Hua Hin visa run/flight with OA Visa what are my options and what documents are needed for re-entry

[stat]

My multiple OA Visa lasts until Jan 23 and I would like to stay until March or April.

 

1. What is the shortest option I have travel time wise? Spending 2 times 3 Hours in the cab to BKK and flying out is not fun, at least not for me. Pls no comments on how nice travel is etc... ????

2. Hua Hin Airport has stopped servicing internatinal destinations and is only flying to China Mai to my understanding. Correct?

3. All nearby borders border checkpoints to Myanmar (3 Pagoda and PKK) are not for foreigners. Correct?

 

So my current guess is I have to go to Kanchanaburi. Which organisers are recommended? I understand 4 hrs one way trip.

For reentry to Thailand I need the proof of health insurance and my eVisa printed out. Are any other documents needed?

 

Can I extend the visa 45 days at immigration? I am not looking for a complete extension of stay, as I do not have a bank account in TH etc.

 

Thanks!

 

[ubonjoe]

If your OA visa issued by a embassy or consulate is still valid you could do a border hop and get a new one year entry.

If you don't insurance valid for the full year the would stamp you in until the day your insurance expires. You would need a copy of your e visa to prove your visa is still valid.

You cannot do a border hop at any crossing to Myanmar. They are closed for foreigners at this time.

A train to Malaysia might be a good option to get a new entry. After that a trip to one of Cambodia crossing would be needed.

[stat]

Thanks Joe! I was not aware that ALL crossings to Myanmar are closed. Train to Malaysia is 14 Hours and was not on my radar but this is even longer then flying out of BKK, so I guess I have to via BKK. My E OA visa (issued by consulate) is still valid until end of Dec 2022 for another entry, so a quick hop would suffice I understand to get another year out of the visa. My health insurance is valid for 4 more years. Is there any way to extend 45 days without a border run? I will maybe wait until end of December if they reopen the land border at least at kanchanaburi or if flights come up from HH. Another option was flying from HH to Udon Thani but apparently those flights are cancelled as well to my surprise.

Edited October 19, 2022 by stat

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, stat said:

My health insurance is valid for 4 more years. Is there any way to extend 45 days without a border run?

If you can meet the requirements, a one-year extension of your permission to stay in possible. If you cannot meet all of the requirements, an agent can assist, but this raises strong emotions among some as encouraging corruption. There is no obvious valid short term extension available for you. Creative solutions might be available. For instance, maybe a 90-day education extension might be possible with help from a language school.

[stat]

21 hours ago, BritTim said:

If you can meet the requirements, a one-year extension of your permission to stay in possible. If you cannot meet all of the requirements, an agent can assist, but this raises strong emotions among some as encouraging corruption. There is no obvious valid short term extension available for you. Creative solutions might be available. For instance, maybe a 90-day education extension might be possible with help from a language school.

It does not make sense to spend 3 days to get all the documents, open bank account go to immigration, lose money in currency conversion etc for an externsion of stay , that is why I stated clearly in my OP I will not go for an externsion of stay ????

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, stat said:

It does not make sense to spend 3 days to get all the documents, open bank account go to immigration, lose money in currency conversion etc for an externsion of stay , that is why I stated clearly in my OP I will not go for an externsion of stay ????

That is why I suggested the use of an agent. It can avoid most of the hassle. However, if you are worried about the cost, your best bet is probably going to be a bus down to Malaysia.

[stat]

12 hours ago, BritTim said:

That is why I suggested the use of an agent. It can avoid most of the hassle. However, if you are worried about the cost, your best bet is probably going to be a bus down to Malaysia.

Thanks for you post!

Bus to Malaysia is at least a 10 hours ride one way that is out of the question for me as I will not sit 10 hours in a minibus or car .

 

I rather take a plane from BKK.

 

Still hope that Hua Hin gets back a flight to Udon Thani so that I can go to Laos or HH Airport gets an international flight.

 

Any ideas if maybe border to Kanchanaburi will be reopened?

 

Visa run situation is a disaster for all HH residents.

 

Thanks!

[DrJack54]

5 hours ago, stat said:

It does not make sense to spend 3 days to get all the documents, open bank account go to immigration, lose money in currency conversion etc for an externsion of stay , that is why I stated clearly in my OP I will not go for an externsion of stay ????

That's fine. Up to you.

Then you complain about the alternatives.

Seems nothing satisfies you in regard to options.

 

@BritTim suggested the following..

"That is why I suggested the use of an agent".

 

Clearly you are aware of your options. Choose one. 

 

[BritTim]

3 minutes ago, stat said:

Any ideas if maybe border to Kanchanaburi will be reopened?

 

I am almost certain that the crossings in Kanchanaburi will be a non starter for some time.

 

There are suggestions that the Andaman Club resort from Ranong may be open, but only useable by those with multiple entry Thai visas (no visa exemption on return). I cannot confirm any of this, but that might become a viable option soon.

[stat]

2 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I am almost certain that the crossings in Kanchanaburi will be a non starter for some time.

 

There are suggestions that the Andaman Club resort from Ranong may be open, but only useable by those with multiple entry Thai visas (no visa exemption on return). I cannot confirm any of this, but that might become a viable option soon.

Other option would be to go to cambodia as I understand borders should be open.

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, stat said:

Other option would be to go to cambodia as I understand borders should be open.

Yes they are open.

Have been for some time now.

Also Laos and flights to places such as HCMC.

Many options. 

[BritTim]

56 minutes ago, stat said:

Other option would be to go to cambodia as I understand borders should be open.

All the borders with Cambodia are open, but it is a pretty inconvenient trip from Hua Hin.

[stat]

12 hours ago, BritTim said:

All the borders with Cambodia are open, but it is a pretty inconvenient trip from Hua Hin.

I fully agree very inconvenient! The situation for visa runs from HH is a disgrace.

[DrJack54]

18 minutes ago, stat said:

I fully agree very inconvenient! The situation for visa runs from HH is a disgrace.

Surely that's a joke.

Currently Myanmar is closed. 

As a result the visa/border runs from HH have reduced options. 

[OJAS]

13 hours ago, BritTim said:

All the borders with Cambodia are open, but it is a pretty inconvenient trip from Hua Hin.

Beggars can't be choosers, I'm afraid. You'll just have to make do with whatever options are available to you at the present time, as described by @BritTim and @DrJack54, no matter how awkward they might prove for you.

 

[stat]

Main problem is that HHQ currently has no flights at all besides Chiang Mai.

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, stat said:

Main problem is that HHQ currently has no flights at all besides Chiang Mai.

You are really over playing the privilege/inconvenience card.

From HH a drive to Bangkok is not ideal but not that difficult.

Take a flight to Udon Thani for friendship bridge or even fly to Saigon and make a small holiday out of it.

Select one and stop complaining.

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by DrJack54

[stat]

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

You are really over playing the privilege/inconvenience card.

From HH a drive to Bangkok is not ideal but not that difficult.

Take a flight to Udon Thani for friendship bridge or even fly to Saigon and make a small holiday out of it.

Select one and stop complaining.

 

Apparently you are used to being treated badly, that is your problem not mine. If I spend several thousand EUR per month in a country I at least expect something else. BTW your post is not helpful at all with the topic of a visa run at hand so pls stop posting in this thread and annoy someone else, much obliged.

[DrJack54]

15 minutes ago, stat said:

BTW your post is not helpful at all with the topic of a visa run

My post that you complained about stated the following...

 

"From HH a drive to Bangkok is not ideal but not that difficult.

 

Take a flight to Udon Thani for friendship bridge or even fly to Saigon and make a small holiday out of it.".

Plus earlier suggestions.

Your options are very clear. 

 

You stated this......

 

"If I spend several thousand EUR per month in a country I at least expect something else."

 

Have no idea what that even means in relation to doing border bounce from HH. 

Myanmar is closed. The options are few and not straight forward. 

[stat]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

My post that you complained about stated the following...

 

"From HH a drive to Bangkok is not ideal but not that difficult.

 

Take a flight to Udon Thani for friendship bridge or even fly to Saigon and make a small holiday out of it.".

Plus earlier suggestions.

Your options are very clear. 

 

You stated this......

 

"If I spend several thousand EUR per month in a country I at least expect something else."

 

Have no idea what that even means in relation to doing border bounce from HH. 

Myanmar is closed. The options are few and not straight forward. 

Apparently you do not even read your own posts: You stated "You are really over playing the privilege/inconvenience card. " "Stop complaining" etc. It is obvious that if you spend a lot of money in a country you should be able to do an easy borderrun from a major city such as Hua Hin. I said nothing else. But the sad facts are the facts you are right about them.

[BritTim]

7 hours ago, stat said:

Apparently you are used to being treated badly, that is your problem not mine. If I spend several thousand EUR per month in a country I at least expect something else.

It is worth mentioning that an easy, low hassle option (using an agent to get a one-year extension) has been suggested to you. However, you reject that (I guess) on cost grounds. Yes, staying longer could be more convenient. Your current location in Thailand is unfortunate, being a long way from open border crossings. With respect, I do not think the Thai government is to blame for the military takeover in Myanmar that has created the unstable security situation that keeps their border crossings closed to foreigners. Your implication that the Thai government should arrange international flights from Hua Hin airport for your convenience is going to be seen as humorous by most here.

[stat]

On 10/22/2022 at 4:07 PM, BritTim said:

It is worth mentioning that an easy, low hassle option (using an agent to get a one-year extension) has been suggested to you. However, you reject that (I guess) on cost grounds. Yes, staying longer could be more convenient. Your current location in Thailand is unfortunate, being a long way from open border crossings. With respect, I do not think the Thai government is to blame for the military takeover in Myanmar that has created the unstable security situation that keeps their border crossings closed to foreigners. Your implication that the Thai government should arrange international flights from Hua Hin airport for your convenience is going to be seen as humorous by most here.

I think there are some shenanigans going on that government is actively or passively blocking the development of HHQ and other small airports. In europe and US you have tons of small airport. Using an agent is a grey area that I do not like to enter and besides takes time as well. Will wait till december and then decide. Your passive agressive tone is not nice.

Edited October 24, 2022 by stat

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, stat said:

I think there are some shenanigans going on that government is actively or passively blocking the development of HHQ and other small airports. In europe and US you have tons of small airport.

Countries can support smaller airports when its citizens can afford air travel. Thailand has rather a large number of small airports, but few routes into and out of them can make a profit. Flights like Trad to Bangkok, from Maesot to Bangkok, and charters from U-Tapao to Russian destinations can charge high prices that make low passenger numbers supportable. Routes like Hua Hin to Udon Thani are not quite attractive enough to foreign travellers, and will rarely be used by Thai business people. In fact, Hua Hin airport is more developed than one would expect based on passenger numbers.

[stat]

6 hours ago, BritTim said:

Countries can support smaller airports when its citizens can afford air travel. Thailand has rather a large number of small airports, but few routes into and out of them can make a profit. Flights like Trad to Bangkok, from Maesot to Bangkok, and charters from U-Tapao to Russian destinations can charge high prices that make low passenger numbers supportable. Routes like Hua Hin to Udon Thani are not quite attractive enough to foreign travellers, and will rarely be used by Thai business people. In fact, Hua Hin airport is more developed than one would expect based on passenger numbers.

They are blocking the uptake of flight connections not the airport itself I guess. It is not understandable that there is no connection between Hua Hin and BKK for example. They even extended the runway in HHQ. This should be a highly profitable route as the train takes 5 Hours and taxi 2.5 to 3 hours. From the outside this looks to me like the taxi problem in Phuket where incumbents feel happy the way things are.

[ubonjoe]

13 minutes ago, stat said:

It is not understandable that there is no connection between Hua Hin and BKK for example.

There are flights from Hua Hin to DMK and BKK.

[stat]

According to this website the only route left is to chiang mai from HHQ:

 

https://www.flightconnections.com/flights-from-hua-hin-hhq

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

There are flights from Hua Hin to DMK and BKK.

At one time, there were direct flights. However, the demand was simply not there to make this route profitable, and it was discontinued years ago. The same is true of the Hua Hin to Kuala Lumpur route.

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, BritTim said:

At one time, there were direct flights. However, the demand was simply not there to make this route profitable, and it was discontinued years ago. The same is true of the Hua Hin to Kuala Lumpur route.

Air Asia is showing flights to from Hua Hin to DMK and BKK.

Maybe a misunderstanding as to what a direct flight means. The flights I found are non stop flights.

[stat]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Air Asia is showing flights to from Hua Hin to DMK and BKK.

Maybe a misunderstanding as to what a direct flight means. The flights I found are non stop flights.

 

Thank you for your post! Sometimes Air Asia shows flights from HHQ via Chiang mai to DMK or BKK ????. I really hoped i was wrong but the only (direct) flight left from HHQ is to Chiang Mai.

 

 

https://www.airasia.com/flights/search/?origin=HHQ&destination=DMK&departDate=29/10/2022&tripType=O&adult=2&child=0&infant=0&locale=en-gb&currency=MYR&ule=true&cabinClass=economy&uce=true&promoCode=&type=bundled&airlineProfile=k,g

[stat]

Visa run worked and was OK. No 20K Baht demanded, took me 5 minutes to go from plane to taxi including Immigration at DMK. Nevertheless it was a 17,5 Hrs day, just for Thai Immigration and an exit stamp.