Bomber blame game sees Thailand immigration abruptly change visa rules

[baboon]

It has not been possible for some time now to obtain a visa exemption at border crossings... seems you had to turn up at the crossing with a visa already stamped in your passport and activated by those border immigration police. I think this is the same as many countries, including The United Kingdom. Only at airports can you get the 30 day visa exemption which you can extend for another 30 days at a local immigration office. And of course NO visa on arrival for farangs.... Its really no problem if you follow the rules....

This, from Maestro in the visa forum earlier:

"In theory and in law, there is indeed no numerical limit to the number of times a tourist may be granted a visa and admission to the Kingdom, as long as the tourist is able, when challenged, to dispel a respective official's suspicion that he may be working illegally in Thailand.

In practice, we have today immigration officers at some land border checkpoints who verbally refuse entry to all travellers, both visa-exempt and with a visa, in defiance of orders from their superiors. There has been no report yet of such refusal in writing, ie with a corresponding stamp in the passport with indication of the section of the Immigration Act used as the reason for the refusal. How long this charade will last remains to be seen."

It's really no problem if you follow the rules, eh?

[elgordo38]

How about getting to the root of the problem - corruption. Those officers who facilitated the bombers' entry should be in the monkey house.

Never happen that would be an admission that corruption exists along the border.

[webfact]

Thai border crossings with Cambodia shut in the wake of the Erawan shrine bombing

KOH SAMUI: -- On Saturday morning Thailand border crossings with Cambodia and one with Myanmar were refusing to let anybody using the visa exempt entry method enter Thailand, reports also suggest that some people attempting to border bounce to activate the second part of their multiple entry visas were also refused.

The six border crossings between Thailand and Cambodia have all been affected with local variations as to who can enter and who cannot across Ban Pakard/ Phsa Prum, Ban Laem/ Daun Lem, Chong Sa Ngam/ Anlong Veng, Chong Jom/ O Smach, Hat Lek/ Ko Kong and Aranyaprathet/ Poipet.

One visa service operator, who wished to remain anonymous said that the instructions had come from high up in the immigration department and that instructions had been received by telephone on Friday afternoon.

According to a report in AEC News Today “At the Ban Laem/ Daun Lem border they issued visa exempt entries up until 8am, but only for people who had four or less stamps. At 8am they stopped stamping anyone in, whether they had a valid visa or not, and about one hour after that it changed again; People with valid visas were allowed to enter, but no visa exempt entries”

No mention of the abrupt change in policy was posted on the Thailand Immigration Department website, the move catching hundreds of tourists by surprise as well as ex-pats who are required to leave and renter the country every 90 days.

Many believe the situation at the border is due to the Erawan shrine bombing


-- Samui Times 2015-09-14

[deepcell]

All right. And now what can we do, Malaysia border, Laos Border, board in a plane and go to somewhere else? overstay?

[PS2]

yes sure Sexpat Hans from Germany is the next bomber, so we need him to stop going out at the Cambodian border

Erased Hans telephone number, now my telephone is Hans free.

[monty1412]

Once more its "Ready Fire Aim" being practiced by the Thai authorities......

Never mind the fact that the person associated with the bombing allegedly bribed his way into the Kingdom.....lets just pass knee-jerk rulings with no analysis or in depth causative reasoning into what the actual problem is and what side effects various remedies will have....

Was their any thought on the impact of Tourism... impact on those employed in Tour companies and associated business.. any data shared on how possibly encouraging use of tour companies here gives Immigration perhaps a real opportunity to enforce even more security measures... pre checks/ pre clearance and arguably cut down on the corruption aspect some......

Nope lets just be seen to do something...as something is better than nothing....

I shouldn't be this way I know but longer Im here the more I shake my head at the decisions that are taken in response to issues with no consideration of cause and effect....

[IamNoone88]

Like I have said - charge those corrupt immigration officials with aiding and abetting terrorists. Their actions made the bombing possible. String them up and I guarantee no other immigration official will do the same.

[TEFLKrabi]

Sorry to be so dull, fellow TV readers but do we have any reports of what is actually happening at the borders rather than just moan about the government?

[deepcell]

Like I have said - charge those corrupt immigration officials with aiding and abetting terrorists. Their actions made the bombing possible. String them up and I guarantee no other immigration official will do the same.

Agree. Perhaps punish them in a public place, just as they do in Iran.

[tphut]

If you by "us" mean people who think it is ok to misuse rules for tourist to live here then you are right, Thailand do not want you to live here doing this.

On the other hand Thailand welcome everyone to live here if they follow the rules and get the right visa

It is not that hard, get a visa to live here if this is what you want or come as a tourist and leave when the rules say you must

10 years ago there used to be 5 or 6 visa run bus companies most operating 2 services daily to Aran/poipet.

The last time i looked at the BKK Post there was only one left and only doing a daily service .

This latest knee jerk -blame someone else - puts tourists in an impossible situation. You may or may not be able to enter the country by land.

What do they do?

As ive said before, Thailand doesnt want us here. There is a big sign in English as a backdrop on one of the Thai TV stations news rooms.

OUR COUNTRY .... go home foreigner ! lol

Dont invest big money here.

[apalink_thailand]

" the affected Thailand-Cambodia and Thailand-Myanmar border crossing received the instructions by telephone late Friday afternoon."

"and all are said to be affected, with local variations as to who can enter and who can not."

Ever heard of email? It makes for clear and explicit instructions.

To read and understand an email requires the recipient to:

1. Have access to a computer that is connected to the Internet

2. Be able to switch on that computer

3. Know which software can receive emails and be able to start that software

4. Have reading abilities advanced enough to understand the contents of the email

I wouldn't be to sure that any of these requirements are present with the staff of all the border crossings.

5. Understand that when an email is received and is requesting a response, a response should be made.

[Colabamumbai]

All due to reports that one involved in the bombing had paid immigration $600 to get into the country.

It is about corrupt Thai Immigration officers. Now everyone suffers.

[jmccarty]

Someone get there gardener to call those border stations up and claim to be the big boss in Bangkok, "open those gates!"

[Jon Wetherall]

What upsets me is that the Thai current government are making the country look farcical. They are implementing knee jerk reactions without thinking things through. The ill thought move will only have a negative impact on the country when right now it needs a massive boost. I do wonder if they will ever learn.

That's always been the case though. Government by bright idea. It's almost as if someone has a brainwave while siitting on the po in the morning, and it's policy by lunchtime.

And yes, Thais look farcical with an alarming regularity. It's about the only thing they do well.

[grantbkk]

So until this blows over take an airplane instead of a van for a visa run. It is simply the cost of living in Thailand. No amount of whining either from old long time residents or digital nomads will be effective against Thai logic. This to will pass. Predicting the demise of the Thai tourism industry for the millionth time over this is ludicrous.

[Baerboxer]

It has not been possible for some time now to obtain a visa exemption at border crossings... seems you had to turn up at the crossing with a visa already stamped in your passport and activated by those border immigration police. I think this is the same as many countries, including The United Kingdom. Only at airports can you get the 30 day visa exemption which you can extend for another 30 days at a local immigration office. And of course NO visa on arrival for farangs.... Its really no problem if you follow the rules....

This, from Maestro in the visa forum earlier:

"In theory and in law, there is indeed no numerical limit to the number of times a tourist may be granted a visa and admission to the Kingdom, as long as the tourist is able, when challenged, to dispel a respective official's suspicion that he may be working illegally in Thailand.

In practice, we have today immigration officers at some land border checkpoints who verbally refuse entry to all travellers, both visa-exempt and with a visa, in defiance of orders from their superiors. There has been no report yet of such refusal in writing, ie with a corresponding stamp in the passport with indication of the section of the Immigration Act used as the reason for the refusal. How long this charade will last remains to be seen."

It's really no problem if you follow the rules, eh?

The "rules" are interpreted by each office chief as he sees fit; and then modified again by each officer as they see fit on that particular day at that particular time.

If you try and point anything out you risk annoying them and then they will really go out of their way to be awkward. They often don't really remember all the rules clearly and can't be bothered to check unless in the mood. The get out caveat that everything is down to the officers discretion is one thing they all do know!

Follow the rules - if only all the immigration officials would, like would be easier for everyone.

[ronthai]

Thank God I turned 50 last year and got myself a NON-O-retirement visa now, after doing many different legal ways for 11 years before I turned 50

[coulson]

Without the ability to even activate a pre-approved visa obtained from the embassy, this will wreak havoc. Hope it is short lived.

[Halion]

The country is a circus where little or nothing is thought through. Knee jerk reactions, supposition, based on thin air and media and social manipulation, miss and disinformation from all agency's on a daily basis without responsibility or self respect. Authority figures that truly believe that they are omnipotent and beyond reproach. Just where can you go from there.?

[Richard Hall]

What upsets me is that the Thai current government are making the country look farcical. They are implementing knee jerk reactions without thinking things through. The ill thought move will only have a negative impact on the country when right now it needs a massive boost. I do wonder if they will ever learn.

Hm, that reads like Thailand is on the move from developing country to a Premium World country. Not a wise choice indeed considering what is going on in the so-called developed countries nowadays. Fertilizer for the blossoms of "Arab Spring" that turned out to be "Arab Fall". No need for such gardeners in the Kingdom.

Fortunately, there are still signs that Thailand is smarter than those.

[HOOD Robin]

" I do wonder if they will ever learn."

NEVER ever..........

[12DrinkMore]

" the affected Thailand-Cambodia and Thailand-Myanmar border crossing received the instructions by telephone late Friday afternoon."

"and all are said to be affected, with local variations as to who can enter and who can not."

Ever heard of email? It makes for clear and explicit instructions.

To read and understand an email requires the recipient to:

1. Have access to a computer that is connected to the Internet

2. Be able to switch on that computer

3. Know which software can receive emails and be able to start that software

4. Have reading abilities advanced enough to understand the contents of the email

I wouldn't be to sure that any of these requirements are present with the staff of all the border crossings.

I believe the budget for computers suffered big haircuts along the way to the borders.

They then had to chose between buying a keyboard, a mouse or a bottle of Sangsom.

[kannot]

What upsets me is that the Thai current government are making the country look farcical. They are implementing knee jerk reactions without thinking things through. The ill thought move will only have a negative impact on the country when right now it needs a massive boost. I do wonder if they will ever learn.

The VERY simple answer is "no" they wont learn, they wont learn a thing as they dont have to, they "know it all"

[flyingdoc]

Glad to see someone else also thinks Phuket is the worst immigration point !

[Braddockrd]

This is not about tourists, but about Iong stayers that do not have the proper visas. Regardless of the incident it is something thT would come sooner or later

[stoli]

I just wish the article was completely accurate. If you follow the link, it states that this also affects the foreign expat retirees who must "leave and re-enter Thailand every 90 days". Not true.....

[kaorop]

yes sure Sexpat Hans from Germany is the next bomber, so we need him to stop going out at the Cambodian border

Erased Hans telephone number, now my telephone is Hans free.

'I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free'

Using "Hans" before the punchline makes it NOT a pun.

[TPI]

" the affected Thailand-Cambodia and Thailand-Myanmar border crossing received the instructions by telephone late Friday afternoon."

"and all are said to be affected, with local variations as to who can enter and who can not."

Ever heard of email? It makes for clear and explicit instructions.

To read and understand an email requires the recipient to:

1. Have access to a computer that is connected to the Internet

2. Be able to switch on that computer

3. Know which software can receive emails and be able to start that software

4. Have reading abilities advanced enough to understand the contents of the email

I wouldn't be to sure that any of these requirements are present with the staff of all the border crossings.

You forgot that the sender needs to have access to the same technology and abilities. If you send an email from Yahoo with too many recipients, you get flagged as a spammer. This must frustrate so many people in the Thai bureaucracy as none seem to have official email addresses. Must be part of that elusive Thainess we keep being told about.

They can't use gmail either, use to many addresses....bounce....nothing gets sent! What are tourists to do? They've booked tours, accomodation, flights etc.........say what?

[fullcave]

OH boy, that’ll fix it..

[12DrinkMore]

What upsets me is that the Thai current government are making the country look farcical. They are implementing knee jerk reactions without thinking things through. The ill thought move will only have a negative impact on the country when right now it needs a massive boost. I do wonder if they will ever learn.

Maybe we should start a list of stupid knee jerks?

- Registration of mobile numbers a decade ago because a bomb or two was set off in the South using a mobile phone.

- Banning of alcohol sales in gas stations, even though the 7/11 50 metres away sells it, to stop drunks driving.

- Banning alcohol sales between 14:00 and 17:00 to stop school kids from drinking. Although 17:00 fits in nicely with school's out at 16:30.

- Banning of alcohol sales within a hundred(?) metres of educational establishments to stop students from getting drunk.

- A half-ar5ed attempt at blocking websites that display the odd bit of porn.

- Registering of mobile numbers as a national security issue.

- Closing certain border exits for people with valid visas to prevent terrorists arriving (Hey! what about the airports?)

Indeed, a hub of knee jerks. Or, one could say, a hub of jerks jerking knees.