Tourist visa rejected could it be racism?

[Califoniadreaming82]

Hi, I have heard the immigration has been stricter over the last few months. I was recently rejected from entry into Thailand. In 2016 and early 2017 I had been living in Thailand and had gotten a multiple tourist visa. However for last 2 months I had been living in the Philippines. When I flew in BKK over the weekend the immigration officers asked me a bunch of questions implying that I was living in Thailand without a valid visa. The immigration agent said something about how long I would stay here and I even showed a return ticket but she didn't believe my backstory. The reason I think it is racism is because I am of Afghani decent but my passport is American and I am an American citizen. I was in detention for 4 hours until luckily I was able to purchase a new ticket back to Manila, though it was not cheap. Also, I had to pay 600 baht for the time spent in detention.  What is really puzzling is I had 20,000 baht on my person, a return ticket and was well dressed so its just unfair to me that they would have denied me entry. This is why I think racism to be the cause. 

[Lamkyong]

oh dear playing the racist card

[ubonjoe]

A derogatory and inflammatory post has been removed.

[tonray]

Please detail your entries and exits from end of 2015 until now.  List visas and duration in country.  Then we can assess better.

 

pics always better if you want a true assessment 

[Gumballl]

What is puzzling is that the OP did not indicate why he was denied entry.

 

Whether the OP is of Afghani descent, or from Timbuktu, makes no difference... I assume from his post that he was travelling with a US passport.

 

The first two replies of this thread however clearly show that there is still bigotry in the world.  Seriously, what difference does it make where the OP is originally from or descended from?  Once a US citizen, he is to be treated as such unless the US gov't decides otherwise.

 

---------

 

P.S.  I re-read the opening post, and I quote such:

 

"In 2016 and early 2017 I had been living in Thailand ..."

 

If the OP had indicated to the IO that he had been 'living' in Thailand, then that was plain stupid.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Gumballl

[impulse]

Since that never happens to Thai people, by definition the OP has been discriminated against because of his national origin.  

 

We'd have to see a video and hear the interaction to be able to even guess whether he was rejected because of his ethic appearance, his behavior, his manner of dress, or luck of the draw.

 

Still, I have a natural suspicion of people whose first post ever seems to be trolling for emotionally charged responses.  And who don't even take the time to spell their userID right.

 

 

 

[DavisH]

So, how is the OP funding his time in Asia? If not racism, they suspect he is working here and was denied for that reason. This seems to be the current trend. 

[Jingthing]

No way to know about this case. But racism is real in every country and definitely in Thailand as well, from Thais and foreigners in Thailand. It's offensive to suggest it isn't or that bringing it up as an honest question is never legitimate.

You can often see this in the "press" here (and racist posts) when the descent of a person is highlighted in addition to their passport nationality. Don't act like this doesn't happen all the time. For example -- "not a real Australian" etc., etc., etc.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Jingthing

[darrendsd]

Why do people cry racism everytime something happens to someone who is not white?

 

OP FYI plenty of white people have been questioned at the Airport and plenty of white people have been denied entry over the last few years, 

 

I would suggest you read through the numerous threads on here about this and after you have come back here and say you were wrong to cry racism 

[11223344]

Maybe they refuse entry to people who spent a very long time in Thailand and haven't been active on TV. Again, refused entry for the first time poster 

[baansgr]

It is getting quite worrying, how many examples on T.V. lately and how many more times that which are not members on here. The title is a bit misleading as the OP previously had tourist visas but seems to arrived without a current one.

[Califoniadreaming82]

1 hour ago, tonray said:

Please detail your entries and exits from end of 2015 until now.  List visas and duration in country.  Then we can assess better.

 

pics always better if you want a true assessment 

I recieved at METV in August 2016 from the US and it lasted me 9 months until I left for the Philippines in May, and havent entered Thailand since then or once had an overstay issue.

[Califoniadreaming82]

44 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

Why do people cry racism everytime something happens to someone who is not white?

 

OP FYI plenty of white people have been questioned at the Airport and plenty of white people have been denied entry over the last few years, 

 

I would suggest you read through the numerous threads on here about this and after you have come back here and say you were wrong to cry racism 

I will then say I had experiences with dating and with taxi drivers in my time in Thailand to get the feeling there is some racism in Thailand and I believe that extends to immigration officials. I am just not sure what else can explain the reason I was denied entry. The immigration officials were asking many questions hinting towards working here or why here  I was here so long  I am a pro trump american so its not like I am trying to play the victim card but I honestly do not know what else to think.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Califoniadreaming82

[tonray]

10 minutes ago, Califoniadreaming82 said:

I recieved at METV in August 2016 from the US and it lasted me 9 months until I left for the Philippines in May, and havent entered Thailand since then or once had an overstay issue.

Your visa history would not indicate any abuse of the system IMHO. Did they stamp your passport?  What was the law section cited? 

[Crossy]

Indeed, we would need to know why you were denied.

 

Where are you now? Do you intend trying to enter again?

 

[Bullie]

So you were in Thailand for 9 months straight, went to the Phillipines for 2 months and then came back to Thailand on a visa waiver, perhaps without being able to prove you make or made your income overseas.

As an immigration officer I would be suspicious too, especially since they have "cracked down" on people working illegally in Thailand.

I don't think it has anything to do with race either, considering the number of people from all other races they let into Thailand.

[bkk6060]

Racism and hate are at there highest point as I have ever seen.  Especially in the USA.

Something not right about the OP's info posted, but who knows....

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by bkk6060

[Jamin123]

You got denied cause you're protrump. I would denied you too based on that. Haha

 

 I don't think it's race related. It's that your were living here and they suspected you're working here.

 

the first few posters are really mean. I had some colleagues who were White from Afghan and I know quite a few Whites from there.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Jamin123

[darrendsd]

34 minutes ago, Califoniadreaming82 said:

I will then say I had experiences with dating and with taxi drivers in my time in Thailand to get the feeling there is some racism in Thailand and I believe that extends to immigration officials. I am just not sure what else can explain the reason I was denied entry. The immigration officials were asking many questions hinting towards working here or why here  I was here so long  I am a pro trump american so its not like I am trying to play the victim card but I honestly do not know what else to think.

You have just answered your own question, they were asking if you were working here and they suspected you are

 

That's why you were refused entry the same as plenty of WHITE people have been so stop playing the racism card

 

Have you read the other threads about WHITE people being denied entry? Probably not because you are convinced you were refused because of the colour of your skin which is complete BS

 

Seriously take that chip off your shoulder and stop crying racism, READ THE NUMEROUS OTHER THREADS OF PEOPLE BEING DENIED ENTRY

[YetAnother]

32 minutes ago, Bullie said:

So you were in Thailand for 9 months straight, went to the Phillipines for 2 months and then came back to Thailand on a visa waiver, perhaps without being able to prove you make or made your income overseas.

As an immigration officer I would be suspicious too, especially since they have "cracked down" on people working illegally in Thailand.

I don't think it has anything to do with race either, considering the number of people from all other races they let into Thailand.

yeah the 9 months looks pretty iffy to thai immigration in their current state of mind; doubt any racism

[JackThompson]

34 minutes ago, Califoniadreaming82 said:

I recieved at METV in August 2016 from the US and it lasted me 9 months until I left for the Philippines in May, and havent entered Thailand since then or once had an overstay issue.

 

31 minutes ago, Califoniadreaming82 said:

I am just not sure what else can explain the reason I was denied entry.

Others have been denied-entry recently at Thai Airports.  Their 'crime' seems to have been obeying Thai Immigration Laws (as you did) which allow them to spend "too much time" in Thailand," in the non-legal opinion of some Immigration officers.   In another case, reported here last week, the applicant had 25,000 Baht plus a tourist visa and was denied-entry.   

 

To the extent your rejection may have been race-based, this is a peril all non-Thais in Thailand share, given we are all "foreigners" here, in their eyes.  As you have been here long-term before, you know most Thais do not have this attitude.  My experience is that most Immigration officers are also nice people, though jobs with power-over-others tend to be magnets to bullies.

 

You aren't a "visa runner" - because you have been gone for months; yours was not an "in/out" trip.  They know you could not be working, because you have been gone 2 months.  You also had double the money required to enter, so they cannot claim you didn't have the funds. 

 

What does the rejection stamp in your passport say?  Since you had the money (double the funds needed to enter visa-exempt), I am guessing it was for "intention to work"?  If they didn't ask you to show your money, they may have pretended that they thought you didn't have any, and used that as the lie on which their rejection was based.  This has happened to others.

 

There is a "clique" (I don't know a better word) of immigration officers, currently in power at airports and one land-border crossing, who seem to have been ordered to deny entry to Farangs (younger, especially) with a history of staying here long-term.  They seem to believe what they are doing is more important than following Thai laws, so they make a mockery of those laws, instead.  Their behavior includes tearing up the Thai passports of mixed Thai-Farang children in anger, telling foreigners with girlfriends to "marry them and leave" because "they" are "not wanted here," etc.  Hate is the common thread. 

 

The only workaround to this issue, unless and until someone up the chain cleans out this rouge clique, is to avoid entering Thailand by air, or via the Poipet/Aranaprathet land-crossing, where the non-law-abiding immigration officials are concentrated.  So far, based on reports we have received, the other immigration checkpoints are still obeying Thai immigration laws, so you can enter at those without a problem - provided you have the requisite funds to show.

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post and a reply to it have been removed.

[Bullie]

11 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

 

Others have been denied-entry recently at Thai Airports.  Their 'crime' seems to have been obeying Thai Immigration Laws (as you did) which allow them to spend "too much time" in Thailand," in the non-legal opinion of some Immigration officers.   In another case, reported here last week, the applicant had 25,000 Baht plus a tourist visa and was denied-entry.   

 

To the extent your rejection may have been race-based, this is a peril all non-Thais in Thailand share, given we are all "foreigners" here, in their eyes.  As you have been here long-term before, you know most Thais do not have this attitude.  My experience is that most Immigration officers are also nice people, though jobs with power-over-others tend to be magnets to bullies.

 

You aren't a "visa runner" - because you have been gone for months; yours was not an "in/out" trip.  They know you could not be working, because you have been gone 2 months.  You also had double the money required to enter, so they cannot claim you didn't have the funds. 

 

What does the rejection stamp in your passport say?  Since you had the money (double the funds needed to enter visa-exempt), I am guessing it was for "intention to work"?  If they didn't ask you to show your money, they may have pretended that they thought you didn't have any, and used that as the lie on which their rejection was based.  This has happened to others.

 

There is a "clique" (I don't know a better word) of immigration officers, currently in power at airports and one land-border crossing, who seem to have been ordered to deny entry to Farangs (younger, especially) with a history of staying here long-term.  They seem to believe what they are doing is more important than following Thai laws, so they make a mockery of those laws, instead.  Their behavior includes tearing up the Thai passports of mixed Thai-Farang children in anger, telling foreigners with girlfriends to "marry them and leave" because "they" are "not wanted here," etc.  Hate is the common thread. 

 

The only workaround to this issue, unless and until someone up the chain cleans out this rouge clique, is to avoid entering Thailand by air, or via the Poipet/Aranaprathet land-crossing, where the non-law-abiding immigration officials are concentrated.  So far, based on reports we have received, the other immigration checkpoints are still obeying Thai immigration laws, so you can enter at those without a problem - provided you have the requisite funds to show.

I've never heard of passports of Luk-krueng being torn up by immigration officers, nor does a google search yield anything on this topic.

If true, this is a very serious and scary offence. Can you elaborate on that, as in: where did you get that information?

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, Califoniadreaming82 said:

. The immigration officials were asking many questions hinting towards working here or why here  I was here so long  

  They thought that you were working in Thailand and so refused you entry

[JackThompson]

31 minutes ago, Bullie said:

I've never heard of passports of Luk-krueng being torn up by immigration officers, nor does a google search yield anything on this topic.

If true, this is a very serious and scary offence. Can you elaborate on that, as in: where did you get that information?

I am having trouble finding the post I was referring to, but here is a similar one:

There are many cases of dual-national children having trouble at immigration - being told they cannot use their Thai passport, etc.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by JackThompson

[tonray]

15 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

I am having trouble finding the post I was referring to, but here is a similar one:

There are many cases of dual-national children having trouble at immigration - being told they cannot use their Thai passport, etc.

 

 

Many countries show bias this way. My friend in China, married to Chinese had a baby and wanted to get paperwork for American citizenship for his daughter. Chinese authorities told him they had to relinquish her Chinese citizenship first. 

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, tonray said:

Many countries show bias this way. My friend in China, married to Chinese had a baby and wanted to get paperwork for American citizenship for his daughter. Chinese authorities told him they had to relinquish her Chinese citizenship first. 

For China that is by law. Here there is nothing that says a Thai cannot have dual nationalities.

The post about one being torn up was shortly after the coup in 2014 and it a was military officer that tore it up not an immigration officer.

[connda]

Yes, there is possibly more overt racism toward folks from Middle East and South Asian decent.  However, immigration is simply strict with all foreigners.  Racism?  Considering all foreigners are "Different People" as opposed to Thai, possibly.  But targeted just at you?  Probably not.  They don't want foreigners staying here on back to back (to back) tourist visas.  They are pretty up front about that.

Edited July 24, 2017 by connda

[Suradit69]

6 hours ago, darrendsd said:

Why do people cry racism everytime something happens to someone who is not white?

Actually lots of white people on TV claim everything that happens to them, especially when they believe they've lost face,  is because of racism.  It's pretty much implicit or explicit in much of the whining that fills most threads. And of course if one Thai says or does something they don't like, the whining is directed at every Thai in the country.

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2017 by Suradit69

[Jingthing]

Yes, there is possibly more overt racism toward folks from Middle East and South Asian decent.  However, immigration is simply strict with all foreigners.  Racism?  Considering all foreigners are "Different People" as opposed to Thai, possibly.  But targeted just at you?  Probably not.  They don't want foreigners staying here on back to back (to back) tourist visas.  They are pretty up front about that.

Perhaps but we can't really know about how individual officers might profile people based on whatever. In other words we don't know if they might choose to hassle one person rather than another presenting similar passports based on "non PC" identity factors.  

Which is why I don't see a problem with this issue being brought up for discussion without people acting like it couldn't possibly happen. Of course it could. Did it in this case? Who the hell knows?