Are 'visa runs' to surrounding countries now viable for those who used to obtains their visas in that manner?

Costing much more now, circ 5k for a minivan border run from Pattaya 

4 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Costing much more now, circ 5k for a minivan border run from Pattaya 

Wondering which countries are open for border runs and what difficulty there may be re-entering the Thailand?

6 minutes ago, connda said:

Wondering which countries are open for border runs and what difficulty there may be re-entering the Thailand?

At Ban Pakkad checkpoint to Cambodia, shenanigans are going on, where some kind of bung required, think 2,700 baht was mentioned, so around 5k, BC it was 2,300 baht total from Pattaya. Re-entering Thailand seems easy enough

16 minutes ago, connda said:

Wondering which countries are open for border runs and what difficulty there may be re-entering the Thailand?

The Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia  border crossings are open. It should not be a problem to leave and re-enter the country at about any of them

I went to Laos, via staying overnight, after a flight to Udon. A train leaves in the morning around 7am cost 11 baht to nong Khai. I could have walked to border but a tuk tuk came for about 50 baht. It cost 30 baht bus to and from border. I dealt with how many days in Laos, to which I replied one day. Being same day IO both sides frowned but move me on. I was back in Nong Khai within an hour, lucky to be near departure times on both sides. A mini van leaves for Udon near border near 7/11. Cost from memory maybe, 200 baht. Maybe 500. Flight from DM around 1000 both ways with air Asia. Better than hours in mini van or bus. Motel 500 baht. Taxi to and from airport 200 baht. Before 5 pm bus to Udon 80 baht. I stayed in Udon 3 nights with uncertainty if need stay Vientiane one night. Not many either side at border. Border Thai opens 8 am and after an hour train was open on arrival. But go Udon one day and stay one night to catch early train and be back in time following day for arvo flight back to DM second day. Better than 5000 baht. Bus from Pattaya to DM 180 baht. Best BTS DM to BKK and bus from BKK to Pattaya 130 baht. Buses from Mo Chit only 2 hourly. Every hour from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya. 

 

46 minutes ago, connda said:

Wondering which countries are open for border runs and what difficulty there may be re-entering the Thailand?

Which border run to do depends on where you are staying. 

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

The Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia  border crossings are open. It should not be a problem to leave and re-enter the country at about any of them

What about people who don't have "Covid shots?"

 

13 minutes ago, connda said:

What about people who don't have "Covid shots?"

 

There is no longer a requirement to show you have been fully vaccinated or to provide a covid 19 test to enter Thailand.

You would need to check what is required for entry to the other country.

18 hours ago, Haveasay said:

I went to Laos, via staying overnight, after a flight to Udon. A train leaves in the morning around 7am cost 11 baht to nong Khai. I could have walked to border but a tuk tuk came for about 50 baht. It cost 30 baht bus to and from border. I dealt with how many days in Laos, to which I replied one day. Being same day IO both sides frowned but move me on. I was back in Nong Khai within an hour, lucky to be near departure times on both sides. A mini van leaves for Udon near border near 7/11. Cost from memory maybe, 200 baht. Maybe 500. Flight from DM around 1000 both ways with air Asia. Better than hours in mini van or bus. Motel 500 baht. Taxi to and from airport 200 baht. Before 5 pm bus to Udon 80 baht. I stayed in Udon 3 nights with uncertainty if need stay Vientiane one night. Not many either side at border. Border Thai opens 8 am and after an hour train was open on arrival. But go Udon one day and stay one night to catch early train and be back in time following day for arvo flight back to DM second day. Better than 5000 baht. Bus from Pattaya to DM 180 baht. Best BTS DM to BKK and bus from BKK to Pattaya 130 baht. Buses from Mo Chit only 2 hourly. Every hour from Suvarnabhumi to Pattaya. 

 

Seems like it would be easier to fly to Kuala Lumpur for a night 

19 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia  border crossings are open. It should not be a problem to leave and re-enter the country at about any of them

Is it still possible with a Non O multiple entry visa, to go to Chon Chom and leave and re-enter the country as before in about  1 hour? (without problems).. Or should there be some days between leave and re-enter?

34 minutes ago, Sjoerd said:

Is it still possible with a Non O multiple entry visa, to go to Chon Chom and leave and re-enter the country as before in about  1 hour? (without problems).. Or should there be some days between leave and re-enter?

There is still no problem with an immediate turnaround.

I weighed up KL but you still have an overnight stay if you're not staying in Bangkok prior to flight to get an early flight from DM and back same day. Train in and out KL if you stay not free. 

On 10/7/2022 at 9:35 AM, novacova said:

Seems like it would be easier to fly to Kuala Lumpur for a night 

... -> Kuala Lumpur -> Kota Bharu -> Sungai Kolok -> go home by train
would be a better route. Because entering Thailand by air is for true bureaucracy lovers only.

Went to Jomtien immigration this morning. Noticed the V2 legal/copy shop next to entrance has started visa runs to Cambodia again (sorry, didn't ask price)

 

1 hour ago, aussiexpat said:

Went to Jomtien immigration this morning. Noticed the V2 legal/copy shop next to entrance has started visa runs to Cambodia again (sorry, didn't ask price)

 

I asked yesterday.5500 baht

2 minutes ago, Hmunker said:

I asked yesterday.5500 baht

Bit steep for a mini van ride

2 hours ago, visabouncer said:

... -> Kuala Lumpur -> Kota Bharu -> Sungai Kolok -> go home by train
would be a better route. Because entering Thailand by air is for true bureaucracy lovers only.

If wanting to return to Thailand by land from Malaysia, my choice would be:

DMK (Don Muang)->PEN (Penang)->Hat Yai by bus->HDY (Hat Yai)->DMK

 

The Sungai Kolok to Bangkok train is a really long trip (at least 20 hours, and sometimes more). For those with limited mobility, it would likely be very difficult crossing the border at Sungai Kolok, as no-mans land involves about a 1 km walk.

This has probably been explained ad nauseum, but what visas/situations are border runs acceptable for, and how many times can you do it?

 

Is it for people who want to come here on a tourist visa and stay in perpetuity? Or just people in a pinch?

54 minutes ago, phills2k1 said:

This has probably been explained ad nauseum, but what visas/situations are border runs acceptable for, and how many times can you do it?

 

Is it for people who want to come here on a tourist visa and stay in perpetuity? Or just people in a pinch?

I think the days of staying long-term on a TV are gone now . Using the border crossing to  enter and get a 30 or 45 day stamp can  only be done twice per calendar year .

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

If wanting to return to Thailand by land from Malaysia, my choice would be:

DMK (Don Muang)->PEN (Penang)->Hat Yai by bus->HDY (Hat Yai)->DMK

 

The Sungai Kolok to Bangkok train is a really long trip (at least 20 hours, and sometimes more). For those with limited mobility, it would likely be very difficult crossing the border at Sungai Kolok, as no-mans land involves about a 1 km walk.

So that would be through the Sadao border crossing (which has quite some discouraging reviews on Google Maps).

I'm currently deciding if I should cross from Malaysia at Sadao or Padang Besar next week... (not a border run)

4 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

This has probably been explained ad nauseum, but what visas/situations are border runs acceptable for, and how many times can you do it?

 

Is it for people who want to come here on a tourist visa and stay in perpetuity? Or just people in a pinch?

As already explained, you can only get two visa exemptions per calendar year when entering by land. With a visa, there are no limits to the number of times you can enter by land.

 

The difficulty if wanting to stay indefinitely on tourist visas, will eventually be  finding embassies/consulates willing to issue you the visas. Years ago, some consulates would issue unlimited numbers of tourist visas, but all embassies/consulates now have limits of one kind of another. With careful research, you can get quite a few, but will probably eventually run out of places to apply, certainly places where entering by land is somewhat convenient.

11 hours ago, phills2k1 said:

This has probably been explained ad nauseum, but what visas/situations are border runs acceptable for, and how many times can you do it?

Is it for people who want to come here on a tourist visa and stay in perpetuity? Or just people in a pinch?

There can be several reasons for doing a border run.

Getting a new entry for a multiple entry non immigrant visa (IE non-o visa) or a multiple entry tourist visa.

A change of plans and needing some additional time in the country which could be gained by getting a new visa exempt entry.

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

There can be several reasons for doing a border run.

Getting a new entry for a multiple entry non immigrant visa (IE non-o visa) or a multiple entry tourist visa.

A change of plans and needing some additional time in the country which could be gained by getting a new visa exempt entry.

I'm out of touch/date with visa run allowances and wondered if the land border re-entry would provide only 30 day (or is it now 45 day) extensions for a non immigrant 'O' 1 year marriage visa holder?  [Shame Kanchanaburi is closed 'cos that used to be a pleasant run from Bangkok]

3 months would suit better but i suspect it's still only available for returning by air...?

 

Getting paperwork to open an SCB bank account for the 400k deposit is growing in complexity and I want to have a backstop position ready to go.

I'll post more on my SCB position but maybe better under a new heading.

 

 

38 minutes ago, magpie3 said:

I'm out of touch/date with visa run allowances and wondered if the land border re-entry would provide only 30 day (or is it now 45 day) extensions for a non immigrant 'O' 1 year marriage visa holder?  [Shame Kanchanaburi is closed 'cos that used to be a pleasant run from Bangkok]

3 months would suit better but i suspect it's still only available for returning by air...?

 

Getting paperwork to open an SCB bank account for the 400k deposit is growing in complexity and I want to have a backstop position ready to go.

I'll post more on my SCB position but maybe better under a new heading.

I am not sure if you currently have a multiple entry Non O visa or an extension of stay based on marriage.

 

If you have a multiple entry Non O visa, you will receive 90 days, whether entering Thailand by land or by air.

 

If you are exiting with an expiring one year extension based on marriage, you can get 45 days from a visa exempt entry. However, it would normally be better for you to go to Savannakhet or Ho Chi Minh City for a multiple entry Non O based on marriage to a Thai.

 

None of the above rely on money in a Thai bank account. For a new one year extension based on marriage, you will, of course, require a Thai bank account with 400k baht.

3 hours ago, magpie3 said:

I'm out of touch/date with visa run allowances and wondered if the land border re-entry would provide only 30 day (or is it now 45 day) extensions for a non immigrant 'O' 1 year marriage visa holder?

A visa exempt entry is 45 days by land or air.

If you have a valid multiple entry non-o visa you would get a 90 day entry.

If married to a Thai you can apply for a 60 day extension to visit you wife. Only one is allowed per entry with a visa or a visa exempt entry.

 

14 hours ago, drfu said:

So that would be through the Sadao border crossing (which has quite some discouraging reviews on Google Maps).

I'm currently deciding if I should cross from Malaysia at Sadao or Padang Besar next week... (not a border run)

If going thru Padang use the shuttle train to from Haad Yai.. Immigration on station platforms only open when shuttle is there. Using road crossing may be tedious

21 hours ago, BritTim said:

If wanting to return to Thailand by land from Malaysia, my choice would be:

DMK (Don Muang)->PEN (Penang)->Hat Yai by bus->HDY (Hat Yai)->DMK

 

The Sungai Kolok to Bangkok train is a really long trip (at least 20 hours, and sometimes more). For those with limited mobility, it would likely be very difficult crossing the border at Sungai Kolok, as no-mans land involves about a 1 km walk.

I used to love long bus trips until one day when I unfortunately eat something asian that my body could not accept. It was hard to enter toilet in the VIP bus without vomiting reflex caused by ammonia in the air. This is because toilets in busses are not the same as toilets in trains. In train toilets you can see that everything fall on the road. In busses it is impossible. So a toilet in the cheapest third-class train is so much better that that of the most expensive VIP bus.
That is why for me BKK->KUL(air)-> Sungai_Kolok->Hat_Yai(commuter train or bus)->Bangkok(by air) is much better than PEN (Penang)->Hat Yai by bus.
For people with limited mobility the Padang besar border checkpoint looks better. There is a hourly commuter train from Butterworth(very close to Penang) to Padang besar(in Malaysia) and a commuter train from Padang besar(in Thailand) to Hat Yai (about 4 times/day).

4 hours ago, visabouncer said:

I used to love long bus trips until one day when I unfortunately eat something asian that my body could not accept. It was hard to enter toilet in the VIP bus without vomiting reflex caused by ammonia in the air. This is because toilets in busses are not the same as toilets in trains. In train toilets you can see that everything fall on the road. In busses it is impossible. So a toilet in the cheapest third-class train is so much better that that of the most expensive VIP bus.
That is why for me BKK->KUL(air)-> Sungai_Kolok->Hat_Yai(commuter train or bus)->Bangkok(by air) is much better than PEN (Penang)->Hat Yai by bus.
For people with limited mobility the Padang besar border checkpoint looks better. There is a hourly commuter train from Butterworth(very close to Penang) to Padang besar(in Malaysia) and a commuter train from Padang besar(in Thailand) to Hat Yai (about 4 times/day).

There are only 2 trains daily from Padang Besar to Hat Yai:

Train number 948 leaves Padang Besar daily at 08:55 am Thai Time (09:55 Malaysian Time) - Arriving in Hat Yai at 09:50 Thai Time.

Train number 950 leaves Padang Besar daily at 15:40 Thai Time (16:40 Malaysian Time) - Arriving in Hat Yai at 16:35 Thai Time.

source: https://www.railway.co.th/Station/StationList

 

Also there are minibuses running between Penang and Hat Yai.... that is another way to avoid the bus toilets.

 

On 10/12/2022 at 10:34 AM, visabouncer said:

... -> Kuala Lumpur -> Kota Bharu -> Sungai Kolok -> go home by train
would be a better route. Because entering Thailand by air is for true bureaucracy lovers only.

That used to be my route all the way from Singapore before the pandemic. Please share border details and when and how your last trip went. Thank you!