What was your experience getting a Thai visa in Jakarta and entering through Phuket?

My experience using a Thai visa issued in Jakarta

I applied for my Thai visa while in Bali, through the Thai Embassy in Jakarta. The process there was a bit slow — they asked for extra documents before approving it, but once I submitted everything, it went through fine.

About a month later, when I arrived in Phuket earlier today,, immigration took me aside to a holding area. They said they didn’t have the documents that Jakarta had received, and asked me to send them again. I had to dig through my computer and email them to a personal Gmail address (not an official government one), which felt a bit odd.

After about 15 minutes, one of the liasons came back and said okay, then told me I could go through immigration. They also had me fill out another short form with general information.

Overall, it wasn’t a big problem, but it definitely wasn’t as smooth as other people make it sound. My impression is that Phuket immigration might not be very familiar with this particular type of visa, or they just want to put on a front of being tough.