Saigon

I know he is. That's just in case he should go back to VN and try to go back to Thailand by land. I hope you understood that, though.

FYI, you can take a sleeper bus from Sai Gon or Ho Chi Minh City to Pleiku (or 'Gia Lai' as the locals call), where you can hop on an International bus to Pakse, Laos and spend the night there. And the next morning you can take the international bus to Ubon Ratchathani via Chong Mek. That's going to be a long journey, though.

FYI, you can only get your visa-exemption stamps transferred from your old passport to your new one at airports when you fly out of Thailand. That's what I did at DMK a few months ago, though.

It's not even 5km but just 1.5km from the border post. I've been to that immigration office once before.

Hi All, I nearly forgot to tell you that I would apply for and get a Cambodian e.visa before re-entering Thailand and use an agent for a border run to Cambodia to stay on the safer side.

Hi! Are you staying in VN now? So am I. I'm enjoying BIA 333 (15 baht per can) every day! You're going to fly to BKK or DMK from SGN later this month, aren't you? I'm afraid that you might get stopped at Passport Control when you arrive in Thailand because of your travel record. And you're going to Cambodia (Poi Pet?) for a border bounce after that, aren't you? One of the best bets would be for you to apply for a Cambodian e.visa before entering Thailand to stay on the safe side. You never ever know what will happen at Passport Control in Thailand in these days, at airports or land borders! Maybe you'd avoid female officers there! Good luck!

FYI, one of my friends, who had extended his Non-B in Phuket, was trying to do his 90-day report at CW several months ago, but in vain, and then he was told to do the report in Phuket.

I actually did get my 'visa-exemption' stamp to be transferred from my old passport to my new passport when I flew out of DMK a few months ago, which process didn't even take me 1 minute. I don't know if they could do a 1-year visa extension at the airport, to be honest. I do hope so, though.

Yes, you should do both at the immigration office where you made your last 1-year visa extension. Good luck!

Hi, You'd have to get your stamp to be transferred from your old passport to your old passport at Surat Thani-Koh Samui office where you got the stamp. I have a friend who was going to do his 90-day report at CW but was told to do it at the office where he had extended his Non-B visa. Hope that helps.

Yes, you should go to the land crossing at Wang Prachan if you don't mind paying 2,000B as service fee for a border bounce! Any report should be helpful if it's more than 1 month old, so you should appreciate that! You never know what'll happen to you if you enter Thailand on visa-exemption right now, whether it's a border bounce or not, so you should get ready for a worst-case scenario!

Thanks, Mate!

I actually did a border bounce at Padang Besar once a few years ago but I wasn't even asked for the Fee or the Tea Money (whatever you call it). I spent 1 night on the Malaysian side to stay on the safe side, as Ubon Joe suggested.

What if you're going to stay at a Thai friend's?

I would have proceeded to her kiosk for sure to see what would happen if that female officer had been on duty then! I actually am on my way to my local Isaan friend's for Songkran now.

Hi All, I flew to Sai Gon (or Ho Chi Minh City) about 3 weeks ago after spending 5 weeks in Thailand renewing my passport in BKK, and just came back to Thailand for Songkran via Chong Mek today. I got to passport Control only to find that there was only 1 out of 3 kiosks available, which was attended by a male officer in his 50's. I handed over my new passport to him, and not a single word was exchanged between us, let alone a single stupid question like 'Have you booked a flight back to your home country from Bangkok?' 555 Was I just unlucky to be asked so many questions and be forced to book a hotel room and show her the booking confirmation on the spot by that female officer at Chong Mek a few months ago? 555 Have a great Songkran, Everyone!

When I went back to Thailand by land via Chong Mek last month after spending more than 4 months in Vietnam, a female officer first asked me if I had booked a flight ticket back to my 'home country' from Thailand yet and I answered no to the question, adding that I'd go back to Vietnam again by land, and that officer asked me if I had booked a room to stay in Thailand yet but I answered no to that question, either and then that officer told me to book a room and show her the booking confirmation on the spot! I wouldn't think that kind of thing would happen to everybody, but maybe you should get ready for that because anything could happend at some of the Thai land crossings recently. Good luck!

Oh, that's a Visa-Free TRANSIT, isn't it? I meant that the OZ passport holders were allowed a 30-day visa-exempt entry to China, NOT a 240-hour visa-free transit. https://www.visaforchina.cn/DEL3_EN/tongzhigonggao/327343163872251904.html

As for staying in VN for a long time, there would be 2 options, I'd say. 1. Get a 90-day e-Visa. 2. Get a 45-day visa-exempt entry and do a border run to get another 45 days on visa-exemption (if you're allowed this kind of visa-exempt entry). I flew to Sai Gon from Bangkok last week to get another 45 days. I didn't even get asked any STUPID questions by the officer like 'Do you have a ticket to fly back to your home country?' or 'Do you have a booking comfirmation of your hotel room?' as in Thailand! The Thai Immigration will always change their mind and can't even stick at one thing! That's exactly what T.I.T. is all about! 567 Nationals who are allowed a visa-exempt entry to China do include OZ passport holders but don't include US or UK passport ones, for example. History does matter, I'd say, though.

I really wonder if Thailand would decide to reduce the period of visa-free stays in the kingdom from 60 days to 30 days after this news from Vietnam! I do doubt that. 555 https://vietnamnews.vn/politics-laws/1693484/viet-nam-to-waive-visas-for-citizens-from-12-countries-until-2028.html#:~:text=These countries include Germany%2C France,Sweden%2C Norway%2C and Finland.&text=HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese Government,expire on March 15%2C 2025.

I went through Passport Control at DMK just before midnight, when it wasn't busy.

Hi All, After getting my new passport in Bangkok, I successfully got the Thai entry stamp to be transferred from the old passport to the new passport when I flew out of DMK the other day. I first joined one of the queues up to the Immigration kiosks, handed over both my passports to the officer and then I was asked to move to another kiosk, where another officer did the stamp transfer for me. The process didn't even take me 1min. FYI, I was still able to get 45 days to stay in Vietnam on visa- exemption. Hope that helps.

Did you read part of my last message? 555 >> Yes, she did sound rude and arrogant to me at first but had a big smile on her face when she gave my passport back to me in the end! I could see how stressful it must of been to her, even though it was her job.

Yes, I've lived in Thailand on Non-B for years, but have spent most of my time in Vietnam for the last few years now, so I didn't even know why that IO felt suspicious of me. Yes, she did sound rude and arrogant to me at first but had a big smile on her face when she gave my passport back to me in the end! I could see how stressful it must of been to her, even though it was her job. I'm going back to Vietnam with my new passport anyway! PS I didn't even know that there would be some hotels that let you cancel your booking with a penalty even if you did at the last minute.

I wasn't even able to cancel it because it was too soon, but I booked the damn cheapest room I could find in BKK so No Wuckers! haha.. I have a few question now. Does the IO have the right to force me to book a room on the spot before they let me in? And does the IO have the right to deny me entry into Thailand if I refuse to book a room on the spot? I got really surprised when that IO asked me if I had booked my flight back home yet, though. The Immigration at Chong Mek was so busy when I got there in the Lao-Thai international bus that there was 1 officer ushering the passengers into each of the 3 immigration booths available at the time, so I wasn't even able to choose which one to proceed to. That IO did look MALE to me at first, but later on turned out to be FEMALE as I got closer to HER. PS Apparently all the Thai & Lao people had to give Tea Money to the IOs on the Lao side but I didn't. They might ask you for that if you should go through there at the weekend as overtime fee, so please beware! Good luck!