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What country is this passport? How do we know it's not a VOA that was extended 7 days?

It sounds like you have a good grasp on the Thai immigration system. A lot of people commenting here don't actually have recent experience doing visa runs. I would NOT recommend an Airport Safe Entry as that is completely corrupt and ridiculous. The land borders immigration officers have received a directive that they must crack down on visa runners but often they don't care. They know it's because the TAT wants to sell more Elite visas and they know that if they reject you and say fly to BKK you will pay a Safe entry fee. The immigration officers at land borders don't see any of that money, it only flows to the officers at BKK and DMK. The female PM being removed and declining tourist numbers may help also.

Yes that seems ok, then you can have Wang Prachan and Sadao as back up options (but I doubt you will face any issues). There's also vans that go from Padang to Hat Yai but I think it closes at 17:30. The lao borders in Nong Khai, Mukdahan, and Ubon Ratchatani also should work if you want to try Laos.

I would recommend chiang khong, nong khai, mukdahan, chong mek, padang besar, sadao, hat lek. It's possible you will face issues if you have long history in Thailand and only stay out 1-2 days. Let us know how it goes if you do one of these borders. Tod Daniels is right that it would be better to use a visa run service so you are guaranteed entry

Don't pay to check if you are on a blacklist, that's completely foolish. It's obvious why they denied you entry. Let me guess, when they sent you to secondary inspection you spoke english with them? That looks very bad because you were in Thailand before on an education visa so you should know some basic Thai. They definitely thought you were a fake student (depriving the Thai government of Elite visa money) and abusing the system. Probably thought you were working in Thailand illegally. Now you come after 5 months trying to enter as a tourist. It's also interesting how having an Education visa disqualifies you for an elite visa. I thought they just cared about money. You need to pay for a safe entry or enter through a land border at this point.

It's not surprising why she did it, she probably would have made 30-50,000 dollars. I could have fixed her

Pattaya is nice if you really like "bar culture" and drinking alcohol with the most average thai girls. It's not that special imo, though it's not a bad place to lay low

I would like some more info on Vietnam, so how is the visa situation? We can buy a $25 e-visa for 90 days, then do a quick visa run to cambodia or lao? Then re-enter without issues on another e-visa? That sounds quite good. Also is there anything comparable to Shopee, Makro, Big C in vietnam? Thanks

The TM 30 has to be one of the dumbest papers in Thailand bureaucracy. Most hotels don't even know what it is and don't submit it for foreigners. It's a complete waste of time and energy. The King should abolish this nonsense in his great country.

If Vietnam is more welcoming to long stay tourists then I might have to go there. The Thai government treats the foreign population living here like trash. I actually prefer the vietnamese food, I could eat banh mi every day.

I was there right after the covid visa extensions ended, they were actually friendly but the Male IO wanted me to stay 2-3 nights in Malaysia for visa exempt stamp but still let me in. Another time I went and had a SETV and the lady let me in with no questions asked. I will be out of Thailand for a couple weeks so it's not a quick in and out. I still wouldn't be surprised if they want me to pay 2k THB because my passport is getting full. I think I will try Sadao first because it's closer to Hat Yai and easier to get transportation there from KL. Wang Prachan seems quite remote so that will be my back up plan.

I don't understand why you even need a visa run company to do this? It's not like you are abusing tourist visas or visa exempt stamps, I thought that's what the DTV visa is for...

I did a week + in Lao and still was sent to secondary inspection. It would be nice if there was a way to make the entry smoother. The government decided to crack down on visa runners using this border. Thai immigration's view is that if you want to stay in thailand long term then you need work visa, marriage visa, or elite visa otherwise go home

Which border is recommended between Sadao or Wang Prachan for smooth entry. If I have to pay a "fixer" to get me in with a visa exempt stamp that's fine, but how much would that cost? I won't be doing it with a visa run company, I'll be going alone from Penang or KL. I have been to Padang Besar before and don't think there are any 'fixers' at that checkpoint.