thai gf singapore entry denied - anyone tried again?

[Tolley]

Thanks for any help

Why don't you fly to Thailand and travel back with her to Singapore and then go through immigration with her, and tell the immigration guy, she is with you...problem solved

That doesn't solve the problem at all.

My TGF was with me when she was hauled off by immigration.

I had a valid Singapore work permit and they just told me to go away.

They can do what they like.

The best option or only option if you are refused is to get a local Singapore sponsor.

[scorecard]

Yes, Thais can get education visas for Singapore for high school, university and for language schools. My Thai son did all of this with ed visas.

But note that all such schools must continuously (electronically) report attendance and grades to the immigration authorities. Any transgressions (except proven illness) and immigration will immediately pick up the student and straight to Changi airport. 'But my friend / my mother came to Singapore and I want to take her shopping'. absolutely not accepted.

Edited February 24, 2015 by scorecard

[jcisco]

Singapore gov't does not tolerate "foreigners" competing against their (documented, tax-paying) Singaporean street ladys. They nip that probablity in the bud, at the port of entry. Capiche?

you have no idea what you are yapping about

HA! Apparently, my speculation touched your sensitivity button. Give it just six more months, Mr. Cool (sucking on a cancer-stick). By then you'll probably really need those sun shades. Cheers!

No the vast majority of working girls are foreigners and are working in brothels. Those girls are usually strictly controlled and on permits to work. Hardly Singaporean street ladies, its not like it was even 5 years ago with street walkers everywhere in gaylang

[lynx2bangkok]

Thanks for any help

Why don't you fly to Thailand and travel back with her to Singapore and then go through immigration with her, and tell the immigration guy, she is with you...problem solved

That doesn't solve the problem at all.

My TGF was with me when she was hauled off by immigration.

I had a valid Singapore work permit and they just told me to go away.

They can do what they like.

The best option or only option if you are refused is to get a local Singapore sponsor.

Assuming that your girlfriend is a genuine case (she has been 100% honest with you about not having any bad history with Singapore immigration), you should be able to bring her in with a local Singaporean sponsor (PR or citizen).

Sponsor should prepare a letter. The letter should state:

1. Sponsor's name and his/her NRIC (contact details too)

2. Your girlfriend's name and her passport (contact details too)

3. Your name and your FIN (because you're part of the picture) (contact details too)

4. Sponsor's job and salary (to prove s/he can support her stay)

5. Your job and salary (to prove you can support her stay)

6. Her salary (to prove she has her own means too) and her job too (to prove she has no reason to overstay)

7. If possible, the sponsor should state reasons for having her over (personal invitation as a friend to visit Singapore) - include detailed itinerary (flight detatils, accommodation).

8. Sponsor must state that s/he guarantees her good behaviour while in Singapore and that s/he will ensure that she leaves Singapore in timely manner because she needs to return to Thailand to her employment.

9. This may be OTT, but try to prove that your relationship with your Thai girlfriend is legit. State how long you two have been together, date, etc.

Attach the letter with all the documents (copies of pay slip, sponsor's NRIC, your Singapore work pass, girlfriend's passport, reservations, bank statements - yours, sponsor's and girlfriend's).

[Soutpeel]

Thanks for any help

Why don't you fly to Thailand and travel back with her to Singapore and then go through immigration with her, and tell the immigration guy, she is with you...problem solved

That doesn't solve the problem at all.

My TGF was with me when she was hauled off by immigration.

I had a valid Singapore work permit and they just told me to go away.

They can do what they like.

The best option or only option if you are refused is to get a local Singapore sponsor.

My Mrs has traveled with me many times to Singapore before and after we where married and immigration has never batted an eyelid, I could understand a Thai lady getting pulled over when travelling on their own.

are you sure your TGF doesn't have a history with Singapore immigration ? hence the reason she is being singled out ?

[Soutpeel]

normally singapore customs doesn't really give problem to most Thai girls entering singapore.

Unless, she has been blacklisted or has had some trouble with Singapore before.

No doubt, there are tons of Thai ladies going into Singapore to work illegal, but, Singapore is a country which goes by the book, and will not reject a person's entry without a valid reason.

There must have been some reason, some which you did not know.

Anyway, if she has been denied entry, most likely she would have been blacklisted and so, don't try for at least a few years.

Why waste your time in superficial Singapore? try kuala lumpur instead

Sorry, but that is a ludicrous statement.

Singapore Immigration is a law unto themselves. There are numerous instances of Thai women

being refused entry with no valid reason other than the officals didn't want them to enter.

theoldgit has provided an example in this thread.

the interesting thing in the Thai context is that you read on the visa forum people bleating on of how immigration officials don't have the right to refuse entry into Thailand for no specific reason, it has to be legal etc etc, well here are practical examples of immigration officials doing just that...

someone is being refused entry on the suspicion of maybe doing something

[mrtoad]

Thanks for any help

Why don't you fly to Thailand and travel back with her to Singapore and then go through immigration with her, and tell the immigration guy, she is with you...problem solved

That doesn't solve the problem at all.

My TGF was with me when she was hauled off by immigration.

I had a valid Singapore work permit and they just told me to go away.

They can do what they like.

The best option or only option if you are refused is to get a local Singapore sponsor.

My Mrs has traveled with me many times to Singapore before and after we where married and immigration has never batted an eyelid, I could understand a Thai lady getting pulled over when travelling on their own.

are you sure your TGF doesn't have a history with Singapore immigration ? hence the reason she is being singled out ?

Yeah, Mrs T has been with me a number of times to S'pore and never had a problem, but I can understand that they might well stop and question Thai girls fairly frequently, given the amount that are "working" in Orchard

[Soutpeel]

Thanks for any help

Why don't you fly to Thailand and travel back with her to Singapore and then go through immigration with her, and tell the immigration guy, she is with you...problem solved

That doesn't solve the problem at all.

My TGF was with me when she was hauled off by immigration.

I had a valid Singapore work permit and they just told me to go away.

They can do what they like.

The best option or only option if you are refused is to get a local Singapore sponsor.

My Mrs has traveled with me many times to Singapore before and after we where married and immigration has never batted an eyelid, I could understand a Thai lady getting pulled over when travelling on their own.

are you sure your TGF doesn't have a history with Singapore immigration ? hence the reason she is being singled out ?

Yeah, Mrs T has been with me a number of times to S'pore and never had a problem, but I can understand that they might well stop and question Thai girls fairly frequently, given the amount that are "working" in Orchard

Over the last few weeks been in and out of Singapore quite a times and do watch what goes one and yes have seen at least 3 Thai girls pulled out the line by immigration and "taken" away for questioning, but in all cases they were travelling alone, what happened to them no idea...

but by the same token, seen some young Thai couples and some farangs with TGF/Wife in tow in the same immigration lines and none of those were stopped as far as I could see

now out of the 3 I saw, I would be certain at least two of them where intent on taking up employment in OT... ...yes that obvious....

[luunatic]

are you sure your TGF doesn't have a history with Singapore immigration ? hence the reason she is being singled out ?

yes, 100% certain. never been there. never tried to enter. The problem is rather that the only stamps she has in her passport are from HongKong - she went with me there three times in the last 12 months to accompany me on my business trips so I do understand why ICA thought she came for work to Singapore. They even asked her what she did there but her naive reply "holidays with my boyfriend" didnt convince them. It does genuinely look like somebody went there for work repeatedly - the thing is it was me who was working there, not her!

Now you can blame me here for not preparing her/us better but I really thought with all formal requirements met (ticket, hotel, cash) they would not discriminate arbitrarily or refuse people based on the possibility or likelihood of doing something illegal. My bad.

I cant change the past, so she has to check the box for "having been rejected before" on future visits.

There are great suggestions in this thread and I also got excellent advice via PM, so big thanks to all of you! In a nutshell, ideally get her sponsored by a local citizen or a permanent resident with a Form 14 application - then all should be fine.

In any case one should obviously accompany her - though thats by no means a guarantee, it will certainly facilitate communication.

Cheers

[TuskegeeBen]

Singapore gov't does not tolerate "foreigners" competing against their (documented, tax-paying) Singaporean street ladys. They nip that probablity in the bud, at the port of entry. Capiche?

you have no idea what you are yapping about

HA! Apparently, my speculation touched your sensitivity button. Give it just six more months, Mr. Cool (sucking on a cancer-stick). By then you'll probably really need those sun shades. Cheers!

No the vast majority of working girls are foreigners and are working in brothels. Those girls are usually strictly controlled and on permits to work. Hardly Singaporean street ladies, its not like it was even 5 years ago with street walkers everywhere in gaylang

Thank you, sir! I appreciate the FYI update.

[bamnutsak]

While this article is about Vietnamese women being denied entry, it does mention Thailand, and contains some interesting figures - like the fact that the Singapore ICA charges an "hourly fee".

Singapore explains why many Vietnamese women have been denied entry

The policy is similar for people from Thailand and some other ASEAN countries, ICA said.

Earlier this week, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam also asked the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help it seek clarifications from related agencies in Singapore about the crisis, which reportedly caused huge losses to many airlines.

One airline told Thanh Nien that it lost 45,000-50,000 SGD (US$32,900-36,500) a month to pay charges and surcharges for its passengers who were not allowed to enter the country.

The fees included 17 SGD the carrier was supposed to pay for every hour a passenger was kept in ICA's custody, according to the airline's representative, adding that they paid an average of 350-360 SGD for a passenger before the passenger was allowed to fly back to Vietnam.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/singapore-explains-why-many-vietnamese-women-have-been-denied-entry-49360.html

[dsfbrit]

I am British - male- 61 years old and was planning to travel to Singapore for a couple of weeks to meet up with a British friend who will be there then. I was going to travel down with his Thai girlfriend who is only 30 years old. I was told I may have problems doing this and a search on TV has shown that to be true.

I was planning to fly down there with her. I cannot imagine that I would fancy a long coach trip, but if I do still decide to make this trip with her, would it be better to take her through a land border rather than the airport?

Probably better if he comes to Thailand, but he won't be able to stay long due to work, so I would prefer it if we could go to Singapore - somewhere I have never been and I thought would be no problem at all to visit as Thais are allowed there without a visa.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[jacksam]

Find many of above posts somewhat surprising.

Any Thai (woman in particular) should have with her

Booked and paid return plane ticket.

Accommodation details.

Have funds as an extra measure.

NowF to the op. Don't know how busy you are but why not come over to Thailand for few day break then travel WITH tgf into Singapore. You will not have a problem.

I was there 2 weeks ago. Traveled with the tgf. At imm she was asked for return ticket etc. She could not find it on her cell. She pointed to the farang at next counter, being ME.....waved through.

[jacksam]

There is two passports for Thai. One of course their own and other is the G7 country bloke next to her

[dsfbrit]

Jacksam, I too am very surprised by the above posts. I have read similar stories on other threads though, here for example http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/677005-refused-entry-into-singapore/

That thread is a couple of years old, but the stories still seem relevant to today.

It seems quite daft that a boring old boy like me could be prevented from entering Singapore with a Thai girl as the IO may think I am bringing in a Thai prostitute to work illegally in the country.

What is the point of having Thais on the list of people being allowed to enter the country without a visa if this is the way the girls are treated. Better to let me get her a visa before we go, at least then the Singapore authorities can refuse the visa before I waste my time flying her there and then having to abandon the hotel and other arrangements my friend in Singapore has made for her.

Edited September 6, 2015 by dsfbrit

[theoldgit]

I've travelled down to Singapore on numerous occasions, I'm of a certain age and my long term partner is somewhat younger.a

She is the one who needs to satisfy the Immigration Officer that she is a genuine visitor and is likely to leave the country at the conclusion of her visit, but that's the same anywhere.

We always queue together, be it in Singapore or anywhere, she has possession of her flight tickets and our hotel reservations, and I always wait in the queue to answer any questions if required, there never have been.

The officers have never asked for flight tickets or evidence of booked hotels and apart from one time she has been landed without further question, I've never been called forward in respect of her status. My partner has a fairly well travelled passport.

On one occasion she was taken aside for secondary examination, she politely refused to sit adding that her partner was waiting for her, they made a cursory examination of her passport and landed her, it seems that they were concerned there was no exit stamps from Thailand, this was when they started using the immigration automatic gates in Bangkok, and that threw them.

Her sister however has had problems entering Singapore, she has a Singaporean boyfriend, he's a regular army officer, she visits him frequently and he visits her in Thailand, she has been refused entry a few times, on the last occasion she was refused she had to pay for overnight accommodation in their holding centre before she was sent home the next morning. She tells me that they wouldn't listen to reason and neither would they listen to her boyfriend or his parents. They do seem to be a bit hit and miss.

[jacksam]

Good report THEOLDGIT....It all sounds bit hit and miss. I don't mean your report. I'm meaning Immigration at Singapore. I've only taken the tgf there twice. However, as you suggest, great if you can travel with her.

Seems ridiculous but I wonder if a female Thai national has been refused entry if indeed she had return plane ticket , accommodation booking receipt etc. Also had the G7 farang boyfriend with her.

I can imagine if a Thai lady was arriving with a return ticket and perhaps because staying with the bf, she may not have accommodation receipts. A statement like ...I'm staying with my bf.....might not cut it.

Edited September 7, 2015 by jacksam

[dsfbrit]

TheOldGit, Jacksam, thanks for your feedback and thoughts on this. TheOldGit, your experiences and your comment that immigration when it involves a Thai girl is 'hit and miss', has taken all the fun out this trip for me.

I am old and traveled enough to know how immigration can be unreasonable at times, in many countries. However, having read your reply and the stories in that link I posted and on websites elsewhere, it seems there is nothing I can do to guarantee that even if I take all reasonable steps, that my Thai friend will be allowed entry.

By reasonable steps I mean traveling with me; having her boyfriend waiting for her at the airport; a return ticket; hotel booking voucher; her not being on any conviction database; never been to Singapore before and even having a load of cash in her purse - none of that would guarantee entrance it seems.

Jacksam, Yes hit and miss indeed. I read on that link I posted - or was it on another website (I will check my website history) that even a farang traveling with their Thai girlfriend have been refused entry. I will try and find the stories later today.

Were the girls dressed in their bar-girl outfit or dressed conservatively I have no idea.

I have to decide what to do next. On the one hand I could just cancel the trip as not worth the effort or I could think 'bloody cheek' and decide to enter Singapore by arriving by bus or train from somewhere else just to be bloody minded and beat their system ... or or or??? I don't know yet - I am just annoyed about this.

Is it the airport that is really fussy and arriving by a land border would be a better option ?

[Tolley]

I posted before on this thread but I will repeat anyway what happened to me.

I was working in Singers with a valid work permit and entered with my TGF.

Now she isn't young either being 44 at the time but they took her aside and told me to go away.

They weren't going to let her in but eventually relented but told her not to come back again.

Very degrading experience all in all.

Apparently the room where they took her was full of thai women who were being denied entry.

Bit of a lottery really but if she hasn't been to Singapore before and she has a return ticket you just might be okay.

[jacksam]

OP I'm feeling for you buddy and I mean it. All you want is your gf to come visit you as she no doubt also wants.

This isn't really sound advice, but I would just roll the dice. Yes it may be money wasted but if refused then that path is done and dusted. I know I suggested you take a break to bkk and fly in with her. Really that's over kill.

Have her come. Alone. Meet her at airport. Her cell has your number. She will have her return ticket. Print out would be good. Your address with maybe even a print out Google map. Bring the kitchen sink with her and if refused then that's just BS.

I'm sitting in Japan with Thai gf and she just flew through imm.

Good luck

[PeVee1st]

Go to the "4 floors of whores", called Orchard Tower any night & you will know why Thai girls & other nationalities are routinely banned from entry.

Also, when a girl is caught "working", not only do they fingerprint & photo them, the Singapore Immigration gives them a free haircut. Makes them easy to spot next time.

Thai girls rejected from Singapore, come back, throw their passports in the bin, get a new one & go back.

I am not saying the Ops GF is one of these girls, just that the Singapore Immigration is tired of the other girls antics.

Edited September 7, 2015 by PeVee1st

[dsfbrit]

Tolley, yes I read your original post, it put me right off the idea of going to Singapore. I told my friend in Singapore I wouldn't be going down there with his girlfriend as it was going to be too much hassle.

Anyway, he was pretty fed up and said it was not like me to give up so easily.

I agreed with him - so I am going to arrange this somehow !

So if I fly with her to Singapore and she is not allowed in, what actually happens. Could she (and I) fly to Malaysia instead of coming back to Thailand and then try entering by bus? Or would she have to come back to Thailand?

Then it comes back to a previous question of mine, is it easier to enter via the land border from Malaysia?

Off now to check out the bus and train entry into Malaysia and Singapore - this trip could be fun!

[dsfbrit]

PeVee1st, I am surprised that works in Singapore. The police over there seem very very efficient.

When a relative of my Thai wife vanished in 2010, I had to contact the Singapore police to raise a missing person's report.

The missing girl had not been heard from for about 6 weeks and it turned out that she had run away from her Thai husband and their kid.

Nothing that unusual in that in Thailand, but she normally phoned my wife every week and she had not phoned anyone for nearly 2 months.

We found out from one of her friends that she had gone to Singapore. Why she went there I won't elaborate on here and I have never been told by the family, nor have I asked, but I get the feeling that she was one of the girls working in the sex industry over there. Anyway, I keep out of any of that sort of thing going on in my wife's family!

I emailed the Singapore police, who not only allocated me an incident report number, but also allocated me a particular officer to look after my case. I was highly skeptical that their police force could be that efficient, but I emailed the allocated officer anyway and he emailed back with the same day.

I could not give him her passport details so we had to go to the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (?) in Bangkok who gave us the details and also contacted the Thai Embassy in Singapore to get involved.

I provided the allocated police officer with the details via email and gave him the contact details of the Thai Embassy contact in Singapore.

I heard nothing for a week - it was during the World Cup so I wasn't really chasing it up a lot!

Anyway, without me chasing them up at all, I received a very long detailed email about their investigation from my allocated officer, which gave the relevant information that she had arrived on a certain date and left on a certain date via the Malaysian land border.

There the trail went cold and she turned up a few weeks later wondering what all the fuss was about.

I just narrated this long boring story to show why I would be very surprised if dumping a passport would be a very successful thing to do if trying to outwit the very efficient Singapore police. Not only are they efficient, the details they sent me of what they checked into via their computer database, led me to believe they had a half decent computer system as well.

Edited September 8, 2015 by dsfbrit