Proof of leaving Thailand required when entering on a land boarder on a tourist visa?

[ChristianPFC]

Proof of leaving Thailand required when entering on a land boarder on a tourist visa?

Did anyone on this forum had to show proof of leaving Thailand when he entered on a land boarder with a tourist visa? Bus/train sufficient or flight?

I ask because I had to show proof of leaving Thailand when I applied for a triple entry tourist visa at the Thai embassy in Berlin, I wrote about it here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/718063-proof-of-leaving-thailand-required-for-tourist-visa-at-thai-embassy-berlin/

I spent my first entry in Thailand (May-June), have a flight to Phnom Penh on June 30, will spend about one week in Cambodia (Phnom Penh, then Siem Reap), and return to Thailand via a land boarder and use my second entry.

(My recent visa history: German national, 2012 two visa waiver, work visa Feb 2013 - Jan 2014, one week Lao, tourist visa at Thai embassy in Vientiane, Thailand Feb-Mar 2014, full April in Germany, triple entry tourist visa at Thai embassy in Berlin, first entry in Thailand May-June 2014.)

I am living on savings and travel around in Thailand (and have pictures to proof that and can tell the immigration officer in Thai to which places I went and where I want to go next). To be on the safe side, I will take 20,000 Baht with me and my rent contract for my room in Bangkok as well.

[ubonjoe]

Not for tourist visa entries. Onward tickets are not required if you have a visa.

[dotpoom]

Seems strange that they would want proof of you having left Thailand when you are already outside trying to get in....it's like asking you "Are you sure you are not already in Thailand?"

[ChristianPFC]

typo: boarder -> border (embarrassing, elsewhere I point out others' typos)

Seems strange that they would want proof of you having left Thailand when you are already outside trying to get in

You misunderstood, proof of leaving Thailand within 60 days (in the future) from the day of entering.

433 views and no comment that proof of leaving within 60 days was required when entering Thailand at a land border on a tourist visa, so I will go without proof of leaving.

Edited June 29, 2014 by ChristianPFC

[Suradit69]

Seems strange that they would want proof of you having left Thailand when you are already outside trying to get in....it's like asking you "Are you sure you are not already in Thailand?"

Proof that he has a ticket to leave Thailand.

If you enter on a visa exempt entry, it is sometimes required especially by airlines. Tourist visa, not so far.

"Are you sure you are not already in Thailand?"

Probably a reasonable thing to ask some farang whose internal GPS is impaired through liquid refreshment, but generally Thais are not that illogical.

Edited June 29, 2014 by Suradit69

[SteveB2]

I am not exactly sure what the OP is asking in this post - however...

If you leave any country across a land border, adjacent countries are obliged to check your passport to verify that you have an exit visa in your passport from the previous country... and if you don't they are obliged to send you back. This is the custom; hence 'customs'.

Both countries on either side of 'no-mans land' observe the custom and it helps officials catch undesirables who may be trying to leave the previous country without an exit stamp.

So, If understand correctly, you have a passport in which you were stamped into Thailand, but then somehow ended up outside Thailand without an Thai exit stamp . That sounds mightily suspicious, and will definitely show up on the Thailand customs central database as a big red flag when you next cross their path.

To answer your question about other countries wanting to see my Thai exit stamp before they let me in when doing a land crossing? - yes. I sometimes travel on multiple passports and had a very serious issue at border customs when I handed them the wrong passport that didn't have an exit stamp from the adjacent country in it. Oops I won't be doing that again!

Edited June 29, 2014 by SteveB2

[vexape]

Recently when I've been flying to Thailand, either from the US or Europe, the airline has insisted that I have a travel ticket leaving Thailand (within my visa dates). I normally tell them that I will be leaving over a land border, via local bus, and that you can't buy those tickets 'on-line' you need to buy them there and then on the day of travel. This has always worked for me.

However, a friend of mine has run into more stubborn airline staff, and has quickly logged onto AirAsia and got the cheapest one-way ticket he could find leaving BKK. Once in Thailand, he cancelled the flight for a semi-refund. Might be worth doing if you really want something to show them?

Neither of us have had any issues at BKK Immigration however. They've just checked the visa and landing card and stamped us in. Regardless of future travel plans.

Good luck.

[ChristianPFC]

SteveB2, you misunderstood, I have all required entry/exit stamps, but your reply answered another thing i was wondering about. (Can you do a U-turn in no-man's land, leaving Thailand, but not entering a neighboring country, and coming back to Thailand - obviously not. I didn't know they check you exit stamp from where-ever you are coming.)

A friend just told he came from UK and intends to stay two months in South-East Asia. He has no visa for Thailand, did enter on visa waiver. At check-in to his flight to Bangkok, they asked for a proof of leaving, he told them he will travel to Cambodia, within the 30 days and they accepted. Strictly following the rules, this trip could have ended at check-in or at immigration.

[Saradoc1972]

No problem, don't worry.

If you got the visa (as opposed to a visa-exempt entry) just trust in what ubonjoe writes, he's the expert.

With that visa it's just stay 60 days, extend 30 days if you like and pay for it, leave the country, return if you've got re-entries left (according to the Honorary Consulate in Essen the standing record is 3 minutes, but you need to set foot on hostile terrain and possibly pay their visa fees), no prove whatsoever asked for, maybe the 20 k baht (potentially in traveller cheques).

What apparently bugs you here is your prior experience applying for a tourist visa at the Berlin embassy in the first place, and getting a visa-exempt entry when you had no return or onward ticket on a prior trip.

These are two very different things. With the visa-exempt you need to present your onward-flight within 30 days at immigrations at the airport and carriers will be loath to take you if you cannot satisfy that requirement when boarding the flight, as they might have to fly you back at their own expense. You got lucky back then.

When you try and get your proper tourist visa it's different. Some embassies (the honorary consulates might be more relaxed about this) require you to prove you'll be quitting the kingdom within the allowed time of stay of your visa (with possible extensions, i.e. within 90 days for tourists). You can satisfy that requirement either by providing onwards flights or submitting a travel itinerary where you will at least claim to be going to visit neighbouring countries by land and possibly have gone to Inner Mongolia by the end of your travels, and hence not be their worries' any longer. Submitting financial statements as to your means and savings to do so will certainly do no harm.

Errrmmm... we are both Germans and I know questioning another one's English abilities is a bit awkward, but if you need a little bit of translation to and from English, I'll be happy to oblige in private messaging (it's an English forum, so no German posts here).

[ChristianPFC]

Been to Cambodia for one week and back in Thailand now.

Visa on arrival in Phom Penh airport 20 USD, no proof of onward travel required (and I didn't have any as I would leave by bus, whenever I had seen enough).

Return to Thailand at Aranyapratet border crossing (no delays, no scams) on my second entry (out of three), no proof of leaving Thailand (in the future, within the 60/90 days) or any other documentation required (to be on the safe side, I took my rent contract and 20,000 Baht in cash with me).

The officer scrutinized my passport and crossed out the double entry tourist visa I got in Vientiane (only one entry use, might be confusing that there is an entry left, but the visa expired).

I spent one day and night in Poipet, there is a unofficial border crossing (even mentioned and mapped in wikitravel Poipet, as I learnt after I found it by chance), a wooden bridge over a river (but even without bridge, you would just be knee-deep in water), no queue, no money, no hassle, but I need the stamps in my passport!

Saradoc1972, all my visa exempt entries were with return flight back to Europe within 30 days and all other tourist visa applications (except the one in Berlin) and entries on tourist visa without proof of leaving. What bugs/worries me is that I might be refused entry, so I am left in no-man's land with no access to computer to book a flight ticket (and then wait for confirmation email and print it), that means I have to re-enter the country I just left (provided the let me in, I have no proof of onward travel!) to find an internet cafe to book a flight!

An interesting situation, caught in no-man's land between checkpoints and neither country lets you in because you have no proof of onward travel and can't get it.

Edited July 7, 2014 by ChristianPFC

[Saradoc1972]

The Thai border post will in all likelyhood not allow you to leave if you will not be allowed entry on the other side of no-man's land, e.g. when your passport's validity is under 6 months for Laos or Cambodia. So that should not happen.

As you are German, you can more or less always get a visa-exempt entry back into thailand at least for the 7 days when you've already done an out-in, when you can prove your need to make arrangements for onward travel.

If, however, you illegally cross a border (and hence get no exit stamp) this will probably spell trouble, as you would have entered the other country illegally and hence might face their deportation procedures including detention. Don't do that.

There was a post on this forum about an Irish couple who found themselves in detention because they had unwittingly flouted the exit requirements and had unknowingly got themselves faked stamps in their passports. Major, major hassle, embassy, defense attorneys and all.

[Tomtomtom69]

Been to Cambodia for one week and back in Thailand now.

Visa on arrival in Phom Penh airport 20 USD, no proof of onward travel required (and I didn't have any as I would leave by bus, whenever I had seen enough).

Return to Thailand at Aranyapratet border crossing (no delays, no scams) on my second entry (out of three), no proof of leaving Thailand (in the future, within the 60/90 days) or any other documentation required (to be on the safe side, I took my rent contract and 20,000 Baht in cash with me).

The officer scrutinized my passport and crossed out the double entry tourist visa I got in Vientiane (only one entry use, might be confusing that there is an entry left, but the visa expired).

I spent one day and night in Poipet, there is a unofficial border crossing (even mentioned and mapped in wikitravel Poipet, as I learnt after I found it by chance), a wooden bridge over a river (but even without bridge, you would just be knee-deep in water), no queue, no money, no hassle, but I need the stamps in my passport!

Saradoc1972, all my visa exempt entries were with return flight back to Europe within 30 days and all other tourist visa applications (except the one in Berlin) and entries on tourist visa without proof of leaving. What bugs/worries me is that I might be refused entry, so I am left in no-man's land with no access to computer to book a flight ticket (and then wait for confirmation email and print it), that means I have to re-enter the country I just left (provided the let me in, I have no proof of onward travel!) to find an internet cafe to book a flight!

An interesting situation, caught in no-man's land between checkpoints and neither country lets you in because you have no proof of onward travel and can't get it.

As you stated above, Cambodia doesn't require onward travel plans. This applies irrespective of how you enter the country, land, sea or air. Indeed one can stay forever in Cambodia on 1-year extensions for less than $300 a year. A good back up plan in case you need a safe haven away from Thailand or to satisfy officers that you live outside of Thailand, get a 1-year Cambodian visa extension, for airlines etc and of course purchasing a one way ticket to Cambodia will be treated as "returning home".