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Question with valid non-O visa on entry


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   So on Friday I had landed at swampy about 4pm and the line at immigration was pretty big. I was very surprised at how

fast I acutely made it to the desk to get stamped in. I could tell as I was standing in line that the immigration officer  

was having a pretty bad attitude toward everyone going through his line. I didn't think to much about it with a valid non O visa

just a quick stamp and walk through. I got to the desk and was confronted with the question "Why do you go to Laos to make

a visa". I answered back to make a visa. He said I don't have to go to Laos to make that visa so why do I go. I told him

I was unaware I could do it at the immigration office in my province. He was questioning me like I was trafficking drugs then he

became even more annoyed and I was pulled aside and questioned again about why and what was I doing in Thailand.

 

   I was wandering if anyone else have had problems getting through immigration with a valid visa. I never had any issues before

and was just going to chock it up to an A-hole officer in a bad mood. I also was unaware I could make the same non-O visa

at my local immigration office. Every time I have been to that immigration office getting them to do anything is like pulling teeth and

 more likely than not you would need to give them a bit of extra money.

 

 

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If you have a phone, you can show the officer photos of your Thai family (spouse or kids).   I agree with @BritManToo that just mention that you went to Laos for a holiday.

 

q:  did you see other people get a similar grilling before you got to the counter?  

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56 minutes ago, chilidog said:

I didn't think to much about it with a valid non O visa

just a quick stamp and walk through. I got to the desk and was confronted with the question "Why do you go to Laos to make a visa". I answered back to make a visa. He said I don't have to go to Laos to make that visa so why do I go. I told him I was unaware I could do it at the immigration office in my province. He was questioning me like I was trafficking drugs then he became even more annoyed and I was pulled aside and questioned again about why and what was I doing in Thailand. 

I am not surprised at this development.  The IOs at Bangkok airports seem to have a deep-seated resentment of the MFA's ability to provide visas to people, and want only immigration to be issuing longer-stay permissions.

 

This, to spite the FACT, that some immigration-offices are known to outright refuse to issue a Non-O stamp - telling applicants to Go To A Consulate for it - and that Non-O-stamp step is necessary to then apply for an extension.  Other imm-offices make it nearly impossible, unless you pay them off through an agent.  It seems clear to me that those payoffs, and the fact you didn't pay them, are the cause of the behavior you experienced.

 

I would suggest anyone entering at Bangkok airports or Poipet be sure to have 20K baht to show, as they could pull that move (is a published requirement) to deny entry at some point in the future.  Maybe it didn't come up this time - but it could.

 

As to telling the IO the truth about your trip to Laos - though it may have not been what he wanted to hear, saying something else might have made him more angry, since obviously not true. 

 

I said the exact same true-thing, when questioned about a previous trip to Penang, in an "exit-interview" at Poipet years ago.  I had left just before my extension of a TR Visa ended, I got a new TR Visa in Penang, and returned.  Was I really going to try to BS the guy that I just happened to want to see Penang (again) at that particular time? 

 

I emphasized, politely, that I always followed the law (no overstays), and always obtained proper visas, did not work in Thailand, but was (then) under 50, so what else to do?  He shrugged his shoulders, returned my passport (stamped-out), and I was on my way.  I give credit to that IO for never being impolite, unlike many reports from the airports - though being taken aside for an interview upon leaving was a bit odd.

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I assume you are using a ME ‘O’ visa to live permanently in the country. If so, that is what the IO had the hump with.

 

He would have been asking why you didn’t go to your local immigration office to get an extension of stay (“visa”), which is — under the visa/permit system — what someone living in the country should do.

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Also - OP and others - the solution is to cross at the bridge into Thailand (friendly immigration there), then take a flight onward from the nearest airport.   Some airlines have "fly-ride" packages to accommodate this.  We cannot change what happens at various Thai checkpoints and offices - the best we can do is avoid the bad ones.

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55 minutes ago, BritManToo said:
1 hour ago, JackThompson said:

I would suggest anyone entering at Bangkok airports or Poipet be sure to have 20K baht to show

Not required for entry with a Non 'O'.

Any visa holder is supposed to have 20K. It’s highly unlikely to be required when entering with a non-immigrant visa at the airport, and most border crossings, but it could be.

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