Crackdown Banning 'walk-In Visa Runs' To Begin August 13

[Flashermac]

PHUKET: Foreigners will be allowed to continue to re-enter Thailand on three consecutive “walk-in†visas until August 12, Ranong Immigration Superintendent Ekkorn Bussababordin assured the Phuket Gazette today.

 

The news follows the appearance of a formal notice posted on Bangkok Immigration’s website on May 8 stating that any persons who exit Thailand after completing a stay in the Kingdom on tourist-visa exemption status* are to be refused re-entry to Thailand.

 

The order, posted in Thai, states that the new rule is to come into effect at all immigration checkpoints – including airports – after August 12.

 

“We will continue to allow foreigners to enter Thailand on visa exemption status, but only if they have not done so three times before,†Col Ekkorn told the Gazette.

 

After completing three consecutive stays on visa exemption status, foreigners must obtain a visa from a Royal Thai Embassy or consulate to be able to re-enter Thailand, he said.

 

“However, from August 13, our officers will refuse any foreigners attempting to re-enter Thailand if they have just completed a visa-exemption stay,†Col Ekkorn said.

 

Foreigners refused entry at the Ranong Immigration checkpoint risk stranding themselves in Myanmar, an officer at Ranong Immigration told the Gazette last week, as there is no Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate in Kauthaung, the town across the Kraburi Strait from Ranong.

 

The notice posted last Thursday explained that any foreigner who completed even one “visa run†in order to re-enter the country on visa-exemption status was to have his passport stamped “O-Iâ€, indicting they had already been “out and in†from/to Thailand.

 

Any foreigner attempting to re-enter Thailand after August 12 with a passport stamped “O-I†is to be refused re-entry, the notice warned.

 

The notice also explained that Immigration officials were targeting specific nationalities “such as Koreansâ€.

 

Only in special cases will people be permitted to re-enter Thailand on consecutive trips on visa-exemption status, the notice read.

 

Immigration officers seeking clarification on the new rule are to contact Immigration Bureau Deputy Commissioners Maj Gen Natthorn Prosunthorn or Maj Gen Chissanu Yuktatat.

 

No contact details for the generals were provided in the notice.However, the Gazette notes that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), which is the Royal Thai Government administrative division responsible for issuing visas, does not clarify the number of visa-exemption entries a person may make.

 

The MFA currently states on its website:“Nationals of the United States of America and 41 other countries are eligible to travel to Thailand, for tourism purpose, with the exemption of visa and are permitted to stay in the Kingdom for a period not exceeding 30 days. Therefore, you do not need a visa.

 

“However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for at least six months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to at least 10,000 baht per person or 20,000 baht per family. Otherwise, you may be inconvenienced upon entry into the country.

 

“Furthermore, foreigners who enter the Kingdom under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry.â€

 

 

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Crackdown-banning-walkin-visa-runs-begin-August/29416

[Flashermac]

So tourism is down because of the protests. What better way to encourage more to come here than by f*cking them over with visa hassles?

 

 

Russian denied entry at Phuket International Airport over ‘visa’ crackdown

 

 

PHUKET: A Russian national was denied entry into Thailand by Phuket International Airport Immigration officers on April 21 and detained until she could be deported the next morning.Officers denied entry to Mariia Sgibneva, 26, more than a week before the May 3 crackdown on the “three-visa-and-out rule†aimed at stymieing international crime.

 

“They stopped me at immigration, and ask me why I did so many visa runs. All my documents were okay. I returned from Russia in October,†Ms Sgibneva explained to the Phuket Gazette on Wednesday.

 

Ms Sgibneva planned to return to her rented room in Bang Tao after a friend’s wedding in Kuala Lumpur. Instead, she was told that she had to book a ticket out of Thailand.

 

“We checked Mariia’s information, it showed that she had frequently gone to Ranong for visa runs. This is often a sign of someone illegally working in Phuket,†Prapansak Prasansuk, chief of Immigration at the airport.

 

After arriving in Phuket in October, Ms Sgibneva left to get a three-month tourist visa in November. She then completed a visa run in February. Subsequently, she left the country on March 21 for a visa run, then again to visit friends in Kuala Lumpur on March 30 and April 18.

 

Ms Sgibneva explained to the Gazette that she planned to move from Phuket soon after she returned from the wedding, and decided against getting a three-month visa

 

.“That’s why I didn’t go to the Thai embassy,†she said.“The first question they asked was if I had a departing ticket from Thailand – I didn’t. But not a big deal, I could buy one. I already knew when I was going to leave. I told them I could show them in 10 minutes, after I charged my phone to buy it.â€

 

Ms Sgibneva was instead asked to prove financial stability for her stay in Thailand. “They asked me to show them 20,000 baht in cash. I thought that by law I didn’t have to have the cash, it’s a lot of money. I thought I could show my bank account. They told me, ‘No it’s not possible.’

 

They wanted to see the cash,†she said.After Ms Sgibneva asked to be shown the law, the officers became rude, she said.“I have more than 20,000 baht in my bank account, but they told me they didn’t believe that it was my bank account. Because it was in Russian [when shown on her phone], they couldn’t understand,†she explained.

 

Ms Sgibneva offered to change her bank’s webpage to English. She also offered to have a friend come to the airport with 20,000 baht cash for her.“They said, ‘No.’ They don’t believe me, and wanted to send me to Russia.â€

 

The officers allegedly offered to buy her ticket for her, but Ms Sgibneva still didn’t have enough cash to cover a ticket. She refused to return to Russia, instead opting to take the next flight to Malaysia.

 

Ms Sgibneva explained that she was able to have a friend buy the ticket for her.

 

“After I showed them the ticket, they sent me to a room for people waiting to be deported from the country,†she said.

 

However, Col Prapansak told the Gazette on Tuesday that his officers coordinated with the airline to take her back to Malaysia.“We did not hold her, as she was waiting in an area prepared by the airline,†Col Prapansak said.

 

Ms Sgibneva reiterated to to the Gazette that at about this time communication between herself and officers broke down, and that she was consistently dealt with rudely.

 

“They didn’t want to speak with me. I asked if it was possible to get my documents and medicine [not critical] from my room, because I really needed them. I had more than six hours to bring my stuff from my house, but they didn’t even want to talk to me and explain to me what had happened. Everybody is a human, maybe they hate me because I’m Russian, but it’s not a big question to answer: Can I bring my documents and medicine?â€

 

By the time an AirAsia staffer arrived and informed Ms Sgibneva that she would be able to bring luggage aboard, assuming a friend brought it to the airport, it was too late.

 

“I think for some people who want to do a visa run, the biggest problem is that they can deport you without any reason. I can understand that there are many Russian tourists who cause problems with Thai police… but if you really want to find the people who work, find them at their workplace,†she said.

 

Col Prapansak told the Gazette that he was sure his officers had clearly explained to Ms Sgibneva why she had been denied entry.

 

Nonetheless, Ms Sgibneva said it was unclear to her until she reached Kuala Lumpur. Once in Malaysia she was told the official reason was “not clear reason to visit Phuketâ€.

 

Ms Sgibneva’s clothing was donated by friends to a local temple, as she continues to search for a reasonably priced way to get several small belongings and her documents to Malaysia.

 

“I was lucky that I have friends. Some people don’t have these kinds of possibilities. I don’t want to see someone else in this kind of story."

 

 

http://www.thephuketforum.net/General-News-13/Russian-denied-entry-at-Phuket-International-Airport-over-visa-crackdown-29391-n.html

[Mekong]

Personally I am all for it, if I chose to get my Non-Imm O based on marriage I need to show 400,000 THB in the bank, I wish my home country was as strict

[Coss]

But - I go to Nong Khai for a day or two approx every two months. Bangkok less often. But now I can only visit Thailand up to three more times before I'm refused entry. What sort of a f** king job would I have if I only neede to be in Thailand for a day or two, 6-8 times a year. Hopefully the cretins will be reasonable at the border. This last time I noticed the Generalissimo checking my passport stamps. But I guess he saw I was only there for 1-2 days each time and he let me go.

[radioman]

So you are not doing back to back runs out of Thailand and staying in country more than 90 days per 180. Guess you have the proper Lao visa in any case. Currently I'm doing about 10 days in Thailand every 6-7 weeks, no need for a visa since it will not cross the 90 days per 180 threshold, not are any of the entries out and in.

[Flashermac]

I thought of Coss when I posted this. Sort of idiotic if they tell him he can't go shopping across the river a few miles from his home.

[Coss]

So you are not doing back to back runs out of Thailand and staying in country more than 90 days per 180. Guess you have the proper Lao visa in any case. Currently I'm doing about 10 days in Thailand every 6-7 weeks, no need for a visa since it will not cross the 90 days per 180 threshold, not are any of the entries out and in.

 

But what they are saying is "do this three times-or even once, then f**k off!"

[Flashermac]

<< “We will continue to allow foreigners to enter Thailand on visa exemption status, but only if they have not done so three times before,†Col Ekkorn told the Gazette. >>

 

 

It doesn't say anything about how long one stays in LOS, just that you can only enter 3 times on a visa exemption. It actually would mean that tourists can no longer get a visa on arrival, once they have visited here 3 times. F**k off to them too!

 

This idea is so moronic that it surely will be dropped. Did the genius who came up with it ever think of its effect on tourism? This sounds like the sort of thing Chalerm would think up.

 

I remember a time in the mid 1980s when Immigration insisted anyone arriving in Thailand had to show possession of a certain amount of money. All it accomplished was that travellers would pool their money at the border on arrival. (I actually saw this happen with backpackers at the Malaysian-Thai border.) Within a very short time, the idea was quietly forgotten. So should this one be.

 

I know there is a western expat community in Georgetown, Penang that visits Songkla fairly often. This nonsense would effect them just as it does Coss. Radioman would also be caught in the same net.

[waerth]

Well all of the other issues aside. This will totally kill the movie and commercial industry.

 

Foreign companies come here because of the availability of people of every ethnic background. Most of these people are ..... borderrunners. I guess many will have to leave now. If you have a job and a valid visa, most people will not work in the movies or commercials as it pays just a little above their daily income in their normal jobs. But it usually gets them in trouble with the companies they work for if they try to get a day off.

 

W

[Mekong]

 

I know there is a western expat community in Georgetown, Penang that visits Songkla fairly often. This nonsense would effect them just as it does Coss. Radioman would also be caught in the same net.

 

ASEAN, remember, since Coss has a valid visa for Laos come Jan 2015 he won't need a visa for Thailand similar to me having Temporary Residence Card in VN.

 

RM is doing the same as I am and not renewing his Non-Imm O since his trips back are less than 30 days at a time, if this law was enforced he could easily renew his Non-Imm O in Doha or waste half a day at Chaeng Wattana (if Suthep is not having a sit in)