Poipet visa exempt

[Rayk]

I will be going to Poipet on July 23rd in order to come back into Thailand on a Visa exempt entry.

I have 2 visa exempt entries in my passport already and 1 tourist visa.

I have already received my E visa from Cambodian immigration.

I will have 20000b proof of funds but am wondering if I should purchase a ticket out of Thailand, for say August 20th to satisfy immigration's needs.

Do you think it will be necessary?

I see Thai Lion Air has a promo to Burma for 975b on that day.

Thanks to all.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Rayk

[elviajero]

It would certainly help if you're stopped/questioned, but if your 2 visa exempt entries are recent you may not get a third regardless.

[Rayk]

It would certainly help if you're stopped/questioned, but if your 2 visa exempt entries are recent you may not get a third regardless.

1st was in January

2nd was in March

Tourist visa in May

And why would I not get a third?

There is no rule on the number of visa exempt entries one can receive and you don't get flagged in the system until 6 exempts.

Ban Laem permits 3 in a calendar year.

Edited July 12, 2016 by Rayk

[JackThompson]

Ok then, let us know how it goes. But you might want to read this thread first - poster had not been in Thailand in 16 months, but was refused at that border last month for 'too many entries':

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/929428-refused-entry-yesterday-at-the-border-if-i-fly-in-would-i-get-the-30-days/

If you have the time, you could get a Tourist Visa in Phnom Penh, which would greatly improve your odds of a hassle-free entry.

Edited July 12, 2016 by JackThompson

[elviajero]

It would certainly help if you're stopped/questioned, but if your 2 visa exempt entries are recent you may not get a third regardless.

1st was in January

2nd was in March

Tourist visa in May

And why would I not get a third?

There is no rule on the number of visa exempt entries one can receive and you don't get flagged in the system until 6 exempts.

Ban Laem permits 3 in a calendar year.

There are limits at the Thai/Cambodian borders of 90 days per year. Two Thai/Myanmar borders allow no out/in visa exempt entries. However, if the IO believes that you are a 'visa runner' they can deny entry based on any number of previous entries.

You might get a 3rd, you might not. It will depend on the IO at the border on the day.

[Bender]

Best advice i can give you is: go spend some time in Siem Reap, you will absolutely love it. And you might move there!

[ubonjoe]

The problem is where you want to do the crossing. Poi Pet is notorious for turning people away for what appears to be no valid reason.

A recent example was a person that was turned away there and then went to the crossing at Ban Laem and was able to enter the country.

[Rayk]

Then I guess what I will do is go to Poipet with my fiancee as planned and prior to exiting Thailand explain to an immigration officer that I am waiting for my lawyer to receive my divorce papers from Canada, to send to me, show what documentation I have to support this, and ask if they will allow me another exempt based on that.

If they say no, then I will simply turn around and drive to Ban Laem.

I will show them the documents from Canada that I received in January, March and May as well as the emails from my lawyer informing me that she attended court and is just waiting for the court to get my divorce papers out of their archives before she can send to me.

I will be getting married as soon as I receive those documents and then applying for a non O based on marriage.

Hopefully that will help.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Rayk

[Rayk]

The problem is where you want to do the crossing. Poi Pet is notorious for turning people away for what appears to be no valid reason.

A recent example was a person that was turned away there and then went to the crossing at Ban Laem and was able to enter the country.

In that thread you are referring to you had also stated that they can only deny a person entry if they fail to meet the requirements of section 12 of the immigration act.

[Rayk]

The problem is where you want to do the crossing. Poi Pet is notorious for turning people away for what appears to be no valid reason.

A recent example was a person that was turned away there and then went to the crossing at Ban Laem and was able to enter the country.

In a PM I sent you a week ago you stated I should have no problem getting another visa exempt entry in Poipet after having 2 in Ban Laem followed by a tourist visa and

Now based one 1 persons claim that he was denied entry in Poipet you are suddenly stating that Poipet is notorious for turning away people with no valid reason.

Hmmm.

[ubonjoe]

The problem is where you want to do the crossing. Poi Pet is notorious for turning people away for what appears to be no valid reason.

A recent example was a person that was turned away there and then went to the crossing at Ban Laem and was able to enter the country.

In that thread you are referring to you had also stated that they can only deny a person entry if they fail to meet the requirements of section 12 of the immigration act. 1468381164667.jpg

I made it clear that was at an airport. Border crossing are a different story all together since the do not follow the same procedures. At a crossing they just say no and do not do a denial of entry stamp.

[ubonjoe]

The problem is where you want to do the crossing. Poi Pet is notorious for turning people away for what appears to be no valid reason.

A recent example was a person that was turned away there and then went to the crossing at Ban Laem and was able to enter the country.

In a PM I sent you a week ago you stated I should have no problem getting another visa exempt entry in Poipet after having 2 in Ban Laem followed by a tourist visa and

Now based one 1 persons claim that he was denied entry in Poipet you are suddenly stating that Poipet is notorious for turning away people with no valid reason.

Hmmm.

It's hard to remember every PM I get. My reply today was from what you posted in this topic and others replies.

I is not just one personas report that I based my post upon.

[Rayk]

The problem is where you want to do the crossing. Poi Pet is notorious for turning people away for what appears to be no valid reason.

A recent example was a person that was turned away there and then went to the crossing at Ban Laem and was able to enter the country.

In a PM I sent you a week ago you stated I should have no problem getting another visa exempt entry in Poipet after having 2 in Ban Laem followed by a tourist visa and

Now based one 1 persons claim that he was denied entry in Poipet you are suddenly stating that Poipet is notorious for turning away people with no valid reason.

Hmmm.

It's hard to remember every PM I get. My reply today was from what you posted in this topic and others replies.

I is not just one personas report that I based my post upon.

Fair enough.

I will attempt it as I have planned and report back with the results.

I'm always up for a challenge anyway.

Edited July 13, 2016 by Rayk

[Rayk]

Update

My fiancee phoned the Aranyaprathet border office today to enquire about whether or not I could go to do 1 visa exempt entry at this border crossing after having only 2 visa exempt entries so far this year while im waiting for my lawyer to receive my divorce papers from Canada. She was told that I could not go there to do a visa exempt as the computer (bulls$$t) would flag me and that I had to fly into Thailand.

So it does seem that Aranyaprathet is not a very friendy border as some have stated before.

The visa company I usually go with checked and was told I can do 1 more exempt at Ban Laem.

Just pissed 1400b down the toilet for a E visa that is useless in Ban Laem.

Oh well, that's life.

Thai Visa service it is I suppose.

If I fly out and back in what do you think are my best options for the 23rd of July.

Thanks to elviajero, Joe and Jack for their input on this. It did help to help me to do some investigating prior to wasting my time and more money.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Rayk

[ubonjoe]

Plenty of flights available to KL on the 23rd on Air Asia from DMK for as little as 2900 baht round trip.
Certainly an easier trip than going to Ban Laem.

[Rayk]

Plenty of flights available to KL on the 23rd on Air Asia from DMK for as little as 2900 baht round trip.

Certainly an easier trip than going to Ban Laem.

So basically I can book a flight thru Air Asia for say the 12:00pm flight and return the same day at 8:40pm.

Do you think that will work?

I tried to book the 5pm return flight but it won't let me.

Says return flight should not be earlier than the departure flight.

Can I come back the same day or is that a problem?

And I guess I would also have to purchase a ticket outside of Thailand within the next 30 days?

Edited July 14, 2016 by Rayk

[JackThompson]

Your e-visa will work at Phnom Penh airport, but the flights are not cheap.

You could also exit Aranya/Poipet, use your E-Visa to enter Cambodia, travel overland to Ban Laem, then return via that crossing. That might be the cheapest method. Using buses will also save $$ and are generally more comfortable than vans - can even buy 2 adjacent seats for less, in some cases.

I am not sure what the travel-options are to Ban Laem from Poipet, or from Ban Laem, on the Thai side, back to your point of origin, but another poster who was told not to re-enter by Poipet IOs returned this way.

[ubonjoe]

Plenty of flights available to KL on the 23rd on Air Asia from DMK for as little as 2900 baht round trip.

Certainly an easier trip than going to Ban Laem.

So basically I can book a flight thru Air Asia for say the 12:00pm flight and return the same day at 8:40pm.

Do you think that will work?

I tried to book the 5pm return flight but it won't let me.

Says return flight should not be earlier than the departure flight.

Can I come back the same day or is that a problem?

And I guess I would also have to purchase a ticket outside of Thailand within the next 30 days?

That can be a problem with Air Asia's website. A work around it is to buy your trip down and back separately in order to get the flights closer together.

You can come back on the same day without a problem.

You may need a ticket out within 30 day to get on your return flight. To have less chance of having a problem is to check in online to get your boarding pass which allows you to avoid the check in desk.

[BritTim]

Plenty of flights available to KL on the 23rd on Air Asia from DMK for as little as 2900 baht round trip.

Certainly an easier trip than going to Ban Laem.

So basically I can book a flight thru Air Asia for say the 12:00pm flight and return the same day at 8:40pm.

Do you think that will work?

I tried to book the 5pm return flight but it won't let me.

Says return flight should not be earlier than the departure flight.

Can I come back the same day or is that a problem?

And I guess I would also have to purchase a ticket outside of Thailand within the next 30 days?

That can be a problem with Air Asia's website. A work around it is to buy your trip down and back separately in order to get the flights closer together.

You can come back on the same day without a problem.

You may need a ticket out within 30 day to get on your return flight. To have less chance of having a problem is to check in online to get your boarding pass which allows you to avoid the check in desk.

Be aware, if following UJ's advice here, that Air Asia flights are not infrequently subject to long delays. A flight scheduled to arrive at 1:00 pm might not arrive until 6:00 pm. If unable to use your one-way return ticket because of the delay, you would have no chance whatsoever of Air Asia moving you to a later flight.

It is worth noting that booking a combined flights+hotel deal for a one night stay near KL airport (through, for instance, Expedia) costs almost the same as the flights alone. When flying Air Asia, you might consider doing that as it minimizes the risk of long airport waits (though you might still leave the hotel assured your flight in on time, but wait 5 hours in the departure lounge anyway).

[Rayk]

Plenty of flights available to KL on the 23rd on Air Asia from DMK for as little as 2900 baht round trip.

Certainly an easier trip than going to Ban Laem.

So basically I can book a flight thru Air Asia for say the 12:00pm flight and return the same day at 8:40pm.

Do you think that will work?

I tried to book the 5pm return flight but it won't let me.

Says return flight should not be earlier than the departure flight.

Can I come back the same day or is that a problem?

And I guess I would also have to purchase a ticket outside of Thailand within the next 30 days?

That can be a problem with Air Asia's website. A work around it is to buy your trip down and back separately in order to get the flights closer together.

You can come back on the same day without a problem.

You may need a ticket out within 30 day to get on your return flight. To have less chance of having a problem is to check in online to get your boarding pass which allows you to avoid the check in desk.

Be aware, if following UJ's advice here, that Air Asia flights are not infrequently subject to long delays. A flight scheduled to arrive at 1:00 pm might not arrive until 6:00 pm. If unable to use your one-way return ticket because of the delay, you would have no chance whatsoever of Air Asia moving you to a later flight.

It is worth noting that booking a combined flights+hotel deal for a one night stay near KL airport (through, for instance, Expedia) costs almost the same as the flights alone. When flying Air Asia, you might consider doing that as it minimizes the risk of long airport waits (though you might still leave the hotel assured your flight in on time, but wait 5 hours in the departure lounge anyway).

Thanks Tim but I have decided that I will bear the burden of the long minivan ride with Thai Visa Service.

I have already received confirmation that immigration In Ban Laem will allow me 1 more visa exempt.

As the old saying goes, if it's not broke, don't fix it.

[Rayk]

Thread can now be closed. Thanks for all your responses.