Visa Exempt entry at land borders

[sadmoneysnow]

Do land borders deny people trying to get Visa Exempt stamps if they have been in Thailand a long time? I know some borders want travelers to not to do a same day or 1 day turn around to prevent visa runners from making their days busy. I will either get a TR visa in Phnom Penh or try my luck and just head to Ban Pakkard with no visa.

[DrJack54]

Have you obtained tv from PP previously? 

Would not be my choice to obtain a tourist visa. 

Also for border bounce my pick would be Laos. Eg Nong Khai friendship bridge. 

[BritTim]

At many border crossings, a one-day stay out of Thailand is normally necessary. Historically, this has generally been true at the border with Malaysia. At the border with Cambodia, a Cambodian law means that a bribe is often necessary on the Cambodian side for same day return. In the past, a same day return has been possible at crossings with Laos and (when open) with Myanmar. That aside, at most crossings, your two visa exempts per calendar year were previously a safe fall back option when other ways of entering did not pan out (e.g. because a tourist visa application was denied).

 

Right now, that experience from before Covid is of unclear value. There are certainly indications that all land crossings have tightened up, and the two "safe" visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year may no longer be as automatic as we expected before.

 

Phnom Penh is not a great embassy to apply for a tourist visa. It may be OK, depending on your immigration history (as visible in your passport) and whether you have applied there before. If your application is denied, you will most likely get a cancelled visa with a nasty stamp in your passport that could impede getting tourist visas elsewhere.

 

I hesitate to offer definite advice as both your exact situation, and current practice at embassies and border crossings are too unclear. If your remaining time in Thailand will be quite short, perhaps use a border run company who should be able to assess if you could have a problem. If you are trying to be a long stay tourist, use actual tourist visas, and be careful where you apply for them. Also, be aware that, even with a tourist visa, some airports (including both in Bangkok) might still deny entry.

[sadmoneysnow]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Have you obtained tv from PP previously? 

Would not be my choice to obtain a tourist visa. 

Also for border bounce my pick would be Laos. Eg Nong Khai friendship bridge. 

I have never obtained a TV from PP. I know it's about a 4 day processing time for the visa but other than that is it difficult? Do they scrutinize your application a lot? That's another good idea about Laos. I might fly to Udon Thani and go there. I thought Cambodia is probably more fun though

Edited January 16, 2023 by sadmoneysnow

[Caldera]

8 hours ago, sadmoneysnow said:

I have never obtained a TV from PP. I know it's about a 4 day processing time for the visa but other than that is it difficult? Do they scrutinize your application a lot? That's another good idea about Laos. I might fly to Udon Thani and go there. I thought Cambodia is probably more fun though

If you've never applied there, don't have extensive history as a tourist in Thailand in your passport and want to make a fun holiday out of it instead of just a visa run, then by all means, go for it. Make sure you meet their requirements as listed on their website. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Caldera

[MrMilk]

You confusing Ban Pakkard border with the Ban Laem border.

 

At Ban Laem border you will be allowed to do a same day border jump.

Tell the IO that you want to go back and forth same day just to get a new stamp.

He will call over a agent to take you through the process. Price 2000 thb (includes the Cambodian Visa). 

Takes 10 min to a hour for the entire process depending on how busy the day is

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, MrMilk said:

You confusing Ban Pakkard border with the Ban Laem border.

 

At Ban Laem border you will be allowed to do a same day border jump.

Tell the IO that you want to go back and forth same day just to get a new stamp.

He will call over a agent to take you through the process. Price 2000 thb (includes the Cambodian Visa). 

Takes 10 min to a hour for the entire process depending on how busy the day is

2,000 baht for visa+same day return actually makes it more expensive than Ban Pakkard, which is probably why the visa run companies tend to use it.

[ArtVandelay]

I crossed into Thailand (by land, visa exempt) at Nong Khai two weeks ago and had no problems (except that the line was pretty long).  I've had several previous covid extensions.   Was in Laos 2 nights.     

[thaiman]

Is Mai Sai /Tachilek border open for crossing?

[MrMilk]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

2,000 baht for visa+same day return actually makes it more expensive than Ban Pakkard, which is probably why the visa run companies tend to use it.

They were not able to help me when I went to Ban Pakkard and redirected me to the Ban Laem border instead. 

I found the 2000 thb price for everything more than fair and did not haggle. Maybe its room for negotiations, I dont know

[Woof999]

In the past (4 years+) I've obtained tourist visas from both Phnom Penh (maybe 2) and Vientiane (at least 3 or more). The latter was by far the fastest and easiest, with less paperwork involved. Phnom Penh needed far more banking info, for example. Scrutiny on the Vientiane > Nong Khai border crossing coming back into Thailand was also much less intrusive (almost non existent) than I've heard for many of the Cambodian crossing points.

 

Things have likely changed since I last needed a TV. I understand that Vientiane might now have (and maybe require) appointments? Didn't when I was there. The only negative was that the queues could be quite long if you weren't there early in the morning.

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, Woof999 said:

I understand that Vientiane might now have (and maybe require) appointments?

They do.

Savannakhet does not.