Padang Besar for Visa border run?

[spambot]

I was planning to fly to Hat Yai and get the local train to Padang Besar. 

Last time I did this was many years ago. It seemed simple then, just  left the train and stamped out of Thailand and then stamped into Malaysia while in the station. Due to no trains running that day to Hat Yai I took the roadway from the station (next to the canteen) and then got stamped out of Malaysia and back into Thailand, got a local bus back to Hat Yai.

 

Questions:

1. Is there now a rule prohibiting leaving Malaysia on the same day and needing to spend at least one night in Malaysia or is this just at specific border crossings with Malaysia?

2. Rather than take the road and the bus as before, this time I will only use the train since the  return to Hat Yai leaves 45min after arriving at Padang Besar. Is it possible to Stamp out of Thailand, stamp into Malaysia, stamp back out of Malaysia and finally stamp back into Thailand (with a 2nd Visa exempt for this calendar year) without leaving the station?

3. Is Padang Besar the best Malaysian border to do a visa run?

[ubonjoe]

Where are you staying now?

Doing the border hop to Malaysian may not be your best choice.

[my friend I]

The train usually leaves a Bit later than 45 minutes. But it may not be enough time. There will be people coming to Padang Besar on the Kommuter train from Butterworth who will be in the Immigration also.

[sandyf]

13 hours ago, spambot said:

Is it possible to Stamp out of Thailand, stamp into Malaysia, stamp back out of Malaysia and finally stamp back into Thailand (with a 2nd Visa exempt for this calendar year) without leaving the station?

Going back on the same train is a bit hit and miss. If the Hat Yai shuttle is delayed at all then the turn round time can be quite short. About 4 years ago I came back from Langkawi and it was like that, we were all sat waiting for the Hat Yai train to arrive and I doubt it was 15 minutes before it was on it's way again.

It is certainly worth a try if you go on the morning shuttle, worst case scenario is you have to wait for the afternoon shuttle.

I did it just as the pandemic started. Good job I didn't plan on the same train back, no chance with the covid checks that were in place on arrival. There was also a group  of uniforms that got off the train and we had to wait on the platform while they had a photo shoot before we could proceed to immigration.

I just had a wander over to the market area and came back on the afternoon train.

[my friend I]

If you go on the morning shuttle you could let the railway guy who travels on the train from Haad Yai about your plan to return on the same train. He is very good on customer service.

 

There have been delays with scanning the covid QRs coming into Thailand. That may work in your favour. Depends on how many passengers are entering Thailand

[spambot]

8 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Where are you staying now?

Doing the border hop to Malaysian may not be your best choice.

Thanks Joe for your response,

I will be leaving from pratumnak hill Pattaya, flying from Bangkok and targeting songkhla for a visit.

I remember the last time I tried to do this you provided advice on the merits of the different border crossing with Malaysia and some required overnight stays before returning to Thailand. This information may now be different since that was in 2016.

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, spambot said:

I will be leaving from pratumnak hill Pattaya, flying from Bangkok and targeting songkhla for a visit.

If you are just making the trip for a border hop Cambodia would be a better choice in my opinion.

[spambot]

53 minutes ago, my friend I said:

If you go on the morning shuttle you could let the railway guy who travels on the train from Haad Yai about your plan to return on the same train. He is very good on customer service.

 

There have been delays with scanning the covid QRs coming into Thailand. That may work in your favour. Depends on how many passengers are entering Thailand

Thanks for that - Good info. 

I also remember also coming on the train from Butterworth on a different time and the commuter train waiting. Hence I need to factor in time as part of this crowd for processing to get back on the train before it leaves.

 

It sounds like you are familiar with this border crossing, hence are able to confirm that it can be accomplished (ignoring the time constraints) that a border run would be possible from inside the station and immigration officers are normally prepared to provide both the In / Out passport stamps for both countries similar to any other border run.

[spambot]

Just now, ubonjoe said:

If you are just making the trip for a border hop Cambodia would be a better choice in my opinion.

Thanks Joe - I am going to songkhla for pleasure and fitting in a border run while I am there. Are there any issues with requirement to stay overnight in Malaysia before returning to Thailand from this border crossing?

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, spambot said:

Are there any issues with requirement to stay overnight in Malaysia before returning to Thailand from this border crossing?

Not sure about it now since there has not been many recent reports about it.

[spambot]

8 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Not sure about it now since there has not been many recent reports about it.

OK - Thanks Joe for responding.

[spambot]

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

Going back on the same train is a bit hit and miss. If the Hat Yai shuttle is delayed at all then the turn round time can be quite short. About 4 years ago I came back from Langkawi and it was like that, we were all sat waiting for the Hat Yai train to arrive and I doubt it was 15 minutes before it was on it's way again.

It is certainly worth a try if you go on the morning shuttle, worst case scenario is you have to wait for the afternoon shuttle.

I did it just as the pandemic started. Good job I didn't plan on the same train back, no chance with the covid checks that were in place on arrival. There was also a group  of uniforms that got off the train and we had to wait on the platform while they had a photo shoot before we could proceed to immigration.

I just had a wander over to the market area and came back on the afternoon train.

Ahh perfect - So what you are saying I think is that at least the border run can be done in the station similar to any border run by land. I was not sure that there was going to be some kind of gotcha when arriving by train and leaving by train. If what you imply, that it is possible inside the station and there is no requirement to stay a night in Malaysia, then this is great news to hear. There is also the added bonus that if the full border run is possible inside the station it becomes a whole lot more simple to navigate. Every land based border I have ever done I always find myself wondering around unsuccessfully looking for clues where to go next.

[spambot]

12 hours ago, sandyf said:

Going back on the same train is a bit hit and miss. If the Hat Yai shuttle is delayed at all then the turn round time can be quite short. About 4 years ago I came back from Langkawi and it was like that, we were all sat waiting for the Hat Yai train to arrive and I doubt it was 15 minutes before it was on it's way again.

It is certainly worth a try if you go on the morning shuttle, worst case scenario is you have to wait for the afternoon shuttle.

I did it just as the pandemic started. Good job I didn't plan on the same train back, no chance with the covid checks that were in place on arrival. There was also a group  of uniforms that got off the train and we had to wait on the platform while they had a photo shoot before we could proceed to immigration.

I just had a wander over to the market area and came back on the afternoon train.

I just remembered my very first time coming back from Georgetown 2012 and I also wandered over to the market where I bought a t-shirt with a 1960's ban the bomb logo and then came back for the afternoon train, I got out of station and went to nearby McDonalds, 6 hrs latter a bomb exploded, killing 11 people. At the time I was on the train going north to Bangkok wearing my shirt from the market.

[sandyf]

16 hours ago, spambot said:

Ahh perfect - So what you are saying I think is that at least the border run can be done in the station similar to any border run by land. I was not sure that there was going to be some kind of gotcha when arriving by train and leaving by train. If what you imply, that it is possible inside the station and there is no requirement to stay a night in Malaysia, then this is great news to hear. There is also the added bonus that if the full border run is possible inside the station it becomes a whole lot more simple to navigate. Every land based border I have ever done I always find myself wondering around unsuccessfully looking for clues where to go next.

Yes, itis all very straightforward, you get off the train, through Thai immigration then straight through Malaysian immigration and up the steps to the station.

It is all on the platform and there have been reports from people coming into the station from the Malaysian side that there is no immigration or it is shut down. It is not particularly obvious and there are no signs. It is only open when a Thai train is due to leave during the day. It is not open for the Bangkok train in the evening, you have to use the road border for that.

[sandyf]

5 hours ago, spambot said:

I just remembered my very first time coming back from Georgetown 2012 and I also wandered over to the market where I bought a t-shirt with a 1960's ban the bomb logo and then came back for the afternoon train, I got out of station and went to nearby McDonalds, 6 hrs latter a bomb exploded, killing 11 people. At the time I was on the train going north to Bangkok wearing my shirt from the market.

It was about that time when i first went through PB, when the trains went all the way to Butterworth.

We just got off the train, through immigration and back on again a few minutes later.

How times have changed.

[bendejo]

I did that crossing lots of times, near always used some form of minibuses.  Never did it by train, word going around was the train sat there for a long time.  But that was long ago.

When coming from Malaysia into Thailand by minibus there was sometimes a 100b baksheesh entry tax by the uniformed guys on the Thai side, collected by the drivers.

 

 

[spambot]

8 hours ago, sandyf said:

Yes, itis all very straightforward, you get off the train, through Thai immigration then straight through Malaysian immigration and up the steps to the station.

It is all on the platform and there have been reports from people coming into the station from the Malaysian side that there is no immigration or it is shut down. It is not particularly obvious and there are no signs. It is only open when a Thai train is due to leave during the day. It is not open for the Bangkok train in the evening, you have to use the road border for that.

sandyf - Brilliant response - Just what I wanted to hear.

 

It is posts like this that make a differences and provides value to me and other people on this forum.

Thanks

[my friend I]

I haven't been able to find out about whether you have to stay a night out of the country if you cross into Malaysia.

The only places I have heard that are on the west Cambodia crossings.

 

If I were at Padang I would take the 2 hour train ride to Butterworth/Penang. Everything  is good there if you avoid the weekend crowds

[spambot]

15 minutes ago, my friend I said:

I haven't been able to find out about whether you have to stay a night out of the country if you cross into Malaysia.

The only places I have heard that are on the west Cambodia crossings.

 

If I were at Padang I would take the 2 hour train ride to Butterworth/Penang. Everything  is good there if you avoid the weekend crowds

Good point my friend I

[Stocky]

9 hours ago, sandyf said:

It is all on the platform and there have been reports from people coming into the station from the Malaysian side that there is no immigration or it is shut down.

Friends visiting me in Hat Yai this weekend from KL found that the Thai immigration on the platform was closed.

[my friend I]

12 hours ago, Stocky said:

Friends visiting me in Hat Yai this weekend from KL found that the Thai immigration on the platform was closed.

I believe it's only open  just before the shuttles are leaving.

[my friend I]

OP In case you don't know, there is a Padang Besar station in Thailand. Don't get off there.

[recom273]

 

On 9/27/2022 at 12:10 AM, spambot said:

Is Padang Besar the best Malaysian border to do a visa run?

I used it for 15+ years, in the end it wasn't the same sleepy border post that it used to be and I stopped using it.

 

I started to use the one in the national park at Satun, however, without transport it may be a bit far for you, but if your guests are happy to take you to the Sunday morning market, you could make it an interesting morning. The border posts are only 50m or so apart, border staff pleasant enough.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, my friend I said:

I believe it's only open  just before the shuttles are leaving.

Yes, they start selling tickets 1 hour before and immigration follows. I think just 3 times a day, the 2 shuttles and there was one Bangkok train during the day, not sure if that is still running. The shuttles started up again in July.

It didn't open for the Bangkok trains in the evening, you had to go down to the road and then back up to the station.

[sandyf]

15 hours ago, Stocky said:

Friends visiting me in Hat Yai this weekend from KL found that the Thai immigration on the platform was closed.

Quite possibly, not open all the time.

[spambot]

6 hours ago, my friend I said:

OP In case you don't know, there is a Padang Besar station in Thailand. Don't get off there.

Yes - On my first train journey I just looked on the map and thought that the Padang Besar I would arrive was on the Thai side, not realising that there was two Padang Besar stations. I got off when the rest of the train emptied then assumed that I had got off at the Thailand side . 

 

I am assuming that the same train stops at both Padang Besar stations and hence need to ignore the first Padang Besar station or if not take taxi to the passport controls on the road track up to the station.

[spambot]

6 hours ago, recom273 said:

 

I used it for 15+ years, in the end it wasn't the same sleepy border post that it used to be and I stopped using it.

 

I started to use the one in the national park at Satun, however, without transport it may be a bit far for you, but if your guests are happy to take you to the Sunday morning market, you could make it an interesting morning. The border posts are only 50m or so apart, border staff pleasant enough.

Interesting - I did not know that Satun Border option even existed.

 

I remember last I did the border run I was advised not to use Sadao because there was an insistence to stay one night in Malaysia before returning. I never tested the Sadao border run and I went to Padang Besar. It sounds like from your experience, it is not as easy as it once was at Padang Besar.

 

I just did some quick research on Google maps and just as you say Satun is difficult to reach without transport. However I can see that most all Border runs from Phuket or even Koh Samui all chose to go to the Satun Border.

 

[zzzzz]

Wang Prachun crossing ( Satun) is a very easy crossing, both immigrations are done staying in ur car<  Its a great ride down as well an the weekend markets are good.
You do need ur own transport, started using it as got tried of always having to remove tint from my front windows on entering Malaysia  ???? from Sadao

from Samui stay on the east coast

 

For a extra trip head down to Betong as the drive from Yalla to there is fantastic and cross there, Betong is the entertainment capital of Southern thailand

[spambot]

1 hour ago, zzzzz said:

Wang Prachun crossing ( Satun) is a very easy crossing, both immigrations are done staying in ur car<  Its a great ride down as well an the weekend markets are good.
You do need ur own transport, started using it as got tried of always having to remove tint from my front windows on entering Malaysia  ???? from Sadao

from Samui stay on the east coast

 

For a extra trip head down to Betong as the drive from Yalla to there is fantastic and cross there, Betong is the entertainment capital of Southern thailand

Mnnn - Interesting.

 

A previous recommendation from many years ago was to get the train down to Sungai Petani, then there is a minivan to Betong and then you can take a minivan from Betong to Hat Yai Bus Terminal.

 

Obviously doing the Visa run this way is not the most efficient, but done simply for the experience and for the enjoyment of taking the road less travelled.

[ubonjoe]

I have removed the duplicate of your post due to a system error.