Checking entry requirements

[mngmn]

Entered through Swampy on a visa exemption last night with no problems (after my prior problems at Don Muang). This is now the third entry since being told I would be refused next time.

Had ready my ticket out of Thailand, 10,000 baht and a bank book showing transfers from overseas but was not asked for it.

Two questions.

A little tense when the immigration officer spent a while leafing through my passport. If wonder, if they can see all my entries on their computer screen, why do they do this?

Is 10,000 baht the correct about to have and if so where does it state this?

Edited February 11, 2015 by mngmn

[paz]

Flipping pages is mostly done to find a blank page to stamp or a cursory check. For front-line officers a physical look at the passport is more important than what a computer will or will not show.

The regulation is 10,000 Bt or 20,000 per person.

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15380-Questions-&-Answers-on-Thai-Visa.html

Money is never asked to be shown unless one fits a seriously wrong profile.

The problems you have experience at Don Meung are limited to there, as their policies are not adhering to written regulations.

Edited February 11, 2015 by paz

[mngmn]

Thanks. But I wonder if the information provided on that web site is accurate?

They also state

"Furthermore, foreigners who enter the Kingdom under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay of

not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry."

I understood this rule has never been enacted! Or is this another more recent change?

[paz]

That part is obsolete, as the website has never been updated.

Below the Immigration notice about the "90 days" limitation being repelled in 2008.

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/doc/temporarystay/policy778-2551_en.pdf

Edited February 11, 2015 by paz

[ubonjoe]

This page is more up to date. http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15396-Tourist-Visa-Exemption.html

"Foreigners entering Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption category must possess adequate finances for the duration of stay in Thailand (i.e., cash 10,000 Baht per person and 20,000 Baht per family)."

[mngmn]

Thanks same rule two stated in two places gives me a degree of confidence.

But "amazing" that when reading official Thai government web sites it's important to know which statements are accurate and which are not. This is possibly why I have never bothered to look at a single one

[paz]

Some border posts and the airport IIRC have this notice affixed on the walls.

It is only selectively used to refuse entry to certain people, depending on circumstances.

[mngmn]

Some border posts and the airport IIRC have this notice affixed on the walls.

It is only selectively used to refuse entry to certain people, depending on circumstances.

So it's not really "obsolete" then. Certainly the same as I was told by immigration at Don Muang! Probably best to accept there really are no official immigration rules in Thailand. Even this 10,000 baht "rule" may or may not be followed depending on "circumstances".

[paz]

Some border posts and the airport IIRC have this notice affixed on the walls.

It is only selectively used to refuse entry to certain people, depending on circumstances.

So it's not really "obsolete" then. Certainly the same as I was told by immigration at Don Muang! Probably best to accept there really are no official immigration rules in Thailand. Even this 10,000 baht "rule" may or may not be followed depending on "circumstances".

The fact that there is a requirement doesn't mean that it is has to be enforced all the time. That is the same as with immigration in my own country, they can or can not ask for all the stuff that is in the book, depending on the person they have in front and circumstances.

Thai immigration knows that 99% of the visitors have much more money than that. The regulation is just used as an official hurdle when convenient to them.