Thailand - BKK passport control- how is it now?

I've seen a number of articles and heard a number of stories regarding immigration/ passport control at BKK, including this lengthy Yahoo! guide (http://voices.yahoo.com/how-easily-through-passport-control-immigration-5727644.html?cat=16), and I was wondering how are the lines now? Going to be traveling there tomorrow so would be nice to know what to expect and more importantly how much time to give when exiting the country.

Thanks!

I don't know if anything's changed since I was there in January, but it took my husband almost 2 hours to get through. I was waiting for him on the other side and it was complete chaos. That was around 11pm when it seemed a lot of Intl flights arrived at the same time.
There is a special queue for First class customers -- make sure they give you the special pass on the plane.

Flew through 4 times in May. I saw no problems at all. 2 flights however were night flights. If you are flying business ask for express lane passes but even though I used it there was no need as lines were very light.

Flew through 4 times in May. I saw no problems at all. 2 flights however were night flights. If you are flying business ask for express lane passes but even though I used it there was no need as lines were very light.
Me too. 6 times - 5 mins each. Best I've ever seen it. They even had personnel out front guiding you to the shortest line. wj

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately going to be arriving at around 2:30pm, and flying in coach. Precision and whackyjacky - when did you guys travel to BKK?

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately going to be arriving at around 2:30pm, and flying in coach. Precision and whackyjacky - when did you guys travel to BKK?
Mid April to mid May. Went through immigration, morning, afternoon, and evening.

Saturday, 9 June arrival approx. 6:30 p.m. Snake lines have now been installed, so no more penalties (or at least greatly reduced penalties) for selecting the wrong line. Just under 15 minutes in the snake line, then another 5 in the individual Immigration booth line. There is a staff member at the head of the snake line controlling flow and directing pax to the individual lines.

Thanks for the responses. Unfortunately going to be arriving at around 2:30pm, and flying in coach. Precision and whackyjacky - when did you guys travel to BKK?

Two of my flights were late one at 11pm and one at 12.35 am and two were day. around 2.30. No problems either time. airport was very organised and as said before theye even had hosts directing you.

My immigration arrival this past April was the fastest experience of 13 years of visiting Thailand, 2 to 3 times a year; the departure experience was quite quick as well.

Arrival on 5 June around 3:30PM - no line whatsoever. Departure on 9 June at 1030AM, a breeze...

Any more recent updates? Arriving at 06:40 a.m. on Thai Air from DXB. I'm thinking about buying the BFS Fast Track package.

Any more recent updates? Arriving at 06:40 a.m. on Thai Air from DXB. I'm thinking about buying the BFS Fast Track package.

Forgot to update - but no more than a 3 minute wait for arrival and departure at BKK; seems like the problem has been fixed! Thanks for the replies.

Arrived in BKK twice last month (3PM and 730PM) and once (730PM) this month. A BREEZE.

seems like the problem has been fixed! Thanks for the replies.

Arrived in BKK twice last month (3PM and 730PM) and once (730PM) this month. A BREEZE.

The 'fix' is simply less pax arriving/departing. The only way in which we'll have any idea if the huge lines have been adequately dealt with is with the commencement of tourist season later this year.

Arrived at 0010 on the morning of Saturday June 30. Lots of flights arriving at that hour and wait was probably around the same in both immigration concourses as lots of passengers were being bussed in. Around maybe 20 minutes total ? However, the line then got really long with more flights coming in.

Exit immigration at 1415 on Tuesday July 3. Went through central immigration concourse where you now go up the escalator to security first (large area) before proceeding back downstairs to the original immigration area. Total wait at immigration was around 15 minutes.

I arrived at 12.30pm yesterday and it was back to being as bad as I can every remember it. The queues for both immigration areas were back down onto the main concourse.

I arrived at 12.30pm yesterday and it was back to being as bad as I can every remember it. The queues for both immigration areas were back down onto the main concourse.

Were you last off the plane ? We flew in on the A380, first of the plane, with a suspected 500 pasengers behind us. Only 3-4 people at immigration queues. By the time i was retrieving my stamped passport, indeed the queues were backed onto the main concourse.

About 35 min of wait time in line on a Monday (12:30 pm).

I find it takes longer with the Snake lines now as usually I was able to choose the faster queue before :).

However if you are traveling with small children, elderly or disabled you can queue up at the shorter express lines to the right.

Departure on 19 Aug at 730AM. They have dismantled the security gate after the passport control. Now pax has to go up the escalator to the new security gate, then go down the escalator for passport control. Took me a total of 4 minutes. Much better than 12 Aug arrival around 730PM. That took me almost 25 minutes to get stamped.

They are supposed to have a fast pass line (for first and biz customers), but last time I couldn't find it (the airport was a madhouse at 11:30pm). I ended up using the elderly/disabled line and they let me through with my pass.

So where exactly is it? I have a trip next week.

They are supposed to have a fast pass line (for first and biz customers), but last time I couldn't find it (the airport was a madhouse at 11:30pm). I ended up using the elderly/disabled line and they let me through with my pass.

So where exactly is it? I have a trip next week.

CIP line is to the west (to your right if facing away from the doors) of the main immigration entrance. There's a big yellow sign adjacent to the entrance. I'll hazard a guess it's behind row P check in area.

Got in 10pm about a week ago. Wide open. 1 or 2 persons waiting at all the kiosks. Pass not used.

Will be arriving October 8, 11pm, with UA. No checked bags, young fast walkers. Will be beat the line, or will we be trapped behind hundreds?

(I wonder if I can charm the FA's enough to get fast passes despite traveling in Y... :) )

Will be arriving October 8, 11pm, with UA. No checked bags, young fast walkers. Will be beat the line, or will we be trapped behind hundreds?

(I wonder if I can charm the FA's enough to get fast passes despite traveling in Y... :) )

Difficult to know. I've deplaned from that UA flight and had the hall empty (May) and often quite more filled. It's really a crap shoot at that time.

Will be arriving October 8, 11pm, with UA. No checked bags, young fast walkers. Will be beat the line, or will we be trapped behind hundreds?

(I wonder if I can charm the FA's enough to get fast passes despite traveling in Y... :) )

My experience has been the same as dsquared37. I am on this flight numerous times a year. You should be fine, minimal wait...but there is always the possibility that you will see something different...

Walking fast will help you beat the hordes from your plane, but hard to know about other arrivals at the same time frame.

No checked bags will not help with immigration as you need to clear before getting to luggage claim anyway.

And you have very minimal chance of scoring FastPass from the FA. United is stingy with them. As a 1K in business class I have not had them...only in the F cabin I think.

My experience has been the same as dsquared37. I am on this flight numerous times a year. You should be fine, minimal wait...but there is always the possibility that you will see something different...

Walking fast will help you beat the hordes from your plane, but hard to know about other arrivals at the same time frame.

No checked bags will not help with immigration as you need to clear before getting to luggage claim anyway.

And you have very minimal chance of scoring FastPass from the FA. United is stingy with them. As a 1K in business class I have not had them...only in the F cabin I think.

As 1K in C I have received Fast Track twice this year. I'll soon be a 1K in Y and will see what happens. ;)

As 1K in C I have received Fast Track twice this year. I'll soon be a 1K in Y and will see what happens. ;)

Wow. That is pretty good. Are you asking for them, or are they being provided un-prompted?

I am back in a couple of weeks, but decided to take ANA instead of United...

How are the queues around 1850hrs

Will be arriving soon on QF23. Wont have fast track pass.

Thanks

I was very worried by this thread so I cheekily asked onboard if they could hand me a Fast Track pass as Skyteam Elite. No was the answer (after trying very hard to make my question come across).

Turned out it wasn't necessary at all. It was quite a walk to passport control but there wasn't anyone in front of us AT ALL. Baggage reclaim was also superfast with Priority and we were out I think 25 to 40 minutes after landing.

This was CI from AMS.

Happy to report I just took the UA flight in biz (on a 3-class plane) and woke up to find a premier pass sitting under my water glass. The guy next to me had one as well, but I don't know if everyone got one or if it was a 1k thing.
It only had the flight number - which was actually wrong since its now 881 not 803. It was stamped UA but the date was blank.
As luck would have it immigration and customs were dead at my 11PM arrival (although I was the first off and walked fast)

I should have saved it for another time but after almost 30 hours of planes and airports I just wanted OUT as fast as possible!

How fast is the fast track lane on a busy day?

I usually arrive every Monday morning and am at the immigration queue between 5-5.30Am.. 2 out of 10 times it seems there has been a delayed or early arrival of some other flight and its crowded at immigration taking anything from 20-30 mins..the other times, I am out in less than 10 mins..

I depart around 2-2.30pm every Friday and at this time the lines at both immigration gates are a chaos..takes anything from 15-30mins for the immigration process.

Last Monday I arrived at about 5pm and had a fast track pass. About 6 people in front of me. Took about 15 minutes. (Other queues moved faster!)

Departing on Friday at about 3.30pm, no fast track pass. Seems to be building work going on. Had to go upstairs to clear security then back down to passport control. Snake queue with about 100 pax. Roaming Customs officer opened the barrier to let us go to the Thai passport area. Probably about 30 mins total

Departing on Friday at about 3.30pm, no fast track pass. Seems to be building work going on. Had to go upstairs to clear security then back down to passport control. Snake queue with about 100 pax. Roaming Customs officer opened the barrier to let us go to the Thai passport area. Probably about 30 mins total

The route you took through security and immigration is the way it will be going forward. The building work I saw recently was to duplicate this process in the west immigration area.

The route you took through security and immigration is the way it will be going forward. The building work I saw recently was to duplicate this process in the west immigration area.

I believe Opposite Gate 10/11, immigration check is done 1st and then security check.. This is also going to change is it ?

The route you took through security and immigration is the way it will be going forward. The building work I saw recently was to duplicate this process in the west immigration area.

Which one is west - left or right as you approach?

Which one is west - left or right as you approach?

As you walk away from the entrance and toward immigration west = right.

The airport's entrance faces north.

I arrived at 2pm on 30th, Lufthansa business class with no fast track, only 3 or 4 people in each queue. Seems to be a lot better this year, my 3rd visit (also Feb & May).

I just picked up my boarding pass from SQ, was given a premier pass, and through immigration and security in about 1 minute. I was literally the only one there at 11:30 AM.

I almost it -- just started following the queue up the escalator. If an agent hadnt noticed my pass and showed me the secret door I would have.

Sat morning 5.20Am -- 5 mins in departure passport control..
Monday morning 5 Am arrival passport control -- 10 mins

The route you took through security and immigration is the way it will be going forward. The building work I saw recently was to duplicate this process in the west immigration area.

It looks like this work is complete.

I left on Sunday and although I had a Premium Lane pass it looked like most pax were heading up an escalator.

It looks like this work is complete.

I left on Sunday and although I had a Premium Lane pass it looked like most pax were heading up an escalator.

yes, it seems to be the case..
Once we cross security one level above, we come down another escalator and we r back to the earlier immigration counters ..

Yes it was completed a couple of months ago

It looks like this work is complete.

I left on Sunday and although I had a Premium Lane pass it looked like most pax were heading up an escalator.

Yes it was completed a couple of months ago

The main immigration area is complete but the smaller west area, near where the post office used to be, is still being worked on.

Results on two recent departures from BKK:

Leaving on the Delta flight to NRT at 5:45 am, FastTrack was not open but the regular security lines were very short and the lines at the immigration counters were not bad either.

Leaving on the morning JetStar to SIN, departing around 9:30, the security lines were totally fine but the lines at immigration were very backed up. They had far too few officers, and it took a good 30 minutes to get through.

Landed last night at 1830hrs. No fasttrack passes handout on the plane.

Lines were backed up all the way down. About six to eight officers processing passports Took me about 1 hour and twenty minutes to clear.

Ugh. Why is still happening? I'll be arriving with TG around 1930 in about a week and I hope it won't be as bad.

Landed last night at 1830hrs. No fasttrack passes handout on the plane.

Lines were backed up all the way down. About six to eight officers processing passports Took me about 1 hour and twenty minutes to clear.

Kris Rao - That is horrible! The worst I've ever heard!

Ugh. Why is still happening? I'll be arriving with TG around 1930 in about a week and I hope it won't be as bad.

It is, and always has been, a power play from Immigration.

By improperly staffing, they can ensure funding increases to the budget. That being said, Thailand has ever increasing visitation numbers, which puts the people with the leverage (immigration, in this case) in a position in power.

It never has been their goal to provide adequate staffing at airport immigration. The good news is that they have to put the appearance that they're trying, which brings the lines back to reasonable levels often.

I departed ~ 04:30 on 13 Sep, using the new upper level Immigration area, adjacent to rows M/N (roughly). Lines were 2 - 3 deep, ~ 6 desks staffed, ~ 5 min.

I arrived ~ 23:00 on 18 Sep. at gate G3, West Arriving Immigration Hall looked quite full, I continued down to the Premium Lane where all the desks were staffed - some "Crew", all others "Diplomatic, VIP..." (for use with Premium Pass) and there were no lines. I arrived on the UA flight (881), in economy, but used one of several accumulated UA premium lane cards.

As I have been led to understand, working at the airport is one of the least desirable positions within Immigration - long hours, little/no OT compensation, difficult commute, fear of making mistakes/management retribution, little room for ancillary income - so it is always a challenge to get enough staff. They also have mass training efforts, and exams (for other positions) which sometimes deplete staff for a few days.

arrival on 3rd Sept @ 15.30hrs - fast track- no problems at all. Regular line could be described as busy. Little point though as bags took an age to arrive

departure on 15th September 21.00hrs - fast track - straight through

Arrival at 19:45 on 28/09. I went to the ones before luggage carousel 8-15 (?), but line was bad. The other one was just as bad and it took me 40-45 minutes to clear. Ugh.

Arrival 11PM Sep 27 departure 3PM Sep 28. No more than 3 people in front of me either time but lines moved quite slowly. A number of immy officers either had 'training' signs on their window or spent considerable time leaning across and asking their neighbor questions.

If these newer officers don't get their sea legs soon tourist season will be messy yet again.

Departure, Sunday 30 Sep at 11:45AM. A breeze.

Arrived 24 Sept 23:00, fast track passes handed out, but no line, regular or premium.

Departed 3 Oct 19:00, got fast track pass, no line at premium checkpoint or passport control.

Arrived today at 11.30, no queue at all at immigration.

Arrived yesterday at 11:30pm at gate at the EFG pier. Walked fast but still met with a line 2 full wraparound rows deep at the first immigration point (I was too lazy to walk to the other one). Surprisingly immigration cleared line in 10 minutes.

Was through at 11:55pm. Missed the last train though (thanks UA).

I'm arriving this Saturday at 7am on a long overnight flight with my wife and 3 kids. I would like to get the hotel as fast as possible so we can have a nap and still see the city.

I expect there will be hordes of arriving passengers on the Saturday before New Year, and I'm trying to decide if it is worthwhile to buy fast-track through immigration.

When there is a peak of arrivals, how quickly do the immigration authorities add officers to cope with the increase? Can I be pretty confident that even with a large number of arrivals the wait will not be too long? Or is it likely to be chaotic and slow?

Thanks for your advice.

^ I'm not sure it is easy to predict what you might encounter. But we are into high season, and government employees, including those who work for Immigration, like to get away for a vacation, so I might prepare for the worst, and be pleasantly surprised if the wait is less than say 30 minutes. Try not to get too stressed right at the beginning of your vacation.

This is the most recent thread I could find - not a lot of recent detail, which might mean that things are not so bad?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/591431-immigration-line-at-present/

The airport was relatively empty yesterday afternoon at 3PM, from the escalator up until passing through immigration was less than 10 min. Bangkok Air keeps giving us Fast Track coupons (we're Premier) and we keep pocketing them because there is absolutely no reason to use them in the last few months.

I'm arriving this Saturday at 7am on a long overnight flight with my wife and 3 kids.

^ I'm not sure it is easy to predict what you might encounter. But we are into high season, and government employees, including those who work for Immigration, like to get away for a vacation, so I might prepare for the worst, and be pleasantly surprised if the wait is less than say 30 minutes. Try not to get too stressed right at the beginning of your vacation.



:confused: lewinr is talking about entrance immigration and you seem to be referring to exit immigration. :confused:

I'm arriving this Saturday at 7am on a long overnight flight with my wife and 3 kids. I would like to get the hotel as fast as possible so we can have a nap and still see the city.


I had a departure today ~ 07:00 but I did manage to look up into both the west and east arriving Immigration Halls (at about 06:25 - from level 3, Concourse D). The east arriving Immigration Hall looked nearly empty, while the west arriving Immigration Hall looked busier, with a snaking line of ~ 100. I honestly could not see how many desks were staffed but if I had to guess I'd estimate a wait in the east hall of 5 minutes or less, and in the west hall, a wait of 15 minutes or less.

For my departing Immigration experience I did go up to level 5 even though I had a Premium Lane card, where there was no wait at security, then back down to level 4, and no wait at Immigration, other than the two minutes it took the officer to stamp me out.

I arrived on UA at midnight last week and immigration was totally empty. Pocketed my premier pass for next time I don't get the UG.

I arrived early, 01:00 (1:00 AM) - the UA flight was ~ 2 hours late departing NRT, on 3 January 2013. Immigration, and Arrivals, was a complete zoo. We docked at gate D-4, which is nearly opposite East Arriving Immigration Hall where hundreds (thousands ?) of passengers spilled out into the concourse. I had a Premium Lane pass so took a quick right, then into the Fast Track area where there were no people waiting in line. I was through in 2 minutes, even after having to get the Immigration officer to change my stamp from 30 days to 90 days - this has been happening more recently as it seems like they are not familiar with my type of visa?

My bags were the first two off the carousel, the arrivals area - outside Customs was packed, but I was able to get down to level 1 and into a taxi in less than 5 minutes.

I'd guess the wait in the east arriving Immigration Hall might have been on the order of 30 minutes?

I'm not sure how much of this was due to my later than normal arrival, and to high season?

So is the fast track immigration located to the right?

So is the fast track immigration located to the right?

or the left.;)

The Premium Lane/Fast Track Arriving Immigration "area" I use is approximately opposite gate D5 or D6, equidistant between the West Arriving Immigration Hall and the East Arriving Immigration Hall.

The entrance ramp up to the East Arriving Immigration Hall is nearly opposite gate D-4. If facing this entrance, then the Visa on Arrival entrance is to the right, as is the Premium Lane/Fast Track "hall".

or the left.;)

The Premium Lane/Fast Track Arriving Immigration "area" I use is approximately opposite gate D5 or D6, equidistant between the West Arriving Immigration Hall and the East Arriving Immigration Hall.

The entrance ramp up to the East Arriving Immigration Hall is nearly opposite gate D-4. If facing this entrance, then the Visa on Arrival entrance is to the right, as is the Premium Lane/Fast Track "hall".

thanks for all the advice-- and happy new year!