Tourist visa holders denied entry to Thailand and left stranded in Malaysia

[ALFREDO]

They should put a sign in the airport where people are boarding "Thank you for your visit. Please don't come back., We don't want to see you again".

That is a bit to harsh, the Thai authorities want you to come back,

once or twice a year for 2 - 3 week holiday periods each. Spend than a lot and ok.

[AYJAYDEE]

I will be returning to Thailand next month on14th August ( so just after "official" clamp down date !). I now have a business with a work permit and a non B multi entry visa . however my passport has 3 previous multi entry tourist visas inside (+ some border runs to Ranong/Myanmar) , I have no overstays and no VOA's ........... any ideas or thoughts about whether I am likely to experience problems with immigration when I return next month ?

If you a have a work permit, i think you will have no problems. The problems are only for genuine tourists who want to go back to Thailand for a second time.

when did genuine tourists have a problem?

[MJCM]

to be safe, why not spend a couple of days outside the country on each trip out. and perhaps use airports instead of land crossings. also,

i dont think that 90 in 180 is in effect anymore.

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I think the problem with the 3 entry TR visas is, that the max. validity you can get is 90 days. I think that the days that you could stay almost 270 days on a TR visa are gone. (However there are exceptions)

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

i have seen no indication that that is the case. especially if one spends a couple of nights outside the country between entries

Will do a search tomorrow (cant now) and will post some links, about triple (3) entry TR vIsa with only 90 days validity date. To stay approx 270 days in Thailand on a 3 entry TR visa your visa needs to be valid for 6 Months.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

[ALFREDO]

Marry a Thai,

or make a Baby with a Thai,

be old enough and better also retired.

Best, have also enough money in Thai Bank and Visa's are a "piece of cake."

Edited July 14, 2014 by ALFREDO

[krislarter]

to be safe, why not spend a couple of days outside the country on each trip out. and perhaps use airports instead of land crossings. also,

i dont think that 90 in 180 is in effect anymore.

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I don't use the extensions as the 3 entries is enough for me 6 months max.Although i have used them in the past.

[whaleboneman]

The more i read about the whinging , "overstayer" and their stupid questions on this forum the more i disrepair with human kind.

Bluntly there are some very thick people out there !!!................god help <deleted> pension if i have to rely on them.

Can anyone translate this for me?

[ALFREDO]

I will be returning to Thailand next month on14th August ( so just after "official" clamp down date !). I now have a business with a work permit and a non B multi entry visa . however my passport has 3 previous multi entry tourist visas inside (+ some border runs to Ranong/Myanmar) , I have no overstays and no VOA's ........... any ideas or thoughts about whether I am likely to experience problems with immigration when I return next month ?

Question for a seer - oracle.

[max72]

Illegal are the people with work permits who are not working.

I think those people are very hard to find, but do you mean by any chance "people with No work permits who are working" ?

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

I really mean people who gets work permit but they don;t work, they have friends who make them the favor (the permanent tourists will pay them the expenses of course and something more) to issue them work permits but in fact they are permanent tourists.

I know few of those... but I am not a spy.

Those ones are breaking the rules , not people like me who just want to spend long holidays and don't need to work.

Why would anyone go the the time and trouble of getting a work permit if they were not working??

I think you are confused about what type of visa these people are on.

For the record a Work Permit *is not* a visa. The visa they would be on is a Non Immigrant B.

There is nothing that says someone can't visit Thailand on a Non Immigrant B visa, in fact if you are here on business then that is the visa you are supposed to use, not a Tourist visa.

I am not confused.

I know lots of people doing that.

They stay permanently in Thailand with a work permit issued by a friend of theirs who has a company,but they are not working, because they don't need it. They do it because they can stay in Thailand for long time.

They are the real abusers.

Edited July 14, 2014 by max72

[AYJAYDEE]

to be safe, why not spend a couple of days outside the country on each trip out. and perhaps use airports instead of land crossings. also,

i dont think that 90 in 180 is in effect anymore.

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I don't use the extensions as the 3 entries is enough for me 6 months max.Although i have used them in the past.

i think youll continue to be fine but 3 entries is 178 days and if they start making trouble for you a double entry with two extensions will give you the same with one less border crossing and less chance of a hassle

[krislarter]

to be safe, why not spend a couple of days outside the country on each trip out. and perhaps use airports instead of land crossings. also,

i dont think that 90 in 180 is in effect anymore.

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I think the problem with the 3 entry TR visas is, that the max. validity you can get is 90 days. I think that the days that you could stay almost 270 days on a TR visa are gone. (However there are exceptions)

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

No,A triple entry is 3 x 60 days = 180 or 6 months.If you extend each one it is 270 days.

[whaleboneman]

Lets be honest about this guys - no more boolshit

There are genuine tourists who will not be affected by any of this, those that come here for an extended holiday once or twice a year possibly over the winter months from say November to January and are issued with a tourist visa, these people should not have a problem

Then there are those that are old enough and want to retire here or those that have wives and or children here and are still working back home (under 50) - there are choices for them to do so without any issues

Then you have the targeted group that don't fall into either of the above, the visa running clan who seem to fall into 3 categories - working illegally - on the run from their own country for various reasons - criminal activity in Thailand - or a mixture of all 3

If you think it's normal in any country going to a border and leaving for an hour or a day every 30 or 60 days then you are delusional - that is not normal anywhere

There are some genuine folks that are under 50 and have the funds to stay here but are going to end up the innocent fallout, their only option is the rather expensive Elite Card

You only have to look at the news stories involving falangs over the last 3 years or so and almost all of them have been on overstay visa expired - the authorities have noticed this too it seems

I honestly believe the next phase of this clampdown (very soon) will be active checking of falangs in locations such as Pattaya and Phuket for their visa status, I really believe this will happen, if you are currently on overstay and don't want to be in a situation were you can't even go outside without the risk of arrest and jail then you need to make a hasty exit ASAP

Haven't been to central America have you.

[AYJAYDEE]

to be safe, why not spend a couple of days outside the country on each trip out. and perhaps use airports instead of land crossings. also,

i dont think that 90 in 180 is in effect anymore.

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I think the problem with the 3 entry TR visas is, that the max. validity you can get is 90 days. I think that the days that you could stay almost 270 days on a TR visa are gone. (However there are exceptions)

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

i have seen no indication that that is the case. especially if one spends a couple of nights outside the country between entries

Will do a search tomorrow (cant now) and will post some links, about triple (3) entry TR vIsa with only 90 days validity date. To stay approx 270 days in Thailand on a 3 entry TR visa your visa needs to be valid for 6 Months.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

my triple entries have never had that restriction

[krislarter]

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I don't use the extensions as the 3 entries is enough for me 6 months max.Although i have used them in the past.

i think youll continue to be fine but 3 entries is 178 days and if they start making trouble for you a double entry with two extensions will give you the same with one less border crossing and less chance of a hassle

yes that is another way,But i will still get the triple,as if i get too many extensions they may refuse so i will have the 3rd entry to fall back on.Even if i do that and don't use the 3rd one it's no great loss .

[BuffaloRescue]

To be honest there are a LOT of people working in Thailand who are not "working in Thailand". In other words they are working for their own, non-thailand related businesses based overseas etc. These are generally professional people, who spend a lot of money in Thailand, and not criminals or trouble makers. These people cant get a legitimate visa. Technically they should be paying income tax in Thailand even if their business is based overseas and technically they should have a work permit for it. Unfortunately you cant get a work permit for it, therefor you cant register for tax either I believe.

It would be good if Thailand took a different approach to cleaning up foreingers allowed to live in Thailand. Let people live here who have businesses from overseas but make them submit their documents annually and make them tax-residents of Thailand. This start-up crowd could be very good for Thailand, which desperately needs innovation!

yes Im kinda in that situation..

RE:

There is a 'special platinum' visa, it's called 'Thailand Elite'. The cheapest option (Easy Access) gives you a 5 year unlimited entry visa and costs 500,000 Baht. You get 1 year stamps every time you arrive and can stay for the full term of your membership without leaving if you so desire.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/726441-thailand-elite-easy-access-500k-thb-card/

Im a buyer for 250k not 500k.. Or why not just charge me yearly at 20k

[MJCM]

to be safe, why not spend a couple of days outside the country on each trip out. and perhaps use airports instead of land crossings. also,

i dont think that 90 in 180 is in effect anymore.

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I think the problem with the 3 entry TR visas is, that the max. validity you can get is 90 days. I think that the days that you could stay almost 270 days on a TR visa are gone. (However there are exceptions)

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

No,A triple entry is 3 x 60 days = 180 or 6 months.If you extend each one it is 270 days.

Read my post again, I am talking about Validity. If the visa is only valid for 90 days, good luck in trying to get 270 days out of it

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

[AYJAYDEE]

yes that is another way,But i will still get the triple,as if i get too many extensions they may refuse so i will have the 3rd entry to fall back on.Even if i do that and don't use the 3rd one it's no great loss .

thats how ive always done it too. may as well pay a few extra bucks on the visa and have lots of options.

[SunsetT]

You can complain as much as you like but the Thais running the Thai Consulates abroad are no different to the Thais in Thailand. They will not give a monkey's cuss no matter how many 'farang' complain. In the UK we might be able to get something done as they could be breaking UK Trading Standards Law if they are selling invalid tourist visas.

Thais don't run the Consulates in the UK (apart from the one that's attached to the Embassy). They're all run by locals.

Both locals and Thais work in them. The locals are helpful 'rational' people but you get a Thai on the phone and thats when your problems start! I know from experience. In the past Ive spoken to Thais on the phone at Hull and London consulates. And now all postal visa applications must go to the one you do acknowledge as being run by Thais - London. And the person or persons at the top; the Thai Ambassador and co. must be Thai.

[AYJAYDEE]

to be safe, why not spend a couple of days outside the country on each trip out. and perhaps use airports instead of land crossings. also,

i dont think that 90 in 180 is in effect anymore.

Yes, I will do this time,and i will also carry my return ticket home and my bank statements with me.

As i stated before they could just limit the 30 day exempt to one per person per 3 or 6 months or so,and 1 triple entry per 12 months.

So simple.

would one triple entry turist with extensions be enough for u each year?

I think the problem with the 3 entry TR visas is, that the max. validity you can get is 90 days. I think that the days that you could stay almost 270 days on a TR visa are gone. (However there are exceptions)

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

No,A triple entry is 3 x 60 days = 180 or 6 months.If you extend each one it is 270 days.

Read my post again, I am talking about Validity. If the visa is only valid for 90 days, good luck in trying to get 270 days out of it

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

ive never seen a triple entry tourist valid for 90 days. mine have always been valid for 6 months

[krislarter]

Will do a search tomorrow (cant now) and will post some links, about triple (3) entry TR vIsa with only 90 days validity date. To stay approx 270 days in Thailand on a 3 entry TR visa your visa needs to be valid for 6 Months.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

my triple entries have never had that restriction

It is 6 month validity.

[AYJAYDEE]

Will do a search tomorrow (cant now) and will post some links, about triple (3) entry TR vIsa with only 90 days validity date. To stay approx 270 days in Thailand on a 3 entry TR visa your visa needs to be valid for 6 Months.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

my triple entries have never had that restriction

It is 6 month validity.

exactly!!

[MJCM]

Will do a search tomorrow (cant now) and will post some links, about triple (3) entry TR vIsa with only 90 days validity date. To stay approx 270 days in Thailand on a 3 entry TR visa your visa needs to be valid for 6 Months.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

my triple entries have never had that restriction

It is 6 month validity.

As said i will post some TV links tomorrow to show that not all consulates / embassies give out 3 Entry TR VISAs with 6 months validity but only with 90 days validity (especial Local ones)

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

Edited July 14, 2014 by MJCM

[RTH10260]

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i stop being suprised here years ago.... alt=whistling.gif> ..buy a legal visa from a THAI consul (WHO HAVE THE POWER TO REFUSE) and then be refused entry at teh border...idiotic to say the least

Surely it is obvious, the incorect facts were stated when applying for the visa, and the immigration officer has just done an excellent job, of correcting what should not have been issued

If you buy insurance and do not declare the facts your premium will probably be accepted but if you claim it will probably be rejected same thing

If the immigration officer at the border is following directives such as a tourist is only allowed here for 30 days as stated in the OP, when a single tourist visa is valid for 60 days, then IMHO, a lot has been lost in interpretation and perhaps the immigration officer is not doing such an excellent job after all.

As an aside, I think it would be very interesting if someone took this to human rights. Someone who has married and has had children here, and has not recognized that he is doing wrong by back to back 30 day entries or back to back tourist visas because previously due to lax enforcement by immigration, he has been approved entry into the kingdom a multitude of times previously.

As many have pointed out, there has been no change to the laws. I wonder how a court would rule on that? Stupid yes, but illegal?

Don't forget, not everyone here is privileged to the updates we receive here on TV, there are a lot of naïve people out there who are not trying to work illegally or abuse the system as they see it (as they have been led to believe).

Just Sayin'..............................

Human Rights organisation will have much bigger fish to fry with Thailand, such as the human trafficking issue.

Your choice of supposed legal trigger is totally off track, as the person has always had the legal way of getting the non-O/marriage visa with yearly followup extensions.

Apart of this, any NGO will only get themselves involved once the subject has expired all his legal options in court.

Edited July 14, 2014 by RTH10260

[AYJAYDEE]

Will do a search tomorrow (cant now) and will post some links, about triple (3) entry TR vIsa with only 90 days validity date. To stay approx 270 days in Thailand on a 3 entry TR visa your visa needs to be valid for 6 Months.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

my triple entries have never had that restriction

It is 6 month validity.

As said i will post some TV links tomorrow to show that not all consulates / embassies give out 3 Entry TR VISAs with 6 months validity but only with 90 days.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

then the simple answer is to use one that does

[MJCM]

Will do a search tomorrow (cant now) and will post some links, about triple (3) entry TR vIsa with only 90 days validity date. To stay approx 270 days in Thailand on a 3 entry TR visa your visa needs to be valid for 6 Months.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

my triple entries have never had that restriction

It is 6 month validity.

As said i will post some TV links tomorrow to show that not all consulates / embassies give out 3 Entry TR VISAs with 6 months validity but only with 90 days.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

then the simple answer is to use one that does

Of course.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

[mataleo]

I guess people will jump on ED visa now

[Tomtomtom69]

Do you think the Sugai Golok border point is more strict due to the insurgency down there. Who wants to go to Naratiwat? Its dangerous. Is it the same at Sadao, Padang Besar?

That's what I was thinking. I was surprised to read that 8 foreigners were even trying to gain entry to Thailand into such a risky area - if they were local Malaysians from the nearby area just border hopping for shopping or trade OK but New Zealanders, Russians etc.? 8 foreigners mostly from countries that have specifically warned it's citizens not to travel to the 3 southernmost border provinces, including entering or leaving Thailand there on their way to/from Malaysia. Sungai Kolok itself has been the subject of bombings and not far away in Tak Bai district 78 men (suspected insurgents) were found suffocated in a truck a few years ago. Rubber tappers, teachers, army soldiers, policemen and innocent civilians have all been targeted or at least caught in the crossfire and have died in attacks down there. Martial law has been in place for around a decade now and dozens of checkpoints probably make travel very difficult and annoying. Why would anyone voluntarily subject themselves to that?!

Also, why anyone would risk their lives traveling through such a region where their insurance would be invalidated if they had a problem (if they have any insurance at all) defies logic. Being foreign tourists in Thailand, I doubt they would have cars so they almost certainly arrived by public transport, either bus or train. That's even more risky given how many times the railway line east of Had Yai towards the Malaysian border has been blown up. Only a few weeks ago on that line I think it was that's exactly what happened. I'd be sh** scared going through that region and if I did show up at all, I'd be filling up my car with petrol on the Malaysian side (much cheaper there anyway), I'd come armed with snacks so I wouldn't have to stop for meals along the way and drive through the region not stopping before reaching at least Had Yai. Under no circumstances would I ever consider traveling by public transport in that region.

Anyway, I'm seriously surprised that any non-Malaysian foreigners would be traveling in that region at all.

Sadao and Padang besar have suffered one isolated incident last year but otherwise the western crossings to Malaysia are pretty safe. I would not attempt to cross the border anywhere east of Had Yai just from a simple security standpoint. Maybe these people refused entry should be counting their blessings - next time consider flying back or cross into Thailand from the west coast, where more tourist friendly towns and cities (such as Langkawi and Penang) can keep you occupied for a few days before you return to Thailand (assuming a few days away from Thailand is enough to satisfy immigration officials).

Oh really ?

How is up there on your bar stool ? .. Life goes on in any 'warzone', if i worried about bombs and insurgents i wouldnt go out of the house. There is a public van that leaves HY every hour and there are several visa companies operating out of Samui that take the route. You are statistically more venerable taking a speeding deathtrap bound for Penang over a run down the Golok.

The Kota Bahru consulate has to be the most efficient and easiest consulate in the region and the immigration staff at Golok, are some of the most helpful, efficient and professional i have come across, the border post itself sees so little traffic.

Southern Thailand (i.e. the 3 southernmost provinces) is a war zone. Look it up. Nobody in their right mind should go there. Most Thais from outside the region wouldn't dare go. Only foreigners like you who love to play "Russian roulette" would choose to go there. I find it strange that the Thai government hasn't banned foreigners from going there for their own safety, after all, neighboring Myanmar has for decades prevented foreigners from entering it's most dangerous regions and continues to do so today (although many formerly restricted areas have now opened up since 2013).

But hey, why should I care if you don't mind getting inconvenienced by 30 military checkpoints or the chance of getting blown out of the sky. At least you can't say nobody warned you. Your government certainly did but you decided not to listen.

[kjhbigv]

While many have posted on this and other topics that the current 'crackdown' will have a major impact on Thai Tourism arrivals/expenditures, the data from 2012 is that average length of stay for ALL arrivals to Thailand is about 10 days with those from Europe staying an average of about 16 days. Those 'tourists' who stay for months or years may have a negligible impact on the overall tourism scene.

(2012 Thai Dept. of Tourism numbers)

I bet there are plenty of ex-husbands who bought houses and cars in the ex's name would not call it "negligible".

Edited July 14, 2014 by kjhbigv

[FreedomDude]

I'm going to do something a bit too lacking in this thread.... show a bit of compassion and understanding. To those facing difficulties and fears of future difficulties with Visas: I believe the vast majority of you are not involved in criminal enterprises and are causing no harm to Thailand in any way, shape or form. This will all pass over when somebody realizes the impact this is having on the economy.

To those sitting on their high horses looking down on others who aren't as able as yourselves to get Visas in such an easy manner: You're not more deserving to be in Thailand than any other law abiding person. Period.

I don't see a flood of foreigners in Thailand siphoning the welfare money from Thais or filling up the prisons in any significant number.

If you can afford to stay and live in Thailand without breaking any laws (not talking about immigration laws), I have no problem whatsoever with your wishes, and I wish you good luck. You should be allowed to stay in the country as long as you like.

[lee b]

We have never been liked from our mates at imm....... But so many of our own ppl take the you know what out of this country so serves them right, and before the come back comments, ive been here for 9 yrs and i'm still fine. Waiting Waiting............

[Pattszero]

While many have posted on this and other topics that the current 'crackdown' will have a major impact on Thai Tourism arrivals/expenditures, the data from 2012 is that average length of stay for ALL arrivals to Thailand is about 10 days with those from Europe staying an average of about 16 days. Those 'tourists' who stay for months or years may have a negligible impact on the overall tourism scene.

(2012 Thai Dept. of Tourism numbers)

I bet there are plenty of ex-husbands who bought houses and cars in the ex's name would not call it "negligible".

JLCrab is normally quite astute.

Ask him to estimate how many Malaysians pour over the border every year for one night of fun in Thailand then go straight back again - just Malaysians - never mind the rest.

I'm prepared to hazard a guess that 10 million so-called tourist entries a year are one night stands - two at most.

"Three kinds of lies, lies, damned lies, and statistics."