Expelled at BKK today

[amdy2206]

They would not expel you for no reason. You must have done something wrong. Don't blame immigration if you did not follow what you had to do. Regulations are there, as in every country. If you don't find out what is needed or abuse the system you will be rejected. Do everything properly, follow the regulations, and no problems. Don't complain if you have not followed regulations and rules.

[Tony125]

 1RDN  Get a METV = multiple entry tourist visa in the USA or apply for a retirement visa since you are over 50 and get a multiple re-entry permit with it. You don't actually have to be retired just not working in Thailand. Can get a yearly extension of stay ( by reason of retirement) with 800,000 baht in a Thai bank or show 65,000 baht coming into a Thai bank from overseas each month.

[balo]

Why can't you just stay in Vietnam or Malaysia instead ? What is it with this Thai bug that force you to come back ? Clearly they don't want us

[ericthai]

13 hours ago, Kf6vci said:

Thailand will lose expats to other countries. At some point, people have had enough! This will be an individual choice, of course.

 

 

Ive been hearing this for 20 years, but every year the visitor numbers keep going up!

[JackThompson]

12 hours ago, pr9spk said:

Millions, if not billions, of people around the world work their nuts off for 50 weeks a year just to get a 2 week vacation.

I didn't get even that much most of my working life.  But I'm not some sort of jerk who would wish decades of hell on others.  I am so happy to see younger people here - not living that way. 

 

So many seem to want to play "crabs in a bucket" - pulling everyone down into the hell they lived through as some sort of misplaced vengeance.  Seeing that fate befall others can never recover all those wasted "full-time job" years.

 

12 hours ago, pr9spk said:

It's only the people who get sucked in that get the immigration problems

What problems?  For whom, exactly?  Please tell us exactly who people like the OP are harming.  The Thais who earn the money he brings in?  His GF and her family?  Who?

 

12 hours ago, pr9spk said:

99% of people go home to their families and jobs.

The OP went home to his job regularly.  Are you just jealous his job has the pay and flexibility to allow him to spend significant time in Thailand?

 

12 hours ago, pr9spk said:

Thailand wants the visitors who come and blow 100k in 2 weeks, they don't want frugal ex-pats.

Frugal?  As in, "Paying for flights across the world every month" frugal?  Somehow, I doubt it.  Ask Thais who work in the tourist industry who they "want" here.  It's not who immigration wishes to impose on them in place of Western expats and frequent-visitors - that's for sure.

 

12 hours ago, pr9spk said:

Buy an elite visa for Thailand.

Which is a sick joke.  It's 10x the cost per-year of visas to stay in nearby countries, and 5 years up front on top. 

 

12 hours ago, pr9spk said:

Take their money somewhere where they will be appreciated and not have to jump through outrageous immigration requirements.

The problem with that - up until recently, repeat-tourism was a "feature" of Thailand's immigration policy.  It was all upside for them - so why not?  Then the rot of corruption set in, and turned a clique within immigration against their own country. 

 

But prior to that clique taking hold, people fell in love here.  The OP would seem to be one of those.  I am another.  If not for that - or if I could magically change the nationality of my wife and her family - of course we would be in another country whose immigration has not become a cancer on their country - at least unless/until Thailand rids itself of this bad-immigration disease.

[brokenbone]

2 hours ago, amdy2206 said:

They would not expel you for no reason. You must have done something wrong. Don't blame immigration if you did not follow what you had to do. Regulations are there, as in every country. If you don't find out what is needed or abuse the system you will be rejected. Do everything properly, follow the regulations, and no problems. Don't complain if you have not followed regulations and rules.

he followed regulations and got expelled

[brokenbone]

1 hour ago, balo said:

Why can't you just stay in Vietnam or Malaysia instead ? What is it with this Thai bug that force you to come back ? Clearly they don't want us

he has a thai gf

[steve187]

2 hours ago, amdy2206 said:

They would not expel you for no reason. You must have done something wrong. Don't blame immigration if you did not follow what you had to do. Regulations are there, as in every country. If you don't find out what is needed or abuse the system you will be rejected. Do everything properly, follow the regulations, and no problems. Don't complain if you have not followed regulations and rules

someone on here report the same thing, refused entry at Bangkok airport with no speaking other than to say sign here on the deportation papers, that poster was returned to Laos and entry at a land crossing a day or so later. so a worthless post with no facts.

1 hour ago, tomazbodner said:

If I remember right, you are not allowed to stay more than 2x in succession on exemption stamp, and not more than 180 days in a calendar year without a proper visa. So 2 months in Thailand, 1 month out, 2 months in Thailand, 1 month out - 4 entries in 6 months, then stay out another 6 months before returning again.

 

Got this information in... I think September or October last year during my trip in Europe from Thai ambassador directly. At that time it was apparently a "new rule"

2 land crossings, limitless airport entries,  the 180 days thing is not on the books anymore,  so basically a misinformation post.

[1RDN]

1 hour ago, balo said:

Why can't you just stay in Vietnam or Malaysia instead ? What is it with this Thai bug that force you to come back ? Clearly they don't want us

It's the Thai GF. Otherwise, I agree. 

[balo]

28 minutes ago, 1RDN said:

It's the Thai GF.

With a passport she can live in any of the ASEAN member states.  She can even get a work permit without too much hassle. 

As a bonus you can move away from her "extended family". 

 

[JackThompson]

11 hours ago, ShortTimed said:

I went back to Canada for exactly 2 months and came back to BKK and the Immigration Officer asked me questions and almost did not give me a 30-day stamp in my passport.

 

His questions made me wonder if he thought I was working here

That would be a rare Thai job, indeed: Illegal / under-the-table (no work-permit), but pays enough to support flights to Canada and back, and gives you 2-mo breaks to boot.  What a clever IO to suss that one out of the ether. 

 

Of course, he was just bs-ing about the stupid job question, as cover for his agenda.  Only people from very poor countries come to Thailand to work-illegally.  Just by coincidence, there is no "2x border rule" for them, which ensures hisos can have extra-cheap labor.  A whopping 300 Baht/day is just too much for them to pay for "the help."

[JackThompson]

11 hours ago, Pilotman said:

why, because they insist on visitors following a proper set of laid down visa rules, probably like your country do?  A rather odd attitude don't you think? 

Do you mean the Immigration Act - the law the IOs at those airports use as toilet-paper every day when they twist and break it's provisions?

 

Denying the people of their own country the money people like the OP spends is definitely an "odd attitude" - only possible via xenophobia and corruption.  Thank goodness there are some decent IOs in the system, currently operating many points of entry.

 

11 hours ago, Pilotman said:

But there are rules and laws, clearly written, its just that they are not applied consistently,

Correct.  The "rules and laws" have no limits on time in country as a Tourist.  The problem is, the IOs at the Bangkok airport do not follow the rules and laws.

 

11 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Then they get hacked off when they get caught out and stopped. 

They get "hacked off" because they were "stopped" from doing something entirely legal and encouraged for decades.  Let's hope the real criminals are caught, arrested, and prosecuted for violating the laws they swore to uphold - and the sooner the better.

 

11 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Anyone doing back to back visa exempt or tourist visa, raises the question, "how are they supporting themselves". I would ask the question and I am not immigration. You are either independently wealthy at age 35, or doing something illegal.

Lots of people have incomes that are not tied to some 8-5 "in a cubicle or factory" life, now days - many millions of them.  They aren't necessarily "rich" - but not poor either - certainly not by "median Thai wage" standards.

 

11 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Thats what I said, independantly wealthy, probably accounts for 1% of guys doing back to back visits, if you are that well off get an investment, elite, start a company etc etc

One doesn't have to be "that well off" - otherwise could summer in Switzerland, etc.  Thailand is priced for those who aren't in that league - whether immigration want to admit it or not.  When Thailand get their min-wage up to 500K Baht/yr, and don't have millions living a subsistence-farming lifestyle (not officially counted as "unemployed"), then maybe they can start to "play choosy" on visitors with money to spend, w/o harming their citizens' opportunities.

[onera1961]

1 hour ago, ericthai said:

Ive been hearing this for 20 years, but every year the visitor numbers keep going up!

Visitors numbers are steady from the West in 2018 compared to 2017, the rise is due to Chinese and Indian tourists.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, amdy2206 said:

They would not expel you for no reason. You must have done something wrong. Don't blame immigration if you did not follow what you had to do. Regulations are there, as in every country. If you don't find out what is needed or abuse the system you will be rejected. Do everything properly, follow the regulations, and no problems. Don't complain if you have not followed regulations and rules.

How do you find out these rules that have never been publicly announced?

 

2 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

If I remember right, you are not allowed to stay more than 2x in succession on exemption stamp, and not more than 180 days in a calendar year without a proper visa. So 2 months in Thailand, 1 month out, 2 months in Thailand, 1 month out - 4 entries in 6 months, then stay out another 6 months before returning again.

 

Got this information in... I think September or October last year during my trip in Europe from Thai ambassador directly. At that time it was apparently a "new rule"

The only official limitations on visa exempt entries are

• two per calendar year when entering via land crossings (introduced at the beginning of 2017)
• preventing the use of visa exempt entries to spend more time in Thailand than is required for normal tourism (introduced in mid 2014). This 2014 guideline was immediately modified by the prime minister saying its should be applied "flexibly" which has effectively meant each airport and individual immigration official decides what is appropriate. It is, however, known that 6+ visa exempt entries since the middle of 2015 generates a notification that the arrival should be scrutinised more closely as qualifying for a tourist entry.

There is no official rule on the number of days per year you can be in Thailand using tourist visas (and never has been). That said, I suspect there are senior people in the Immigration Bureau who feel such a limitation should exist.

As for what you were told by an ambassador, I would certainly listen to what he had to say, but not accept what he said as gospel. In my experience, there are a lot of Chinese whispers involved in what embassies and consulates hear about laws and regulations on matters that do not directly control their own services. Lower level consular officials (and the embassy websites) are notorious for giving totally inaccurate advice. I would never rely on what they said without finding independent corroboration.

[JackThompson]

11 hours ago, cerox said:

I have been using ED visas for almost 3 years - visa ends soon. My last visa exempt entry was before that so 3 years ago. I have never used a tourist visa.

 

In a few months (end of the current ED visa) period I will go to my home country for around 2 months and come back on a visa exempt entry to organize a normal visa again. How likely am I going to be denied entry?

• First, get a new passport - one with no evidence of "ED" in it in your passport-country..
• Second, get a Tourist Visa in your passport-country.
• Third, if I were you, I would come back via a law-abiding land-border vs Thailand's Anarchy-Airports.  You could fly to Penang or Vientiane and enter by land, then fly domestic-air to avoid long bus-trips inside Thailand.  You could also take the better-odds of entering at Chiang Mai, which seems to still be honoring valid visas - but I'd make that a short-hop from Malaysia, just in case they send you back (so you can fall-back on the land-entry, with your then-still-unused TR-Visa).
• Fourth - Have over 20K Baht worth of Cash or Travelers Checks on your person when you cross that border - plastic will not be accepted if they want to see it (it's a joke, given electronic-banking, but it's a published rule).

Edited March 19, 2019 by JackThompson

[JackThompson]

12 hours ago, Cloudy said:

Looks like the OP has been using a visa exempt status for the last two year and it’s finally caught up with him. time to get yourself a visa and into the country properly

Coming in between work-periods to Spend Money into the Thai economy.  And to top it off, supporting a Thai (and likely her family) as well. The Brazen Nerve of doing such a horrible thing is just beyond the pale!! 

 

But seriously.  He was coming into the country "properly."   ...

12 hours ago, arithai12 said:

The OP wrote he has been living in Thailand as a "tourist", one month in 10 days out, for 2 years.

10 days out is not a "border bounce" which some unofficial rules declare is not permitted on visa-exempts.  He was visiting frequently between work-rotations. 

 

Thailand has sent billions of free-money-Baht packing by hassling many on work-rotations - not counting the money thrown away by those with offshore incomes who don't have to go anywhere special to earn it.

 

12 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Millions of tourists still visit Thailand without any problems.

I don't believe it when people claim there was no reason at all.

The "reason" could be that the IOs in question don't like Farangs dating/marrying Thais and "sticking around" in Thailand.   Remember this jewel of an IO? - one of many who took verbal-shots at a rejected-entry visitor, while he was being "processed"  (like a criminal):

Quote

if you have Thai GF and you love her, take her to your home country and stay there, you are not wanted here

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/978329-denied-entry-tr-at-suvarnabhumi-no-stamp-options/ 

(the guy's Thai GF was battling cancer, at the time)

 

12 hours ago, madmen said:

What has expensive flights have to do with anything?

He clearly had money to spend.  All the more reason they should be happy he comes here.  But they don't care about the well-being of the country - have another agenda which takes priority over that.  Or, maybe they think they can sucker 500K Baht out of him for their "elite" "deal" - or at least get him lining their pockets with corruption-money though an agent or school.

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

• First, get a new passport - one with no evidence of "ED" in it in your passport-country..
• Second, get a Tourist Visa in your passport-country.
• Third, if I were you, I would come back via a law-abiding land-border vs Thailand's Anarchy-Airports.  You could fly to Penang or Vientiane and enter by land, then fly domestic-air to avoid long bus-trips inside Thailand.  You could also take the better-odds of entering at Chiang Mai, which seems to still be honoring valid visas - but I'd make that a short-hop from Malaysia, just in case they send you back (so you can fall-back on the land-entry, with your then-still-unused TR-Visa).
• Fourth - Have over 20K Baht worth of Cash or Travelers Checks on your person when you cross that border - plastic will not be accepted if they want to see it (it's a joke, given electronic-banking, but it's a published rule).

Always posts to circumvent what in IMHO is generous reasons to visit or stay longer in los. The member you quote has most likely zero Thai language after 3 years. Current thread a chap stated he has been living Thailand LONG time. Has arrangement with school ongoing where he does not need attend classes. Think he mentioned 2 payments per year...total ~ 30k. 

Thinking your ongoing MO would encourage that.

[BritManToo]

9 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

The member you quote has most likely zero Thai language after 3 years.

Generally I find Thai language skills are seen as a negative trait by IOs, tourists and casual visitors don't speak Thai. I never reveal any Thai language knowledge to IOs or other government officials.

The more stupid I appear, the better they like me.

 

For all we know the poster on the ED VISA was learning Muay Thai (or Buddhism).

Edited March 19, 2019 by BritManToo

[fforest1]

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Always posts to circumvent what in IMHO is generous reasons to visit or stay longer in los. The member you quote has most likely zero Thai language after 3 years. Current thread a chap stated he has been living Thailand LONG time. Has arrangement with school ongoing where he does not need attend classes. Think he mentioned 2 payments per year...total ~ 30k. 

Thinking your ongoing MO would encourage that.

More power to him for beating a bunch of arbitrarily applied laws and regulations.....Thai immigration has for the most part been very fair till 4-5-? years ago....Immigration is themselves creating the law breakers by making visas harder and harder to get....  

[Nyezhov]

14 hours ago, onera1961 said:

One can remain a perpetual tourists for life if using land borders only.

Got a point there.... so I just wrote to Big Joke telling him that the TVF guys are complaining about inconsistent enforcement by IOs at airports vis a vis the land borders, and they should tighten up at land borders then, especially because guys are using the land borders and Visa runs to live here illegally.

 

That should solve the problem. No more inconsistency.

[brokenbone]

4 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Got a point there.... so I just wrote to Big Joke telling him that the TVF guys are complaining about inconsistent enforcement by IOs at airports vis a vis the land borders, and they should tighten up at land borders then, especially because guys are using the land borders and Visa runs to live here illegally.

 

That should solve the problem. No more inconsistency.

how did you arrive to the conclusion visa runs are illegal ?

or is it anything else that you think is illegal ?

[JackThompson]

 

 

36 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Always posts to circumvent what in IMHO is generous reasons to visit or stay longer in los. The member you quote has most likely zero Thai language after 3 years. Current thread a chap stated he has been living Thailand LONG time. Has arrangement with school ongoing where he does not need attend classes. Think he mentioned 2 payments per year...total ~ 30k. 

Thinking your ongoing MO would encourage that.

Immigration Definitely encourages that.  They make the class-attending students pay the "no hassle" money too, or give them short-extensions as punishment. 

My advice, consistently, has been to go to the classes, and even document one's attendance at each class (take a photo), so immigration cannot come back later and accuse you of being one of the ones paying their buddies off to not go to class. 

 

They love to play it both ways like that - take "extra" money to get your extension, whether skirting the rules or not,  then turn around and point fingers at "the foreigners" for playing the game they engineered and forced on us.

 

20 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

Immigration is themselves creating the law breakers by making visas harder and harder to get.

It's a marketing technique to maximize corruption-money.

 

15 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

I just wrote to Big Joke telling him that the TVF guys are complaining about inconsistent enforcement by IOs at airports vis a vis the land borders, and they should tighten up at land borders then, especially because guys are using the land borders and Visa runs to live here illegally.

You have it exactly backwards.  It is the IOs at the airports who are breaking the law.  The ones at the land-borders (except Poipet/Aranyaprathet) are obeying the law. 

Edited March 19, 2019 by JackThompson

[DrJack54]

35 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Generally I find Thai language skills are seen as a negative trait by IOs, tourists and casual visitors don't speak Thai. I never reveal any Thai language knowledge to IOs or other government officials.

The more stupid I appear, the better they like me.

 

For all we know the poster on the ED VISA was learning Muay Thai (or Buddhism).

In order to live ongoing in Thailand. That's fine, but let's call a spade a spade. Not many countries allow this flexibility

[BritTim]

7 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I though they had refused people with tourist VISAs?

They sometimes do, and do so, IMHO, against the official rules they are supposed to follow. However, they have much more official power over whether to grant visa exempt entry. Visa exempt entries (and visas on arrival) unlike visas issued at consulates, are the full responsibility of the Immigration Bureau that makes the rules over their use. For that reason, although denied entry to those with tourist visas does occasionally happen, it is much less risky entering by air with a visa then without one.

[1RDN]

16 hours ago, jackdd said:

OP said "I usually stay up to 1 month, go back to the US for a week or more." so most likely he had a flight back within 30 days, and might as well have had the 10k baht. But probably they didn't even ask him for any of it, they just wanted to deny his entry.

 

Sounds like OP made only short term visits of not more than 30 days and then back home, so actually this should be one of the situations for which visa exempts were made.30

30 day, unlimited entries. 

I don't work in Thailand. 

I am a software engineer, I run my own business in San Jose California. 

I take phone calls, I remotely provide support to places all around the world. 

I do this work from the condo, hotels, passenger in a car, airports, motorcycle trips, everywhere. 

 

The first mistake,

I let my passport fill up with stamps. 

Second mistake, 

I allowed immigration to talk to the GF. She knows that I have a form of work, but nobody can explain the difference. 

 

Lessons learned, 

Renew the passport 

Stick with a message, don't bring anyone else into the situation.

You come to Thailand to travel and see the country. 

Thats what I do.

Addition information for immigration is TMI. 

[balo]

Next time I have to leave Thailand and re-enter I will act stupid.

 

"I am happy happy, I love Thailand", any questions from IO and I will just repeat "I am happy happy" until they give up.   ????

 

 

[lkv]

20 minutes ago, balo said:

Next time I have to leave Thailand and re-enter I will act stupid.

 

"I am happy happy, I love Thailand", any questions from IO and I will just repeat "I am happy happy" until they give up.   ????

 

 

Actually they do like being kissed in the a$$ as a nation,  so it will work.

 

They will also appreciate you avoiding answering questions directly, which is Thai specialty, so under Thai logic it will make sense. They do it all day long themselves.

 

I'm not entirely joking with what I am saying, "I love Thailand very mut and I will buy Elite soon" works better than "I have online business in my country".

Edited March 19, 2019 by lkv

[lamyai3]

48 minutes ago, lkv said:

I'm not entirely joking with what I am saying, "I love Thailand very mut and I will buy Elite soon" works better than "I have online business in my country".

A plausible approach while still entering as a tourist would be to say how much you love Thai food, and complain how it's just not the same in your country. and then glaze over a bit and start reeling off your favourite Thai dishes, while sniffing the air in the manner of Hannibal Lecter. It'd appeal both to their their emotions and their sense of national pride. 

[HerbalEd]

22 hours ago, Cloudy said:

Looks like the OP has been using a visa exempt status for the last two year and it’s finally caught up with him. time to get yourself a visa and into the country properly


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Having a visa exempt entry is getting "into the country properly." Otherwise immigration would not let him and others enter with such. Problem is that immigration is a comedy of mismanagement and multiple varying "policies." --- although no one is laughing. 

Edited March 19, 2019 by HerbalEd

[lamyai3]

24 minutes ago, HerbalEd said:

Problem is that immigration is a comedy of mismanagement and multiple varying "policies." --- although no one is laughing. 

Yep. As Morrissey quipped in one of his finest moments, "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore"...