An acquaintance of mine took an agency visa run van from Pattaya to the Cambodian border this week.Although he has been coming here for years,usually twice a year for 3 months stays on SETV+extension, he has never had a visa exempt.This time he was planning on 4 months, so he did his first border run.Being unfamiliar with the Cambodian border he couldn't even tell me which border they used, but I assume that Pattaya visa run agency use one of the 2 Pong Nam Ron crossing.He is a German national/passport holder born in Iran, which is not on the visa waiver list, but passport matters not place of birth.Nevertheless IO refused visa exempt on grounds of place of birth.He was let back in on the few days he had left on his SETV from Germany+extension .Thailand is of course a very xenophobic country,<removed>

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Edited February 5, 20179 yr by ubonjoe
Political comment removed

It depends on the wording of the Law.

 

Your friend holds a German passport, but by Iranian nationality law he is also Iranian.

 

So if Thailand made a law specifically forcing Iranians to apply for a visa and if this law supercedes the common visa exempt regulations, then it is an application of the law.

Visa application forms also feature a "nationality at birth" item.

HOWEVER, the above is highly unlikely!

 

I would bet on a mistake by the IO.

 

Edited February 3, 20179 yr by manarak

No he does not have Iranian nationality anymore.
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Edited February 4, 20179 yr by ubonjoe
Political comment removed

Definitely a mistake made by the immigration officer, who perhaps did not pay enough attention when the visa-exempt rules were explained to him by his superiors or colleagues.

4 hours ago, thecyclist said:

No he does not have Iranian nationality anymore.
YES either IO 's mistake or he is a "Trumpian":Can't let the terrorists in without extreme vetting.

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The Iran laws on nationality says he is Iranian.

i'd suggest your friend try another border run or catch a flight from utapao to KL and return next day.

Yeah using this logic my son should have got extended stay.

 

We arrived over Christmas and my son arrived on an Australian passport with birthplace stated as Bangkok. 

 

He still only got 30 days.

10 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Nevertheless IO refused visa exempt on grounds of place of birth.He was let back in on the few days he had left on his SETV from Germany+extension .

 

As he had already been stamped out of Thailand his extension would have been cancelled - or are you saying that he purchased a retro-re-entry permit?

 

 

Yes he had been stamped out of Thailand and in/out of Cambodia.They put big red cancelled stamps on those,even on the Cambodian stamps thereby nullifying his exit.Amazing Thai immigration cancels Cambodian immigration stamps.

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2 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Yes he had been stamped out of Thailand and in/out of Cambodia.They put big red cancelled stamps on those,even on the Cambodian stamps thereby nullifying his exit.Amazing Thai immigration cancels Cambodian immigration stamps.

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I guess it beats refusing entry.

 

 

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Edited February 4, 20179 yr by ubonjoe
reply to a edited post removed

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

The Iran laws on nationality says he is Iranian.

Not true. You CAN give up your Iranian nationality, provided you have fulfilled your national service, are over 25, and give up all claims to land, houses etc. in the republic of Iran.  So maybe not easy, but not undoable.

5 hours ago, Maestro said:

Definitely a mistake made by the immigration officer, who perhaps did not pay enough attention when the visa-exempt rules were explained to him by his superiors or colleagues.

More like he never took any exam. Or cheated when he did (they are part of the police). And if he paid for the position figured he was above learning anything.Or was as possibly checking his Facebook account during any explanations or staff briefings.

maybe poi pet

Not so unusual. I've heard of Iranians with American passports several years ago that have been told they had to return to the US for the issuance of a new passport, and they could not renew through the US embassy...

12 hours ago, thecyclist said:

He was let back in on the few days he had left on his SETV from Germany+extension

Presumably he had a re-entry permit or else they were being very generous.

 

Despite the opinions expressed here at TV by people who are seeing what it's like being in a minority for the first time in their sheltered lives, Thailand is no more xenophobic than most countries and the xenophobia is getting worse elsewhere.

The border was the Ban Packard/Prum border,the nearest one to sin-city.
He had no re-entry permit, they just annulled the exit as if he had never left.
Thailand be no more xenophobic than other country:We gotta be living in different Thailands .

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you say in the op that you are not sure which border, you then further say he was denied a visa exempt, which means he was stamped into Cambodia, so how was the stamp voided.  then in post #16 you now say he went to ban pakard/prum so still not sure, so maybe it was poi pet, which is known to be a difficult crossing, all 3 crossing are about the same distance from pattaya,  friends stories are always difficult to understand because of the 2nd hand nature of the information, the only way to get a clear picture is to see a copy of the stamps.

The Iranians I have met have been nice, polite people who generally share Western values, but their government gives off a very different flavor.  As a result of Germany's immigration policies (and others in Europe and the USA) our passports now offer little more assurance of the nature of their bearers than those from countries on the "special" lists.  I suspect this may have contributed to this  experience.

you say in the op that you are not sure which border, you then further say he was denied a visa exempt, which means he was stamped into Cambodia, so how was the stamp voided.  then in post #16 you now say he went to ban pakard/prum so still not sure, so maybe it was poi pet, which is known to be a difficult crossing, all 3 crossing are about the same distance from pattaya,  friends stories are always difficult to understand because of the 2nd hand nature of the information, the only way to get a clear picture is to see a copy of the stamps.

He wasn't sure which border crossing,as he has never been to the border and only wanted to get back to Pattaya as fast as possible.He has now sent me a photo of the stamps over LINE:Cambodian Prum stamps identified the crossing.
All stamps had a red cancelled on them, old TM card re-inserted, and I assume they reversed the exit on the computer.
He couldn't even remember the name of the agency he used,only said it was on Soi Post office and charged 2300 Baht.
I don't live in Pattaya ,so not familiar with agencies there.Maybe one of you Pattaya expats can identify it and venture an opinion on whether they possibly screwed up.

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