Concerned About Slightly Inexperienced Immigration Officers

[farang241]

This is the situation: I have a Non-O, 1 year multiple entries visa that expires in November, and yesterday was the first 3 months admitted until date, so I had a return flight booked for KL.

Get to the airport, early morning, then at the immigration, polite good morning, and the immigration officer, a young man, informs me that if I want to re-enter Thailand after exiting I need to get a new visa. Me thinking, nah, that can't be right, I politely point out that my visa is 1 year multiple entry and it does not expire until November. He insists, it's no longer valid, I am insisting it's still valid, afraid he is going to void my visa. He calls over a young girl from nearby, she just agrees to everything he is saying. I keep insisting the visa is still valid until November and after some forth and back he asks the young girl to take me to the office where you would usually pay overstay fines etc. In there I try explain the situation and the woman across the desk, senior I presume, agrees, my visa is indeed multiple entry, valid until November. She instructs the young girl to just stamp me out and not touch the visa. The young girl didn't speak a single word after our talk with the senior officer, but she did stamp me out.

Re-entry into Thailand was no hassle, just stamp stamp and have a nice day, 3 months admitted until.

My concern is that the young male immigration officer, armed with a dangerous arsenal of stamps, would have stamped a red USED or VOID or whatever stamp on my visa had I not spoken up. It does concern me as getting a new visa does require some preparation of paperwork like signed copies, updated bank balance, etc, etc. All I had with me was phone, tablet, money and passport. It would have been a major hassle as I would be out of the country and my wife would have to gather all the papers and get them to me so I could go to a consulate/embassy to get a new visa.

Anyway, just sharing the experience.

[lkv]

Which airport?

[Lamkyong]

yes frightening isn't it bit like the 7/11 mi mee no hap

[steve187]

TiT

[farang241]

Which airport?

Don Muang, just a cheap Air Asia return flight.

[Briggsy]

That is quite crazy as the USED stamp only ever comes out on arrival e.g. Single entry, upon arrival visa is stamped USED. Triple entry, 3rd arrival, visa is stamped USED. This is addition to the pair of them being completely wrong.

[farang241]

 

yes frightening isn't it bit like the 7/11 mi mee no hap

 

Yeah, it's like a small mistake by inexperienced staff could easily end up costing several 10s of thousands of baht.

Sure they will usually fix an admitted until date if you point out they gave you 30 days instead of 90 days or not leaving it empty, when on extension, but I don't think they would rectify a visa, and even worse I might not have noticed until I try to re-enter.

[lkv]

Yea I reckon they should not even have the USED stamp in the drawer at Departures.

Or should they?

[Colabamumbai]

We cannot raise our voice in Thailand, but we do need a voice. Thanks for your post.

[TheCruncher]

I've never known that they stamp a visa on your exit. Normally they don't have a reason to look at the visa when you exit, since your last entry stamp is what counts.

[thaihome]

I do not think there was ever any danger of the visa being stamped "used". Personally I would have said thank you and gone on my way.

TH

[farang241]

Personally I would have said thank you and gone on my way.

So if you leave the country with a visa valid for re-entry and you are told that you will not be able to re-enter until you get a new visa because your current visa is no longer valid, you would just say thanks and be on your way?

I can think of a number of valid reasons they would want to void a visa, could be the consulate/embassy used has been issuing dodgy visas, could be they somehow believe you are suddenly persona non grata, especially with all their bad guys/good guys campaign, etc etc.

I find it alarming that someone stamping people out doesn't know basics like the difference between a single and multiple entry visa. I've never experienced anything like this in my 15+ years living in Thailand and probably 50+ exits and entries.

[farang241]

...

But coming back to the OP's experience, no multiple entry visas ever get an "USED" stamp on them do they? If we are to think logically.

Sure, that has been my experience also, but put yourself in this situation:

You are leaving Thailand, planning to return shortly, exit immigration officer tells you that your multiple entry visa (expiring 9 months from now) is no longer valid and if you want to come back you will need to get a new visa.

What is your reaction?

[Maestro]

I do not think there was ever any danger of the visa being stamped "used". Personally I would have said thank you and gone on my way.

TH

That was not an option. The immigration officer had not yet put the departure stamp in the OP's passport.

[Maestro]

farang241, you did well to stand your ground. Congratulations, and thank your posting your extraordinary experience.

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post and the replies to it.

[Jessi]

There is far too much of this going on with Immigration officers and also making up rules as they go along.

[Rob13]

Frustrating that the kid didn't know his job but they can't stamp a visa 'used' or 'void' and then and allow you to enter; they'd only do that on exit. I don't think there was any problem of you getting the red stamp at that point. You could have just continued on without all the back and forth, and called or visited your local immi office after you got home.

[recom273]

Coincidently, I saw an old multiple entry visa sticker in my passport at the weekend. Even tho' the last time I left as the visa was expiring and the IO made a comment about it being finished.

Immigration don't stamp 'used' on it .. That's just when entering on a single entry, right ?

I totally agree, the country is manned by poorly trained staff.

[Langsuan Man]

Funny, I would love to have a USED stamp for the 5 expired O-A Visas that I have in my passport, just to make it easier for the IO who is either stamping me in or out

But when I ask the IO at the airport to do it they say they can't and it can only be done by the issuer ( NY Consulate) but the NY Consulate won't do it since they say it has to be done by Immigration in Thailand

And yes I have tried the paper clip on the valid visa trick but they always remove it before they put it in their scanner

So I just let them wade through 10 pages of my passport to find the currently valid one, mai pen rai

[Old Croc]

Funny, I would love to have a USED stamp for the 5 expired O-A Visas that I have in my passport, just to make it easier for the IO who is either stamping me in or out

But when I ask the IO at the airport to do it they say they can't and it can only be done by the issuer ( NY Consulate) but the NY Consulate won't do it since they say it has to be done by Immigration in Thailand

And yes I have tried the paper clip on the valid visa trick but they always remove it before they put it in their scanner

So I just let them wade through 10 pages of my passport to find the currently valid one, mai pen rai

No reason, other than bloody mindedness or ignorance, for the airport IO to refuse to void those old visas.

Get a biro and draw two lines across the old visas, this will indicate to anyone that they are no longer valid. In the unlikely event anyone asks, just say it was done by Immigration on an arrival.

[Suradit69]

I do not think there was ever any danger of the visa being stamped "used". Personally I would have said thank you and gone on my way.

TH

Yes, based on the posts that appear on TV I would say when disputes arise, in 90 percent of the cases, it's the farang who is clueless. Occasionally everyone makes a mistake. including immigrations officers, but quite often the misunderstanding is more a communication issue.

...informs me that if I want to re-enter Thailand after exiting I need to get a new visa.

Unless he happens to be the immigration officer you encounter on re-entry, what he says isn't going to matter. Worse case scenario you get a visa exempt entry and go to an immigrations office to sort it out.

In any event, the misunderstanding was settled and you went on your way, so the system is self-correcting. Problem solved. All your imagined consequences were just that ... imaginary.

The young girl didn't speak a single word after our talk with the senior officer,

And this is significant because?? She received instructions and carried them out. I had a difference of opinion with an immigrations officer in UK and when he was sorted out by someone who outranked him, he was fit to be tied.

[mesquite]

I do not think there was ever any danger of the visa being stamped "used". Personally I would have said thank you and gone on my way.

TH

Yes, based on the posts that appear on TV I would say when disputes arise, in 90 percent of the cases, it's the farang who is clueless. Occasionally everyone makes a mistake. including immigrations officers, but quite often the misunderstanding is more a communication issue.

...informs me that if I want to re-enter Thailand after exiting I need to get a new visa.

Unless he happens to be the immigration officer you encounter on re-entry, what he says isn't going to matter. Worse case scenario you get a visa exempt entry and go to an immigrations office to sort it out.

In any event, the misunderstanding was settled and you went on your way, so the system is self-correcting. Problem solved. All your imagined consequences were just that ... imaginary.

The young girl didn't speak a single word after our talk with the senior officer,

And this is significant because?? She received instructions and carried them out. I had a difference of opinion with an immigrations officer in UK and when he was sorted out by someone who outranked him, he was fit to be tied.

He didn't say it was significant. It is just another fact in his factual post. Note that the last part of that sentence, the part you didn't post, is significant.

[richard_smith237]

If in doubt, question politely, remain firm, remain polite, keep questioning until you are satisfied.

I've had similar issues of inexperienced Immigration officers.

I exited to the UK for a 5 week holiday, I'd previously been working in Thailand on a Work Permit. While in the UK my Work Contract finished.

I returned to Thailand 1 day before my Work Permit (and extension of stay) expired.

I wished to re-enter on my S.E. (Thai Elite Visa).

The immigration officer told me I'd have to enter Thailand on my Extension of Stay (work permit) and that I'd have to exit the following day as my Work Permit would then expire !!! - WHAT ???

No way - I disagreed, remained firm until he gave up and called in his senior who agreed that there was no reason I couldn't enter on my Thai Elite S.E. Visa.

Had I just accepted the junior Immigration Officers decision I would have been left in a highly inconvenient situation.

[lkv]

...

But coming back to the OP's experience, no multiple entry visas ever get an "USED" stamp on them do they? If we are to think logically.

Sure, that has been my experience also, but put yourself in this situation:

You are leaving Thailand, planning to return shortly, exit immigration officer tells you that your multiple entry visa (expiring 9 months from now) is no longer valid and if you want to come back you will need to get a new visa.

What is your reaction?

I would have done exactly what you've done.

I also fear that if you did not do what you have done, you may have ended with some stamp on the visa.

Logically speaking, multiple entries should never get a USED stamp because....they never get used. They just expire.

But yeah I guess I'm using my European logic again in Thailand.

The first thought I had after reading your original post was: are they really unexperienced or is there something more sinister going. Probably this crossed other readers' mind as well.

But thanks for sharing, I'm always looking at stamps to prevent lack of experience or abuse.

[thaihome]

I don't care what an exit immigration officer tells me about validity of my visa, especially when I know he/she is wrong. As long as I'm stamped out and they don't mark the visa used (which they won't ) why are you having any other conversation? What he/she SAYS doesn't matter a hill of beans.

TH

[hawker9000]

It appears the OP at least believed that the IO was going to void the visa, possibly by stamping it USED for example. Even the young ones are pretty adept at grabbing those stamps and slamming down their mark. That's their fiefdom; it's not much, but it's theirs. The OP did the logical thing by acting as he did. And his knowledge of thainess exceeds that of some here for sure. 'A great object lesson. Thanks!

[sometimewoodworker]

I've never known that they stamp a visa on your exit. Normally they don't have a reason to look at the visa when you exit, since your last entry stamp is what counts.

Regrettably that is not always true, maybe quite often not.

Sometime ago I was (with quite a lot of talking) stamped in with a visa exempt stamp as I was flying to Singapore the next day. I had a single entry tourist visa in my passport.

The next day when going out through immigration a lot more talking was needed as the IO saw the unused tourist visa and was going to stamp it used, despite the incoming IO having given an visa exempt entry.

To me this suggests that it is not unusual for the outward IO's to check that all visa's have used stamps or are still valid. In the OP's case of course the visa should not have a used stamp.