I Just Got Back From Poi Pet With 4th Stamp

[LivinLOS]

One swallow doesnt make a summer..

I strongly suspect they are not going to be truly 'ready' for this new situation until after the new year..

Obviously well done for having the nuts to go push your luck, and its all good info.. However I wouldnt draw any conclusions from this one experience.. Much more interesting will be the first 2 weeks of Jan..

[jeebusjones]

Congratulation for Fred.

But Maestro made a mistake : first entry stamp on 3 october. Last one 28 december. Total 87 days.

It's you who have made an error. The OP's 3rd entry was on Dec 2, giving him 30 days until Dec 31. He didn't make his visa runs on the last day of his previous stamps...and one time he actually overstayed.

This is shocking if it's true. Can you provide some more details?

What nationality was he? Did he have a long history of visa runs? Which border?

[tropo]

Misunderstanding : i'm speaking about effective days of presence in thailand.

This is the criteria : not the number of stamp, not the number of total days given by your stamps, but the number of days you stay in Thailand.

For Fred, it was 87.

So for his fourth stamp, officier shoud have give him... 3 days.

In actual fact, November 29 would have been his 88th day including his first on October 3.

Can you imagine how confused the Immigration Officers are going to be when it's hard enough working it out here? They will have to check each entry stamp and every exit stamp to come up with a total for days spent in Thailand.

Edited December 29, 2006 by tropo

[LivinLOS]

I have maintained all along.. That without computerised processing this simply cannot be effectively enforced by somchai at the counter..

So I assume selective and partial enforcement will be the order of the day..

Don't forget this isn't over only 3 months but over a rolling 6 months (or was that 6 x 30 days ?? Or was that 183 days ?? Or is that calender ?? What is the 6 month calender point from Feb 29 ??).. Every stamp.. over a rolling period, over the month ends, accurately, by Thais..

Immigration isnt up to this task if it is to be done with 100% accuracy.. Expect a big Jan scare and partial enforcement and more grey areas..

[cclub75]

Immigration isnt up to this task if it is to be done with 100% accuracy.. Expect a big Jan scare and partial enforcement and more grey areas..

Agree.

The last big thai drama ("capital control") shows one more time that they are good to come up with some great ideas... and then after to apply thoses ideas... well there is nobody left...

However, you'll notice that something is indeed happening. I remember that many people in september were thinking "another TIT story nothing will ever change".

Well, we are still not quite sure how the situation will evolve, but clearly there is a real visa issue.

[Francis Maube]

An immigration official manually counting the days should not be surprising, this was the usual treatment back in the '80s when Tax clearances had to be shown for more than 90 days a year in the country. Having said that there was a few slips when leaving LOS overland, not a chance in Don Muang though.

[chinthai]

Much ado about nothing as I just got back from Poi Pet with my 4th stamp since Oct 1 and not a word was spoken. My stamps are as follows:

Oct 3

Nov 1

Dec 2

Dec 29

I come back from Poi Pet too - the man before me got the 2nd Stamp in his passport - a lady from the immigration warned him, that the next time he can get the last stamp and the 4th stamp will be only for 7 days to leave the country.

How you can get a visa stamp on Nov 1 and the next on Dec 2 - that´s more than 30 days ????

You make a overstay?

[deminister]

Just as a matter of interest, what would you have done if they had refused you entry??

Good luck to you even though I think you are playing a dangerous game

What is wrong with your guys. FIrst of all, you always get a 7 day stamp, secondly if they had refused him, he could have gone to PP and made a visa. Take my word for it, within three months the requirement is shelved. By the way, the Phuket immigration already stated publicly that the 90 day requirement will not be enforced for genuine tourists!

[DFCarlson]

...By the way, the Phuket immigration already stated publicly that the 90 day requirement will not be enforced for genuine tourists!

Does Phuket immigration say how they will distinguish between "genuine" tourists and others?

[gorshar]

I also have four stamps though I'm nowhere near ninety days. I work in Cambodia, have a Thai wife - I'm back and forth a lot. Anyway, my first three entries were at Aranyaprathet, the first two exits also at Aranyaprathet, the third exit was Suvarnabhumi. At this point each of my stamps, all within a page of each other in my nearly full 96-page passport were dutifully numbered 1-2-3, highlighted in a different color. My fourth entry was also at Suvarnabhumi. As well as I can tell, she never even looked for other stamps in my passport, rapidly opened to a page with some empty space about ten pages in front of where the other stamps were and laid down a stamp. No number "4" written, nothing. A week later I'm exiting at Aranyaprathet. The officer spends a good bit of time thumbing through my passport looking for my other stamps - but only *in front* of where my most recent entry stamp was. Never looked at the ten or so pages behind that included the three previous ones. It'll be about a month until I return. Though it'll be my fifth entry I wouldn't be surprised if it gets a number "4" if it gets anything.

My conclusion: Unless they get this thing computerized this new rule will cease to be enforced by year's (2007) end. It's just going to get too complicated to thumb through some very large and crowded passports looking for all the stamps to count.

[yamaharr1]

I have just returned from Poi Pet for my 3rd stamp and they counted the days in my passport plus I had 1 extension so the 7 days extension was taken away from my 3rd stamp which is now for only 23 days.

I had asked them what would happen if I was to do another and they said they would only stamp me for 7 days from now on.

[astral]

Pushing his luck.........

I am surprised the OP did not get a 7 days and leave stamp,

but then arithmetic is not high on the Thai education scale...........

[dominicscaife]

Regarding 1 day overstay and the 500 baht penalty charge: I queried this with the Immigration Officer at Poi Pet (that's Aranya Prathet to most people) last year, and basically she said that 1 day overstay was overlooked at airports but overland border crossings did not overlook the 1 day overstay. I'd love to know if anyone managed to sweet talk those officers to get them to overlook a 1 day overstay, perhaps I just paid the wrong compliments

My personal opinion based on 20+ exits/entrances at both airports and overland borders is that airport immigration officers are generally less strict than those at overland borders. Which makes perfect sense really given the extra costs involved.

I'm curious to see if there are any inconsistencies in the way airport immigration and the overland crossings handle the new 30day visa rules.

[jinjok]

i had thought that the whole thing was already computerized. i throughly agree w/ gordon. unless they utilize computers there is no way this thing is going to be enforced, at least w/ any consistency.

further - there is no way they are going to turn out backpackers - those that appear to be bonafied travelers, im certain. further, they will not turn away the rich tourists coming into phuket and i venture to say even bkk (well dressed, dont smell of alcohol, jet setter or oil expat..).

people will not leave in droves - it will be a malingering process of people just not needing the hassle. im looking at returning to cambodia or maybe philippines. this summer maybe a trip thru china-tibet and into nepal-india. thailand will lose about 100k baht on that one.

will be interesting how it all shakes out -

[aussimike]

Much ado about nothing as I just got back from Poi Pet with my 4th stamp since Oct 1 and not a word was spoken. My stamps are as follows:

Oct 3

Nov 1

Dec 2

Dec 29

one of my new farang staff was across the border there last week - 3rd stamp and the police made a notation in her passport - and yellow lined the stamp - and was told no more entries here - guess that should answer your question ---- not the first case of recent that i have been told about --- good luck if your game enough to give it a try -- but you just might be spending 3 months in the former kingdom of kamer

[pumper]

many expats are in & out of Thailand 4 times per week.

guys that work in Asia & live in Thailand ..

not necessarily work in Thailand or meet requirement to have a Work Visa .. just choose to live in Thailand while having business in Asia .. Bangkok is as good a hub as any.

my guess is that border runners will be the first to feel the heat

my 1 'border run' Cambodia stamp, Aug 2006, is a huge glued in page.. not a simple stamp .. unlike any other page / stamp in my 80% filled blue passport...

counting days for many many entries will be a nightmare for immigration ..

[tropo]

Much ado about nothing as I just got back from Poi Pet with my 4th stamp since Oct 1 and not a word was spoken. My stamps are as follows:

Oct 3

Nov 1

Dec 2

Dec 29

How you can get a visa stamp on Nov 1 and the next on Dec 2 - that´s more than 30 days ????

You make a overstay?

His November 1 entry would give him until November 30. He could have left for a few days and re-entered on December 2.

[chalvy]

It is all a little bit confusing. The next test will be whether they honor the 180 day rule or just bump you out of the country for 90 days once your 90 free days are up. I believe that once the 180 days is up then it should revert back to 0/0 and start all over again but who knows what will happen. Just as an aside, does anyone know if there are processes involved to challenge any mistake they make? If an immigration officer makes a blunder with his numbers I can see his supervisor siding with him rather than the farang to save "face". Anyone know of any appeals process?

[drummer]

I thought the way it was supposed to work is that you got 90 days, regardless of entry stamps - then 90 out of the country.

[DFCarlson]

I thought the way it was supposed to work is that you got 90 days, regardless of entry stamps - then 90 out of the country.

I belive that it is 90 days (no matter how many VOA stamps you have) in any 180 day period, rather than 90 days and you're out for 90 days. This would mean that you get a 0/0 start every 180 days irregardless of how many days you have on VOA stamps.

But IMHO this is too far out to try to predict what will actually happen. We're just beginning to see what happens after 90 days on VOA stamps!

Edited December 31, 2006 by DFCarlson

[funfun]

I thought the way it was supposed to work is that you got 90 days, regardless of entry stamps - then 90 out of the country.

I belive that it is 90 days (no matter how many VOA stamps you have) in any 180 day period, rather than 90 days and you're out for 90 days. This would mean that you get a 0/0 start every 180 days irregardless of how many days you have on VOA stamps.

But IMHO this is too far out to try to predict what will actually happen. We're just beginning to see what happens after 90 days on VOA stamps!

its all on what goes down tommorow those poor guys in next couple of days are unfortuatly guina pigs, a proccess we all know and fell sorry for but are helpless to do anything.

[junkofdavid2]

Then she began to ask questions "why you stay in thailand so long?" "what work are you doing here?" why you come to mae sot instead of mae sai? She let me know that she was from mae sai and that some of the stamps in my passport had been made by her last year. Why you dont go back to your country?

True what is said that computing for the exact 90 days might be a total nightmare for some immigration officers for some types of border runners.

If you have so many stamps and the immigration officer "doesn't have time" that day to compute for the exact 90 days, it's possible that she might instead just throw a lot of questions to you like what is stated above.

(That's from another post... "Intense scrutiny...")

I still think it's not worth the risk. But if you will take the risk, make sure you have your good answers ready.

Edited December 31, 2006 by junkofdavid2

[Pattaya46]

If you have so many stamps and the immigration officer "doesn't have time" that day to compute for the exact 90 days, it's possible that she might instead just throw a lot of questions to you like what is stated above.

A lot of questions ?

I know a lot of guys from Belgium, France, Italia, (...) living in Thailand and only speaking 3 words of thai or english. How could an immigration officer at a border office question them ?

Pattaya46

[junkofdavid2]

If you have so many stamps and the immigration officer "doesn't have time" that day to compute for the exact 90 days, it's possible that she might instead just throw a lot of questions to you like what is stated above.

A lot of questions ?

I know a lot of guys from Belgium, France, Italia, (...) living in Thailand and only speaking 3 words of thai or english. How could an immigration officer at a border office question them ?

Pattaya46

Either they're in big trouble... or, the immigration officer won't wana 'go thru the trouble' and will just let them thru.

But just the same, i think it's not worth the risk.

[CRUNCHER]

If, for example, a guy comes to Thailand spends 30 days here and leaves - comes back after 10 days - stays 30 days and leaves - returns for another 30 days and leaves.

In 110 days he spends ninty in Thailand.

Question - can he make another visa exempt entry after 70 days or ninety days? In other words is it after you have done 90 days you have to be out for 90 days or is it in 180 day periond you can spend 90 days in Thailnad?

[DFCarlson]

If, for example, a guy comes to Thailand spends 30 days here and leaves - comes back after 10 days - stays 30 days and leaves - returns for another 30 days and leaves.

In 110 days he spends ninty in Thailand.

Question - can he make another visa exempt entry after 70 days or ninety days? In other words is it after you have done 90 days you have to be out for 90 days or is it in 180 day periond you can spend 90 days in Thailnad?

You can spend 90 days in Thailand in a 180 day period using visa exempt 30 day stamps. After the 180 days are up (beginning with the first day of your first 30 day stamp) you can go through the cycle again.

At least that's my understanding of how it is supposed to work.

[loong]

If, for example, a guy comes to Thailand spends 30 days here and leaves - comes back after 10 days - stays 30 days and leaves - returns for another 30 days and leaves.

In 110 days he spends ninty in Thailand.

Question - can he make another visa exempt entry after 70 days or ninety days? In other words is it after you have done 90 days you have to be out for 90 days or is it in 180 day periond you can spend 90 days in Thailnad?

Mathmatics not a strong point in this thread!

In 100 days, he spends 90 in Thailand I believe is a total of 90 days in 6 months, so approx 183 days so would have to stay out for another 83 days before being allowed another visa exempt entry

[CRUNCHER]

If, for example, a guy comes to Thailand spends 30 days here and leaves - comes back after 10 days - stays 30 days and leaves - returns for another 30 days and leaves.

In 110 days he spends ninty in Thailand.

Question - can he make another visa exempt entry after 70 days or ninety days? In other words is it after you have done 90 days you have to be out for 90 days or is it in 180 day periond you can spend 90 days in Thailnad?

Mathmatics not a strong point in this thread!

In 100 days, he spends 90 in Thailand I believe is a total of 90 days in 6 months, so approx 183 days so would have to stay out for another 83 days before being allowed another visa exempt entry

It is my typing not my maths that is weak - too many thumbs. Meant to say he stays out for 10 days the second time. Issue is just the same though. As I understand they talk about 180 days not 6 months.

[DFCarlson]

If, for example, a guy comes to Thailand spends 30 days here and leaves - comes back after 10 days - stays 30 days and leaves - returns for another 30 days and leaves.

In 110 days he spends ninty in Thailand.

Question - can he make another visa exempt entry after 70 days or ninety days? In other words is it after you have done 90 days you have to be out for 90 days or is it in 180 day periond you can spend 90 days in Thailnad?

Mathmatics not a strong point in this thread!

In 100 days, he spends 90 in Thailand I believe is a total of 90 days in 6 months, so approx 183 days so would have to stay out for another 83 days before being allowed another visa exempt entry

Mathematics definitely not a strong point in this thread.

He enters for the first time on a 30 day stamp and on the day he enters the countdown begins both for his 90 days in Thailand and for his 180 day period. After 100 days he has used up his 90 day allotment of days in Thailand, so he cannot return right away on another 30 day stamp. He has another 80 days left in his 180 day (6 month) period. So after 80 days he can re-enter on another 30 day stamp.

Edited December 31, 2006 by DFCarlson

[Ayutthaya]

Does Phuket immigration say how they will distinguish between "genuine" tourists and others?

Hey maybe that's the new thing. Just wear a Thailand t-shirt or a Hard Rock cafe Pattaya shirt, camera around your neck and socks in sandals and you get how many tourist stams as you wish.