Visa runs are back, but with restrictions

[Gaybutton]

Immigration police detail restrictions on Cambodian visa runs from Pattaya

By Barry Kenyon

October 13, 2022

Thai and Cambodian border police at Aranyaprathet and Pong Nam Ron, a three hour drive from Pattaya, have detailed the rules for foreigners wishing to obtain a further 45 days to extend their stay in Thailand. The new entry stamp can later be extended for a further month at Thai immigration offices for 1,900 baht. The scheme is popular with Brits, western Europeans, Americans and Australians.

Borey San, a Cambodian clearance officer, said it was essential that applicants register with a Pattaya tour and minibus operator in advance of travel to the border. The company must then send a passport copy to the border post of choice to check that the applicant is eligible for the new permission. Unregistered individuals arriving at the frontier under their own steam could not be serviced the same day and would need to spend several days or a week in Cambodia on vacation pending a review of their application. The alternative was to remain in Thailand to risk overstay.

A Thai immigration captain explained that most nationalities could take advantage of the visa run scheme, but there were 19 countries whose citizens could not get a new permission at any land border. The countries included China, India, several central Asian “stans” and a dozen states in Africa and the Indian Ocean. Separately, no individual could take advantage of the scheme more than twice in a 12 month period to prevent foreigners living permanently in Thailand by regular border trips. He said prior submission of passport copies was necessary to avoid international visitors wasting their time by turning up unannounced.

Jessataporn Bunnag, owner of Thai Visa Center located next to Jomtien immigration bureau, said the new scheme was introduced last month after the Thai government confirmed its willingness for foreigners to stay longer without the hassle of applying for prior visas from Thai embassies in their home countries before travel. “The important thing is to show us your passport well in advance so that you can be sure you are eligible for the extra time by this particular route,” he said.

Thai Visa Center offers the service, including all costs and even lunch, for 5,500 baht. Other companies may look cheaper, but there can be hidden extra costs such as the price of the Cambodian entry visa (US$30 or around 1,200 baht) or the minibus fare. Cambodian visa runs, which can also be done from Bangkok, disappeared during the Covid pandemic as land crossings remained closed long after airports reopened.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... aya-413339

[Jun]

In a nutshell, you can do two visa runs per year and each will extend your stay 45 days. Each visa run will cost 5500 baht

People of a certain age can apply for a 90 day visa at lower cost and higher convenience.
Younger board members can apply for a 60 day visa and then get a 30 day extension (or is it 45 now ?).

I don't quite know what the total annual entitlement is, but guess you can get to approximately 6 months without having to do visa runs ?

Visa runs are something of an abomination.
Thailand should define what people are entitled to and then simply enforce it without the wasteful travel to a border. So instead of allowing an extra 45 days following a visa run, allow the extra 45 days to be granted by immigration. With a simple online application, so no need to travel anywhere.

[gerefan]

5,500 baht.That is TRIPLE what it was before Covid.

Although a visit to Immigration is an absolute pain in the backside the visa runs I have done in the past are just as bad.

As Jun says get the 90 day Visa before you leave home or plan your trip with a visit outside Thailand after the initial 45 days and simply get another 45 days on return.

Valid until the end of March.

[Gaybutton]

The part about "applicants will need to show a Thai bank book with at least 25,000 baht" seems to me to be the biggest problem. Who comes up with this nonsense? It is extremely difficult for foreigners to open a Thai bank account in the first place and why would anybody who goes to Thailand merely for a holiday and nothing more want to bother with trying to open a Thai bank account?

Does that make sense to anyone? I hope so because until someone can make sense out of it, it's on my "I Don't Get It" list.
________________________________

Thai visa runs to Laos: latest updates

By Barry Kenyon

October 22, 2022

From this month, the Thai embassy in Vientiane in neighboring Laos has announced the latest regulations regarding the issue of 60 days, single tourist visas which, in most cases, can be extended for a further 30 days at Thai immigration. However, the procedure is more complicated than visiting the Cambodian border which issues 45 days visa exempt to most nationalities with the option of extending a further month in Thailand.

The Thai embassy in Laos has announced that applicants will need to show a Thai bank book with at least 25,000 baht (around US$650) available for spending in Thailand. Most nationalities can apply for the 60 days tourist visa, but those from 29 countries (including China and Bangladesh) may be subject to significant delays as further identity checks are made. Double or multiple entries to Thailand are awarded only to Laos citizens or to foreigners with long stay residence rights.

Entry to Laos may be made by road or air, although immigration officers will likely want to see proof of prior booking of accommodation in or near Vientiane. Appointments at the embassy must be booked in advance, via its website, and walk-ins are no longer allowed. The process usually takes 24 hours involving one night’s stay in the capital. Several Thai tour companies offer visa runs to Laos either by minibus or by air, the former with an inclusive charge of around 15,000 baht and about double that amount by air.

Most foreigners wanting a longer holiday in Thailand are opting at the Cambodian border for a new 45 days visa exempt stamp with the option to extend for a further month. However, some nationalities (notably Indians and Chinese) cannot use this route as they are not categorized visa exempt, but rather visa on arrival which is different. Visa on arrival applies to around 20 countries and offers 30 days (plus 15) on payment of a fee of 2,000 baht on arrival in Thailand, unless waived. All foreigners are restricted to two border visa runs in a 12 months period.

Another issue with the Cambodian border is that only organized groups with a tour or visa company are permitted to do the run in a single day. Individuals without an escort arriving at Aranyaprathet or Pong Nam Ron immigration border checkpoints are being told that they must remain several days in Cambodia because their ID details were not sent for scrutiny in advance. The best advice right now is to organize a visa run via an agency which does regular runs and knows the ropes. Covid-free documentation is no longer required for entry to Cambodia, Laos or Thailand.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... tes-413978

[2lz2p]

Barry didn't get it right. The Thai Embassy does require financial statements showing an average balance, but does not require it be bank statements from a "Thai" bank - this is on their website:

Single-Entry Tourist Visa: 3-month financial statements with an average balance of 20,000 baht per person or 40,000 baht per family
Multiple-Entry Tourist Visa: 6-month financial statements 200,000 baht per person

https://vientiane.thaiembassy.org/en/tourist-visa/

[Gaybutton]

Barry didn't get it right.

That makes more sense out of it, but nowhere near enough to satisfy me. How many people go on an international holiday without enough money to pay for it? Has Thailand had any kind of problem about that - ever?

I don't know why a financial statement is necessary. What about credit cards? Maybe Thailand will start requiring people to show their credit card limit and how much is still available before they max out the card.

Thailand wants to restore its tourism industry, yet keeps coming up with senseless, useless hoops people have to go through to make their holiday in Thailand. Why?

[travelerjim1]

May I suggest you read this post of Tod Daniels... from Thai Visa Advice.

ATTENTION MEMBERS

BORDER BOUNCING BY LAND

With more and more people coming to the end of their covid extensions and needing to get on to a new entry stamp we are seeing a LOT of posts asking about border bouncing by land to get a new stamp.

Most we decline because thailand is almost 200 thousand square miles in size :O and where you are in thailand depends on what border you can easily bounce out and back at by land AND your stamp/stay history has a LOT to do with it too.

Keep in mind (no matter what you're being told) ALL land borders with Burma (Myanmar) are CLOSED and foreigners can't get out and back in at those crossings to get a new stamp. (that goes for the boat run down in Ranong with the Andaman Club)

Your success at bouncing out and back on your own totally depends on how many covid extensions you have in your passport, whether you have an ED or Volunteer visa/extension AND whether you took that 7 day get out of dodge "extension denied" week stamp to leave the country. Each one of those things CAN cause you a problem trying to stamp out and back in.

While we don't recommend border bounce/visa run services by name on the group we URGE people (who have a passport full of covid stamps) to post on a f/b group related to where you live in thailand and use a service that serves your area to bounce you out and back. They "pre-grease" the wheel at the border so you don't have issues, that's why they cost what they cost.

Please believe me when I say, this is NOT the time to be stepping over dollars to pick up dimes :O . We get post requests every day of people who did a bounce on their own, picked the WRONG border, had too many of the wrong stamps and now can't stamp back IN to thailand as they were told to go to an airport and fly back.

Malaysia;
We have very little info on bouncing out and back with the southern border crossings with Malaysia. There were problems at the southern borders before covid shut them down about people having to pay an 'entrance fee' to get IN to thailand (and we can't tell if that resumed or not)

Cambodia;
The info we have on the border crossings with Cambodia are AVOID <-(read that as DO NOT GO) to the Aranyaprathet / Poipet border. It is problematic. Ban Laem / Duang and Ban Phak Kad / Phsar Prum are workable borders but bouncing on your own you will be asked for "fees" to get back in. Ban Hat Lek / Cham Yeam in Trat can be finicky, Chong Chom / O Smach in Surin isn't too bad.
They CAN hard line you and say you have to spend a night in cambodia if they want to at ANY of the border crossings before you can stamp back in to thailand.

Lao
There is zero <- as in no issue at all bouncing out and back with any of the borders with Lao, they don't care how many covid stamps you have, if you have uncancelled ED/Volunteer visas or the 7 day stamp, they'll let you out and let you back in

Again, if you're one of the demographics I outlined as far as your stay history and stamp history think LONG and HARD before you decide to bounce out and back on your own
AND
go prepared just in case you're denied entry to thailand and have to make your way to either another border crossing to try again or to the airport and fly back (which has it's own set of risks depending on stay/entry history)

Good Luck people, (y)

[christianpfc]

Requirements by embassy to issue a tourist visa (particularly absurd in Saigon: 20 kTHB in a bank book is the only accepted proof of funding) and what immigration officers want to see (20 kTHB or equivalent in other currency) are different things.

I would never go on a holiday without enough cash to pay for it. When I went to Indonesia, my credit card was not accepted by several ATM (I don't know why) and I could only use the cash I brought. In Brazil, my main credit card was locked for attempted fraud days before my trip (and was refused by ATM, and I found out the reason only when back in Germany), but I still had a second credit card and cash to fund my trip.

Land borders still require arrival cards to be filled out (my and and friend's experience at two different border crossings Cambodia to Thailand). I was stamped in 45 days, my friend 30 days (frequent traveller, so it doesn't matter to him, but I deliberately choose 45 days visa free over 60 days tourist visa).

[Jun]

Requirements by embassy to issue a tourist visa (particularly absurd in Saigon: 20 kTHB in a bank book is the only accepted proof of funding) and what immigration officers want to see (20 kTHB or equivalent in other currency) are different things.

Applications for a Thai visa from the UK are now entirely online. I gather we are not alone.

Therefore, what stops me applying online to the UK embassy whilst travelling in Vietnam or wherever ?