Going through immigration to check into hotel for layover, do I have to re-check in?
Mar 7, 2019, 10:39 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 26
Going through immigration to check into hotel for layover, do I have to re-check in?
My fiance has a 10 hour layover in Bangkok (BKK), she insisted that she didn't need a hotel - but the morning of the flight she didn't get much sleep. I decided to pay for a hotel during her layover. I thought the hotel was on the transit side of the airport, but turns out the hotel is in the lower level of the airport and she had to go through immigration to get there. The airport staff explained that she could go through immigration to get to the hotel, but when she comes back, she would have to pay about $25 before boarding her next flight. That sounds odd to me, but she does speak Thai and it wasn't as if the person who told her asked for the money, so it's probably true. She already has the boarding pass for her next flight for Singapore at 8am, would she need to recheck in with Thai Airways before going through immigration again, or can she go straight to immigration?
Mar 7, 2019, 10:58 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: London, United Kingdom
Programs: British Airways Gold
Posts: 2,635
If you exit immigration during a transit then you are supposed to pay the 700 baht departure tax that would have been included in your ticket if originating in Bangkok. If the boarding pass has already been issued at origin then it should still work to get through security, however the immigration officers are supposed to check that the boarding pass was issued in BKK. It is possible they may miss it, but if they don't they the passenger would be sent back to pay the tax.
Mar 8, 2019, 2:41 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denmark
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 11,758
As already advised above, you daughter is now subject to payment of Thai departure tax. 700 THB. It should be collected if she approach the landside check-in counters (the agent will then notice that Thai dept. tax has not been collected) but if she already has BP for the onward flight she could proceed straight to security check and immigration. The security officer will not notice anything from her BP, but the immigration officer is supposed to check that the BP has been issued at BKK (as you will notice from a BP it is stated with smalle letters where/who issued the BP). If the officer finds out that the BP was issued elsewhere she will be asked to go back to TG check-in counters for a new BP (and most likely Thai dept. tax will have to be paid at the TG counters). However, the officer may also not notice it and let her pass - this has been reported many times in this forum.
So to answer you Q: Yes, your daughter can proceed straight to security and Thai immigration but there is a (minor) risk that she will be turned back to the TG check-in counters to obtain a new BP. The most straight/hassle free way forward is to withdraw THB 700 from an ATM and proceed to the TG check-in counters for a new BP issued at BKK.
So to answer you Q: Yes, your daughter can proceed straight to security and Thai immigration but there is a (minor) risk that she will be turned back to the TG check-in counters to obtain a new BP. The most straight/hassle free way forward is to withdraw THB 700 from an ATM and proceed to the TG check-in counters for a new BP issued at BKK.
