BKK Immigration Strict? [RE: New Visa Rules]

[TheSpade]

Hi,

In 12 days I'm go home for the rest of the year. I currently have a 30 day visa exempt stamp in my passport about to expire and planned to go Immigration in BKK to get the 7 day extension.

My passport has a double entry visa which expired December last year then 6 back to back 30 day visa exempt stamps from the Baa Laan Border.

I've been "living" here supporting myself through funds from back home not working but with the recent crack drown on visas and talk of detaining anyone they "suspect" to be working illegally I'm a little nervous as my passport would look EXACTLY like that of someone working here even though I'm not.

Any stories of any problems? Am I likely to be grilled?

I'm sure it wouldn't happen but I'm having visions of a strict immigration officer under pressure to clamp down on anyone suspected of doing something they shouldn't asking me loads of questions and if he doesn't like my answer detaining me.

Anything is possible here in Thailand.

The alternative of course is to overstay.

Any insights into the situation or what you would do (i.e. go get the extension or overstay) would be welcome...

[ubonjoe]

There have been no reports of any problems at immigration offices.

Applying for a 7 day extension will not be a problem.

[TheSpade]

OK well that's good to know.

[ubonjoe]

A off topic and unhelpful post plus a reply to it have been removed.

[Maestro]

Removed a troll post.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Tomtomtom69]

I still always believe an extension or even another visa run is better than an overstay. Many of the reports of people having problems were due to previous overstays in combination with plenty of back-to-back visa free stays. Don't overstay, even for one day. If all you need is an extension for 7 days then 1900 Baht and the piece of mind that comes from getting your status sorted is well worth it.

[Artisi]

I still always believe an extension or even another visa run is better than an overstay. Many of the reports of people having problems were due to previous overstays in combination with plenty of back-to-back visa free stays. Don't overstay, even for one day. If all you need is an extension for 7 days then 1900 Baht and the piece of mind that comes from getting your status sorted is well worth it.

I agree, going the overstay route might just ring alarm bells - and that you don't want.

[TheRascal]

I did a 30 day extension at Chaeng Wattana on Monday. I was in and out in an hour. No issues or problems at all.

Edited June 5, 2014 by TheRascal

[seancbk]

The Spade,

When news of the 'crackdown' first came out I was like you very worried. My passport had 7 back to back visa exempt stamps in it.

I've been living flying back to Hong Kong and Macau once a month to see my family, staying for between 3-5 days and then coming back in.

I flew out from Don Mueang on the 22nd May and was expecting to get grilled about what I do in Thailand (I've been here almost 6 years and don't speak Thai)

I went to the Thai embassy in Hong Kong and applied for (and was issued with no problem at all) a 60 day tourist visa.

I then flew back into Don Mueang on the 29th May and again was a bit worried (less so but still a bit) that I'd be grilled about why I'm living in Thailand....

But again nothing was said....

Now this maybe because I came in with the proper Tourist Visa, it may be because with the current tourist arrivals being so low they've decided to turn a blind eye at the moment, or it could just be that its not August 12th yet which is when that said they'd start looking at people coming in by air....

All I can tell you is my panic turned out to be unfounded.

Best of luck with your travels.

[ukrules]

The Spade,

When news of the 'crackdown' first came out I was like you very worried. My passport had 7 back to back visa exempt stamps in it.

I've been living flying back to Hong Kong and Macau once a month to see my family, staying for between 3-5 days and then coming back in.

I flew out from Don Mueang on the 22nd May and was expecting to get grilled about what I do in Thailand (I've been here almost 6 years and don't speak Thai)

I went to the Thai embassy in Hong Kong and applied for (and was issued with no problem at all) a 60 day tourist visa.

I then flew back into Don Mueang on the 29th May and again was a bit worried (less so but still a bit) that I'd be grilled about why I'm living in Thailand....

But again nothing was said....

Now this maybe because I came in with the proper Tourist Visa, it may be because with the current tourist arrivals being so low they've decided to turn a blind eye at the moment, or it could just be that its not August 12th yet which is when that said they'd start looking at people coming in by air....

All I can tell you is my panic turned out to be unfounded.

Best of luck with your travels.

The looming crackdown isn't going to start until August 12th.

Good luck.

[MrWorldwide]

I did a 30 day extension at Chaeng Wattana on Monday. I was in and out in an hour. No issues or problems at all.

Same at Jomtien on Thursday - no gnashing of teeth or wailing on either side of the 'Judge Dredd'-style doors.

[CharlesHH]

I thot what you did, getting a real visa, was the overt goal of the crack down. Seems best thing to do.

The Spade,

When news of the 'crackdown' first came out I was like you very worried. My passport had 7 back to back visa exempt stamps in it.

I've been living flying back to Hong Kong and Macau once a month to see my family, staying for between 3-5 days and then coming back in.

I flew out from Don Mueang on the 22nd May and was expecting to get grilled about what I do in Thailand (I've been here almost 6 years and don't speak Thai)

I went to the Thai embassy in Hong Kong and applied for (and was issued with no problem at all) a 60 day tourist visa.

I then flew back into Don Mueang on the 29th May and again was a bit worried (less so but still a bit) that I'd be grilled about why I'm living in Thailand....

But again nothing was said....

Now this maybe because I came in with the proper Tourist Visa, it may be because with the current tourist arrivals being so low they've decided to turn a blind eye at the moment, or it could just be that its not August 12th yet which is when that said they'd start looking at people coming in by air....

All I can tell you is my panic turned out to be unfounded.

Best of luck with your travels.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

To the OP: It sounds like you're talking about LEAVING Thailand, and needing to get a 7-day extension from BKK Immigration prior to your departing.

AFAIK, the issue about getting grilled and such is NOT about people who are going to the airport to leave Thailand.

It's about people who are arriving at Thailand by land border or airport with a lot of visa-exempt entries or other issues that might make Immigration believe they are coming here for work purposes. You're not arriving, you're leaving. They're fine with that.

At any rate, as noted above, the formal crackdown on incoming airport arrivals isn't supposed to start until mid-August.

[TheSpade]

Apart from I'm not leaving YET am I hence why I went to BKK Immigration today to get an extension. So my concern was that they don't like what they see in my passport and decide to grill me or worse detain me on suspicious grounds.

I mean I've been living in Thailand for a year with no official reason to be here other than "I wanted to be". It would look suspect to the least skeptical person.

Plus they don't know when I plan to leave BKK and didn't ask so they wouldn't possibly know that anyway.

Anyway after a lot of deliberating this morning I went anyway and it was fine. No problems. No questions. Just a bit of waiting around in really slow moving queue.

Glad I did it now.

[ukrules]

Apart from I'm not leaving YET am I hence why I went to BKK Immigration today to get an extension. So my concern was that they don't like what they see in my passport and decide to grill me or worse detain me on suspicious grounds.

I mean I've been living in Thailand for a year with no official reason to be here other than "I wanted to be". It would look suspect to the least skeptical person.

Plus they don't know when I plan to leave BKK and didn't ask so they wouldn't possibly know that anyway.

Anyway after a lot of deliberating this morning I went anyway and it was fine. No problems. No questions. Just a bit of waiting around in really slow moving queue.

Glad I did it now.

You never had nothing to worry about.

This 7 day extension is actually a 'get out of the country in 7 days' stamp and not an extension. They can't refuse it on a whim as it is in itself already a refusal to allow you to stay.

[usmanjanjua]

I need to leave the country to obtain a 30 day Tourist visa so that I can then apply for a Non-B and then a work permit. I have heard going to Burma is a better option than Cambodia. Any suggestions?

[Mario2008]

Leaving the country and returning will give you a visa exempt entry of 30 days.

With company papers you can than apply for a work permit, for which you get a form and also ask for a letter confirming your application. Once you have that you can apply for a non-B visa in a neighboring country.

Only if you are a teacher do you not need to apply for the WP before you apply for the non-B visa.

[Tomtomtom69]

The Spade,

When news of the 'crackdown' first came out I was like you very worried. My passport had 7 back to back visa exempt stamps in it.

I've been living flying back to Hong Kong and Macau once a month to see my family, staying for between 3-5 days and then coming back in.

I flew out from Don Mueang on the 22nd May and was expecting to get grilled about what I do in Thailand (I've been here almost 6 years and don't speak Thai)

I went to the Thai embassy in Hong Kong and applied for (and was issued with no problem at all) a 60 day tourist visa.

I then flew back into Don Mueang on the 29th May and again was a bit worried (less so but still a bit) that I'd be grilled about why I'm living in Thailand....

But again nothing was said....

Now this maybe because I came in with the proper Tourist Visa, it may be because with the current tourist arrivals being so low they've decided to turn a blind eye at the moment, or it could just be that its not August 12th yet which is when that said they'd start looking at people coming in by air....

All I can tell you is my panic turned out to be unfounded.

Best of luck with your travels.

The looming crackdown isn't going to start until August 12th.

Good luck.

Yes but I think what people don't realize here is that Thai immigration has ALWAYS had the power to question foreigners about what they are doing in Thailand on arrival and yes, they have been exercising this power too! It's just that now they are going to be a bit stricter, but that doesn't mean that they never questioned arriving foreigners until now (which I've just pointed out) nor does it mean that we should all become worried that every person will be questioned on every arrival because I don't think that will happen either, even after August 12th. Most people will continue not to have any problems. And if Thai immigration were to grill every passenger then eventually that would have a negative effect on tourism.

I can give you numerous examples of foreigners that have attracted intense scrutiny upon arrival dating back to past years, that I have personally witnessed - no idea why Thai immigration doesn't follow Australia's lead and conduct such interviews in a private room, but that's because most likely refusals of immigration clearance of arriving foreigners into Thailand is very low and hence it's just assumed showing a few documents and/or providing acceptable explanations should be enough for most foreigners to be allowed entry.

[61guitarman61]

There has been talk about "The Crackdown". Could someone please be more specific about what that said crackdown might entail, who it might affect, etc...

[shoeless1963]

Thanks to the OP... its nice to add knowledge and I wasn't aware that this 7-day extension option was available on the standard 'on arrival' visa. Apologies as well as I've suggested elsewhere - another thread - that this didn't exist. May well come in useful at some point in the future.

In terms of the 'crackdown' - and apologies again if this is covered elsewhere - but the process for visa applications in the UK has also been tightened up. No more postal applications to the consulates... they have to be collected in person now and that is quite a trek given the sparse and diverse locations they currently occupy. This has seemingly come in before the August 12 deadline (I nearly got caught out in April before flying back) and suggests that August 12 will probably see appreciable changes and not be a 'missed target' as can happen here.

I wonder how much of this is related to the ASEAN implementation planned for next year and what will logically be an extension of cross-border visas that is in place in some parts of the region already?

[MrWorldwide]

@tomtom69, I've seen the interviews on Border Patrol but they also interview people while they are unpacking their bags - that's how it was with me and I didnt enjoy the experience one bit. He read my diary - clearly looking for signs that I'd written down dates and times for a drug buy or somesuch - and asked some intensely personal questions about my time in Thailand. After more than 24 hours without sleep, the last thing I need is to have to tell a complete stranger that - yes boss - I'd been keeping the company of whores and lowlifes in Pattaya. He also seemed to enjoy pushing me - 'You seem to be getting angry - I'm just doing my job'. They know you are effectively a non-person until you leave their clutches and return to the relative sanity of that arrivals hall. I'm just glad I didnt have a laptop with me on that trip - little doubt that he would have wanted a look see.

[TheSpade]

I once got grilled by immigration in UK after returning home after a trip in Thailand.

Went through my bag, took out a notepad I had and studied it for ages, asking questions about what everything meant. It was all innocent stuff so nothing juicy to read.