If visa application is denied, can I still enter Thailand to collect my belongings?

[rickudon]

You may be able to buy travellers cheques, but Thai banks charge extortionate fees to cash them ...... 180 baht each PLUS commission last time i tried (a few years ago).

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, kmw said:

20k thb is nothing, what are you on about? Its less then half a week wages, based on Australian median income, honestly if someone cannot afford to hold 20k thb to ensure entry for a Visa, sorry but something is very wrong

Why not walk around with 100K or 200K Baht?  Because it isn't necessary, and is at risk of loss.  I'm not sure how long 20K Baht lasts in Australia, but it is about 2 weeks of comfortable total-overhead spending here for most expats.

 

2 hours ago, rickudon said:

You may be able to buy travellers cheques, but Thai banks charge extortionate fees to cash them ...... 180 baht each PLUS commission last time i tried (a few years ago).

They certainly are not a good bargain or investment-vehicle.  But no need to ever cash them (never expire), unless or until one will never need to enter Thailand on a Visa again, or in a financial emergency. 

Edited December 10, 2018 by JackThompson

[kmw]

20k thb will last a few days in Australia, yes risk of loss is an issue, however we are double expat foriegn income, 20k thb in Thailand usually last us a bit over a week, but this does depend on the outgoings, as we are developers, 20k thb can be gone in a day, for example to clear 300 sqm of land with two excavators and a Forman money just flies out of the window!

[asdfrules]

21 hours ago, kmw said:

20k thb is nothing, what are you on about? Its less then half a week wages, based on Australian median income, honestly if someone cannot afford to hold 20k thb to ensure entry for a Visa, sorry but something is very wrong

I've been mugged before.  I don't like carrying excessive cash with me.  Especially while traveling.  That's why travelers checks were originally used for.  So easy targets (tourists) don't have to walk around with excessive cash.  People have different comfort levels.  "Sorry but something is very wrong"  lol so dramatic.  And now I'm kinda ashamed to have wasted 2 minutes responding to a troll, so I'll stop now

[kmw]

My apologies, but I don't see why people would want to risk entry if they cannot afford to carry 20k thb, I'm also sorry to hear you have been mugged before, yes it's a risk of losing it but the hassle of being denied entry way outweighs the salary of a few days work, 

 

I'm not trolling and never have or will, I was just stating that if a person cannot afford, or take the risk of the 20k thb something is wrong, 

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, kmw said:

My apologies, but I don't see why people would want to risk entry if they cannot afford to carry 20k thb, I'm also sorry to hear you have been mugged before, yes it's a risk of losing it but the hassle of being denied entry way outweighs the salary of a few days work, 

I'm not trolling and never have or will, I was just stating that if a person cannot afford, or take the risk of the 20k thb something is wrong, 

Its very seldom checked to see whether you have 20 000 Baht on your person and its just an excuse to refuse you entry and they could use the no ticket out excuse or no hotel bookings as an excuse to refuse you entry .

  If everyone was checked all the time, we would indeed carry the money with us

[lamyai3]

12 hours ago, kmw said:

My apologies, but I don't see why people would want to risk entry if they cannot afford to carry 20k thb, I'm also sorry to hear you have been mugged before, yes it's a risk of losing it but the hassle of being denied entry way outweighs the salary of a few days work, 

 

I'm not trolling and never have or will, I was just stating that if a person cannot afford, or take the risk of the 20k thb something is wrong, 

It's not a question of not being able to afford it, or of being unwilling to take the risk of carrying it on the occasion of entering the country. The problem is this rule isn't well publicised outside of forums like this one, so it's often used as a way for an unscrupulous immigration to catch people out unawares. 20k is way more pocket change than most people carry around on a regular basis in any country, and if people did walk around with these amounts on them normally, you'd see muggings skyrocketing worldwide. 

[Katia]

As it is, it's a wonder muggings haven't gone up outside airports, if thieves know tourists are supposed to be traveling with this kind of cash...

[canthai55]

OP - your original question - the answer is ...

No Visa - No Entry

[JackThompson]

29 minutes ago, Katia said:

As it is, it's a wonder muggings haven't gone up outside airports, if thieves know tourists are supposed to be traveling with this kind of cash...

Yes, it turns us into suckers - though airport-security is good, and a registered-taxi is unlikely to be a problem. 

 

Entry-points from Malaysia, where the 20K is also often requested, are more problematic.  This is another reason it is wise to enter by Train through Pedang Besar on that route - due to security in the train station.  Even if you are using travelers checks to minimize the loss from robbery, better still not to be robbed at all.

[DrJack54]

All these posts about muggings. Geezus...I would be more nervous about being robbed in Melbourne cbd. Check yesterdays repots gangs of melb. In any event none of this is remotely related to the OP. He most likely need a visa "to get my stuff". As few members have posted the 20k isn't the issue.

I would rarely not have 10k on me Day to day. So having  20k to enter Thai means your going to get robbed. Good one. 

Edited December 12, 2018 by DrJack54

[JackThompson]

28 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

I would rarely not have 10k on me Day to day. So having  20k to enter Thai means your going to get robbed. Good one. 

I rarely have over 3K Baht in cash - not sure what I'd need it for.  But the point is, Thai authorities requiring 20K to pass a checkpoint advertises us as "cash carrying targets" to muggers.  Best to minimize the risks.

[lamyai3]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

All these posts about muggings. Geezus...I would be more nervous about being robbed in Melbourne cbd. Check yesterdays repots gangs of melb. In any event none of this is remotely related to the OP. He most likely need a visa "to get my stuff". As few members have posted the 20k isn't the issue.

I would rarely not have 10k on me Day to day. So having  20k to enter Thai means your going to get robbed. Good one. 

If you'd read the thread properly, you'd be aware that the op asked about (and was unaware of) this 20k cash requirement in a couple of subsequent posts. It's extremely relevant to the thread since his visa history is such that immigration might well call him aside on it. It was also the op incidentally who mentioned that he had personally been mugged and was reluctant to walk around with excessive cash.

 

Regarding your own cash carrying habits, even if you do have 10k on you routinely, this would not be enough to gain you entry to the country if you crossed paths with the wrong IO on the wrong day. And if it were widely known you always walked around Melbourne cbd or anywhere else with 20k in disposable cash, I'd wager you wouldn't last long with it. 

Edited December 12, 2018 by lamyai3

[NancyL]

On 12/7/2018 at 10:22 PM, kmw said:

This is a grey area, legally Thailand does not offer any long term medical visas, however thier are ways around this as I mentioned before. regardless of what Visa you arrive here on a, 90 day medical extension can be obtained at a hospital, they do all the paperwork for you and your passport is back the next day, no need to go to immigration, this can also be continually extended however dont push your luck, I've done this twice (180 days in total) as it's easier and cheaper for me to do this, instead of flying back to Australia to obtain another Visa, the medical extension Visa also heavily depends on the actual doctor/specialist and more importantly the hospital you are at, and the relationship they have with immigration, I live in chiang mai, and know that ram hospital and bangkok hospital chiang mai offer this service, I doubt unfortunately any of the public hospitals, or GPs/clinics would be able to offer the service.

 

Generally you would need a medical condition that would require at least monthly visits to the hospital along with prescription only medication thats not available at the usual pharmacy's,

 

 

I think you're going to find increasing scrutiny of medical extensions by Chiang Mai Immigration.  These extensions are granted for people who are unable to travel. 

 

Clearly you are able to travel and return to your home country to obtain the needed treatment.  Or you could travel to a neighboring country to apply for a tourist visa during the weeks between Chiang Mai doctor's appointments.  Or you could enroll in a course of study in Chiang Mai and get an ED visa.  This is the logic an immigration officer will use when seeing an able-bodied person staying in Thailand on a medical extension.

 

Ever since the change in leadership in immigration in recent months, immigration officers have been visiting Chiang Mai nursing homes and assisted living facilities on a regular basis to check on residents with medical extensions to make sure they are at the facility and indeed unable to travel.  It's just a matter of time until those out in the general population with medical extensions are also checked.