What should I expect when going through immigration on a cruise stop in Phuket with a DTV visa?

Question

Cruise port in Phuket
Hello everyone. I’ve been a DTV holder for ~8 months. I have entered 3 times on the DTV, but have never stayed for more than 90 days at a time. I want to take a cruise and one of the ports is Phuket. I’m trying to figure out what immigration would look like.

Has anyone taken a cruise with a port in Thailand? What is immigration like? Would I be stamped in on the DTV for 12 hours (length of time in port) and then get stamped back in with it a few days later when I return to BKK? Would the quick entrances/exits cause problems moving forward?

Ask Thailand · Answer

When taking a cruise that stops in Phuket, holders of a Digital Tourist Visa (DTV) can expect to be processed through immigration as usual. Upon disembarking, the immigration officials will stamp the DTV, allowing for a stay of up to 180 days, even if remaining in port for only 12 hours. Travelers will be stamped out when returning to the ship and then stamped in again upon returning to Bangkok, effectively resetting the 180-day count. Frequent short entries and exits are typical for cruise passengers and should not raise concerns with immigration, provided travelers have their DTV print and cruise card ready for inspection.

Josephine ******** · Answer

Good question. When your cruise stops in Phuket you will go through immigration like a normal entry. If you show your DTV they will stamp you in on DTV even for twelve hours. That stamp will give you up to one hundred eighty days stay, but you will leave same day so they will stamp you out when you go back to ship. Then when you fly back to Bangkok a few days later they will stamp you in again on DTV with a fresh one hundred eighty days.

Quick entry and exit like that does not cause problem for DTV. The DTV is multi entry so you can come and go many times. Officers see cruise passengers often in Phuket and they know it is a short stop. Just keep your DTV print and cruise card ready to show.

For how cruise entry works and how your one hundred eighty day count resets, I saw a good section about cruise and border bounce in Unlock Thailand by Isla Rey on Amazon, it explains what stamp you get and how to keep your stays clean. Handy to read before you book cruise.

Ian ********** · Answer

Why do you think it will be a problem? You have a 5-year multi-entry tourist visa. The only time a tourist has a problem at immigration is when the IO does not think you are a genuine tourist and may be working illegally. Nothing in your recent entry history would suggest that.

SwiftRasp********* · Answer

You’ll be stamped for  180 days like always

What should I expect when going through immigration on a cruise stop in Phuket with a DTV visa?

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