My wife flew with Qatar for the first time BKK-AMS-BKK. My wife has a multiple entry visa O. I work and live in Thailand with a work permit and corresponding visa.
During check-in in Amsterdam, my wife was asked for a residence card from Thailand. Qatar cannot check her in until a ticket can be shown that she was leaving Thailand again.
So forced to buy a one-way ticket to Vietnam that we will never use. During arrival at BKK, of course, no one asks about this.
Has anyone also been affected by this? Who is aware of this new 15 Dec 2015 rule?
What is the difference between a residence card and a visa?
Here's Qatar's response:
We are sorry to hear your feedback regarding your recent traveling experience.
We investigated the case and based on the reports received from our Amsterdam airport Ground Services team we would like to kindly inform you that as per regulations from 06 December 2015 for customers holding Dutch passport and traveling to Bangkok it was required to show residency card. Since you were unable to present this document you were advised to have an onward/return ticket from Bangkok, according to Immigration rules, in order to travel trouble-free to your destination.
If you require any further assistance regarding this matter, kindly please contact local Qatar Airways office or respective embassy.
Regards,
René
It does exist for those who leave for a stay of less than 30 days, because you then leave without a visa and stay in Thailand on the basis of “Vise Exemption”.
I have never heard of it being applied to someone leaving with a visa.
Moreover, it would be a rule of December 06, 2015. Nothing heard or read about it yet.
I would like to read those “regulations from 06 December 2015”.
Can Qatar not send it to you ?
Visa and Residence Card
A visa does not entitle you to stay in a country.
It only says that at the time the application was made to travel to the country, there is no evidence to refuse this stay.
However, it is the immigration officer who will decide whether you are granted a period of residence or not. Whether you have a visa or not. Of course he can't do that arbitrarily. If you are refused, there must be a reason for this (see also Visa File 2016)
The residence period you receive upon entry entitles you to stay in the country for a certain period of time.
If you have a “Resident card”, this means that you are a “Permanent Resident” and your stay in Thailand is already officially permitted.
The “Resident Card” is actually a red passport (Alien Registration Book) and is something like a Thai ID card.
Read this about “Thai Permanent Residency”
http://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/thai-permanent-residency.php
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/74654-cameratas-guide-to-the-permanent-residence-process/
Strange story, because if that rule applied to Qatar airways, it would also apply to other airlines. I flew back to Bangkok from Amsterdam on January 4th with Emirates, and was not asked about anything. I have a retirement multiple entry visa……
At check-in on January 5, we were initially refused to check-in because we had no visa and no proof that we would be leaving the country within 30 days, even though we had a printout with us from the Consulate of Thailand since 15 November 2015 this is no longer necessary. We did get full cooperation from the Quatar employees to book something cheap to meet the conditions, in our case a train journey of 20 euros to Malaysia that we would of course never use. It was lucky for us that we arrived at Schiphol well in time, otherwise this would not have been possible. By the way, we weren't the only ones with this 'problem'. In the meantime, we have spoken to several travelers who entered Thailand with other airlines and they did not recognize this. Incidentally, neither in Qatar nor in Bangkok was asked for anything.
It looks like someone has turned up in the organization of Qatar who is making things difficult for the customers. We had another problem with Qatar and there too I got the impression that the term 'Customer Relations Officer' actually means something different than we had imagined. After weeks of discussions, not even a simple 'sorry' has come. Moreover, the quality of the food on board has become very poor and we have therefore returned it. Also reported in writing but didn't even get a response.
Who is René actually and why does he not mention the source of his claim such as a reference to that article. And what does he/she actually think is a Residence Card? The reactions of the others also show that this is apparently Qatar's 'own' interpretation. Moreover, an onward ticket is simply the return ticket! And then to accept a train ticket as the basis for a Re-Entry visa is crazy!
Please don't even bother to ask that René to introduce himself with his or her last name and to explain himself on this site. Because he/she specifically mentions Dutch Passport holders, I get the impression that this is aimed at Dutch people? No other airline asks for this! also here in Chiang Mai I have never heard from my acquaintances that this exists.
Of course,
I also had this on September 14, 2015. With EVA Air on my return flight from Schiphol. The girl behind the desk asked if I could show them when my return flight was. I said this was my return flight. If I could show my visa. I was in the second year of my first OA visa and now it was valid until March 10, 2016. According to the girl, my visa had expired and therefore I could not come. Well then you have to explain to a child how this is arranged with this visa and that my re-entry permit indicates the validity date and the new visa number. And of course she didn't understand that. Someone else was brought in and in the end I was allowed to come along, actually because none of them understood it completely, so more out of leniency.
But this new rule, that you have to leave Thailand again, must come from the Thai government. Does it now want all foreigners to leave the country permanently?
Perhaps a question that our Ambassador in Bangkok can put to the Thai government.
What is not clear from the story is where your wife actually lives.
She has a multiple entry O visa, so it looks like she officially lives in the Netherlands, but is actually living with you in Thailand.
That is why she was also asked for proof that she lives in Thailand.
Then your situation is very similar to someone who travels to Thailand with a one-way ticket.
You can also expect problems there if you do not have a ticket for a through or return flight.
Answer is very simple.
Just don't fly with this airline anymore.
Incidentally, it is very good that this is now being publicized on a weblog like this one.
Then all fellow bloggers will know what to expect at Schiphol before departure with this airline.
As I read this already , it gets crazier by the day to go flying .
Jan Beute.
I came across about the same thing in Vietnam. Wanted to book a ticket from Saigon to Bangkok. First had to show a ticket for the return journey from Bangkok to Brussels to show that I was going to leave Thailand, I think before my visa was invalid. In fact, I think this is normal, otherwise I have to the airline pays for the costs.
It is not unusual for an airline to ask you to prove that you are leaving Thailand within a certain period.
This can be done with an airplane ticket, but any other proof that the company accepts can also be used, such as a reserved train ticket. Depends on society what they want to accept. A plane ticket is of course always accepted.
The companies checked this when you left for Thailand for longer than 30 days, without a visa. You then went on a 30-day “Visa Exemption” and therefore had to prove that you would leave Thailand within 30 days.
However, I had the impression that it was not so strictly controlled anymore, because you can extend that “Visa Exemption” by 30 days since last year.
Perhaps the companies have received a letter from immigration to check this more strictly from December 6, 2015 and also now those who have a visa.
Of course, it could be that Qatar simply controls more strictly. Exaggerated even...
So it's best to keep that in mind.
I don't think the fact that they write “for customers holding Dutch passport” has anything to do with the fact that this only applies to Dutch people. Presumably because the questioner is Dutch, this was written. If it were a Belgian, they would probably have written “for customers holding Belgian passport”.
For your information.
The warning that companies check is also in the Dossier Visa 2016, but as I said above, this was more related to travelers without a visa.
https://www.thailandblog.nl/wp-content/uploads/TB-Dossier-Visum-2016-Definitief-11-januari-2016.pdf
Page 9/14
Airlines have the responsibility, at the risk of a fine, to check
whether their travelers hold a valid passport and visa to enter the country.
If you wish to enter Thailand on a Visa Exemption, you can of course not get a visa
to show. You may then be asked to prove that you are going to leave Thailand within 30 days.
The simplest proof is of course your return ticket, but you can also use a plane ticket from
prove to another airline that you will continue your flight to another country within 30 days.
If you are going to leave Thailand by land, this is almost impossible to prove.
Not all airlines require or monitor this yet. If in doubt, please get in touch
with your airline and ask if you need to show proof and which they will accept. Ask this
preferably by email so that you have proof of their answer later at check-in.
thanks everyone for the response,
I have asked Qatar to send these “regulations” to me.
I think it may indeed have to do with the country of residence, since my wife only visits me in Thailand and I have deregistered in the Netherlands, but it is never asked whether or not you have deregistered in the Netherlands.
since my Thai employer can only reimburse the tickets if we book BKK-AMS-BKK, which makes sense for a Thai company where I work, this may be unclear for the Qatar airline in question.
our next trip to the netherlands is coming, but now with emirates, mid March
I wonder if this also causes problems with emirates.
but actually this should be better known what exactly the rules are in our case,
or does Qatar follow the rules correctly, and the other airlines don't?
I'll keep you informed
but for now no more Qatar for us.
hello rene and monique
Bangsaen
I have a question (for clarity) My Thai wife (with Thai passport and Dutch residence permit) who lives in the Netherlands and I (Dutch with Dutch passport) fly to Bangkok with Qatar Airlines on May 5, 2016. We have a stopover in Qatar and fly back on June 1, 2016 within 30 days via the same route (air) to Amsterdam. Of course we have a return ticket with the dates stated. After reading the above, my question is, does that have consequences for us as described or not because we have a ticket with a return date that is within 30 days?