Latest scam at Cambodian immigration - Koh Kong

[b3pur]

Just apply for an e visa online still cost $37 but saves a lot of time and you don't have to speak to any scum at the borders!!

[khwaibah]

Just apply for an e visa online still cost $37 but saves a lot of time and you don't have to speak to any scum at the borders!!

Visa on line is only good for the Poipet and Hat Lek crossings and by air. You can not use a visa on line at any other land crossings. You can exit at any crossing thou.

[PJcm]

Having lived in Thailand for 40 years I am still amazed to this day how little the people who live here understand the cultures of this area. I of course wouldn't have paid the extra US$7, but you have to know how to do it. This alas is the problem with too many expats they don't know how to do it, and they never will. These expats are the same ones who say when they are back in their home country about immigrants: "they come here and live and can't learn English or respect are culture". Sadly they come here and do the same the are hypocrites

[superal]

This topic is similar to my posting yesterday , as copied below

Clarification Please ,

I have to do a 90 day non immigrant o visa run in 2 weeks time and always go to the Kap Choeng border crossing as its only 30 minutes from my house . I had to go there 4 days ago with a friend who needed an extension to his tourist visa and whilst there I spoke to one of the agents/touts who told me that the visa fees had increased . 1500 Baht to the Cambodian immigration if I stayed overnight but if I wanted a quick turnabout , i,e, visa issued and back to Thailand within the hour , it will be another 500 Baht . So total fees 2000 Baht to the Cambodian imm; plus his fees 200 Baht . Grand total 2200 Baht . He said that this is now the norm at any border crossing .

Is this true or b/s

It sounds like BS.

The visa for Cambodia is still $30 US. Not sure what they have been charging in baht there. Then there is the 300 baht for not staying overnight they often charge at that crossing.

Thanks Joe , I tend to believe your statement , however I have just rang this agent and he insisted that his figures were correct . Your figures , 30 dollars = 1000 baht + 300 baht for non stopover = 1300 baht . So a massive 700 baht difference .

Has any other TV reader done the same trip recently for a 90 day non o visa and if so what were you charged ?

Ubonjoe is correct. If you go by yourself you will pay at most $30 + Bt 300. Some people manages to get away with the Bt 300 giving maybe 100 Bt instread and insisting that the rule does not exist.

[wprime]

So you made $7 in one hour. Congrats.

[biggles45]

"A few years ago I wrote to the Khmer Foreign affairs department also their tourist office about the scams going on at this border crossing."

Six years. ago I had the woman in the office demand 1,000 baht when the fee was $US20. I said that I had no Thai money and she said I should go back to Trat and use my ATM card. I said I had no ATM card. Eventually after making me sit and wait she asked how much Thai money I had and she took my 300 baht PLUS the $20

When we got to KK we spoke to some expats who said this scam had been going on for years and despite lots of complaints nothing was ever done.

I later emailed the Immigration Dept, never had a response. Also emailed one of the PP papers and got a response from a journo but nothing ever came of it. Corruption too deeply ingrained into the country, just like Thailand.

[Mangkhut]

This is how Cambodia work my friend. Its corrupted all over, especially the officials and government employees.

Sad but true.

I came in to Cambodia last month from Surin province of Thailand at the Chom Chok - O Smack border crossing point.

I had my 30 US dollars ready, but the officer insisted that I should pay in thai baht and the amount of 1200 baht, which is around 37 dollars. I didnt have a E-visa either. I pretended that I had spent all my that money and insisted paying in US dollars and the amount of 30 dollars. The officer then turned me back and had me sit by a table nearby. Then I thought by mysefthat I wasnt in the mood for a verbal fight so I pretended that I found som leftover baht notes and were able to pay him the 1200 baht he wanted. He smiled and processed my visa and I was in. Corrupt yeas i deed!

[captnhoy]

Having lived in Thailand for 40 years I am still amazed to this day how little the people who live here understand the cultures of this area. I of course wouldn't have paid the extra US$7, but you have to know how to do it. This alas is the problem with too many expats they don't know how to do it, and they never will. These expats are the same ones who say when they are back in their home country about immigrants: "they come here and live and can't learn English or respect are culture". Sadly they come here and do the same the are hypocrites

How could we get you to take a page from BritTim's book and explain "how to do it"? After 40 years you must have much to share if you'd only loosen up a little and do so. With a teacher like you we could understand so much more. Then we'd all be happier and post pleasant contributions to the forums. Please, don't keep your techniques a secret. I'm sure your "like" button will be nearly worn out. You'd probably even get PM's thanking you for your generosity. I've only been here 10 years myself and still probably do not know even 25% of the secrets that you possess. You are so right about the language issue too. Unfortunately for me I cannot HEAR all of the tonal variations that are used in Thai language. So I think I have the word or phrase in my vocabulary only to get a blank stare when I use it. I bet you could teach me Thai too. Thanks for sharing.

[Vallon66]

The OP handled it perfectly. Did'nt lose his temper and refused to let them get away with it.. And for those who say 7$ is peanuts ..everyone at once reach in your wallet and fish out 7 bucks.. Send it to me .. just peanuts right.

Been in Cambodia for a year. When I rrived was at SR Airport. The rudest immigration that I 've dealt with since Ecuador. No Cambodians are not warm wonderful people . They smile for money.

[Tomtomtom69]

This border crossing is always stressful on the Cambodian side. There is always some demand for extra cash. If I have to go there I prefer to go pre-armed with a Cambo visa. Worse than the Cambo immigration are the taxi boys who work in tandem with the immigration and get right in your face and are often extremely rude.

Yeah I got a tuk-tuk from the Koh Kong bus station to the border once last year and the guys were quite in my face about the price. They wanted I think it was US$10 or the equivalent in Baht or Riel, but I thought that was too expensive for that short distance. I tried US$4, but eventually settled on around US$7, in a combination of Baht, US$ and Dong. They got upset about the Dong and yet I only gave them 40000 Dong, with the rest being in Baht and dollars, but I said "hey, well you can either exchange the dong here or on the Thai side as they exchange dong, or if you ever go to Vietnam you'll have some". Unfortunately, they saw I had a wad of 1000 Baht notes but they were intended to make my car payment as my car was waiting on the other side. I guess I didn't improve my position when they found out I have a car on the Thai side (because apparently car owners are rich) but still, I was not going to pay the same price for a tuk-tuk as what a taxi would have cost me given the rain and everything.

I told them I'll never use public transport in that area again, I should have brought my motorbike, which would have been cheaper. Of course next time I can just bring my car, as I have now paid it off and have the registration.

[thefactoryoutlet]

Not a pleasant experience and - before people come on here and say "it was only $7, you should have just paid it and got your visa quickly" - it is quite simply WRONG! Itleaves a bad taste in the mouth and a poor opinion of Cambodia.

I don't care what you think, I don't care cambodia, I don't care corruption, I want my via processed immediately and I will pay for that.

I am not an avenger or zorro type as you might think you are.

I have no respect for any country law and rules, I don't care that they improve or not, I want what I ask when I ask it, these people are here to obey me, even if I have to pay for it.

I even think as ridiculous people who think they are going to change a country or people...

[SoiBiker]

The OP handled it perfectly. Did'nt lose his temper and refused to let them get away with it.. And for those who say 7$ is peanuts ..everyone at once reach in your wallet and fish out 7 bucks.. Send it to me .. just peanuts right.

If I do, are you going to give me a Cambodian visa?

[Tomtomtom69]

Yea. Spend 48 hours, 1500 baht (average) for Lao visa and 2000 baht for transportation when the Cambodia scam may of cost you another 150 baht. Make all the sense in the world to me. NOT.

Lao visa is $35 - 42 depending on nationality. Bt 1,500 only when paid in Baht to be scammed exploited.

Actually it's $30-42. I thought most people paid $30, not $35. I know Aussies and Americans pay $30. Also, it's only $20 for Chinese (except if they arrive directly from China in which case they need a visa in advance) and free for Swiss, Luxembourg, Russian, Japanese, Sth Korean and ASEAN citizens.

[Tomtomtom69]

I tell friends visiting Thailand never to get in disputes over petty amounts and to just pay up and walk away. The American murdered with a machete in Bangkok over a few baht by a taxi driver comes to mind.

I used to cross the Cambodian border on a regular basis but I never ever paid the extra they demanded because they are government officials so why should I pay more than the official amount. I always stood my ground and the longest I was ever kept waiting was 10 minutes, no SARS certificate. I probably crossed that border for five years but then along came Air Asia with their cheap flights so one day I decided I had had enough of all the aggro and booked a cheap flight to KL. Since then I have only crossed the border at Poipet once, on the way to Ankor Wat. Cambodia's loss and Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia's gain, seen a lot of different places with a lot less hassle.

It's not so much about that, apparently that American guy was murdered not so much because he didn't give the right amount, but because he abused the driver, didn't want to give him any money and was just plain rude. That's what causes loss of face. Merely paying the right amount and not giving in to a scam generally works out OK.

On the other hand, I've occasionally had no money on me, the driver couldn't break my note because I didn't have change and had to pay in Lao Kip, but it was all smiles around. I told the driver to go to any Bangkok Bank to exchange the money and he was fine with that.

[Suradit69]

Not a pleasant experience and - before people come on here and say "it was only $7, you should have just paid it and got your visa quickly" - it is quite simply WRONG! It leaves a bad taste in the mouth and a poor opinion of Cambodia.

Whereas this kind of confrontation leaves you in a happy, care-free mood? I'd have just paid and got on with my life.

So have I.

Just because we bottled it and accepted the scam/s doesn't make it right.

Maybe if everyone said "NO", the scams would disappear................. I know, not a cat in he!l's chance.

It's a matter of principle. It's not right. Those are lofty explanations when Khun Farang feels he's suffering loss of face.

There's a lot of things going on around us everyday that are not right, but our principles allow us to ignore them as long as we don't feel a personal loss of face or a loss of $7.

I hope all those with the lofty principles are themselves totally righteous in all matters before we start instructing others. If they're scamming people for extra money, it's not right. Considering all the Cambodian people have gone through at the hands of the French and Pol Pot and the Americans during the Vietnam War and the crap life most of them live now, I would be amazed if they got through it all without developing some dubious "survival skills." That's not an excuse, but a bit of a reasonable explanation to their mind-set.

I think the airlines are scamming people by charging for carry on luggage, going to the toilet, changing a reservation and for them to over-book flights. I think the western banks are scamming us when they charge us for keeping our money interest free. I think hotels are scamming people with 50% mark-up on things sold from mini-bars. I think western politicians do nothing but scam us 24/7.

But the white man's burden and loss of face require that we put up with all that from the big guys and "politely" exert our righteous indignation when dealing with "small" people we think we can cow.

If you want to stand your ground on petty graft, that's up to you, but please spare us the pontificating about principles and what's right.

[paz]

So you made $7 in one hour. Congrats.

You should congrat the officers making $350 an hour. Oh the power of numbers.

[paz]

I have no respect for any country law and rules, I don't care that they improve or not, I want what I ask when I ask it, these people are here to obey me, even if I have to pay for it.

The only one that "obeyed" would be you, in accepting extortion.

[jobsworth]

the visa price at the koh kong border is not $37 but 1500 thb or about $47.
"john you be quiet. we need to earn some money."

[TheKnave]

Not a pleasant experience and - before people come on here and say "it was only $7, you should have just paid it and got your visa quickly" - it is quite simply WRONG! It leaves a bad taste in the mouth and a poor opinion of Cambodia.

Whereas this kind of confrontation leaves you in a happy, care-free mood? I'd have just paid and got on with my life.

So have I.

Just because we bottled it and accepted the scam/s doesn't make it right.

Maybe if everyone said "NO", the scams would disappear................. I know, not a cat in he!l's chance.

It's a matter of principle. It's not right. Those are lofty explanations when Khun Farang feels he's suffering loss of face.

There's a lot of things going on around us everyday that are not right, but our principles allow us to ignore them as long as we don't feel a personal loss of face or a loss of $7.

I hope all those with the lofty principles are themselves totally righteous in all matters before we start instructing others. If they're scamming people for extra money, it's not right. Considering all the Cambodian people have gone through at the hands of the French and Pol Pot and the Americans during the Vietnam War and the crap life most of them live now, I would be amazed if they got through it all without developing some dubious "survival skills." That's not an excuse, but a bit of a reasonable explanation to their mind-set.

I think the airlines are scamming people by charging for carry on luggage, going to the toilet, changing a reservation and for them to over-book flights. I think the western banks are scamming us when they charge us for keeping our money interest free. I think hotels are scamming people with 50% mark-up on things sold from mini-bars. I think western politicians do nothing but scam us 24/7.

But the white man's burden and loss of face require that we put up with all that from the big guys and "politely" exert our righteous indignation when dealing with "small" people we think we can cow.

If you want to stand your ground on petty graft, that's up to you, but please spare us the pontificating about principles and what's right.

Pigs have flown! Hell has frozen over! I agree with Suradit!

Really, he has hit the nail on the head: it's just about loss of face. No one likes to be 'done' by someone, eye-to-eye. It has nothing to do with principles, although that concept is always trotted out as justification for the extreme lengths some go to to avoid being shamed.

Look, if the slimy little Cambo officer insisted you lick his shoe, or maybe give him a handjob, as a condition for issuance of your visa, you wouldn't invoke 'principles' as your main objection. You wouldn't submit because it's tantamount to rape, degrading, and disgusting.

Some on this forum see it as a matter of practicality, and pay without feeling degraded. Others (less personally and emotionally secure, if I may), see it as a domination/submission issue, and their psyche is horribly threatened. I don't look down on these people, they're human, after all. I do think they have a tougher time in life, but who am I to judge them?

Here's where I divulge my own truth: I have been the latter type, tilting at windmills, invoking right and principle, making an utter ass of myself over 20 baht. I have seen the light. Now, it's a business decision. If I can afford it, I may negotiate a bit, and no longer feel bad giving it up.

But I still won't give them a hand job.

[callaway]

Crossed at Chong Jom recently and was asked bt Cambodian immigration if i had a passport photo for visa to Cambodia. Didnt have so was told 100 baht for photo. Go inside and sit on chair and man takes out mobile and takes photo. Easiest 100 baht ever. Just a scam. Then told 1500 baht for visa. Had friendly chat and started bartering. I started at 500 with a smile and after 2 or 3 minutes we agreed on the 1200 baht it is supposed to be. Play the game with them as to them if one person can get away with it and they can have a bit of a laugh then they are happy. Dont try stormtrooper yap because thats making them lose face and you will lose

[khwaibah]

Crossed at Chong Jom recently and was asked bt Cambodian immigration if i had a passport photo for visa to Cambodia. Didnt have so was told 100 baht for photo. Go inside and sit on chair and man takes out mobile and takes photo. Easiest 100 baht ever. Just a scam. Then told 1500 baht for visa. Had friendly chat and started bartering. I started at 500 with a smile and after 2 or 3 minutes we agreed on the 1200 baht it is supposed to be. Play the game with them as to them if one person can get away with it and they can have a bit of a laugh then they are happy. Dont try stormtrooper yap because thats making them lose face and you will lose

1200 baht it is suppose to be ?? I don't think so. 30 USD times 32.80 = 984 USD. 1200 baht is the low end of the scam at this crossing.

[Gentmartin]

and so many tourists who have forgotten or not got photos at Cambo borders can still get through for an extra 200B.....perhaps they should refuse this scam too and go back into Thailand to get new pics before crossing again......or 200B to skip a huge queue or 200B for the immigration guy to go and get you stamped in and out whilst sat having a bottle of water avoiding the queues..........

Its easy to judge when you can afford to..........and often the same people who whinge leave tips in restaurants, or happily pay service charge.........

Get over it and move on friends......how much has that $7 cost you in time waiting, writing posts on TV and stressing yourself out ?

[Gentmartin]

Crossed at Chong Jom recently and was asked bt Cambodian immigration if i had a passport photo for visa to Cambodia. Didnt have so was told 100 baht for photo. Go inside and sit on chair and man takes out mobile and takes photo. Easiest 100 baht ever. Just a scam. Then told 1500 baht for visa. Had friendly chat and started bartering. I started at 500 with a smile and after 2 or 3 minutes we agreed on the 1200 baht it is supposed to be. Play the game with them as to them if one person can get away with it and they can have a bit of a laugh then they are happy. Dont try stormtrooper yap because thats making them lose face and you will lose

YOU having no photo and them taking one for you is THEM scamming YOU ??? LOL You were entering illegally, they did you a HUGE favour. If they had stuck to the rules, It would have cost you hell of a lot more than 100B to try and get back into Thailand and get photos !!!

[ggt]

Cambodia is a beautiful country full of amazingly warm and friendly people.

Working in immigration is the fast track to a new truck and bigger home...most tourists would not force the issue as no one knows what kind of reprisals these thieves are capable of...

I once was ushered into a make-shift office...just pass Thai immigration...with a so-called police official sitting there collecting money from foreign tourists to ensure "safe-passage" into Cambodia...had about a dozen goons around to intimidate those who balked...

Sometimes it is just more expedient and less hassle to spend a few extra baht...

[nidieunimaitre]

Not a pleasant experience and - before people come on here and say "it was only $7, you should have just paid it and got your visa quickly" - it is quite simply WRONG! It leaves a bad taste in the mouth and a poor opinion of Cambodia.

Whereas this kind of confrontation leaves you in a happy, care-free mood? I'd have just paid and got on with my life.

So have I.

Just because we bottled it and accepted the scam/s doesn't make it right.

Maybe if everyone said "NO", the scams would disappear................. I know, not a cat in he!l's chance.

It's a matter of principle. It's not right. Those are lofty explanations when Khun Farang feels he's suffering loss of face.

There's a lot of things going on around us everyday that are not right, but our principles allow us to ignore them as long as we don't feel a personal loss of face or a loss of $7.

I hope all those with the lofty principles are themselves totally righteous in all matters before we start instructing others. If they're scamming people for extra money, it's not right. Considering all the Cambodian people have gone through at the hands of the French and Pol Pot and the Americans during the Vietnam War and the crap life most of them live now, I would be amazed if they got through it all without developing some dubious "survival skills." That's not an excuse, but a bit of a reasonable explanation to their mind-set.

I think the airlines are scamming people by charging for carry on luggage, going to the toilet, changing a reservation and for them to over-book flights. I think the western banks are scamming us when they charge us for keeping our money interest free. I think hotels are scamming people with 50% mark-up on things sold from mini-bars. I think western politicians do nothing but scam us 24/7.

But the white man's burden and loss of face require that we put up with all that from the big guys and "politely" exert our righteous indignation when dealing with "small" people we think we can cow.

If you want to stand your ground on petty graft, that's up to you, but please spare us the pontificating about principles and what's right.

And what is your advise to people like me - and I am not alone - who demonstrated against the American invasion of Vietnam, who despise the money grabbing banksters and other big capitalists, who walk to a shop rather than use the minibar?

Are you going to join our movements or are you going to selectively whinge on and on and on?

[nidieunimaitre]

QUOTE>>>>>>>>>

Pigs have flown! Hell has frozen over! I agree with Suradit!

Really, he has hit the nail on the head: it's just about loss of face. No one likes to be 'done' by someone, eye-to-eye. It has nothing to do with principles, although that concept is always trotted out as justification for the extreme lengths some go to to avoid being shamed.

Look, if the slimy little Cambo officer insisted you lick his shoe, or maybe give him a handjob, as a condition for issuance of your visa, you wouldn't invoke 'principles' as your main objection. You wouldn't submit because it's tantamount to rape, degrading, and disgusting.

Some on this forum see it as a matter of practicality, and pay without feeling degraded. Others (less personally and emotionally secure, if I may), see it as a domination/submission issue, and their psyche is horribly threatened. I don't look down on these people, they're human, after all. I do think they have a tougher time in life, but who am I to judge them?

Here's where I divulge my own truth: I have been the latter type, tilting at windmills, invoking right and principle, making an utter ass of myself over 20 baht. I have seen the light. Now, it's a business decision. If I can afford it, I may negotiate a bit, and no longer feel bad giving it up.

But I still won't give them a hand job.

END QUOTE

Not yet....

Edited March 11, 2015 by nidieunimaitre

[kkerry]

Can someone tell me what happens if you don't pay the 'fees' in additional to the official visa charge? Do they put a gun to your head, send you back under armed escort to Bangkok, threaten to tell the wife about your mia noi? It's Cambodia, not the border with Burkina Faso or Syria.

Maybe things have changed since the days I used to cross at Poipet but I remember crossing the first time with a Brit who I shared a tuk tuk with to the border. We got asked for some special first class service fee of 200 baht. He told me he had been doing monthly visa runs for three years and always paid. I didn't. Net result was I walked across the border 30 seconds after he did. btw, anyone who doesn't know to have a couple of visa photos with you when crossing borders is very poorly informed.

I'm not ex-SAS or Arnold Schwarzenegger, but some of you sound like you're the biggest pussies on the planet by the way you try to justify going along with this corruption. Nothing happens to you if you don't pay. After a few minutes you still get your visa. It was an American girl who told me beforehand to stand my ground and they will give you the visa, and in my experience she was correct every time. Try it.

[tropo]

Not a pleasant experience and - before people come on here and say "it was only $7, you should have just paid it and got your visa quickly" - it is quite simply WRONG! Itleaves a bad taste in the mouth and a poor opinion of Cambodia.

I'm coming straight on and saying just that: "it was only $7".

$7 would have been a bargain to avoid the wait, abuse and frustration. I'll go a step further and say that I can't believe what people will do to save $7.

How much are they asking in baht?

I fear that you have missed my point.

In all probability I would also pay the 'scam' for the sake of an easy life.

I am not particularly poud of that and I firmly maintain that it is wrong. The attitude that goes with it, and the expectation that Farangs can be exploited, is also wrong.

Making e-visas acceptable at all border points (with the actual Cambodian visa price of $30) would cut out thid crap and cut operating costs for the Cambodian government.

No need to fear - I didn't miss your point.

To me it is only $7 and not worth the stress. I really don't care about the right or wrong of it.

BTW, you didn't answer my question. What are they charging in baht these days?

[MyFriend You]

I guess I should clarify. I was risking nothing. They weren't going to do anything to me. They were trying to look intimidating and failing at it. I know this because 1: I was there, and 2: I went on my merry way without any problems. Not paying the $7 meant an extra 9 or 10 minutes. And yeah, I do feel much better walking away knowing they can't pull one over on me. It's not a matter of me not wanting to part with that money, it's about not wanting it feeding the kleptocracy. If you would rather pay that money, that's totally fine. Not sure though why people are confused about why someone would want to stand on principle. Oh, and if you would have paid because you're afraid of what they might do to you, I suggest you grow a pair.

I spent four years in Cambodia, haven't been back in a while, and won't for a long time - in four years, I lost five friends to the Cambo Police, or Military - Cambodia is a place ou can disappear easily or be killed at the blink of an eye..............in the back of every Cambodian's brain is a Pol Pot just looking for an excuse to come out, maybe not today, maybe tomorrow or next year, but come out it will. You have been warned, no one loses face like a Cambodian with badge.

[tropo]

I guess I should clarify. I was risking nothing. They weren't going to do anything to me. They were trying to look intimidating and failing at it. I know this because 1: I was there, and 2: I went on my merry way without any problems. Not paying the $7 meant an extra 9 or 10 minutes. And yeah, I do feel much better walking away knowing they can't pull one over on me. It's not a matter of me not wanting to part with that money, it's about not wanting it feeding the kleptocracy. If you would rather pay that money, that's totally fine. Not sure though why people are confused about why someone would want to stand on principle. Oh, and if you would have paid because you're afraid of what they might do to you, I suggest you grow a pair.

I spent four years in Cambodia, haven't been back in a while, and won't for a long time - in four years, I lost five friends to the Cambo Police, or Military - Cambodia is a place ou can disappear easily or be killed at the blink of an eye..............in the back of every Cambodian's brain is a Pol Pot just looking for an excuse to come out, maybe not today, maybe tomorrow or next year, but come out it will. You have been warned, no one loses face like a Cambodian with badge.

... and these guys are talking about taking the risk over $7.... then state confidently there is no risk and preach about right and wrong in a country which exterminated millions of their own people not too many years ago.

Perhaps people should be warned about taking the OP's (and others) advice to stand your ground and argue with border officials over $7.