Word Association (2024)

[wolf2017]

My nationality is Indian. Applied for Thailand tourist visa ( 60 days)  for the first time in April 2017. Got back my passport, with a void stamp . I have a close friend in Thailand, she is Thai national. Using her reference had submitted all required documents - My travel agent in Jabalpur submitted the following documents to delhi office who then submitted to Royal thai embassy in delhi.  The story below takes places in a span of 7-10 days.
( to give you a clear picture, i had not presented any hotel bookings and itinerary, since i would be residing with my friend below , for which the proof of address was attached)
1) Her Passport copy with signature.
2) Her proof of address
3) Her employment certificate ( she has been working in the same company 10 years. has a a great track record)
4) My passport 
5) My desired passport photographs 
6) My  employment certificate
7) My bank statement ( initially submitted 3 months statement, later was asked to submit 6 months statement. I used this bank account to do very small amount transactions, like sometimes 1000 rs or sometimes go upto 20,000 rs. just maintained the minimum balance of 1500 rs every month, that the bank requires.. Finally presented a closing balance of 200,000 INR ( indian rupees)  The thai requirement of closing balance was only 40,000 Indian rupees. I presented 160,000 indian rupees extra.
8) My income tax returns ( This again , was asked to submit later on by the agent , which was the requirement of  the thai embassy at that moment. I  work privately from home, so dont make much money. Hence, dont pay income tax, make less than 2,40,000 rs annually.
9) My return ticket to thailand.( clearly under the 60 days duration. had booked return for 55 days )
10) Letter of invitation duly signed and my relation with invitee, a close friend.

The application was submitted after songkran festival ( big festival of Thais 13 apr- 16 april. ) 
on 17th april the agent at delhi submitted all documents to Royal thai embassy . and on 20th morning i got the news - MY THAI VISA IS VOID !!!!.

This is terrible..
i just want to know what you guys think about all this ?
am i the victim of racism ? 
If all my documentation is authentic and duly submitted whatever the thai embassy asked for , what influenced their minds to VOID MY THAI TOURIST VISA.
what is their psyche here? what were they thinking ? why did they reject my 60 day thai tourist visa?
note ---- i wasnt interested in the 15 days visa on arrival. since 15 days is too little to trip and cover most places in Thialand . i didnt want rush and wind up my trip early.. so i opted for 60 days visa.

( is this racism , or is the embassy biased about something ? why are so many complaints rising and indian forums coming up, with the same issue of being denied thai tourist visa , deeming our visa as VOID )..

hope someone here has the RIGHT answer to my question.

I would not take any chances of trying for a thailand tourist visa again. read some place , some unlucky ones ,  got 2 voids stamps.... how stained !!!

 

IS THE  INDIAN TRAVEL AGENT TO BLAME ?  A LAPSE ON THEIR PART ? OR IS IT JUST A  WICKED GAME OF THE ROYAL THAI EMBASSY FOR DENYING INDIANS TOURIST VISAS  ?

 

THE WORST PART IS  ---- THE ROYAL THAI EMBASSY AT DELHI DOES NOT GIVE ANY REASON FOR REJECTION ... LEAVES US WONDERING , WHERE DID WE GO WRONG ??????

Edited April 21, 2017 by wolf2017
missing info

[BritTim]

Your experience is most unfortunate. There have been reports of others from India having problems getting Thai tourist visas, and even in isolated cases experiencing problems entering when a visa has been granted. I really do not know why those from India seem to experience such issues. I guess racism could be a contributing factor. I think, also, that many from India carry on business in Thailand without appropriate company registration and work permits. Perhaps, that also makes immigration strict on Indian nationals. Anyway, you have my sympathy. Hopefully, someone will be able to suggest a way for you to overcome this.

[wolf2017]

1 minute ago, BritTim said:

Your experience is most unfortunate. There have been reports of others from India having problems getting Thai tourist visas, and even in isolated cases experiencing problems entering when a visa has been granted. I really do not know why those from India seem to experience such issues. I guess racism could be a contributing factor. I think, also, that many from India carry on business in Thailand without appropriate company registration and work permits. Perhaps, that also makes immigration strict on Indian nationals. Anyway, you have my sympathy. Hopefully, someone will be able to suggest a way for you to overcome this.

Thank You Sir for your Honest and very transparent answer..  You lighten my worry.  Yes you are absolutely correct. I have heard of many Indians going to thailand with the intention of only a tour, and end up sticking on , working there and extending stays, and hooking up with thai women for purpose of marriage and visa. this could be the real reason too..Thanks again.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

You should have tried yourself....seems like you were fully cooperative.  Usually, they will tell you shat you are lacking before they accept your application.  Even in the US, people will try and use the "friendliest" consulate possible.  On a bad day, no one gets anything.  A lot of terrorists try and pass themselves off as Indian....there is also a big forged passport market in India and elsewhere.  

Edited April 21, 2017 by KhonKaenKowboy

[SicTransit]

I wonder what is this void stamp. A visa not issued cannot be void. What else is on this stamp?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wolf2017]

17 minutes ago, KhonKaenKowboy said:

You should have tried yourself....seems like you were fully cooperative.  Usually, they will tell you shat you are lacking before they accept your application.  Even in the US, people will try and use the "friendliest" consulate possible.  On a bad day, no one gets anything.  A lot of terrorists try and pass themselves off as Indian....there is also a big forged passport market in India and elsewhere.  

Thankyou. I will surely take your suggestion . And hope to try again in the coming months. This time will personally try at the Royal Thai embassy in a different city in India . Most rejections have been happening at the New delhi Thai embassy. And i must say , India is always under scrutiny due to some mischief makers. Some rotten apples spoil the barrel. And the innocent bear the brunt .Appreciate your view point.

[wolf2017]

1 minute ago, SicTransit said:

I wonder what is this void stamp. A visa not issued cannot be void. What else is on this stamp?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi Void on a visa granted simply means Not valid. May be some good soul at the embassy passed the visa , and the last officer out of sheer disregard or a personal hate attack,  stamped the VOID seal on it. please come back to this forum in 2 days. I will get my passport back . will attach the void seal. Thanks.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Yes, a few bad apples.....you seem to understand.  Even KL and Penang can be night and day.  Always search Google for info on consulates...and just one or two staff changes can ruin it all.

[JackThompson]

24 minutes ago, SicTransit said:

I wonder what is this void stamp. A visa not issued cannot be void. What else is on this stamp?

The lower-level person at the consulate/embassy put the visa in his passport.  A supervisor voided it.  Others have had this experience at other consulates.  I recall someone trying to get a 4th TR visa in the same passport from Cambodia had this happen (non-Cambodians only get 3 there max per-passport).

 

48 minutes ago, KhonKaenKowboy said:

You should have tried yourself....seems like you were fully cooperative.  Usually, they will tell you shat you are lacking before they accept your application.  Even in the US, people will try and use the "friendliest" consulate possible.  On a bad day, no one gets anything.  ...

I thought folks in India had to use a "Visa Service" called "VFS Global" that handles all Thai visas for the country?  Can he apply directly, instead?

[BritTim]

42 minutes ago, SicTransit said:

I wonder what is this void stamp. A visa not issued cannot be void. What else is on this stamp?

In India and some other locations, a voided visa is the standard way of rejecting an application. The visa application fee is non refundable (with the application through a third party) and this approach avoids the third party claiming the visa application was rejected (pocketing the fee) when in reality it was never even forwarded.

[ukrules]

I suspect they think you lack the funds to stay for an extended period of time and might work while you're here, they're very paranoid about foreigners working at the moment.

 

I've heard about some crazy first hand incidents around these parts about immigration sniffing around businesses and instant 'fines' levied against people for minor infringements, one even when they've got a work permit but momentarily give someone else a hand in a different job title.

 

Based on this kind of incident it suggests that they are actually sitting waiting outside business premises watching for someone to make a small mistake slightly outside of their job description, then they pounce.

 

 

[tonray]

1 hour ago, ukrules said:

I suspect they think you lack the funds to stay for an extended period of time and might work while you're here, they're very paranoid about foreigners working at the moment.

 

I've heard about some crazy first hand incidents around these parts about immigration sniffing around businesses and instant 'fines' levied against people for minor infringements, one even when they've got a work permit but momentarily give someone else a hand in a different job title.

 

Based on this kind of incident it suggests that they are actually sitting waiting outside business premises watching for someone to make a small mistake slightly outside of their job description, then they pounce.

 

 

I came in yesterday with a new OA visa and because I have worked previously as a teacher was grilled about whether I will be working in Thailand. They are very concerned about illegal employment. I pointed out to the officer since I had already legally worked here for several years if I wanted to do so again I would pursue it legally not by flying to USA to get an OA visa at great expense and trouble. 

[ubonjoe]

In India you cannot apply directly with the embassy or one of the consulates. It goes through a contracted visa application center  (VFS is one of the 2). They accept the application, collect the fee and send it to the embassy or consulate for approval. If not approved they do the visa sticker and stamp it void as a record of the application being processed. There have been many reports of this happening. I suspect many are accepted by the visa centers that don't meet the requirements when they are sent the embassy or consulate.

All that can be done is to try again by applying and paying the fee.

[MaksimMislavsky]

I would suggest there should be no mention of thai female friend in application papers whatsoever. Just applying indepentently as a normal tourist (tickets, funds, hotel booking - can be cancelled later) could probably work out better... 

[dentonian]

14 hours ago, wolf2017 said:

My bank statement ( initially submitted 3 months statement, later was asked to submit 6 months statement. I used this bank account to do very small amount transactions, like sometimes 1000 rs or sometimes go upto 20,000 rs. just maintained the minimum balance of 1500 rs every month, that the bank requires.. Finally presented a closing balance of 200,000 INR ( indian rupees)  The thai requirement of closing balance was only 40,000 Indian rupees. I presented 160,000 indian rupees extra.

I think therein lies the reason of refusal.

Bank statements averaging just above the minimum the bank requires, 1,500 rupees = 797 baht.

 

Although you supplied further evidence of 200,000 rupees, they were suspicious of how you obtained the extra funds, especially when supplying a tax return showing an annual income of only 240,000 rupees.

Perhaps working from home you only deposit the minimum required to avoid tax, the remainder in cash.

That unfortunately works against you when apply for Visas.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

30 minutes ago, dentonian said:

I think therein lies the reason of refusal.

Bank statements averaging just above the minimum the bank requires, 1,500 rupees = 797 baht.

 

Although you supplied further evidence of 200,000 rupees, they were suspicious of how you obtained the extra funds, especially when supplying a tax return showing an annual income of only 240,000 rupees.

Perhaps working from home you only deposit the minimum required to avoid tax, the remainder in cash.

That unfortunately works against you when apply for Visas.

Yes, I think so too.  Might have even got a loan from the agent to top up the balance.

[IMA_FARANG]

The reason is clear

Many Indians are caught on overstay in Thailand. often working illegally in Thailand.

I recall    a case where a Indian waiter was working at an Indian restaurant in Pattaya.

He had been there for several years and had a Thai wife.

His visa had expired years ago.

I realize you may not be planning this, but it happens to often and therefore all Indian tourists are suspect based on such cases.

That may not be fair, but it  is a reality.

 

[wolf2017]

3 hours ago, dentonian said:

I think therein lies the reason of refusal.

Bank statements averaging just above the minimum the bank requires, 1,500 rupees = 797 baht.

 

Although you supplied further evidence of 200,000 rupees, they were suspicious of how you obtained the extra funds, especially when supplying a tax return showing an annual income of only 240,000 rupees.

Perhaps working from home you only deposit the minimum required to avoid tax, the remainder in cash.

That unfortunately works against you when apply for Visas.

Thankyou for your concern and reply . Well if this could be one of the may reasons pointed out here , I will retry for a Thailand tourist visa after a 6 month break.  And this time around will show a 6 month bank statement that shows adequate funds,  much greater than the minimum balance. Hope it works . I was sceptical showing off adequate funds , because this would raise double the alarm that I might end up doing business in Thailand . so stuck to the lowest bank record. (  its been a few years since ive started working from home.school children don't pay through cheque . it is small amount ,accepted in cash, and not deposited in the bank account. Previously , I worked for a company and all my salary would be credited to the bank account. However that was years ago, and does not fall into their 6 month bank statement requirement . 

[wolf2017]

16 hours ago, JackThompson said:

The lower-level person at the consulate/embassy put the visa in his passport.  A supervisor voided it.  Others have had this experience at other consulates.  I recall someone trying to get a 4th TR visa in the same passport from Cambodia had this happen (non-Cambodians only get 3 there max per-passport).

 

I thought folks in India had to use a "Visa Service" called "VFS Global" that handles all Thai visas for the country?  Can he apply directly, instead?

Yes I got to learn today. Indians cannot approach the Thai embassy directly. We have to go through a channel , and VFS global handles this. Thanks for throwing light on this .

[wolf2017]

4 hours ago, MaksimMislavsky said:

I would suggest there should be no mention of thai female friend in application papers whatsoever. Just applying indepentently as a normal tourist (tickets, funds, hotel booking - can be cancelled later) could probably work out better... 

I think this is one perfect answer, closest to the actual reason for rejection . Thanks. Next time will be careful and remind myself , a Thai tourist visa of 60 days does not come easy .

[wolf2017]

3 hours ago, KhonKaenKowboy said:

Yes, I think so too.  Might have even got a loan from the agent to top up the balance.

Nobody is kind enough top off anybody's bank balance. Had I known bank transactions would create an issue, I would have presented a different bank showing regular transactions.  I guess everybody has more than 1 personal savings  bank account .

[thecyclist]

Happens regularly in Phnom Penh:The Cambodian embassy clerks, who are paid by the agencies,attach the visa sticker.The Thai consul when signing them picks a few passport to revoke and cancel/void the visa. 

I agree with some poster having a Thai woman as a guarantor-unless that lady is some kind of high so influential person-might have done more harm than good. 

Get a new passport and try again.

[wolf2017]

5 minutes ago, thecyclist said:

Happens regularly in Phnom Penh:The Cambodian embassy clerks, who are paid by the agencies,attach the visa sticker.The Thai consul when signing them picks a few passport to revoke and cancel/void the visa. 

I agree with some poster having a Thai woman as a guarantor-unless that lady is some kind of high so influential person-might have done more harm than good. 

Get a new passport and try again.

Thanks. I find this answer very convincing and closest to chances of refusal . i will attach my void visa soon for all to see. you are so right . the visa actually came through. and clearly shows the expiry date of 3 months. som eofficer at the end of the line , put a void seal. Thanks again ..you really did hit the nail on the head.

Edited April 22, 2017 by wolf2017
missing word

[wolf2017]

On Saturday, April 22, 2017 at 6:19 AM, ubonjoe said:

In India you cannot apply directly with the embassy or one of the consulates. It goes through a contracted visa application center  (VFS is one of the 2). They accept the application, collect the fee and send it to the embassy or consulate for approval. If not approved they do the visa sticker and stamp it void as a record of the application being processed. There have been many reports of this happening. I suspect many are accepted by the visa centers that don't meet the requirements when they are sent the embassy or consulate.

All that can be done is to try again by applying and paying the fee.

Yes  an update.... i asked my agent , if i could apply from another city in india . It isnt allowed , since my passport was issued in bhopal ( central city in india ) . Bhopal comes under the New Delhi jurisdiction of all applications of visa processing . Sheer  Bad luck.. this means if i reapply   i will have to go through the  same embassy that rejected me in new delhi..., i cant apply from a friendly consulate , i thought might have existed in another city.  We as applicants dont have a choice of choosing the thai embassy that are located in different states. 

[MaksimMislavsky]

20 hours ago, wolf2017 said:

Sheer  Bad luck.. this means if i reapply   i will have to go through the  same embassy that rejected me in new delhi..., i cant apply from a friendly consulate 

Maybe you can apply from a third country? Say, go to Malaysia first and apply to Thai consulte in Penang...

Or, well, is Thailand really worth the trouble? There are many other destinations around.

[varun]

Indeed, it is true that there is a trend of mass rejection(s) [VOID stamping]

of Tourist Visa applications at the Thai Embassy New Delhi, for various reasons.

 

Some reasons are justified, and others, not so justified.

Yes, there is an inherent component of racism, again, partly justified, but mostly, not justified.

 

Basically, the embassy is scrutinizing each Indian applicant in any and every dimension possible.

 

It is most likely your financial well-being (or apparent lack thereof) that lead them to void your visa.

 

Do not attempt to make a 2nd Tourist Visa application on the same passport,

as this will most definitely lead to another VOID stamp.

 

It is better to get a Visa-On-Arrival (VOA) instead, however, this will only allow you 15 days.

 

If you must make a second tourist visa application, do it on a different passport.

 

However, I would not be surprised if the embassy has flagged your personal details,

to prevent applicants from using a new passport in an attempt to get a fresh visa, after a VOID result on a previous passport.

[wolf2017]

On Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 11:03 AM, MaksimMislavsky said:

Maybe you can apply from a third country? Say, go to Malaysia first and apply to Thai consulte in Penang...

Or, well, is Thailand really worth the trouble? There are many other destinations around.

thanks for the guidance. ill keep you folks posted incase i find my way in.

[Dizer]

Fellow Indian here.

I have applied and received, regular tourist Visa as well as 6 months multiple entry Tourist Visa, no questions asked from Chennai consulate within 2 days.

 

I think the main reason it got disqualified could be your financial status. A bank account holding 1500rs minimum makes you look like a daily wage helper who is trying to illegally enter Thailand for work( i truly hope this is not the case with you, we already have so many rodents from India like that are staying and working illegally.) I have a bank account back in India which I maintain with a minimum of 700000 Rs. just for applying Visa's. Indians, in General, are scrutinised everywhere while applying for visa again because of rodents and cockroaches I mentioned earlier. So it always helps to show an account which has least 400000 maintained steadily over 6 months.

 

Second, I would suggest you book a legitimate hotel from hotel booking websites for 2 weeks. Use that Hotel while applying for the visa. You can always cancel the booking once your visa gets processed.  Mention you are planning to stay for 2 weeks only. book your return ticket after 2 weeks. You can always reschedule your booking to a later date for a small fee.

I always apply based on my GF's invitation and always mentioned her House's Address.My GF works for the Thai government, so I use a copy of her national and government id card while applying. If your GF has that you can use it as well, could give more credibility.

 

Get a letter from your office stating you are working for them for N number of years for such a position and they are granting you a leave for the days you are applying for the visa. This will give them a satisfaction that you will be returning to India.

 

Finally, Don't come to Thailand if you met this "good Freind" in some dating website. chances are you are gonna be scammed like many people here. Though I think Even Thai Bar Girls are well aware and know that Indians are cheapo's and will never part with money.

 

Also How old are you? I heard it can have an impact as well. Personally, I don't think so. 

 

Edited May 16, 2017 by Dizer

[jamameng]

Hi, regarding this topic. Well we got denied as well (my bf is indian) we applied in dubai through agent and it got denied. agent dont have a clue why. they just kept on asking to resubmit same documents over and over again. So we applied by ourselves. We tried applying for 6 months and it got denied again but 1 officer was nice enough to let him have the single entry cause the balance is close enough. So their reason for rejecting, officer said that you should have at least 250,000 baht! But even if you saved up 250,000 baht it will still gonna be rejected if you dont have that outstanding balance in previous months. So with in that 6 months bank statement there should be at least 250,000 outstanding balance in each of every month.

 

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, jamameng said:

Hi, regarding this topic. Well we got denied as well (my bf is indian) we applied in dubai through agent and it got denied. agent dont have a clue why. they just kept on asking to resubmit same documents over and over again. So we applied by ourselves. We tried applying for 6 months and it got denied again but 1 officer was nice enough to let him have the single entry cause the balance is close enough. So their reason for rejecting, officer said that you should have at least 250,000 baht! But even if you saved up 250,000 baht it will still gonna be rejected if you dont have that outstanding balance in previous months. So with in that 6 months bank statement there should be at least 250,000 outstanding balance in each of every month.

 

 

That's right, Thailand like to audit your finances before allowing you to stay on holiday / vacation for more than a couple of months.

 

They're shit scared that you might come and take someones lousy 9,000 Baht a month minimum wage job.

 

That's a little over 27 times the minimum wage in Thailand that you're required to have in your audited account.

 

No wonder people aren't coming here any more. I remember the days when you could fly overnight departing in the evening both to and from Europe with a selection of airlines. Those days are pretty much gone and so are a lot of the flights.