If You Are Deported After Being Refused - Can You Choose Where To Go?

[Tomtomtom69]

Facts:

Last April I have been denied entrance at Suvarnabhumi on suspicion of doing illegal business.

While waiting for a clearance from immigration head office -it was 6 am- I had plenty of time to ask around what will happen if I cannot pass through the border.

Answering to OP:

You can go to any country you want ; but if you do not have a ticket or cannnot reschedule your flight, only Thai Airways will be able to sell you an outbound ticket -at a cost!- because other airlines have their counters outside the gates (ie: for a one-way to KL their quote was USD 350)

As well, you will be locked in a mini IDC, managed by Chubb at the cost of four hundred baht/day, either waiting for your flight, waiting for some money tranfer (only Western Union) or someone sending you an outbound ticket.

Would it be too much to ask how the officials suspected you of doing "illegal business"? Were you ultimately allowed entry?

Because -except for a few tourist visas- I only have an accumulation of visa exempt stamps, as I used to fly in/out of Thailand on a monthly basis for the last twelve years ; maybe as well, a three months overstay end of 2011, when I was stuck in Nonthaburi floods with a wounded ankle.

But at the end, yes of course after three hours waiting for clearance, I got 30 days.

Since, I have been to Phnom Penh and got a tourist visa and now organize all the paperworks for a Non-O based on marriage.

I know that I should have done that years ago but I am lazy and used to enjoyed my monthly 4/5 days escapades out of Thailand.

Good to know you got back in, even though you were scrutinized. I have the feeling that at the airports they are really scrutinizing people more and waits can be longer. Arriving overland and even if you're scrutinized you don't have to wait nearly as long. Not that it's ever happened to me before but that's just the impression I'm getting. I've seen lots of travelers getting scrutinized not just recently but in the past 2 years or so. Back then it was mainly nationals of countries such as China, India, African countries and one guy from Papua New Guinea, the first time I've ever seen someone from that country in Thailand. However now anyone can be more heavily scrutinized depending on their past activities or pattern of entrance to Thailand.

I'm also wondering when you were held, what did the officers say to you exactly? What did you say? Did you try to prove that you were entitled to enter, did you have an outbound itinerary, sufficient funds etc. available for inspection? If not, maybe that's why you were held for longer. If yes, surely they would have wrapped up things sooner?

[lazygourmet]

Facts:

Last April I have been denied entrance at Suvarnabhumi on suspicion of doing illegal business.

While waiting for a clearance from immigration head office -it was 6 am- I had plenty of time to ask around what will happen if I cannot pass through the border.

Answering to OP:

You can go to any country you want ; but if you do not have a ticket or cannnot reschedule your flight, only Thai Airways will be able to sell you an outbound ticket -at a cost!- because other airlines have their counters outside the gates (ie: for a one-way to KL their quote was USD 350)

As well, you will be locked in a mini IDC, managed by Chubb at the cost of four hundred baht/day, either waiting for your flight, waiting for some money tranfer (only Western Union) or someone sending you an outbound ticket.

Would it be too much to ask how the officials suspected you of doing "illegal business"? Were you ultimately allowed entry?

Because -except for a few tourist visas- I only have an accumulation of visa exempt stamps, as I used to fly in/out of Thailand on a monthly basis for the last twelve years ; maybe as well, a three months overstay end of 2011, when I was stuck in Nonthaburi floods with a wounded ankle.

But at the end, yes of course after three hours waiting for clearance, I got 30 days.

Since, I have been to Phnom Penh and got a tourist visa and now organize all the paperworks for a Non-O based on marriage.

I know that I should have done that years ago but I am lazy and used to enjoyed my monthly 4/5 days escapades out of Thailand.

Good to know you got back in, even though you were scrutinized. I have the feeling that at the airports they are really scrutinizing people more and waits can be longer. Arriving overland and even if you're scrutinized you don't have to wait nearly as long. Not that it's ever happened to me before but that's just the impression I'm getting. I've seen lots of travelers getting scrutinized not just recently but in the past 2 years or so. Back then it was mainly nationals of countries such as China, India, African countries and one guy from Papua New Guinea, the first time I've ever seen someone from that country in Thailand. However now anyone can be more heavily scrutinized depending on their past activities or pattern of entrance to Thailand.

I'm also wondering when you were held, what did the officers say to you exactly? What did you say? Did you try to prove that you were entitled to enter, did you have an outbound itinerary, sufficient funds etc. available for inspection? If not, maybe that's why you were held for longer. If yes, surely they would have wrapped up things sooner?

There was no wait for other passengers as the officer asked me politely to step aside and wait for one of her colleague.

Promplty another officer arrived and requested me to follow him to his boss office.

When arrived in that basement office, they made me wait for twenty minutes and came back with my passport already stamped as denied.

Then I started to ask why and got the answer: "on supicious of working illegally, this time you cannot enter Thailand... where do you want to go next?"

I had an Air Asia ticket to Phnom Penh, within the next four weeks, and around 2,500 euros in cash; which they never asked me for, but I showed to them trying to change their mind.

Unfortunately that was too late because "the boss had already decided and stamped my book"...

"Go back either to your country or to your nearest embassy, make a new passport and come when it's done" was their suggestion.

After a bit of talking, they started to realised that I might be "not that bad" and asked me if someone can guarantee me.

Of course that I know several influencial people in Thailand but I did want to start names dropping and now it was only 7:00 in the morning.

"Please can you give me two hours to contact one of my friends" was my only request. I did make that phone call a little bit later...

Around 9am after hanging around the dutyfree zone for the last two hours, always escorted by a Chubb security guy , they said: sorry but now we have to keep you inside otherwise we will have big problem... OK then lock me in!

Around 10am they came to take me with a big smile, my denied order cancelled and said: "Welcome back to Thailand sir."

[bkkjames]

LG why did they suspect you of working illegally, did you cater a private party at one of their homes?

Sent from my LG-P970 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[keestha]

Once came across a case like this. A Swedish guy was refused entry into Thailand after flying in from South Korea (where he also had been refused entry, flying in from Thailand). He was told to get a ticket directly back to Sweden. A friend of him purchased a ticket to Stockholm via Colombo, Sri Lanka , but they wouldn't allow him to use this. He ended up spending almost 2 weeks in the transit area before somebody helped him out and supplied him with a ticket directly back to Sweden.

[lazygourmet]

LG why did they suspect you of working illegally, did you cater a private party at one of their homes?

Sent from my LG-P970 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Wine tasting only, James...

Maybe one of them was upset because I drunk the whole lot?!?

So I thanked the one who helped me with a flask a Chivas

[BWPattaya]

If you are not allowed in, how can you be deported?

Okay - you're a pedant - I get it.

I disagree. There is a difference. Being denied entry will mean that you can fly to wherever you choose. Being deported means that you can only fly to your own country. When a friend of mine was deported and I went to see him at the Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok I discussed it with the officials there to see if they would let him fly to Cambodia. They said they they would only allow him to fly on one of the airlines that will take deportees and only to the UK.

[Tomtomtom69]

Facts:

Last April I have been denied entrance at Suvarnabhumi on suspicion of doing illegal business.

While waiting for a clearance from immigration head office -it was 6 am- I had plenty of time to ask around what will happen if I cannot pass through the border.

Answering to OP:

You can go to any country you want ; but if you do not have a ticket or cannnot reschedule your flight, only Thai Airways will be able to sell you an outbound ticket -at a cost!- because other airlines have their counters outside the gates (ie: for a one-way to KL their quote was USD 350)

As well, you will be locked in a mini IDC, managed by Chubb at the cost of four hundred baht/day, either waiting for your flight, waiting for some money tranfer (only Western Union) or someone sending you an outbound ticket.

Would it be too much to ask how the officials suspected you of doing "illegal business"? Were you ultimately allowed entry?

There was no wait for other passengers as the officer asked me politely to step aside and wait for one of her colleague.

Promplty another officer arrived and requested me to follow him to his boss office.

When arrived in that basement office, they made me wait for twenty minutes and came back with my passport already stamped as denied.

Then I started to ask why and got the answer: "on supicious of working illegally, this time you cannot enter Thailand... where do you want to go next?"

I had an Air Asia ticket to Phnom Penh, within the next four weeks, and around 2,500 euros in cash; which they never asked me for, but I showed to them trying to change their mind.

Unfortunately that was too late because "the boss had already decided and stamped my book"...

"Go back either to your country or to your nearest embassy, make a new passport and come when it's done" was their suggestion.

After a bit of talking, they started to realised that I might be "not that bad" and asked me if someone can guarantee me.

Of course that I know several influencial people in Thailand but I did want to start names dropping and now it was only 7:00 in the morning.

"Please can you give me two hours to contact one of my friends" was my only request. I did make that phone call a little bit later...

Around 9am after hanging around the dutyfree zone for the last two hours, always escorted by a Chubb security guy , they said: sorry but now we have to keep you inside otherwise we will have big problem... OK then lock me in!

Around 10am they came to take me with a big smile, my denied order cancelled and said: "Welcome back to Thailand sir."

Wow that's a scary story! Hopefully you won't have to go through that again!