Mentally Ill denied entry?

[Lacrimas]

Hello to everyone,

 

I'm planning to travel to Thailand next year for a family visit on a Tourist Visa.

 

During this year I was working in Thailand but fell in depression and got treatment in a mental hospital in the country. After that I left the country to get better healthcare in my own country and terminated the contract and work permit by exiting the country.

 

I read on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (point 6 or 7 can't remember) that mentally unstable people are denied entry into the country. Could that be my case?

 

Also, if I wish to come back to Thailand and live on a Marriage Extension can it be denied because of the aforementioned reason?

 

Thank you everyone! 

 

 

[elviajero]

Section 12.4 of the immigration act says;

 

“Being mentally unstable or having any of the disease as prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations.”

 

I doubt very much that this would apply to you. And immigration would have no record/knowledge of your illness unless you applied for an extension of stay due to your illness. And even then the details of the illness aren’t going be readily available at the border, or when you apply for a future extension of stay. And they do not currently insist on a medical or ask questions about your medical history when applying for a spouse extension.

[SteveK]

I hope you're feeling better, depression is a terrible disease which can come and go for seemingly no reason. If you are feeling better and have been for some time, I doubt there will be an issue, like elviajero says, they probably wouldn't know about it unless you tell them anyway. For me I would think that the biggest worry would not be immigration, but rather the risk of having to attend a Thai psychiatric hospital in the future. If being in Thailand was a contributory factor to your previous descent into severe depression, maybe it could happen again? Only you can gauge how you are feeling right now, make sure to take care of your health before you go back to Thailand.

[BritTim]

I have a friend who is bipolar, and has twice had major crises while in Thailand, resulting in long overstays, and in one case over a month in hospital. It has not prevented him subsequently coming back to Thailand. I think, in practice, Section 12 (4) is only used to deny entry for mental instability if you are deemed to have a condition that renders you a danger to other people.

[Lacrimas]

Thank you guys, your posts are really reassuring and make me feel more at peace. Depression really is a terrible disease and I'm still fighting it but getting better day by day. The cause of it was more because of my job rather than living in Thailand, I love the country and my wife and kids live there.

 

By the way, I will need to carry my prescription meds with me. Should I carry on myself only those needed for the flight and the rest in the luggage? It will be for one month so a few packages. 

[wisperone]

1 hour ago, Lacrimas said:

By the way, I will need to carry my prescription meds with me. Should I carry on myself only those needed for the flight and the rest in the luggage? It will be for one month so a few packages. 

Carry the entire prescription in your carry on bag. Don't take the chance of it going missing out of your checked luggage, or your luggage getting lost. Always a good idea to bring the printout of the medication from the pharmacy with you in case you should get questioned. Thirty day supply is no problem.

[Lacessit]

On 10/10/2019 at 3:45 AM, wisperone said:

Carry the entire prescription in your carry on bag. Don't take the chance of it going missing out of your checked luggage, or your luggage getting lost. Always a good idea to bring the printout of the medication from the pharmacy with you in case you should get questioned. Thirty day supply is no problem.

Disagree. I carry 6 months' worth of medication in my checked luggage. Have never had a problem for ten years.

What is the OP going to do if his carry on bag is opened, and the plods think he is bringing in commercial quantities?

[craigieboy1973]

Hope your ok now 

[KhunFred]

On 10/10/2019 at 2:21 AM, Lacrimas said:

Thank you guys, your posts are really reassuring and make me feel more at peace. Depression really is a terrible disease and I'm still fighting it but getting better day by day. The cause of it was more because of my job rather than living in Thailand, I love the country and my wife and kids live there.

 

By the way, I will need to carry my prescription meds with me. Should I carry on myself only those needed for the flight and the rest in the luggage? It will be for one month so a few packages. 

You can buy Zoloft and Lexapro right across the counter. I would certainly not volunteer any information to the Thai government. Most of the expats who are here are hardly normal. ????

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Disagree. I carry 6 months' worth of medication in my checked luggage. Have never had a problem for ten years.

What is the OP going to do if his carry on bag is opened, and the plods think he is bringing in commercial quantities?

I imagine you would show the prescription from home country. Nowadays they could just as easy find the medication in his checked luggage.

If the OP gets stopped to check inside his bags, why would they only check his carry on ?

Edited October 11, 2019 by Peterw42

[StevieAus]

1 hour ago, KhunFred said:

You can buy Zoloft and Lexapro right across the counter. I would certainly not volunteer any information to the Thai government. Most of the expats who are here are hardly normal. ????

The ones I know are ok, but I suppose it takes one to know one.

[malibukid]

On 10/10/2019 at 4:45 AM, wisperone said:

Carry the entire prescription in your carry on bag. Don't take the chance of it going missing out of your checked luggage, or your luggage getting lost. Always a good idea to bring the printout of the medication from the pharmacy with you in case you should get questioned. Thirty day supply is no problem.

customs are more concerned with narcotics.  psychiatric medications are not included in this class of drugs and are usually not subject to scuntiny.  also note that most anti-depressant meds can be purchase over the counter in Thailand unlike the States and generics are available. 

[Max69xl]

On 10/10/2019 at 2:21 AM, Lacrimas said:

Thank you guys, your posts are really reassuring and make me feel more at peace. Depression really is a terrible disease and I'm still fighting it but getting better day by day. The cause of it was more because of my job rather than living in Thailand, I love the country and my wife and kids live there.

 

By the way, I will need to carry my prescription meds with me. Should I carry on myself only those needed for the flight and the rest in the luggage? It will be for one month so a few packages. 

How many times has anyone checked the luggage at Suvarnabhumi Airport? Don't worry about it. 

[FritsSikkink]

On ‎10‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 2:21 AM, Lacrimas said:

Thank you guys, your posts are really reassuring and make me feel more at peace. Depression really is a terrible disease and I'm still fighting it but getting better day by day. The cause of it was more because of my job rather than living in Thailand, I love the country and my wife and kids live there.

 

By the way, I will need to carry my prescription meds with me. Should I carry on myself only those needed for the flight and the rest in the luggage? It will be for one month so a few packages. 

Get a doctors note for the medication.

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, malibukid said:

customs are more concerned with narcotics.  psychiatric medications are not included in this class of drugs and are usually not subject to scuntiny.  also note that most anti-depressant meds can be purchase over the counter in Thailand unlike the States and generics are available. 

When you have a stop in the middle east you could have a problem.

[JayBird]

I'm guessing, but thinking they are referring more to serious mental illness where the individual is unable to function or is a danger to others.

 

If you don't arrive in urine soaked trousers waving a spatula demanding that dragons are coming, you'll be ok.

 

I'm unsure what the level of care in Thailand is. I suspect it is so doctor specific that any county would be a challenge to find an insightful, caring doctor who does not have a one year waiting list.

 

 

 

 

[DaRoadrunner]

Do not worry, in this country if you are mentally unstable you will blend right in! None of us who have lived with the Thais long term still have all our marbles in the bag.

 

Just doing business with the Thais gave me brain damage.

 

Judging from the way you write I would say your head is still screwed on straight. Try and get off the medications if you can, they all have side effects.

 

As for bringing meds into the country, a reasonable amount is allowed for personal use, but best to have a prescription or doctors note.

Edited October 11, 2019 by DaRoadrunner

[Lacrimas]

Yeah, luckily I'm still working well, besides a bit of anxiety, and I have already started to reduce my medicines intake because in the long term they will damage my body more than they heal my mind. 

[Neeranam]

3 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

When you have a stop in the middle east you could have a problem.

Why? Its prescribed medication.

[FritsSikkink]

16 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Why? Its prescribed medication.

That is why you need to have your proof that you got it from a doctor.

[Lacessit]

On 10/11/2019 at 8:29 AM, Peterw42 said:

I imagine you would show the prescription from home country. Nowadays they could just as easy find the medication in his checked luggage.

If the OP gets stopped to check inside his bags, why would they only check his carry on ?

I don't know how stringent the checks of hold luggage are. However, as I said, have never had a problem. I have never been asked to open checked luggage at my destination here. I do carry a doctor's letter explaining the various medications.

On the other hand, security people rifle through carry-on luggage quite frequently, in my observation.

[EbhB]

You sound like a polite and likeable person, so you should definitely be welcome in Thailand! ????

Hope you find some ways of getting a "boost" or lift that clears up these things, there are a lot of things to learn from thais when it comes to dealing with mental problems - the people stuck in the West are the insane ones in MY opinion at least!