Denied entry at Suvarnabhumi

[GregoryH]

I was denied a visa-exempt entry at Suvarnabhumi two weeks ago. This was while returning to Thailand after spending a few weeks in the US (I'm a US citizen), but before that I had been living in Thailand for over a year on tourist visas and visa-exempt stamps. I think I have about five visa-exempt entries in my passport from Laos and Cambodia. This time at Suvarnabhumi, I didn't have enough cash on me since I didn't know about that requirement, and I didn't have a return flight (yeah, I realize that I wasn't well prepared, but I don't often associate with foreigners so I don't know much about visas and immigration).

 

Now I'm back in the US and I'm trying to figure out how to get back to Thailand without being denied again. I'm willing to get a job and work (I'm 26 years of age), but it seems like looking for a job from outside of Thailand won't be nearly as effective as job-hunting while in Thailand. I have a bachelor's degree and I'm fluent in both spoken and written Thai, so it should be possible for me to get a job that provides a work permit (I would be open to any kind of job). So I guess my question is how I should go about getting into Thailand once more. Will I be able to get a tourist visa from a consulate here if I have a denied-entry stamp in my passport, and if I can will they let me into Thailand with it? Are certain entry points consistently more lenient in allowing people in than others? If so, which ones are most likely to let me in? I've talked to a couple of people who've recommended getting a new passport, but my passport doesn't expire for many years and I have a lot of pages left in it. If I were to renew it now I would have to provide a reason for doing so.

 

If there's anything else that I've failed to consider or if you have any other advice about what to do in my situation, I would greatly appreciate any help.

[ubonjoe]

You will not have a problem getting a tourist visa. The denial of entry stamp will have no effect since the denial was for no financial proof and no ticket out of the country.

As long as you have a valid visa and can show the equivalent of 20k baht in cash you should have no problem entering the country.

Getting a new passport would only hide the denial of entry from an embassy or consulate. When you enter the country with new passport immigration will link your passports and be able to see your history in their data base.

[Essecola]

You could try this.. Fly to Kuala Lumpur from the states. Then get the $50 flight to Vientiane. It leaves every Tues, Thurs, and Sat morning. If you don't have any warning stamps on any of your tourist visas, the consulate in Vientiane will issue you a new one almost surely. Since you are in the states now why not get a new passport before coming back over? Could be a good idea. Just my 2 cents anyway. If you don't have any warning stamps then you should have no problem getting a new SETV and back to Thailand again. A new passport would open the door for you to get at least 2 or 3 more tourist visas after you come back over. 

 

Or perhaps just get a tourist visa from an embassy or consulate in the states if you can and fly into Bkk again with cash in hand and an onward ticket. They seem to like snaring unsuspecting ppl who arent carrying cash and onward ticket etc.

Edited June 25, 2017 by Essecola

[Jip99]

11 minutes ago, Essecola said:

. They seem to like snaring unsuspecting ppl who arent carrying cash and onward ticket etc.

 

 

You mean like people who don't meet the laid down entry requirements ?

[Essecola]

You can renew your US passport for many reasons. Can tell them that some of the stamps in your current passport make your upcoming travel plans harder. Also, in the US u can get a 28 page book which fills up faster. When renewing overseas , people are forced to have a 52 page book. Filling the passport sooner and being able to renew it can be good for some travellers as once they have 3 or 4 single entry tourist visas and the red stamp gets put on the last one, then the book is ready for renewal and you can get a new tourist visa again once u have the new passport. Even some embassy staff will tell people they need to get a new passport if they have been rejected for a visa due to the warning stamp.

 

Some entry points to the country are more friendly than others. For example, Poipet is just about the worst choice. I wouldn't count any airport as a good entry point choice either as you risk exactly what just happened. Not having any place to walk back over to and being forced onto a plane somewhere.

If you have a tourist visa then the bridge from Laos should be ok. With onward ticket and 20000 baht in hand. And some document u can show them about where u will stay.

Edited June 25, 2017 by Essecola

[Essecola]

1 minute ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

You mean like people who don't meet the laid down entry requirements ?

Yes of course. But he sounds he genuinely didn't know this info beforehand. Am sure he will now..

[Jip99]

Just now, Essecola said:

Yes of course. But he sounds he genuinely didn't know this info beforehand. Am sure he will now..

 

 

Agree, a sharp lesson has been learned. Without wishing to kick the guy when he is down, it is incumbent upon him to know the rules.

 

Insufficient cash and a one-way ticket into Thailand is not a smart move.

[Essecola]

12 minutes ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Agree, a sharp lesson has been learned. Without wishing to kick the guy when he is down, it is incumbent upon him to know the rules.

 

Insufficient cash and a one-way ticket into Thailand is not a smart move.

Agreed also. Gone are the "good ol' days" when ppl could just fly on in and get stamped in without a word eh gentlemen?  (in some cases stamped in exempt for the 20th time.. I met a French guy once who showed me his passport that looked like this. Obviously it was not a bloke I met in the last 2 years ?)

[craigt3365]

I'm amazed the airline let you onboard.  I've always had either my visa checked or I had a return ticket.  What airline did you fly?

 

When denied, what happened?  Did the airline pay for your return or did you?

[Get Real]

40 minutes ago, GregoryH said:

yeah, I realize that I wasn't well prepared, but I don't often associate with foreigners so I don't know much about visas and immigration

It´s actually not association with foreigners that should give you that insight. It´s purely something that you should know and find out before travelling.

However, you will probably just have to meet finacial minimum and have a ticket out after the visa is done.
 

[4evermaat]

If you are denied entry at a Thai airport, can you purchase an onwards ticket to any destination?  Do you go to a computer shop (before immigration checkpoint) to do this?

 

I guess I need some more insight as to the process if someone is denied entry at an airport.  Even if someone travels with a return ticket, it is unlikely that the return date is the same day.  The traveller would need to be given an opportunity to change his return ticket or buy a new ticket to go onwards somewhere?

[Jip99]

1 minute ago, 4evermaat said:

If you are denied entry at a Thai airport, can you purchase an onwards ticket to any destination?  Do you go to a computer shop (before immigration checkpoint) to do this?

 

I guess I need some more insight as to the process if someone is denied entry at an airport.  Even if someone travels with a return ticket, it is unlikely that the return date is the same day.  The traveller would need to be given an opportunity to change his return ticket or buy a new ticket to go onwards somewhere?

 

 

Changing is not an issue - it is simply a case of ticking the box to satisfy the requirement for onward travel within the visa exempt period.

 

 

There are many cases of visitors buying a 20 Quid Air Asia flight to, say, Pnohm Penh then discarding it when their actual plans are known.

[ba ba]

i came back in april on a two month tourist visa no questions asked at summy, and you can extend them for a month in thailand

[ezzra]

 

1 hour ago, GregoryH said:

fluent in both spoken and written Thai,

Not bad for one year stay, I know many guys who have been here for

donkey years and still find it difficult to order a noodle soup in Thai....

[Xaos]

I was denied a visa-exempt entry at Suvarnabhumi two weeks ago. This was while returning to Thailand after spending a few weeks in the US (I'm a US citizen), but before that I had been living in Thailand for over a year on tourist visas and visa-exempt stamps. I think I have about five visa-exempt entries in my passport from Laos and Cambodia. This time at Suvarnabhumi, I didn't have enough cash on me since I didn't know about that requirement, and I didn't have a return flight (yeah, I realize that I wasn't well prepared, but I don't often associate with foreigners so I don't know much about visas and immigration).

 

Now I'm back in the US and I'm trying to figure out how to get back to Thailand without being denied again. I'm willing to get a job and work (I'm 26 years of age), but it seems like looking for a job from outside of Thailand won't be nearly as effective as job-hunting while in Thailand. I have a bachelor's degree and I'm fluent in both spoken and written Thai, so it should be possible for me to get a job that provides a work permit (I would be open to any kind of job). So I guess my question is how I should go about getting into Thailand once more. Will I be able to get a tourist visa from a consulate here if I have a denied-entry stamp in my passport, and if I can will they let me into Thailand with it? Are certain entry points consistently more lenient in allowing people in than others? If so, which ones are most likely to let me in? I've talked to a couple of people who've recommended getting a new passport, but my passport doesn't expire for many years and I have a lot of pages left in it. If I were to renew it now I would have to provide a reason for doing so.

 

If there's anything else that I've failed to consider or if you have any other advice about what to do in my situation, I would greatly appreciate any help.

 

You could use ATM and take more cash

Thats what I did once. And no prob.

 

Get a tourist visa in US simple as that.

 

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

 

 

[SiamBeast]

Look at this from Thailand's point of view:

 

1) Many visa-exempt entries

2) A whole year of tourist visas, with more visa-exempt entries

3) No onward flight, no financial proof

4) You mentioned "finding a job", which means that you are unemployed, or not running an online business

 

Based on all the above, you are not a tourist, but tried to enter the country as a tourist.

 

I'd suggest that you lay low for a while - work in the US, pile up some money, and in a year, try requesting a tourist visa from your local consulate and come again. Once you're here, you'll be able to switch to a ED, marriage, or any other non-O visa to allow your long term stay.

 

Back in the old days, people could just fly in and get 15 visa exempt stamps in a row, but there were several reforms over the past years to stop this - mainly for tourists who were working here illegally, and also in an effort to preserve the country's culture and avoid having an unnecessarly high number of foreigners here.

 

So my suggestion, lay low for a year - after that, get a tourist visa. Upon expiration, enroll in a class to get a ED visa, and study something (Thai, muay thai, etc.) for a few months while you look for a Thai gf. If she has no previous boyfriend, then you might want to consider marriage, which will get you a non-O marraige visa and remove most obstacles. That's what most guys are doing. If you don't want a Thai gf, then you might want to start a business here and get a biz visa. If you're just lazy like I am, there's the Thailand Elite option which grants you hassle-free access for 5 years for 500,000 baht.

[ubonjoe]

Some off topic inflammatory posts have been removed.

[dubyadee]

Does it matter if you have the 20k cash on hand or are you allowed to just pull it out at a nearby ATM if asked?

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, dubyadee said:

Does it matter if you have the 20k cash on hand or are you allowed to just pull it out at a nearby ATM if asked?

The problem is getting to an ATM to get the cash.

I cannot confirm it myself but many people state there are no ATMs available before immigration on arrival.

[elviajero]

The combination of the number of visa exempt entries and your age would, no doubt, cause the IO to suspect you are working in Thailand, and they would then look for reasons to deny entry. If you post a picture of the denial stamp we can tell you the actual reason they used for denial.

 

Getting a new passport won't help as any formal denial will be recorded on the immigration system against your name/dob/nationality. Having a denial stamp shouldn't affect you getting a visa, but getting a visa doesn't guarantee you will be allowed to enter the country.

 

If you do get a 'Tourist Visa' you shouldn't have a problem entering again via BKK, but expect to be questioned again about what you are doing in Thailand.

• Do not mention that you are looking for work.
• Most tourists are holidaying from their work in their home country.
• I would avoid speaking Thai. 
• Have at least 20K in cash.

And if they start looking for reasons to deny entry again, it might help to have;

• an onward ticket dated within 60 days.
• a hotel/guesthouse booking, or if you are staying at a private residence have an invitation letter from the Thai you're staying with.
• Proof of employment in your home country, and or a bank statement showing sufficient money to cover your holiday.

[Shroud]

6 hours ago, Xaos said:

 

You could use ATM and take more cash

Thats what I did once. And no prob.

 

Get a tourist visa in US simple as that.

 

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

 

 

 

WRONG!

 

There's no way to take out Thai Bath before immigration, this is by standard. There are also only a few ATMs in which you can ONLY withdraw USD, Pound and Euros or Yen. The only way to exchange to Baht is to travel to another country - this is the importance of keeping sufficient thai baht with you all the time.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, dubyadee said:

Does it matter if you have the 20k cash on hand or are you allowed to just pull it out at a nearby ATM if asked?

If the immigration official wants to deny entry based on your lack of funds, they will not listen to talk of credit cards or using ATM machines.

 

Note, if this is not clear,, you do not need to have 20,000 baht in Thai currency. You can have the cash in any major convertible currency (in your case, around US$700 would make sense).

[Shroud]

I strongly suggest you make a new passport to clear off all previous travel stamps and visas. Airports don't have access to your previous visas, but they do keep a record of your entries if they dig deep. The reason why you have been denied is because you have applied for too many single entries in combination of visa-runs on top of no money in hand. Immigration staff will look at your passport and judge your entry by all the visas and stamps inside your passport. Ultimately, this means that even a tourist visa will not guarantee your entry since immigration has the last word. 

 

Solution: You should head home to USA and stay there for about 3 months and during that period of time apply for a new passport. Go to your nearest Thai embassy and request a new tourist visa. This time, you might want to look at the MET-VISA which will certainly enable your stay much longer without haywire and hassle - make sure you have all the requirements. Airport staff will also value your METV a hundred times more than a SETV.

 

Take out 20-30,000 baht in advance before flying to Thailand, and you should be able to get through without any questions. You'll feel secured if you can show up some cash should they ask you for it. 

 

Good luck!

[BritTim]

8 minutes ago, Shroud said:

I strongly suggest you make a new passport to clear off all previous travel stamps and visas. Airports don't have access to your previous visas, but they do keep a record of your entries if they dig deep. The reason why you have been denied is because you have applied for too many single entries in combination of visa-runs on top of no money in hand. Immigration staff will look at your passport and judge your entry by all the visas and stamps inside your passport. Ultimately, this means that even a tourist visa will not guarantee your entry since immigration has the last word. 

 

Solution: You should head home to USA and stay there for about 3 months and during that period of time apply for a new passport. Go to your nearest Thai embassy and request a new tourist visa. This time, you might want to look at the MET-VISA which will certainly enable your stay much longer without haywire and hassle - make sure you have all the requirements. Airport staff will also value your METV a hundred times more than a SETV.

 

Take out 20-30,000 baht in advance before flying to Thailand, and you should be able to get through without any questions. You'll feel secured if you can show up some cash should they ask you for it. 

 

Good luck!

I will just say that I disagree with this advice, as far as immigration on entry is concerned. (Getting a new passport might be helpful in avoiding problems getting visas at some consulates, however.) On entry, normally, the immigration official sees on his screen a complete list of all your entries, at least since early 2015 (I think longer). When you enter with a new passport, the system attempts to link your new passport with the passport(s) you previously used to enter the country. If the linkage is successfully established, the official will, again, be able to see your old entries.

[Shroud]

24 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I will just say that I disagree with this advice, as far as immigration on entry is concerned. (Getting a new passport might be helpful in avoiding problems getting visas at some consulates, however.) On entry, normally, the immigration official sees on his screen a complete list of all your entries, at least since early 2015 (I think longer). When you enter with a new passport, the system attempts to link your new passport with the passport(s) you previously used to enter the country. If the linkage is successfully established, the official will, again, be able to see your old entries.

What was my advise concerning entries? I'm not sure what advice you are referring to, because entries are normally not a problem even if you have a history of +50 entries to Thailand. I'm only referring to the visas and stamps on his passport and that's what the officer will eventually look at. He surely scans your passport to register your entry and the same when you depart (remember the stamp on your passport is a form of receipt), but officers' screen will not show any form of visas whether they are METV or SETV. Hence, suggesting he makes a new passport. 

[BritTim]

45 minutes ago, Shroud said:

What was my advise concerning entries? I'm not sure what advice you are referring to, because entries are normally not a problem even if you have a history of +50 entries to Thailand. I'm only referring to the visas and stamps on his passport and that's what the officer will eventually look at. He surely scans your passport to register your entry and the same when you depart (remember the stamp on your passport is a form of receipt), but officers' screen will not show any form of visas whether they are METV or SETV. Hence, suggesting he makes a new passport. 

IMHO it is precisely his history of prior entries, and his prior denied entry that are the problem. The immigration official does look through your passport to see if there are discrepancies from what is shown on his screen (note that he does this after scanning your details into the computer) but a new passport basically only helps if, for some reason, the linkage with the old passport fails.

 

I cannot suggest a foolproof way of overcoming the extra suspicion that will be attached to his attempted entry after a previous denial. Some other posters have given good suggestions. I am just warning that the new passport likely will not help.

[JackThompson]

 

To those who say "going home" makes a good impression - evidently not any more.  Clearly this guy wasn't poor - he just flew to the USA and back to Thailand.  10K Baht is nothing compared to that.  What they saw was, "longer staying farang" (probably a new computer alert, as reported recently), and looked for a way to block-entry. 

 

Based on recent reports, I now consider All Airports the Most Likely point of denial - tied with Poipet/Aranyaprathet.  Any other land-border is a better bet, and at least offers the opportunity for additional attempts.

 

6 hours ago, dubyadee said:

Does it matter if you have the 20k cash on hand or are you allowed to just pull it out at a nearby ATM if asked?

Many have begged to go the ATM - nope.  The purpose of the exercise is to keep out longer-staying farangs by catching them on a technicality and booting them.  Even though the Airline rules state Plastic is OK, if the IO can put down on their rejection-from "didn't have the money" that's a "WIN - SCORE" for the IO (high-fives all around), and a horrible and disappointing experience for a traveler who mistakenly thought he was living in the world post-1990, when plastic is how one pays for things and obtains cash.

To the OP:
#1 From now on, never try to enter Thailand without a Tourist Visa.  There are additional Rules for denial that apply to Visa-Exempt entries - even with everything, they can still deny you for "abusing" Visa-Exempt - and "abuse" is whatever they say it is at that moment. 

You have stayed here long-term before, which means you might again.  Unlike the vast majority of Thais, who appreciate us supporting their businesses, certain cliques of Immigration officials (at airports and Poipet) do NOT want long-staying Farangs here at all.  Entering with a Tourist Visa + 20K+ Baht worth of cash (it can be in dollars) is key.  If getting a Tourist Visa is a PITA in the USA from where you live, see #3, below.

 

#2 Don't worry about "staying out" for a particular length of time.  Another fellow who had stayed out of Thailand for 7 months, was interrogated on entry, because (like you) he had spent an extended period here before.  He had a return-ticket to show, so made it through - but they are now looking to stop any Farang coming here who has stayed long-term before, if they can find a technicality on which to block them. 

 

#3 If you really want to be safe, don't fly directly in.  I never fly into a Thai airport, because I stay here most of the year and do not want to risk being "sent home" 1/2 way across the world - which is not my home at all (I'd rather live anywhere in SE Asia or even crime-infested Latin America, than in the USA). 

To avoid flying in, Fly to Kuala Lumpur -> Penang (you can train to Penang, too).  In Penang, go to "Jim's Place" on Chiula St and get a Tourist Visa.  With that TR Visa in your passport, Train up to Pedang Besar.  I would avoid Sadao (the min-van route).  You will likely be asked to show 20K Baht, but will get in.  Worst case if rejected (so far unprecedented with Visa+Cash) at least you could go back to a nice guest-house in Malaysia (they will simply cancel your exit-stamp) and try another entry-point the next day.

 

#4 While in Thailand, or before, if you have time, get a new passport to erase all that old-history from view.  Yes, Immigration can see your history on the computer, but I have found they also review every passport-page upon entry - so there is something more they see in a passport.  When I get a new passport, I sail through - whereas with an older one, there is a considerable delay while the IO reviews every page.  Seeing all those entries in ink makes an impression.

Also, with a new passport, you can begin your every-3-month quest for the next Tourist Visa with a clean-slate.  You should be able to get 2+ years out of each passport, if you spread your Tourist-Visas around to different neighboring consulates - one from each - and only then back for a 2nd, etc. 

 

Good Luck, and Enjoy Thailand!!

[mngmn]

14 hours ago, Jip99 said:

 

 

Agree, a sharp lesson has been learned. Without wishing to kick the guy when he is down, it is incumbent upon him to know the rules.

 

Insufficient cash and a one-way ticket into Thailand is not a smart move.

And if he had checked he would have found the "rules" say 10,000 baht but would have needed to somehow know that you actually need 20,000 baht.

[JackThompson]

8 minutes ago, mngmn said:

And if he had checked he would have found the "rules" say 10,000 baht but would have needed to somehow know that you actually need 20,000 baht.

10K Baht is enough with a Visa-Exempt.  20K with any Visa, though. 

If he had checked the rules the airlines use, having a credit-card with the required amount available is enough - but it isn't - they are wrong, too.

[BritTim]

9 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

10K Baht is enough with a Visa-Exempt.  20K with any Visa, though. 

If he had checked the rules the airlines use, having a credit-card with the required amount available is enough - but it isn't - they are wrong, too.

There is a general problem that about 75% of the information you can find online about Thai immigration rules is at least partially outdated or outright wrong. There is no way of easily identifying the minority of resources that are actually correct, especially as those you would expect to be definitive are often the least accurate.

 

How is someone to know they should ignore the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website and look for answers from @ubonjoe on a random message board?