Kammie

Exactly, went on my own. There are many companies in Pattaya that do this for around 3k. Cambodia inter tour & travel are a reliable one.

I just thought I would share my experience doing a border run to Cambodia. By far the smoothest run ever! Even though it was crazy busy (or maybe because of it) everything went smoothly and quickly. Farangs have separate lines which was quickly done coming and going. Not one question asked. Probably because of songkran, it was packed on both sides. Only thing was that they charged me 1500 baht for the visa on arrival instead of the usual 1300 baht, reason given: Thai baht has gone down. Last time I did it at ban pakkad, which left me wondering if they would even let me through. Got a lot of questions and looks. "Who told you about this border?" "What are you doing in Cambodia?" "What are you doing in Thailand?" "How long you staying in Cambodia?" So yeah ban laem for me from now on.

Tourist I guess, but I'm exempt so I get 30 days when I enter Thailand from Europe and a 30 day extension each time after that, either at immigration office or a border run like today. Both of which can be done 2 times per year.

Just arrived at the Laos border at Chiang khong. It's even easier than Chong Mek which I did last year! 1800 baht instead of 2000 baht, didn't even have to go in to Laos, they just give me visa on arrival and exit stamp at the same counter. No pictures or forms to fill out. Although an American in front of me did have to do everything: fill out the 2 forms give a picture and walk across to Laos. I'm Dutch btw.

Yes story of my life also for the last 15 years (visa exemption), until today: foreigners not allowed in Myanmar.

Guess you guys are the main source for the hottest and latest news flashes. Should have checked here first instead of waiting till the last day of my visa. Did it so many times that I guess I got complaisant. Tachileik is indeed still closed for anyone other than Thai people. No word on when it will reopen, the immigration officer just said their boss says it's closed. So now I'm racing to Chiang khong hoping to get there in time from Chiang Rai.

Thanks that's great news, wanted to open a thread if the Mae sai border was open for border runs. 500 baht and leave your passport still?

Oh I just figured it went up since everything has gone up, if the 100 baht extra was for the service they provided then I be sure to give them a 1000 baht tip next time, more than worth it.

Just thought I'd send some love to the Udon Thani immigration office, since it's more than deserved. By FAR the best experience I've ever had getting an extension. And that on what was probably the busiest day of the year, 18th April, first day open after songkran. I went in like a good school boy with my passport copies and pictures etc. Turns out didn't need anything but my passport and current address in Udon. The moment you walk in you are taken care of, no filling out forms or going elsewhere to make copies, no nothing! My hotel didn't even do the tm30. They literally do everything for you. All I did was walk in, hand over my passport and address, wait 30 min, pay 2000 baht and I was out the door. Compared to some other cities like Phuket where they send me back to my hotel to beg them to do the tm30, missing my flight and so on, this was a walk in the park. I'm seriously thinking next time I'm in BKK and need an extension I'll just hop on a plane and get it done in Udon. Thanks to everyone at the Udon immigration office!

Yes Mike you are right, thx for clarifying. Visa on arrival for Laos and exempt for Thailand in my case.

Dutch passport, so visa on arrival for both countries in my case.

No didn't book anything, just got lucky as in normally the minibuses wait to get full before driving off. Normally should take 1,5 hour for the 90km trip.

I thought I'd give an first hand update: Just did the Laos border run at Chong Mek, most relaxed border run ever! I don't know if I came at the right time (15:00) or what but literally everything went smoothly, didn't have to wait anywhere. Got off the plane at Ubon (12:00), free shuttle bus waiting to the bus terminal. At the bus terminal a minivan (100 baht) was waiting for me to get on and leave immediately. 2 hour drive because a road was flooded and we took a detour. I just forgot to get USD somewhere so had to pay 2000 baht instead of the $40 for the visa on arrival, but that's totally on me. Filled out 2 forms at the newly built immigration building on the Laos side, went through immigration and turned around straight away. Got my 45 days and I'm off to the airport back to DMK. The whole border formalities took less than 45 minutes.

Perpetual? No. Now we are talking 'grey' area and to the interpretation of said immigration officer. Of course it's not meant to be used like you say, the visa system, hence the many different types of visa. I just don't and can't handle the BS the embassy throws at me every time I went in so I stopped after a few visits and got in the 'on arrival' business. In my experience after 12 years coming and going, I got held up once at immigration for 2 hours and had to explain why I was in Thailand for 6 months the previous year. Naturally my wise a#@ answer 'I love Thailand' wasn't enough, and their response was that I was living in Thailand. Long story short I had to buy a ticket out right then and there before the 30 days of my visa ran out. Which I did and didn't use. I would say there is a difference between immigration at the airports (hard) and getting extensions at the offices (easy). But I'm by no means an expert on the subject so take it as you will.

Thanks for the answer. I would have bet I did 2 extensions before leaving the country prior to 2018 but not sure as I had to renew my passport in 2018 so can't remember or check. So looks like I'm heading to Laos or Malaysia as those countries offer visa on arrival for me and get ready to spar with immigration upon return to the Kingdom. Thx again guys for clarifying.

This seems to be changed since the last time I was in the Kingdom (2020). Used to extend twice at immigration before needing to exit the country or do a border run at Mae Sai (still an option?). So am I understanding it correctly that it's now only one extension at immigration? Dutch passport, thx in advance.