25 replies to this topic

[LaaMok]

I went to Camodia today and I noticed two guys arguing, demanding their fee's back from the guys that taxi them there.

I found out that one of the guys passport had expired and he was let out of Thailand but Camodia was refusing to give him a visa. I assume without that visa he hasnt really officially been out of the country... he was taken off to talk to Cambodian police. I assumed they let him back in without a reentry stamp, therefore his visit was wasted.

The other guy had no space in his passport at all apart from the last two pages, which apparently couldnt of been used due to another stamp being elsewhere. He had to go and talk to police also and was denied a cambodian visa..

Also I noticed a new "rule" / scam, people were getting told that they had to pay 200 baht for a bus ticket for proof of something, I didnt look into this as I just ignored it.

[brian_723]

best to get an e visa before you go to be on the safe ,if not going by plane .if passport was expired they are quite right to refuse entry though .

[7-Eleven]

Thanks for the heads up mate!

[bibzo]

I thought you needed 6 months on you passport to enter Thailand ?

[The Deported One]

always something new

[Braveheart]

These sound like common sense errors on the part of the travellers in question. You should always know when your passport expires and make preparations to get a new one well in advance and you should also always try to keep at least one blank page in your passport. In the past I have requested customs & immigration officials not to stamp the last unsullied page in my passport and they have always complied, this is necessary because some countries that I have travelled to have full page visas such as Cambodia does.

[Braveheart]

best to get an e visa before you go to be on the safe ,if not going by plane .if passport was expired they are quite right to refuse entry though .

I thought you needed 6 months on you passport to enter Thailand ?

Both of these points can be pretty much irrelevant to someone that has been in Thailand for an extended period of time, not everyone there is a 2-4 week visitor.

[Laawman]

The B200 bus ticket is an old rule now - either you buy it or come up with an air ticket out of LOS. It's a cheap and easy way of getting the around the rules.

The company that did the visa run for these guys must have been piss-poor as they should have checked their passports out before going, instead of wasting everybody's time.

[whitespider]

To be honest the two guys deserved the problems. Why argue with the taxi guys? Its up to them to ensure their passports are valid.

Yes the bus thing is an old rule now - it IS a scam for cash but at the same time its a lot cheaper than complying with the rules and having the outbound ticket.

Bryna - in your case you would NOT have been asked for this 200 baht fee as it does not apply to people with 12 month visas.

[kiniyow]

Used to be the Cambodia visa was $20.00 and many publications still say $20.00 but once you go to get your visa Cambodian Immigrations say 1200 baht which is now $40.00..

[Scumbag]

To be honest the two guys deserved the problems.

The term I would use is idiots!!!... Like you said what has it got to do with the taxi driver if your passport is expired or full?

[lookbothways]

Used to be the Cambodia visa was $20.00 and many publications still say $20.00 but once you go to get your visa Cambodian Immigrations say 1200 baht which is now $40.00..

The Visa price does seem to vary a bit, I usualy travel through Koh Kong & have paid $20 USD, other times $20 plus 100 Baht. second last trip the woman at the border wanted $20 plus 200 Baht & would not budge, but the same woman 5 months later was happy to accept $20 & 100 baht.

When I use to go with the minibusses from Pattaya I would have a feed at the restaurant near the Thai Immigrations & wait for the "rush" to clear then wander through.
I have seen them charge some people 1200 & 1300 Baht

[whitespider]

The Visa price does seem to vary a bit, I usualy travel through Koh Kong & have paid $20 USD, other times $20 plus 100 Baht. second last trip the woman at the border wanted $20 plus 200 Baht & would not budge, but the same woman 5 months later was happy to accept $20 & 100 baht.

When I use to go with the minibusses from Pattaya I would have a feed at the restaurant near the Thai Immigrations & wait for the "rush" to clear then wander through.
I have seen them charge some people 1200 & 1300 Baht

If you go on the "organised" minibus trips from Pattaya the Camboidian visa is included in the fee so its irrelevant in that case. When I was running I always used the Visa services its no more expensive than doing it yourslelf when you consider petrol cost, lunch, visa fees etc. The one I used always showed movies while we were driving and we were always back in Pattaya by 2.30 at the latest.

[dART-Design]

I went to Camodia today and I noticed two guys arguing, demanding their fee's back from the guys that taxi them there.

I found out that one of the guys passport had expired and he was let out of Thailand but Camodia was refusing to give him a visa. I assume without that visa he hasnt really officially been out of the country... he was taken off to talk to Cambodian police. I assumed they let him back in without a reentry stamp, therefore his visit was wasted.

The other guy had no space in his passport at all apart from the last two pages, which apparently couldnt of been used due to another stamp being elsewhere. He had to go and talk to police also and was denied a cambodian visa..

Also I noticed a new "rule" / scam, people were getting told that they had to pay 200 baht for a bus ticket for proof of something, I didnt look into this as I just ignored it.

I had similar problem on January in Cambodia. Actually more serious. I used to have 2 months Visa, but on the airport office have put an entry visa for me, because didn't saw my visa and put a stamp for 1 month. After a month i tool a visa bus to Cambodia, and they told me that i have 2 visa for same date and they can not give me visa for Thailand. With a lot money and lawyer i fix this on the next day in the embassy.

[Barrie2819]

Yeah fools for not checking their passports are vaild or have space for the required stamps defo not the taxi drivers fault.

When I crossed at the Thai/ Laos border town up beside Ubon Ratathani I noticed it would be way cheaper to pay the visa fee in US $ . I am going to pack some incase , I have a type O visa for 90days issued here in the UK £100 for a year ....... man this saves some pain in doing these runs

Edited by Barrie2819, 15 May 2008 - 07:03 PM.

[Mrrobj]

These sound like common sense errors on the part of the travellers in question. You should always know when your passport expires and make preparations to get a new one well in advance and you should also always try to keep at least one blank page in your passport. In the past I have requested customs & immigration officials not to stamp the last unsullied page in my passport and they have always complied, this is necessary because some countries that I have travelled to have full page visas such as Cambodia does.

I am glad you mentioned this......as I only have one full page left in Passport, but I have 3 or 4 pages that still have space on them for smaller stamps.

Given the fact that I need to do a border run on this upcoming trip, I will make every attempt to the Immigration Officer to NOT stamp on my last full page.

Thanks for the heads up......

Mr Pimp
aka "Mr Rob J"

[buriramboy]

If you are on non-immigrant status you don't need proof of onward travel, if not then you do hence having to buy a bus ticket for 200 baht, the way to avoid paying this though is just to print yourself out an e-ticket to where ever you fancy going to at that moment in time, know numerous people who do this and has always been accepted.

[Poochai]

This reminds me of a visa run from hell that i had last year. I had made about 8 runs with Witherspoons and never had a problem but for some stupid reason I decided to try a cheaper alternative from Soi Post Office. I don't recall the name I just booked through a travel agent.

When using Witherspoons everyone would always meet and turn in their passports to be checked by the staff while you were having breakfast. They also have a policy to refuse service if a rider is obviously drunk....

The cheaper service had no such policy and didn't check passports, everyone met on the street, boarded the mini van and left. We had two guys, same as me middle aged, get on the bus after drinking all night and continued drinking the entire trip! To make matters worse when we got to the border neither of them had empty pages in their passports!! They delayed us for an hour at the border while they argued with the Thai immigration officers (still drinking beer the entire time) and if I recall correctly were both sent away with out renewing their visa's.

Being Thailand I understand the "Up to you" attitude and drinking any time until you can't drink any more is fine but you should show some respect and not hurt or inconvenience others while doing it.

To summarize stick with the good company's and pay a little more for good service....

[todd2rip]

...thanks for all the info from everyone....have to go to Cambodia
at the end of August.


aki

[jollycolin]

The Visa price does seem to vary a bit, I usualy travel through Koh Kong & have paid $20 USD, other times $20 plus 100 Baht. second last trip the woman at the border wanted $20 plus 200 Baht & would not budge, but the same woman 5 months later was happy to accept $20 & 100 baht.

When I use to go with the minibusses from Pattaya I would have a feed at the restaurant near the Thai Immigrations & wait for the "rush" to clear then wander through.
I have seen them charge some people 1200 & 1300 Baht

[jollycolin]

Went through ko Kong myself a couple of weeks ago. Despite quotes of 20 dollars visa cost 1200Bt, even worse my Thai girlfriend who the books say can travel free needed a 1200Bt visa and then 100Bt for the entry stamp!!!
They hold the whip hand, maybe next time I'll get the visa before i travel. Any idea of cheapest place to get one?

[jeanpierre]

I went to Camodia today and I noticed two guys arguing, demanding their fee's back from the guys that taxi them there.

I found out that one of the guys passport had expired and he was let out of Thailand but Camodia was refusing to give him a visa. I assume without that visa he hasnt really officially been out of the country... he was taken off to talk to Cambodian police. I assumed they let him back in without a reentry stamp, therefore his visit was wasted.

The other guy had no space in his passport at all apart from the last two pages, which apparently couldnt of been used due to another stamp being elsewhere. He had to go and talk to police also and was denied a cambodian visa..

Also I noticed a new "rule" / scam, people were getting told that they had to pay 200 baht for a bus ticket for proof of something, I didnt look into this as I just ignored it.

the 200bth bus ticket is if you can't show your return flight ticket

[ROOTER]

Deleted

Edited by ROOTER, 21 July 2008 - 11:54 AM.

[LaaMok]

the 200bth bus ticket is if you can't show your return flight ticket

Never been asked to show a return flight ticket, or paid for the bus ticket?

[Laawman]

Never been asked to show a return flight ticket, or paid for the bus ticket?

Only if you're coming back in on a 30 day effort; i.e visa-less