what is a border run

[zugzug123]

hello, I see people here are waiting for land borders to open so they can do a "border run". Can somebody please explain to me what this? I imagine it would be to go out of Thailand and get a visa on arrival stamp? Rinse repeat every 30 days? If so, are the IOs at the land border okay with that? And how many border runs can you do back to back? I assume it is cheaper than to apply for a 60 tourist visa in a neighboring country? Sorry if I totally missed the point of what a border run is. 

[darkobeli]

Well, border run is crossing the border so you could get a stump on your way back, in order to extend your stay in Thailand.Ofcourse you will need the right visa,for example multi entry TR.

Currently there is NO border runs because of Covid restrictions. And as far as I know the embassies are not issuing multi entry vissas 

[Captain Monday]

More knowledgeable people will fill in the limitations on 30 day visa exempt at land borders.

They were also used for 90 day entries, B- visas, O-A etc.

 

"Border runs" will not be the same for many years maybe never. You have to consider the entry requirements of the neighboring country. The moment you exit Thailand now you are considered diseased and need all the requirements of ThailandPass (Insurances, quarantine stay packages )  to return.  Covid-19 is just the thin edge of the wedge.

[Meat Pie 47]

17 minutes ago, darkobeli said:

Well, border run is crossing the border so you could get a stump on your way back, in order to extend your stay in Thailand.Ofcourse you will need the right visa,for example multi entry TR.

Currently there is NO border runs because of Covid restrictions. And as far as I know the embassies are not issuing multi entry vissas 

Well when I was in Thailand I was only on a visa on Arrival and did a boarder run every 3 months to Malaysia I had no mtev at that time.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, zugzug123 said:

I assume it is cheaper than to apply for a 60 tourist visa in a neighboring country?

It is a lot faster.

It's a long time since I did this but there was a bus service in Bangkok leaving early in the morning to the Cambodian border, lunch in the casino outside Thailand and then back to Bangkok. I think we were back in Bangkok about 3pm. All done within one 1/2 day.

Compare that to traveling to wherever the embassy is, applying for a visa (mostly in the morning on the next day after arrival), waiting 2 or 3 days, and then (hopefully) picking up the passport sometime in the afternoon and rushing back on the same day or better the next day. More time, more cost.

[MajorTom]

You did not need a visa to do a border run. You could just exit and re-enter on 30 day exempt. The rules have changed  several times over the years, not sure about the latest status. I remember there was a period I only got 15 days visa exempt at land borders. I think its back to 30 now, but max 2 times per year? (at land borders). Most neighboring country passports has less limitations on border crossings i believe.

[ubonjoe]

5 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

Well when I was in Thailand I was only on a visa on Arrival and did a boarder run every 3 months to Malaysia I had no mtev at that time.

A visa on arrival only allows a 15 day stay after applying for it and paying a 2000 baht fee for it and it is only available for those from 18 countries .

You were probably were getting 30 day visa exempt entries that can be extended for 30 days, Not sure how you were getting 90 days unless you are from one of the countries that get a 90 day visa exempt entry under a bilateral agreement.

Visa exempt entries at land border crossings are limited to 2 per calendar year.

[BritManToo]

5 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

Well when I was in Thailand I was only on a visa on Arrival and did a boarder run every 3 months to Malaysia I had no mtev at that time.

Back in 2011 I had a few pals in Chiang Mai that did border runs every 2 weeks, until immigration stopped that.

[BritTim]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Not sure how you were getting 90 days unless you are from one of the countries that get a 90 day visa exempt entry under a bilateral agreement.

Possibly, he was married to a Thai and getting a 60-day extension to visit her.

 

As you pointed out, this would only have been possible via a land border twice per year, and would have been risky in recent years by air, with immigration officials at airports tending to look negatively at the use of visa exempt entries to stay longer in Thailand than is normal for tourism purposes.

[Jack1988]

Are people here still dreaming about borders run? That's not thailand we used to know before anymore, so forget it

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Possibly, he was married to a Thai and getting a 60-day extension to visit her.

After mid 2014 that would give a total stay of 120 days with the 30 day extension a visa exempt entry.

[DrJack54]

15 hours ago, zugzug123 said:

I see people here are waiting for land borders to open so they can do a "border run". Can somebody please explain to me what this?

Border run can be for various situations. One example is for folk with a multi entry visa that requires you to exit and reenter Thailand every so many days.

Another reason is for folk wishing to obtain a 30 day visa exempt entry. The maximum number of these VE entries via land border is limited to 2 per calendar year.

Of course some folk actually obtain a visa, however that involves overnight stay. 

Each entry with visa exempt or tourist visa can be extended by 30 days. 

[BritTim]

38 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

After mid 2014 that would give a total stay of 120 days with the 30 day extension a visa exempt entry.

Usually, you are, of course correct. However (i) a few immigration offices, as I recall, do not allow you to use both the regular 30-day extension and the 60-day spouse visit extension; and (ii) he may have been happy to take the trip every three months rather than avail himself of the extra 30 days.

[Russell17au]

You used to be able to go to Savannakhet and get a 1 year multi entry marriage visa but you had to leave Thailand every 90 days (border run) instead of being able to do a 90 day report. It was quite handy for some as depending where you lived it was easier to do the border run than muck around going to an immigration office and doing a 90 day report. I used it as a day out and to do some shopping at Villa Market at Udon Thani for some good old western foods on the way back home

[DrJack54]

14 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

You used to be able to go to Savannakhet and get a 1 year multi entry marriage visa but you had to leave Thailand every 90 days (border run) instead of being able to do a 90 day report. It was quite handy for some as depending where you lived it was easier to do the border run than muck around going to an immigration office and doing a 90 day report. I used it as a day out and to do some shopping at Villa Market at Udon Thani for some good old western foods on the way back home

Don't follow. 

A 90 day report can be done online (if working) or by mail.

Simple process if one does not want to go in person.

The reason the ME marriage was a nice option is that no money was required to be kept in bank or monthly income. 

Some regard it as a loophole and not intended for those living in Thailand. 

However nothing stopping anyone using it that way. 

If I was married that's the visa I would have.

Certainly not to avoid 90 day reports. 

[Denim]

15 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It is a lot faster.

It's a long time since I did this but there was a bus service in Bangkok leaving early in the morning to the Cambodian border, lunch in the casino outside Thailand and then back to Bangkok. I think we were back in Bangkok about 3pm. All done within one 1/2 day.

Compare that to traveling to wherever the embassy is, applying for a visa (mostly in the morning on the next day after arrival), waiting 2 or 3 days, and then (hopefully) picking up the passport sometime in the afternoon and rushing back on the same day or better the next day. More time, more cost.

Jack Golf died a long time ago when repeated border runs became unacceptable to imigration.

[userabcd]

15 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It is a lot faster.

It's a long time since I did this but there was a bus service in Bangkok leaving early in the morning to the Cambodian border, lunch in the casino outside Thailand and then back to Bangkok. I think we were back in Bangkok about 3pm. All done within one 1/2 day.

Compare that to traveling to wherever the embassy is, applying for a visa (mostly in the morning on the next day after arrival), waiting 2 or 3 days, and then (hopefully) picking up the passport sometime in the afternoon and rushing back on the same day or better the next day. More time, more cost.

Those were the days.

[KhunLA]

48 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

 at Udon Thani 

When living at UT, use to do the border runs every 90 days, on the multi entry -O- visa (marriage/support/retirement).  First 8 ish yrs here, UT didn't even have an Imm office, and closest was Nong Khai anyway.

 

Quite enjoyed my hops across the bridge, overnight, stock up on some Baileys' as then either hard to find or way overpriced.  Finally just started extending in country.

[geisha]

I had friends in Cambodia and Bali,  so often used these trips to lengthen my stay. Never had a problem. Otherwise I went to Yangon and got a new visa easily there .That’s a goner! 
Getting an EVISA for me is now impossible( I’m in France) I was warned it would take 6 to 8 weeks with NO guarantees ! Things just get more complicated in Thailand every year for me. So visa exempt it is.

[bobandyson]

A big drawback to border runs every 90 days to Cambo or Laos was that your passport would fill up quickly with one-page visas and 4 stamps every run.

 

Years ago not too much of a problem when you could just 'pop in' to the Brit embassy, fill out a form, hand it over with a photo, and then 5 days later pick up a new passport.

 

Now? 

Edited December 10, 2021 by bobandyson

[stratocaster]

In 2015 having retired from working in Thailand I was debating whether to use an elite or marriage or retirement method of stay. To tide me over I decided to get a STV from Vientiane using a visa service company. On arriving at Lotus On Nut I was shocked to see hundreds of people and twenty plus vans. I was curious as to who these people are, as they did not look like tourists. At Nong Khai there was a photo and photocopy booth set up and a constant stream of vans arriving from all over Thailand. The border opened at 0600 sharp and it was like the charge of the light brigade, but using an agent you were directed to a special office to be stamped out of Thailand. They even processed overstayers there. After Thai immigration you handed your passport to the agent and that was the last you saw of it until you re-entered Thailand, again at a special window. At the Laos side you went straight to the vans bypassing Laos customs or immigration and straight to the hotel not even visiting the embassy. I did it four times as I quite enjoyed the breaks from Thailand, but every trip the perks were reducing. In fact my last trip they had stopped the special window at the embassy so we had to queue up with the great unwased. I then discovered the non o marriage from Savannakhet.

There is one thing I learned about visa runs then, was that most of the people I met and talked to were working in Thailand. This is around the time Thai immigration and the embassy in Vientiane were starting to take a harder look at people staying long term in Thailand, and I can see why. Remember there were three such trips every week!

[brianthainess]

On 12/10/2021 at 1:33 AM, Meat Pie 47 said:

Well when I was in Thailand I was only on a visa on Arrival and did a boarder run every 3 months to Malaysia I had no mtev at that time.

Visa on Arrival is not the same as visa exempt.

[TropicalGuy]

Border Run a past defined activity and gone since Covid restrictions started Mar2020. No return until pandemic over. No story here except fond reminiscences.