Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we're asking the question, “what happens after you've been denied entry to Thailand?” I thought of making this video after reading a recent comment on our channel. Quoting directly: "I got denied entry at BKK last month after spending most of the year in Thailand. Had to stay a night in the cell and forced to book flight back to Danang. Cells were okay but it's more the people who are in there with, is the problem. I didn't sleep one bit. Vietnam nearly didn't accept me back in. It would be good to hear you talk about what happens after you've been denied entry. I want to go back to Thailand but cannot afford DTV just yet. Is going back on Tourist Visa out of the question? Is Education Visa possible? Some agencies say I can go back, just to have to pay for "fast track" at airport but I think that is a scam." Look it could be, I don't know, depending on what fast track means. There may be legitimate ways of assisting folks through airport immigration.

We oftentimes contact our Immigration contacts, especially where we have a client that has health issues that they need an escort through the Immigration process, especially where it is complicated. Unfortunately sometimes, especially older people, will end up with some health issues and they also end up in overstay. Now the overstay may be a result of the health issue, but also, it's not something that necessarily gets you out of having to deal with Immigration. So sometimes we do have to assist people in getting through immigration checkpoints. But that said, for folks that really have no issues, the notion that "oh, I've got a special connect or something", be careful with that, just as a general rule. 

Now the question posed is Education Visas; I have talked about that before. Education Visas are - be careful. In the crackdown since Big Joke in 2017-18, Education Visas in my mind, if they're legitimate, they're legitimate. They just are what they are. But if they're sort of being used to pretextually or pretensively, not a good idea because it can lead to some real problems. Now that said, going back on a Tourist Visa after being told to leave, not a good plan because they basically said, 'look we think you're trying to live here', and coming back on another Tourist Visa, not a great idea. 

Look, at the end of the day, what happens if you're denied entry? Well they could detain you for a while, while they find you another trip out. Here's the other problem as noted by the commenter, which is the notion that Danang, i.e. Vietnam, might not have taken this person back. This is something that I don't think people really look at when they do the analysis of their visa here in Thailand. What do I mean by that? Excuse me, not their visa but the idea of coming back to Thailand, sort of taking the risk and coming back, is that you do get turned away and no other country will take you other than the passport of your nationality and that can be a real problem for people who come from like the UK or the US or Europe, and what I'm trying to say is it's entirely possible, and I say that because I've seen it and I have dealt with it from first-hand experience, that somebody gets turned away from the airport and they can't get back into where they came from. They came from Vietnam and Vietnam says, "we're not taking you back; you got deported from Thailand; we don't want you to living here without proper status." I'm not saying that always happens, but it can. I've seen that happen with Malaysia; I have seen it happen with Singapore. Not so much Laos, not so much Cambodia, but not out of any particular reason. But that being said, yeah, I've also seen it from Vietnam, turned away and then that person has to go all the way back to their country of nationality; I've seen that happen before because people were flippant with being able to come back into Thailand. They just thought they'd get let back in. They just stayed out for a couple days and came back. Again, it's also not a foregone conclusion but the point of this video is what happens? Well you could be detained; you could always be put on a plane, sent to a third country. They might not take you and you end up having to go through a chain of deportations before you get back to your home country, and you can turn around and try to make travel plans again. 

The thing to take away from this video, get your visa and Immigration ducks in a row before dealing with Immigration Officers here in the Kingdom of Thailand.