I have been to Thailand several times, but never been asked for a visa before.  Maybe I have visited 3 o 4 times in the past few years.  This last trip was my first time in over a year.

 

This time was different. The immigration officer tells me I will need a visa next time.  That's a first!

 

I am just visiting for 2 weeks at a time and want to make more trips to Thailand this year.  Probably 3 more trips.  Will I actually have to go apply for a visa every time I want to come to Thailand now?  Before, I never needed one.

 

Can anyone provide some advice here?  I am confused what happened.

 

Regards,

 

Where did that happen? Were you coming from the USA? Did you fly? 

1 minute ago, Goldbear said:

Where did that happen? Were you coming from the USA? Did you fly? 

 

HI I flew to BKK from Manila, and from BKK I was connecting to Ko Samui.  I have been traveling around different parts of s.e. asia this past year.  I was actually on a connecting flight and it was running a little late in BKK, so they allowed me to skip the line.  That's when the female immigration officer stamped me, but also told me that USA is not qualified for a visa on arrival, and that I will need a visa the next time I come to Thailand.

 

Is this something that is unusual?

 

I was hoping that maybe this was just a fluke thing.  I never had an issue before when arriving in BKK.

 

 

Edited February 21, 20179 yr by oldschool92

13 minutes ago, oldschool92 said:

 

HI I flew to BKK from Manila, and from BKK I was connecting to Ko Samui.  I have been traveling around different parts of s.e. asia this past year.  I was actually on a connecting flight and it was running a little late in BKK, so they allowed me to skip the line.  That's when the female immigration officer stamped me, but also told me that USA is not qualified for a visa on arrival, and that I will need a visa the next time I come to Thailand.

 

Is this something that is unusual?

 

I was hoping that maybe this was just a fluke thing.  I never had an issue before when arriving in BKK.

 

 

I assume this was at Don Muang (where odd reports sometimes surface) rather than Suvarnabhumi, but this is still strange. You would seem a perfectly normal user of visa exempt entries. Talk of "visa on arrival" is irrelevant. They do not exist for nationals of countries that qualify for visa exempt entries.

 

If flying into Suvarnabhumi in the future, I cannot imagine you could have a problem. If planning to fly through Don Muang, it might be prudent to pick up a tourist visa on the way if not too inconvenient.

You probably have more than 6 Visa Exempt entries total (for life) in their database.  This triggers an "alert" on their system.  Whoever designed the "alert" system was evidently unable to design an algorithm which would take note of the frequency and duration of an applicant's Visa Exempt entries. 

 

On your next attempted Visa-Exempt entry, if you are taken to 2ndary screening, you would almost certainly be let in, provided your passport showed you recently arriving from the other side of the world, and your Thai-visit history (in their computer) showed these visits were only for short trips.  But to avoid that possible hassle, you will need a Tourist Visa each time.  

 

Note that Tourist Visas are being offered free through August.  Evidently, the ~$30 is perceived as the deterrent to visiting Thailand - not the hassle of obtaining a Tourist Visa, which many would gladly spend triple that sum to avoid.

15 hours ago, JackThompson said:

You probably have more than 6 Visa Exempt entries total (for life) in their database.  This triggers an "alert" on their system.  Whoever designed the "alert" system was evidently unable to design an algorithm which would take note of the frequency and duration of an applicant's Visa Exempt entries. 

 

On your next attempted Visa-Exempt entry, if you are taken to 2ndary screening, you would almost certainly be let in, provided your passport showed you recently arriving from the other side of the world, and your Thai-visit history (in their computer) showed these visits were only for short trips.  But to avoid that possible hassle, you will need a Tourist Visa each time.  

 

Note that Tourist Visas are being offered free through August.  Evidently, the ~$30 is perceived as the deterrent to visiting Thailand - not the hassle of obtaining a Tourist Visa, which many would gladly spend triple that sum to avoid.

 

I think I probably do have around 6 visits in Thailand lifetime after thinking about it carefully.  They were all under 60 days.  The airport was at BKK.

 

I am staying in Manila now and from what I read about the consulate there, I would need to show a paid for flight, bank statements, and possibly a hotel stay to get a visa.  This really is a lot of trouble, since i would also have to go and get all of that stuff printed out, and preplan all of my trip which i don't like to do necessarily.

 

I might take a chance and just come again without a visa, and see what happens.  I will have my return flight booked.  And perhaps I will bring a fair amount of cash.  It seems like they are very likely to let me in again.  

 

"On your next attempted Visa-Exempt entry, if you are taken to 2ndary screening, you would almost certainly be let in, provided your passport showed you recently arriving from the other side of the world, and your Thai-visit history (in their computer) showed these visits were only for short trips.  But to avoid that possible hassle, you will need a Tourist Visa each time.  "

 

How much of a hassle are we talking about?  Has anyone been through this process before?  

 

Thanks for your help!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25 minutes ago, oldschool92 said:

How much of a hassle are we talking about?  Has anyone been through this process before?  

That depends on the senior immigration official who talks to you. As soon as it happens, have 20,000 baht (in any currency) and your onward flight ticket clearly visible. Answer the questions confidently but politely. The official is mainly interested in whether you might be working illegally in Thailand, and whether you have sufficient funds for your trip without the need to work.

 

As I mentioned before, there is a big difference between Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi. At the latter, genuine tourists (especially from a developed country like the US) have nothing to fear. At Don Muang, perhaps because of the high proportion of low income visa runners using budget airlines there, greater scrutiny is common, and crazy decisions (while very rare) are not unknown.