Roundtrip fly bounce to Malaysia for visa-exempt.

[ddddan]

Hello,

 

I have an ed-visa expiring in April, and I want to make a 1 week roundtrip flight to Malaysia before the 45 day visa-exempt wavies on March 31, 2023.

 

Preferably I want fly to Bangkok from KL, because I want to visit my Embassy while I'm there. I mainly stay in Chiang Mai however, so it's not a must. My little concern is: the passport has a "few" stamps on it. Namely, 1 METV, 2 covid-extensions and 2 ed-visas.

 

With that said, haven't been outside Thailand since Feb 2020, because of covid. I don't have any overstays or whatsoever, no rules broken.

 

Should I be reconsider this roundtrip, or will I most likely be welcomed in?

 

Thanks.

Edited January 10, 2023 by ddddan
2023*

[JoseThailand]

8 minutes ago, ddddan said:

Should I be reconsider this roundtrip, or will I most likely be welcomed in?

Not sure about "welcomed", but prepare to be questioned at an airport. Have a return ticked, cash and accommodation booking. Most likely, you will be allowed in. Just stay calm and composed, don't be intimidated by the boys (or girls) in brown threatening to send you back.

[DrJack54]

44 minutes ago, ddddan said:

Should I be reconsider this roundtrip, or will I most likely be welcomed in?

How long do you plan to stay in Malaysia?

[ddddan]

9 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

How long do you plan to stay in Malaysia?

1 week, maybe I should stay longer? After all, they stamp 90 days on arrival, right?

 

Perhaps a good way to stay off the radar for a while, but I really don't want to miss Songkran.

Edited January 10, 2023 by ddddan

[Liquorice]

1 minute ago, ddddan said:

After all, they stamp 90 days on arrival, right?

No, they stamp 45 days on arrival before March 31st.

[ddddan]

2 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

No, they stamp 45 days on arrival before March 31st.

Sorry, I meant Malaysia.

[DrJack54]

18 minutes ago, ddddan said:

1 week, maybe I should stay longer?

Not to sure about some of your opening post.

1 hour ago, ddddan said:

With that said, haven't been outside Thailand since Feb 2020, because of covid. I don't have any overstays or whatsoever, no rules broken.

You haven't been trapped here.

Airports opened several months ago along with land borders. 

No overstays doesn't mean anything. 

Also you have a Malaysian pp? 

Fit (in their mind) someone working in Thailand as you have not exited since 2020.

A week out of Thailand in Malaysia in my mind would be minimum.

 

You mention live mainly CM.

Thinking border run to Laos better option than re-entering Thailand visa exempt via air. 

Edited January 10, 2023 by DrJack54

[ddddan]

48 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Not to sure about some of your opening post.

You haven't been trapped here.

Airports opened several months ago along with land borders. 

No overstays doesn't mean anything. 

Also you have a Malaysian pp? 

Fit (in their mind) someone working in Thailand as you have not exited since 2020.

A week out of Thailand in Malaysia in my mind would be minimum.

 

You mention live mainly CM.

Thinking border run to Laos better option than re-entering Thailand visa exempt via air. 

I'm open to all possibilities. I don't have a Malaysian passport, i'm from northern Europe. But yeah, I could stay in Malaysia longer if necessary "to stay out of the system" for a while. I could do a few weeks.

 

Gosh I hate these minivan border runs, and Laos seem far from Chiang Mai. I read on a visa agent website that they wouldn't recommend doing border run to Myanmar if I have been staying in Thailand for 1 year or longer. 

[ddddan]

I'm thinking perhaps avoiding flying to Bangkok, and choose either Surat Thani or Chiang Mai Airports to increase my odds of being allowed in. Any idea how restrictive they are in Bangkok compared to other places? 

[at15]

42 minutes ago, ddddan said:

I'm thinking perhaps avoiding flying to Bangkok, and choose either Surat Thani or Chiang Mai Airports to increase my odds of being allowed in. Any idea how restrictive they are in Bangkok compared to other places? 

its over man, CM blew me up. they are all strict now.

[ddddan]

1 minute ago, at15 said:

its over man, CM blew me up. they are all strict now.

Really? 
What happened, and whats your situation.

[at15]

6 minutes ago, ddddan said:

Really? 
What happened, and whats your situation.

Im just a tourist. I went to KL for 2 weeks, tried to fly back into CM direct for a visa exempt entry. They were upset with me and wanted to send me back to KL or my home country. They took me to a back room, and i had to explain everything. What saved me is i showed them a flight ticket out to Korea and 30,000 baht cash in my wallet. If i didnt have this no way they would have let me in.

Edited January 12, 2023 by at15

[ddddan]

6 minutes ago, at15 said:

Im just a tourist. I went to KL for 2 weeks, tried to fly back into CM direct for a visa exempt entry. They were upset with me and wanted to send me back to KL or my home country. They took me to a back room, and i had to explain everything. What saved me is i showed them a flight ticket to Korea and 30,000 baht cash in my wallet. If i didnt have this no way they would have let me in.

You were briefed, that's normal. Good that you had a flight ticket onward and cash in hand. I would also show accommodation for the sake of it.  

 

What did you have inside your passport? I'm on a non-immigrant visa, and have only utilized covid extension 2 times prior. I'm thinking of a 1 week trip to KL and back to BKK.

 

Sometimes, they do brief people on purpose because there are new staff at the I.M. that need to learn the process, especially now that the country has opened up.

 

All else, if you were solidly on multiple covid-extensions, and getting in and out, they just want to tell inform you to stop and get a normal long-term visa instead. 

Edited January 12, 2023 by ddddan

[at15]

9 minutes ago, ddddan said:

You were briefed, that's normal. Good that you had a flight ticket onward and cash in hand. I would also show accommodation for the sake of it.  

 

What did you have inside your passport? I'm on a non-immigrant visa, and have only utilized covid extension 2 times prior. I'm thinking of a 1 week trip to KL and back to BKK.

I had a tourist visa and a few covid extensions but thats it. Because you have a lot of time in thailand your asking for big problems with this method. You can roll the dice but be prepared for the worst case scenario. Your coming in on a visa exempt tourist entry but they know and you know your not really a tourist, thats the problem .

Edited January 12, 2023 by at15

[mockingbird]

3 hours ago, ddddan said:

I'm thinking perhaps avoiding flying to Bangkok, and choose either Surat Thani or Chiang Mai Airports to increase my odds of being allowed in. Any idea how restrictive they are in Bangkok compared to other places? 

Chiang Mai is known for being less hassle than the BKK airports, and are known to honour visa's. Your problem is that you're coming in visa exempt. Pre covid there were reports on here of long stayers being questioned at CW when arriving visa exempt, and now another report on this thread.. (I don't recall any reports of denial of entry from there though)

 

Personally, if I was in your position I'd spend a coupe of months in Malaysia. It's the spending almost no time outside of Thailand that's the problem.

You've been almost 2 years in Thailand without leaving, so that puts a huge cross on your back when trying a quick bounce back in.

 

If you're adamant on coming back now, a Laos border crossing would be your safest bet.

[ddddan]

On 1/12/2023 at 4:54 PM, mockingbird said:

Chiang Mai is known for being less hassle than the BKK airports, and are known to honour visa's. Your problem is that you're coming in visa exempt. Pre covid there were reports on here of long stayers being questioned at CW when arriving visa exempt, and now another report on this thread.. (I don't recall any reports of denial of entry from there though)

 

Personally, if I was in your position I'd spend a coupe of months in Malaysia. It's the spending almost no time outside of Thailand that's the problem.

You've been almost 2 years in Thailand without leaving, so that puts a huge cross on your back when trying a quick bounce back in.

 

If you're adamant on coming back now, a Laos border crossing would be your safest bet.

I would say it's a bit difference if you have a Non-immigrant visa compared to relying solidly on Tourist visas, Covid extensions and Visa-exempts. If there's a purpose behind your stay, I think it's legit but I get your point 100%.

 

I have talked to visa agencies and they have recently said that people in that situation have had issues with border runs to Laos, and strongly advised against it. They did however recommend flying out/in instead. 

 

So the best bet is to get back in to Thailand with Proof of accommodation, 20,000 baht in cash and a fly-out ticket from Thailand within a month. Since there have been reported issues with Chiang Mai and BKK. I might consider flying to Surat Thani or Phuket instead.

[mockingbird]

59 minutes ago, ddddan said:

I would say it's a bit difference if you have a Non-immigrant visa compared to relying solidly on Tourist visas, Covid extensions and Visa-exempts. If there's a purpose behind your stay, I think it's legit but I get your point 100%.

 

I have talked to visa agencies and they have recently said that people in that situation have had issues with border runs to Laos, and strongly advised against it. They did however recommend flying out/in instead. 

 

So the best bet is to get back in to Thailand with Proof of accommodation, 20,000 baht in cash and a fly-out ticket from Thailand within a month. Since there have been reported issues with Chiang Mai and BKK. I might consider flying to Surat Thani or Phuket instead.

When I said Chiang Mai was known for honouring visa's I was referring to tourist and METV visa's. (Non Immigrant visa's are what they want you to have if living in Thailand)

 

Interesting what you were told about the Laos borders. There is no doubt that the noose is tightening at all borders when it comes to long stayers deemed not to be on the correct visa.

 

FYI Phuket airport is very unfriendly towards long stayers. Many reports pre Covid of people having issues there. Surat Thani would be a far better bet.

[ddddan]

14 hours ago, mockingbird said:

When I said Chiang Mai was known for honouring visa's I was referring to tourist and METV visa's. (Non Immigrant visa's are what they want you to have if living in Thailand)

 

Interesting what you were told about the Laos borders. There is no doubt that the noose is tightening at all borders when it comes to long stayers deemed not to be on the correct visa.

 

FYI Phuket airport is very unfriendly towards long stayers. Many reports pre Covid of people having issues there. Surat Thani would be a far better bet.

Yeah, if you don't believe me. Send an email to a few agencies operating in the north and they will tell you border runs to Laos have become a mess, and they will recommend you to fly out/in instead. 

 

So far I haven't heard people being denied entry to Chiang Mai, even if you have had a history of tourist visas. They will question you, but most likely you'll be allowed in.

 

Bangkok is a large city, so they aren't competing for tourists compared to other places such as Surat Thani, Phuket and Chiang Mai. It makes sense to avoid Bangkok for that matter as Immigration offices tend to have different policies, even though they operate under the same structure. 

 

 

[BritTim]

In the past, I would have recommended flying to Udon Thani, crossing the Friendship Bridge from Nong Khai to Vientiane, and getting an actual tourist visa in Vientiane. Historically, entering Thailand via the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai would have been 100% safe. However, it appears possible, based on some posts, that the situation with Thai immigration in Nong Khai might have changed.

 

I still consider entering by air after three years continuously in Thailand on a combination of tourist visas, education visas, and Covid extensions to be a risky proposition. I wish I could confidently provide you with a safe alternative. In your position, I would still probably opt for Nong Khai. You could safely fly from Bangkok to Vientiane (cheap now on Thai Air Asia) just using the Friendship Bridge->Nong Khai->Udon Thani->Chieng Mai for the return.

Edited January 14, 2023 by BritTim

[edwardandtubs]

On 1/14/2023 at 6:12 PM, BritTim said:

In the past, I would have recommended flying to Udon Thani, crossing the Friendship Bridge from Nong Khai to Vientiane, and getting an actual tourist visa in Vientiane. Historically, entering Thailand via the Friendship Bridge to Nong Khai would have been 100% safe. However, it appears possible, based on some posts, that the situation with Thai immigration in Nong Khai might have changed.

 

I still consider entering by air after three years continuously in Thailand on a combination of tourist visas, education visas, and Covid extensions to be a risky proposition. I wish I could confidently provide you with a safe alternative. In your position, I would still probably opt for Nong Khai. You could safely fly from Bangkok to Vientiane (cheap now on Thai Air Asia) just using the Friendship Bridge->Nong Khai->Udon Thani->Chieng Mai for the return.

What are these "some posts" you refer to of problems at Nong Khai? I've seen Facebook posts that relate specifically to the borders near CM but not about the Nong Khai crossing.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, edwardandtubs said:

What are these "some posts" you refer to of problems at Nong Khai? I've seen Facebook posts that relate specifically to the borders near CM but not about the Nong Khai crossing.

Good question! I only recall seeing those reports you mentioned, too, nothing specifically about Nong Khai.