For the first time in at least 10 years I made an exit at Mukdahan to Laos. At 0600 am there was at a guestimate 400 people waiting to cross. What stunned me was that at least 150 people were at the overstay counter, In fact it was the busiest counter. At the hotel I met a Russian guy who was spitting blood because his Laos Evisa was refused. His history as told to me was, entered Thailand January 25 lived on visa exempt and extensions and finished off with a 87 day overstay. He claimed that all his friends used this method. Unfortunately he had miscalculated and was 20 days short for 2025 so was contemplating staying in Laos until the new year and repeating his 2025 entry methods.

The reason I mentioned my 10 years previous is that how I lived in Thailand 2000/15/16/17. Always used visa run company's. Never a Problem. The normal over-stayer numbers were around 4 or five persons. Even at the height off the Western arrivals in Thailand (2000) the over-stayers were in the tens at the office.  

Just a guess, but maybe the fact that border runs were suspended when the new rules kicked in rather surprisingly in November caused more people than usual to choose the overstay "option".

 

I'd be surprised if many of them had been doing what that Russian guy had done, rocking up with such a long overstay. It's more expensive than border runs, so when border runs were easy, why overstay?