100 Baht Visa Corruption Fee

So wanted to tell a story about getting a Cambodian visa at the border area between Aranyaprathep Thailand and Poipet Cambodia.

I took the Thai casino gambling bus to the border region just past Aranyaprethep Thailand, I counted 15 steps (surprised it took so long) from when I walked out of the bus until a Cambodian tout guy tried to get me to buy a bus trip or Cambodian tourist visa from him. On the walk to the border many different men approached me trying to get me to buy a visa or bus ticket to Siem Riep or Phnom Penh (probably over 10 men/touts). They told me I could not get a visa at the border (a lie) and that I had to get it from their shop (where they make a commission off you, maybe adding another 25% -50% to the total cost). Eventually I weaved my way through the tout guys and made it to the border and the official Cambodian immigration police building.

Inside the building there was a big painted sign mounted to the wall listing the official price for visas. The visa I was interested in was a tourist visa costing $20 USD (if you pay with Thai baht they charge you more than $20 USD). I took out my $20 I had ready for the occasion, filled out the required form and went to the  visa window. The immigration policeman said to me "100 baht more" when I asked "Why?"a he pointed down to a piece of white paper in a clip board on the counter where written with a blue felt pen was the following:

Tourist Visa $20 USD

(+ 100 baht)

 (the immigration border police wrote up the piece of paper themselves)

The 100 baht $3.32 CAD is a corruption fee you pay that the immigration police divide up at the end of the day. They make 100 baht in personal profit for every visa they issue to a foreign tourist. If I had gotten the same visa in Bangkok I would have only paid the $20USD.