Scores of foreigners refused entry to Thailand at Malaysian border

SONGKHLA:-- More than 100 foreign nationals per month are being refused entry to Thailand despite having valid tourist visas, according to a senior Immigration official at the Sadao border checkpoint.
Following Thaivisa.com’s breaking news story regarding the crackdown on the misuse of tourist visas, deputy superintendent Lt. Col Banphot Kittivarathe of Sadao Immigration has confirmed that if an individual can not prove they are a genuine tourist they will be refused entry to Thailand, reports the Phuket Gazette.
Col Banphot claimed that as as many as 100 foreigners per month are being denied entry on the basis they could be using a tourist visa to enter the country and work illegally.
Persistent abusers of the tourist visa system and the ones who are likely to arouse suspicion of Immigration officials are those who “are using many tourist visas to enter Thailand multiple times”, says Col Banphot.
Legitimate tourists who wish to enter Thailand are advised to show officials hotel bookings or some kind of travel itinerary.
Sadao is located in Songkhla province and is one of the major border checkpoints on the Thai/Malaysian border.
In the past, Sadao has been popular with border runners travelling from Phuket and other tourist destinations in southern Thailand.

-- thaivisa.com 2014-07-15