How are the visa rules now?

[sweetserenity]

How are the rules now? are they the same as before covid? no restrictions? no covid pass/vaccine? i can just go without a visa and get 30 days stay then another 30 day extension, and go to laos 2 times pr calender year and get 3 months each time as it used to be before corona? im from denmark

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Maestro
Changed formatting to standard font

[BritTim]

The rules on entry are much the same as before Covid. In particular, yes, you can get two visa exempt entries by land in each calendar year (but that gives you 30+30 days on each entry, not three months on each entry).

 

Your thread title asks about "visa" rules. At some embassies/consulates and when using the e-visa system, there may be changes. As an example, where Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City used to be good places to apply for visas, they appear to have become stricter.

 

There is no way to summarise all the various situations in a simple forum post. If you state your nationality, age, and prior immigration history, together with what you want to achieve going forward, maybe we can suggest a good approach.

[sweetserenity]

8 minutes ago, BritTim said:

The rules on entry are much the same as before Covid. In particular, yes, you can get two visa exempt entries by land in each calendar year (but that gives you 30+30 days on each entry, not three months on each entry).

 

Your thread title asks about "visa" rules. At some embassies/consulates and when using the e-visa system, there may be changes. As an example, where Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City used to be good places to apply for visas, they appear to have become stricter.

 

There is no way to summarise all the various situations in a simple forum post. If you state your nationality, age, and prior immigration history, together with what you want to achieve going forward, maybe we can suggest a good approach.

So i can just visit thailand without a visa? i would get a 30 day visa upon arrival just like before covid, and i dont need vaccine or negative covid test?

[KhunBENQ]

1 minute ago, sweetserenity said:

So i can just visit thailand without a visa? i would get a 30 day visa upon arrival just like before covid, and i dont need vaccine or negative covid test?

This simply: yes.

[BritTim]

1 minute ago, sweetserenity said:

So i can just visit thailand without a visa? i would get a 30 day visa upon arrival just like before covid, and i dont need vaccine or negative covid test?

You do not need vaccination proof or Covid tests. What you receive on entry is a 30-day visa exemption (not a visa-on-arrival). The distinction is important as a visa-on-arrival cannot be extended.

[Celsius]

Doesn't Laos require you to be vaccinated?

[sweetserenity]

9 minutes ago, Celsius said:

Doesn't Laos require you to be vaccinated?

Thats a good question... A border run to Laos will give me a visa for 3 months wheres cambodia only gives 1.. So i would definitely have to go to Laos for the border run but i am not vaccinated

[siva1]

hi. same question. i am from Slovakia, over 50 but not interested in the retirement  visa because I must leave Thailand to my country every 60-70 days (due to personal reasons) so I was thinking on getting the visa exemption and then extend it for another month .but isn't it now 45 days  + 30 days extension?

[biervoormij]

 

8 minutes ago, sweetserenity said:

Thats a good question... A border run to Laos will give me a visa for 3 months wheres cambodia only gives 1.. So i would definitely have to go to Laos for the border run but i am not vaccinated

Laos did not check for being vaccinated when I went in February.

 

If you do a border run to Laos or Cambodia and re-enter Thailand you will get a 30-day visa exemption which can be extended an additional 30 days. In both countries you can apply for a 60 day tourist visa and then extended it an additional 30 days.

 

If you plan to apply for a tourist visa in Vientiane you will need to make an appointment.

[biervoormij]

4 minutes ago, siva1 said:

hi. same question. i am from Slovakia, over 50 but not interested in the retirement  visa because I must leave Thailand to my country every 60-70 days (due to personal reasons) so I was thinking on getting the visa exemption and then extend it for another month .but isn't it now 45 days  + 30 days extension?

The 45 day went away at the end of March and is now back to 30 days.

[Lemsta69]

8 minutes ago, siva1 said:

but isn't it now 45 days  + 30 days extension?

That promotion was only from 1 October 2022 to the 31st of March 2023. Visa Exempt entry is back to 30 days now, extendable once for an additional 30 days.

[Upnotover]

26 minutes ago, sweetserenity said:

Thats a good question... A border run to Laos will give me a visa for 3 months wheres cambodia only gives 1.. So i would definitely have to go to Laos for the border run but i am not vaccinated

UK Government advice for Lao says;

 

"The official policy remains that unvaccinated individuals will be required to take an ATK test a maximum of 48 hours before departure. There are reports of this not being enforced. However, customs and immigration officials retain the authority to ask you to produce a pre-departure test."

[sweetserenity]

55 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

UK Government advice for Lao says;

 

"The official policy remains that unvaccinated individuals will be required to take an ATK test a maximum of 48 hours before departure. There are reports of this not being enforced. However, customs and immigration officials retain the authority to ask you to produce a pre-departure test."

Does this include border runs? 

[Upnotover]

3 minutes ago, sweetserenity said:

Does this include border runs? 

Based on what has been written here I would think yes, but with ever reducing level of enforcement.  It would of course not be hard to take a test before going, if you wanted to be on the safe side.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, sweetserenity said:

A border run to Laos will give me a visa for 3 months wheres cambodia only gives 1.

Quite honestly, I do not understand what you mean by this. Without applying for a visa before your return, entry to Thailand from either Laos or Cambodia (or anywhere else) will give you the same 30-day permission to stay from a visa exemption. (I am assuming that your nationality entitles you to the standard tourist visa exempt entry.)

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post.

[sweetserenity]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Quite honestly, I do not understand what you mean by this. Without applying for a visa before your return, entry to Thailand from either Laos or Cambodia (or anywhere else) will give you the same 30-day permission to stay from a visa exemption. (I am assuming that your nationality entitles you to the standard tourist visa exempt entry.)

A border run to laos will give you 1 month of stay in thailand but can be extended 2 times if i remember correctly, so total stay of 3 months

Edited April 14, 2023 by sweetserenity

[Maestro]

5 hours ago, sweetserenity said:

How are the rules now? are they the same as before covid?...

Everything is now the same as before the Covid-19 pandemic. In some countries, perhaps also in Denmark, electronic visa application (eVisa) has been introduced and this is continued.

[BritTim]

14 minutes ago, sweetserenity said:

A border run to laos will give you 1 month of stay in thailand but can be extended 2 times if i remember correctly, so total stay of 3 months

A border run to Laos for a visa exempt entry will give you exactly same options in terms of extensions of your permission to stay as a border run to Cambodia. I suspect you are under the misapprehension that the Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai has some special characteristic that does not exist.

[sweetserenity]

52 minutes ago, Maestro said:

Everything is now the same as before the Covid-19 pandemic. In some countries, perhaps also in Denmark, electronic visa application (eVisa) has been introduced and this is continued.

How to check if it has been introduced in my country?

[sweetserenity]

52 minutes ago, BritTim said:

A border run to Laos for a visa exempt entry will give you exactly same options in terms of extensions of your permission to stay as a border run to Cambodia. I suspect you are under the misapprehension that the Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai has some special characteristic that does not exist.

What do you mean? we are allowed to do 2 visa runs each calender year.. if you go to laos twice during that calender year u can only stay in the country for 2 months total time, but if you go to laos you get 6 months total time its valeinte in laos close to udon thani

[sweetserenity]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

A border run to Laos for a visa exempt entry will give you exactly same options in terms of extensions of your permission to stay as a border run to Cambodia. I suspect you are under the misapprehension that the Friendship Bridge at Nong Khai has some special characteristic that does not exist.

I mean if you do 2 visa runs to cambodia u only get 2 months, but laos u get 6 months

[geisha]

3 hours ago, sweetserenity said:

I mean if you do 2 visa runs to cambodia u only get 2 months, but laos u get 6 months

Please listen to the posts. You do not get more in Laos than Cambodia. Same entry rules !!  If you get a visa 60 days in Laos or Cambodia , it’s valid 60 days. This you can extend once in Thailand for 30 days only !! Then you must leave the country again . So you do NOT get 6 months. 
If you do a border hop with NO visa from the Thai embassy in LAos or Cambodia , you get 30 days 

VISA EXEMPTION zone entry to Thailand . This you can extend 30 days in Thailand. Then you must leave the country. 
You are allowed to do these border hops with NO visa 2 times in a calendar year. 

[FriendlyFarang]

11 hours ago, Celsius said:

Doesn't Laos require you to be vaccinated?

No

[sweetserenity]

2 hours ago, geisha said:

Please listen to the posts. You do not get more in Laos than Cambodia. Same entry rules !!  If you get a visa 60 days in Laos or Cambodia , it’s valid 60 days. This you can extend once in Thailand for 30 days only !! Then you must leave the country again . So you do NOT get 6 months. 
If you do a border hop with NO visa from the Thai embassy in LAos or Cambodia , you get 30 days 

VISA EXEMPTION zone entry to Thailand . This you can extend 30 days in Thailand. Then you must leave the country. 
You are allowed to do these border hops with NO visa 2 times in a calendar year. 

Are you sure about visa run to cambodia is the same as laos if your planning to stay for the longest time possible? because it didnt used to be like this pre corona.. 

[Maestro]

9 hours ago, sweetserenity said:

How to check if it has been introduced in my country?

Check the website of the Thai embassy in your country.

[geisha]

2 hours ago, sweetserenity said:

Are you sure about visa run to cambodia is the same as laos if your planning to stay for the longest time possible? because it didnt used to be like this pre corona.. 

it was always like that , no change.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, sweetserenity said:

Are you sure about visa run to cambodia is the same as laos if your planning to stay for the longest time possible? because it didnt used to be like this pre corona.. 

Land border crossings can vary in terms of scams that exist, and the degree of hassle you might encounter. In that respect, although it varies, the crossings to Myanmar are typically the best, and crossings to Laos next best. However, the Thai immigration rules are the same, regardless of which land crossing you use to enter Thailand. A visa exemption gives you a 30-day permission to stay which can optionally be extended once for a further 30 days at an immigration office within Thailand.

[zzzzz]

3 hours ago, sweetserenity said:

Are you sure about visa run to cambodia is the same as laos if your planning to stay for the longest time possible? because it didnt used to be like this pre corona.. 

it has always been the same, be you enter from Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia or Burma
30 day visa exempt or 60 day tourist visa from Embassy
+ 1 30 day extension/ trip

[sweetserenity]

7 hours ago, zzzzz said:

it has always been the same, be you enter from Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia or Burma
30 day visa exempt or 60 day tourist visa from Embassy
+ 1 30 day extension/ trip

 

15 hours ago, geisha said:

Please listen to the posts. You do not get more in Laos than Cambodia. Same entry rules !!  If you get a visa 60 days in Laos or Cambodia , it’s valid 60 days. This you can extend once in Thailand for 30 days only !! Then you must leave the country again . So you do NOT get 6 months. 
If you do a border hop with NO visa from the Thai embassy in LAos or Cambodia , you get 30 days 

VISA EXEMPTION zone entry to Thailand . This you can extend 30 days in Thailand. Then you must leave the country. 
You are allowed to do these border hops with NO visa 2 times in a calendar year. 

Last time i went for a border run to Laos, i received a 60 day visa, but when i went to cambodia i only got 30 days sir, i am certaint about that...