very funny regarding Thailand, and the airport ticket agents were not willing to help me book a ticket that had anything to do with Thailand. Fortunately my 4G dongle was charged, broke-out the laptop, and booked one in the UK. Even with receipt in hand, they wanted a ticket number, not a confirmation number to hand over the boarding pass. And it had not arrived yet... Much pleading with managers, and they accepted that I had booked a ticket and let me pass. Nearly missed the flight.

As for funds, I think once. On entering Hawaii late 2009, they inquired about funds there, but it is a very expensive place. I was able to show them the hotel my company had paid for, for the 2 weeks, and they seemed happy with that.

[Bpuumike]

She did not meet the requirements so was denied entry. What is the fuss about?

I thinke the fuss is caused by the very misleading use of the word 'crackdown" in the OP headline.

[Rosco911]

These rules are going to effect a lot of genuine people. For example people that work in the oil and gas industry. Friends I know work 6 months on 6 months off, under enforcement of the rules these people can no longer enjoy there time off work in Thailand even though they have condo's or rented houses. What are their options ?

[mikebike]

Not 'entirely' true.

I've been a frequent flyer since 98', and in all that time, I've been asked for a forwarding ticket, maybe six times only.

While the antidotal stories are nice, it remains true that MOST countries have very similar requirements/laws. The fact that they enforce these requirements/laws at their own discretion does not invalidate the requirements/laws.

[Rosco911]

These rules are going to effect a lot of genuine people. For example people that work in the oil and gas industry. Friends I know work 6 months on 6 months off, under enforcement of the rules these people can no longer enjoy there time off work in Thailand even though they have condo's or rented houses. What are their options ?

[mikebike]

Friends I know work 6 months on 6 months off, under enforcement of the rules these people can no longer enjoy there time off work in Thailand even though they have condo's or rented houses. What are their options ?

Why can they no longer enjoy Thailand? 6on/6off is ideal for double entry visa. Or did you mean they can no longer enjoy Thailand by exploiting the border-run loop-hole?

Edited May 12, 2014 by mikebike

[Mister Fixit]

She attempted to enter the country without an exit airline ticket or proof of forward travel nor could she prove sufficient funds.

I have been aware of both of these requirements before I ever made my first trip to LOS and believe they have been requirements for several years.

Has she actually denied working in the country? She looks like a nice lady and this is a very unfortunate incident; however, at the very least, she appears to have been very casual about the rules.

She does look a nice lady and I'm sure many of her customers think so too ...

However, if arriving without a proper visa, there IS a requirement to show you have sufficient funds for your stay - which is 20,000 baht. This has always been the case but has never really been applied until now. That's why, whenever I leave the country, I take my Thai bank book and ATM card with me even though I am on an 'O' visa - just in case.

My guess is that the Immi chaps took her for a 'working girl' when they saw all the back to backs and started applying the rules rigorously - 'where's your 20 grand in Thai money?' etc. They wouldn't be interested in seeing funny money roubles and so on (maybe because they couldn't 'appropriate' some...

A genuine tourist would have a return ticket and would probably have changed some money into Thai baht in their home country. It's all on the Immi website, and she obviously has a smartphone because she accessed her Russian bank from Phuket, so she really has no excuse.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Mister Fixit