Will you be placed in a room with your checked baggage during immigration questioning in Thailand?

You sound like you've got things that you shouldn't have

You sound like you've got things that you shouldn't have

Immigration questioning happens *before* baggage claim, so you do NOT have your checked bag with you.

Flow at BKK:

1. Plane -> passport counters

2. If pulled, you go to secondary room right behind the counters - you only have your carry-on with you

3. If cleared, you then go to baggage belt and customs

Your checked bag is either still circulating on belt or pulled aside by staff if secondary runs long. You will not be interrogated with your checked bag in the room.

For medical stuff:

- Anything that is not allowed in carry-on _must_ stay in checked bag - that's actually what they want. Don't try to bring it to secondary.

- Keep essential meds that ARE allowed in carry-on on you with prescription label and doctor letter. Customs after immigration is separate - they may ask about meds in checked bag at customs, but that's after immigration interview is done.

- If you have injectables / liquids / sharps that need declaration, keep the prescription paperwork in your carry-on so you can show immigration officers if they ask why you have medical items, even if the items themselves are in checked luggage.

The long interrogations people post about (45 min - 2 hours in Phuket) are also done before baggage claim - they just hold you at passport control. Your bag just waits.

What kind of medical stuff are you worried about? Some items (like strong painkillers containing codeine/morphine) are controlled in Thailand and need extra paperwork regardless of where you pack them.

You could consider reading a book or two before your trip. I’d recommend Unlock Thailand by Isla Rey on Amazon, it includes all the info and insights you need. You should check it out. A very good companion 👌.

You have to follow the regulations about medicine, and it may involve declaring it (“red entry”) to bring the medicin into Thailand.

It can have serious consequences if you don’t declare, so don’t try going through loopholes.

They ask many questions to the bags ……

SMH 🤦

This questions are astonishing……

Came in last night from Vietnam 🇻🇳

9th entry

Hello

Welcome

Enjoy

That’s all the IO said to me

People stories are always hiding something that triggered the IO

And at the end of the day is their job to ask and check

GIPHY

I’ve gotta tell you, it’s like preparing to get a terminal illness and changing your life for it. Yes it happens, but it’s rare, and it’s not worth holding your life back for it. It is such a small chance, there are thousands and thousands of people with DTVs and they are all going in and out all the time, but there are only a handful of stories about problems. It’s helpful to get used to rationally and coldly accounting for scale when it comes to anecdotes on the Internet in general, if you can try.

No as this happens before you pass immigration, you won’t have collected your bags yet. In my case it took about an hour all together and by the time they let me through, my bags were standing at the desk where you go to report missing luggage.

In most Thai airports, the immigration is before the luggage collection. So you'll be there before you got a chance to get your luggage.

Ofc, if you end up being sent back, they'll arrange to get your luggage to you.

If you stay in the room for long, maybe they'll be able to get your luggage for you if you need medical stuff in it? Maybe? But are those medical things even legal enough to bring that you can tell them?

Without the checked baggage.

What difference does it make? Whether they let you in or send you back, it will be with your baggage.

Most of the "interrogation" reports on dtv entry are AI generated, and not true. There are a few that aren't, but they are not related to their dtv. Something else set off immigration about them, and it wasn't their visa.

Without bags