Mae Sai/Tachilek Border Info

[Donnchadh]

http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/55

This is posted on the Royal Thai Embassy UK site, Why are people now being denied exit and return?

[villagefarang]

Things have changed due to people abusing the system and taking advantage of loopholes to both live and work in Thailand without following legal procedures.

[sceadugenga]

For years the regular border run for the 30 day visa exemption was the preferred way of living in Thailand for many people, I even did it myself for a while.

But it had to change, very few other countries offered it and it was always going to catch up with international standards.

It suited me because I spent a lot of time in my home country but when I moved here permanently and finally saw that "real" visa in my passport there was a great feeling of relief and even a sense of pride that another country had deemed me acceptable to live within it's borders.

About the only fault could find with the system is the lack of a suitable residential visa for those too young to qualify for a retirement visa, some people do retire young for various reasons.

[sceadugenga]

Double post

[Will27]

For years the regular border run for the 30 day visa exemption was the preferred way of living in Thailand for many people, I even did it myself for a while.

But it had to change, very few other countries offered it and it was always going to catch up with international standards.

It suited me because I spent a lot of time in my home country but when I moved here permanently and finally saw that "real" visa in my passport there was a great feeling of relief and even a sense of pride that another country had deemed me acceptable to live within it's borders.

About the only fault could find with the system is the lack of a suitable residential visa for those too young to qualify for a retirement visa, some people do retire young for various reasons.

True enough Scea.

And for those who have the money but don't fit the criteria for spouse or retirement visas,

there is the 5 year M/E PE visa.

[boomerangutang]

Things have changed due to people abusing the system and taking advantage of loopholes to both live and work in Thailand without following legal procedures.

Except even when a person follows the rules, there can be problems. Reason: the rules change day to day, and some border officials subjectively mete out directives. It's not a small factor that, when a farang is denied a renewal on a 30 or 15 day visa, that same farang is told to go to Imm Office and pay Bt.1,900 for an extension. Can you see the difference? One renewal puts no money in Thai coffers. The new version puts Bt.1,900 in Thai pockets, for each hoodwinked farang (who was following the rules). Multiply that Bt.1,900 by hundreds per day, and you can see it adds up to a pretty penny.

[boomerangutang]

There are other changes at Immigration. Most of you'all aren't hearing about the changes now because it's only been 2 months since the Erawan bombing increased Bkk's generals' paranoia. But each month, a new slew of old guys (like most of us) will be compelled to renew their annual visas. Some will slide through easily, but others won't. I won't get too verbose here and try to articulate the new hoops which we're required to jump through. Suffice to say it will apply to many who are renting or are landlords. ....and other sticklers.

Also, the yellow tabian ban (house registration for farang-owned house) all have a Thai name behind them. Again, it may be a smooth ride, or it may be a hassle - next visa renewal. I'm seriously thinking of not even showing my yellow tabian ban for next year's renewal. When I first got one nearly 10 years ago, I thought it would be a great help in visa and drivers license renewals. It's been helpful most of the time, but now it's nearly become a lodestone. For that reason, I may not mention my yellow tabian ban next time, to avoid hassles (for me and the Thai person). Another factor, I'm single.

Farang guys with their Thai wife's name backing a yellow tabian ban should probably breeze through as before, but maybe not. If the Thai wife is deceased (or otherwise gone), that could thicken the plot, but maybe not. I've got an electric service on one of my properties in the name of a Thai friend who died over 10 yrs ago. The electric company doesn't care that he's long deceased. Their main concern (besides getting the bills paid) is there's no farang name on the electric bill.

[boomerangutang]

Sorry to post so much, but I spoke with a Thai border official today - asked him about 'day-pass' a.k.a. 'VIP pass'. He said 'not now, but probably next month.' He was friendly, almost apologetic. I don't know if that applies to Chinese. I assume Chinese can breeze through for day-passes.

[thai006]

Sorry to post so much, but I spoke with a Thai border official today - asked him about 'day-pass' a.k.a. 'VIP pass'. He said 'not now, but probably next month.' He was friendly, almost apologetic. I don't know if that applies to Chinese. I assume Chinese can breeze through for day-passes.

you did not ask him for in and out ? i know they say no to people who have a lot of tourist visa this year but me the year 2015 i only got non immigrant O and extension so no tourist visa this year

[boomerangutang]

Sorry to post so much, but I spoke with a Thai border official today - asked him about 'day-pass' a.k.a. 'VIP pass'. He said 'not now, but probably next month.' He was friendly, almost apologetic. I don't know if that applies to Chinese. I assume Chinese can breeze through for day-passes.

you did not ask him for in and out ? i know they say no to people who have a lot of tourist visa this year but me the year 2015 i only got non immigrant O and extension so no tourist visa this year

For the day-pass, it's predicated on the color of a person's skin and their facial features. It has nothing to do with # or type of rubber stamps in passport. They don't even look at passport when they make the decision. It's an edict handed down from Bangkok. If anyone can venture a guess why there's that restriction, let us know. the best 2 reasons I can fathom are:

1. Thais don't want farang spending money in a foreign country that (they think) could be spent in Thailand.

2. the junta in Bkk are so spooked by the Erawan bombing that they're spinning around (looking for a response) and putting restrictions on simple things farang like to do - like crossing a border to roam around a marketplace.

If anyone has a better reason, let's hear it.

[thai006]

i love thailand i don't want spend money in tachileik ; i just want go and back looool

what about white guy 26 year old with a thai child i hope it good looking enough

my child gonna go with me , he have thai passport , is t enough to cross the bridge ? or i take his french passport for myanmar 500b ?

[Bardeh]

Things have changed due to people abusing the system and taking advantage of loopholes to both live and work in Thailand without following legal procedures.

Except even when a person follows the rules, there can be problems. Reason: the rules change day to day, and some border officials subjectively mete out directives. It's not a small factor that, when a farang is denied a renewal on a 30 or 15 day visa, that same farang is told to go to Imm Office and pay Bt.1,900 for an extension. Can you see the difference? One renewal puts no money in Thai coffers. The new version puts Bt.1,900 in Thai pockets, for each hoodwinked farang (who was following the rules). Multiply that Bt.1,900 by hundreds per day, and you can see it adds up to a pretty penny.

The point is that those 15 and 30 days stamps are NOT visas. They are meant for people coming for a short visit. If they planned to stay longer, they should have gotten an actual visa, and if they are planning on staying longer, they can always go to Vientiane or Savannakhet or wherever and get a new visa. It's understandable that it might be frustrating that it used to be possible to endlessly hop the border and live off 30 day exempt stamps, but let's be honest - where else in the world are you going to be able to stay in a country long-term like that? At some point it was always going to end.

I don't know why you seem to have this idea that Thai immigration officers remotely care about a risible 1900 baht going into the local authority's coffers. They just want to do their job, and are doing the best they can with probably chaotic and mixed messages from Bangkok behind the scenes.

[Will27]

Things have changed due to people abusing the system and taking advantage of loopholes to both live and work in Thailand without following legal procedures.

Except even when a person follows the rules, there can be problems. Reason: the rules change day to day, and some border officials subjectively mete out directives. It's not a small factor that, when a farang is denied a renewal on a 30 or 15 day visa, that same farang is told to go to Imm Office and pay Bt.1,900 for an extension. Can you see the difference? One renewal puts no money in Thai coffers. The new version puts Bt.1,900 in Thai pockets, for each hoodwinked farang (who was following the rules). Multiply that Bt.1,900 by hundreds per day, and you can see it adds up to a pretty penny.

The point is that those 15 and 30 days stamps are NOT visas. They are meant for people coming for a short visit. If they planned to stay longer, they should have gotten an actual visa, and if they are planning on staying longer, they can always go to Vientiane or Savannakhet or wherever and get a new visa. It's understandable that it might be frustrating that it used to be possible to endlessly hop the border and live off 30 day exempt stamps, but let's be honest - where else in the world are you going to be able to stay in a country long-term like that? At some point it was always going to end.

I don't know why you seem to have this idea that Thai immigration officers remotely care about a risible 1900 baht going into the local authority's coffers. They just want to do their job, and are doing the best they can with probably chaotic and mixed messages from Bangkok behind the scenes.

He's been advised of this multiple times but unfortunately has selective hearing.

[boomerangutang]

Things have changed due to people abusing the system and taking advantage of loopholes to both live and work in Thailand without following legal procedures.

Except even when a person follows the rules, there can be problems. Reason: the rules change day to day, and some border officials subjectively mete out directives. It's not a small factor that, when a farang is denied a renewal on a 30 or 15 day visa, that same farang is told to go to Imm Office and pay Bt.1,900 for an extension. Can you see the difference? One renewal puts no money in Thai coffers. The new version puts Bt.1,900 in Thai pockets, for each hoodwinked farang (who was following the rules). Multiply that Bt.1,900 by hundreds per day, and you can see it adds up to a pretty penny.

The point is that those 15 and 30 days stamps are NOT visas. They are meant for people coming for a short visit. If they planned to stay longer, they should have gotten an actual visa, and if they are planning on staying longer, they can always go to Vientiane or Savannakhet or wherever and get a new visa. It's understandable that it might be frustrating that it used to be possible to endlessly hop the border and live off 30 day exempt stamps, but let's be honest - where else in the world are you going to be able to stay in a country long-term like that? At some point it was always going to end.

I don't know why you seem to have this idea that Thai immigration officers remotely care about a risible 1900 baht going into the local authority's coffers. They just want to do their job, and are doing the best they can with probably chaotic and mixed messages from Bangkok behind the scenes.

They're called 'visa-on-arrival.' My 78 yr old friend had his first voa from recently coming in at Suwanboom in Bkk. The visa rules state a 30-day visa is good for 30 days (tho it's actually 29 days). On the 28th day, he went to the border - wasn't allowed to cross. In sum: the rules state one thing, whereas actions by the rule-makers is different. We don't have to agree, but Bt.1,900 x roughly 1,000/day (people who are playing by the rules but are instead not allowed to cross the border and are therefore compelled to pay) = a lot of mullah.

Thailand claims to want more tourists so they get more money, but their actions are discouraging tourists on many levels. We all know all Thai rules are made in Bkk. All we're asking is they stick with the rules they make. Farang are being penalized for adhering to the rules.

[Will27]

Things have changed due to people abusing the system and taking advantage of loopholes to both live and work in Thailand without following legal procedures.

Except even when a person follows the rules, there can be problems. Reason: the rules change day to day, and some border officials subjectively mete out directives. It's not a small factor that, when a farang is denied a renewal on a 30 or 15 day visa, that same farang is told to go to Imm Office and pay Bt.1,900 for an extension. Can you see the difference? One renewal puts no money in Thai coffers. The new version puts Bt.1,900 in Thai pockets, for each hoodwinked farang (who was following the rules). Multiply that Bt.1,900 by hundreds per day, and you can see it adds up to a pretty penny.

The point is that those 15 and 30 days stamps are NOT visas. They are meant for people coming for a short visit. If they planned to stay longer, they should have gotten an actual visa, and if they are planning on staying longer, they can always go to Vientiane or Savannakhet or wherever and get a new visa. It's understandable that it might be frustrating that it used to be possible to endlessly hop the border and live off 30 day exempt stamps, but let's be honest - where else in the world are you going to be able to stay in a country long-term like that? At some point it was always going to end.

I don't know why you seem to have this idea that Thai immigration officers remotely care about a risible 1900 baht going into the local authority's coffers. They just want to do their job, and are doing the best they can with probably chaotic and mixed messages from Bangkok behind the scenes.

They're called 'visa-on-arrival.' My 78 yr old friend had his first voa from recently coming in at Suwanboom in Bkk. The visa rules state a 30-day visa is good for 30 days (tho it's actually 29 days). On the 28th day, he went to the border - wasn't allowed to cross. In sum: the rules state one thing, whereas actions by the rule-makers is different. We don't have to agree, but Bt.1,900 x roughly 1,000/day (people who are playing by the rules but are instead not allowed to cross the border and are therefore compelled to pay) = a lot of mullah.

Thailand claims to want more tourists so they get more money, but their actions are discouraging tourists on many levels. We all know all Thai rules are made in Bkk. All we're asking is they stick with the rules they make. Farang are being penalized for adhering to the rules.

For the umpteenth time man, they're not called VOA, they're Visa Exemptions.

VOA's are for the following countries:

1. Bhutan
2. China
3. Cyprus
4. Czech Republic
5. Estonia
6. Hungary
7. India
8. Kazakhstan
9. Latvia
10. Liechtenstein
11. Lithuania
12. Maldives
13. Mauritius
14. Poland
15. Saudi Arabia
16. Slovakia
17. Slovenia
18. Taiwan
19. Ukraine

Visa exemptions are for the following:

1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. Austria
4. Bahrain
5. Belgium
6. Brazil
7. Brunei
8. Canada
9. Chile
10. Czech Republic
11. Denmark
12. Finland
13. France
14. Germany
15. Greece
16. Hong Kong
17. Hungary
18. Iceland
19. Indonesia
20. Ireland
21. Israel
22. Italy
23. Japan
24. Korea
25. Kuwait
26. Laos
27. Liechtenstein
28. Luxembourg
29. Macau
30. Malaysia
31. Monaco
32. Mongolia
33. Netherlands
34. New Zealand
35. Norway
36. Oman
37. Peru
38. Philippines
39. Portugal
40. Qatar
41. Russia
42. Singapore
43. Slovak Republic
44. South Africa
45. Spain
46. Sweden
47. Switzerland
48. Turkey
49. United Arab Emirates
50. United Kingdom
51. United States
52. Vietnam

[boomerangutang]

jai yen, dude. How many is umpteenth? One?

It's semantics. You could ask 200 people what sort of visa they get when entering Swampy airport and they might all say 'visa-on-arrival' if that term bothers you, tough tamales. What do you call a ground up beef patty? A hamburger. Is it ham? no.

[RichCor]

What do you call a ground up beef patty? A hamburger. Is it ham? no.

Is that just like a sandwich isn't made out of sand?

Yea, place-name foods confuse a lot of people.

[Lampang2]

jai yen, dude. How many is umpteenth? One?It's semantics. You could ask 200 people what sort of visa they get when entering Swampy airport and they might all say 'visa-on-arrival' if that term bothers you, tough tamales. What do you call a ground up beef patty? A hamburger. Is it ham? no.

Nomenclature.

Call the dog a cat if you please, but don't expect other people to understand you.

[Will27]

jai yen, dude. How many is umpteenth? One? It's semantics. You could ask 200 people what sort of visa they get when entering Swampy airport and they might all say 'visa-on-arrival' if that term bothers you, tough tamales. What do you call a ground up beef patty? A hamburger. Is it ham? no.

No, it's not semantics, it's incorrect information.

The term doesn't bother me at all. But if you're going to continue scaremongering people, at least

try and get something right.

You just keep pumping out incorrect information, making up ridiculous claims with no evidence at all

to prove your outlandish statements like "land crossings are now 15 days for everyone".

Saying things like the VIP pass "is predicated on the color of a person's skin and their facial features"

is just ludicrous.

You're just lucky that most of your fairy tales are posted in the CR forum where it escapes major scrutiny

from the mods.

If you posted your tripe in the visa subforum, most of it would be deleted as it's pure fabrication.

[sceadugenga]

The last time we went through this I made an unnecessary trip to Mae Sai, crossed the border on a VIP pass and returned to post the successful outcome.

Not gonna waste my time again.

[Will27]

The last time we went through this I made an unnecessary trip to Mae Sai, crossed the border on a VIP pass and returned to post the successful outcome.

Not gonna waste my time again.

But Scea, a hansum man like you obviously had the right skin color and facial features

[Bardeh]

jai yen, dude. How many is umpteenth? One? It's semantics. You could ask 200 people what sort of visa they get when entering Swampy airport and they might all say 'visa-on-arrival' if that term bothers you, tough tamales. What do you call a ground up beef patty? A hamburger. Is it ham? no.

But you say that people who are denied an 'extension' to their 'visa' are being 'hoodwinked' out of 1900 baht. This isn't just semantics, it's plain wrong. They don't have a visa, and it's not eligible for extension aside from the emergency 7 day one for 1900 baht. The fact that the Thai government used to turn a blind eye to people obtaining repeated visa exempt stamps and decided to stop doing so doesn't change that fact.

In almost all cases, it's very easy to get a proper visa to stay in Thailand. All you need to do is a little research, and Thaivisa is a great place to do so and has helped me many times in the past. Spreading misinformation like you are doing helps nobody.

[boomerangutang]

jai yen, dude. How many is umpteenth? One? It's semantics. You could ask 200 people what sort of visa they get when entering Swampy airport and they might all say 'visa-on-arrival' if that term bothers you, tough tamales. What do you call a ground up beef patty? A hamburger. Is it ham? no.

No, it's not semantics, it's incorrect information.

The term doesn't bother me at all. But if you're going to continue scaremongering people, at least

try and get something right.

You just keep pumping out incorrect information, making up ridiculous claims with no evidence at all

to prove your outlandish statements like "land crossings are now 15 days for everyone".

Saying things like the VIP pass "is predicated on the color of a person's skin and their facial features"

is just ludicrous.

You're just lucky that most of your fairy tales are posted in the CR forum where it escapes major scrutiny from the mods.

If you posted your tripe in the visa subforum, most of it would be deleted as it's pure fabrication.

If I post something I'm not sure about, I use conditional language such as 'it appears as though....' As for items which I'm sure about and/or happened to me or a person I know, then I post it as such. If you can refute any of the following, go ahead....

>>> day-passes a.k.a. VIP-passes are not given to non-Asian-looking farang this month.

>>> people with one visa-on-entry (or whatever you wanna call it) from Bkk airport are not allowed to leave the country if they're within days (how many days? we don't know) of the v-o-a expiring. Along with that, they're required to pay Bt.1,900 for a renewal/extension which wasn't a requirement until recently.

>>> Rules are getting stricter regarding renters / landlords.

If you can factually refute (not just emotional knee jerk name-calling) any of those three items, let's hear it.

Note: I post such info in the hope it may preclude others from experiencing disappointments. For some folks, like those traveling up from Chiang Mai, it's a 4.5 hr trip each way. It wouldn't be right for them to travel 9 hours just to find out they could have done things easier and less costly. No one has to take my word for what I post. Look at Thai Visa main topic (top of page, and the reason T.Visa forum got started years ago). There are a slew of troubled posts mentioning the same things - about Thai Imm changing rules and not even sticking with the rules they make, and being confused themselves. Recently, I've been in 2 Thai Imm offices, and it's not uncommon for officials to shout back and forth to each other within the office, trying to figure what's up and what's down. If they're confused, how does that reflect on the people coming in there, willing to spend money to do what's right to try and stay legal?

[boomerangutang]

 

The last time we went through this I made an unnecessary trip to Mae Sai, crossed the border on a VIP pass and returned to post the successful outcome.

Not gonna waste my time again.

But Scea, a hansum man like you obviously had the right skin color and facial features

 

Scea, good for you. Let me guess, it wasn't recently you went over on the VIP pass. Rules change.

[sceadugenga]

Just a slight veering off from this Mae Sai thread, does anyone know if the VIP pass is/was offered at other land border crossings?

My point here all along is that it has always been discretionary; get on their hate list, or even arrive in the company of such a person, and it's going to get uphill very quickly.

Even a bit of irate yelling and shouting wont fix it.

[villagefarang]

I long ago came to the conclusion that Boomer’s problems are Boomer’s problems and they are perhaps due to his attitude and apparently spending so much time hanging around the border annoying immigration officers. Most of us have no problem at all with immigration.

Anyone desiring to visit Thailand should get the appropriate visa before traveling unless they are just passing through for a few days on their way to somewhere else. Trying to stay for an extended period of time without a visa is no longer something one can count on.

[Will27]

jai yen, dude. How many is umpteenth? One? It's semantics. You could ask 200 people what sort of visa they get when entering Swampy airport and they might all say 'visa-on-arrival' if that term bothers you, tough tamales. What do you call a ground up beef patty? A hamburger. Is it ham? no.

No, it's not semantics, it's incorrect information.

The term doesn't bother me at all. But if you're going to continue scaremongering people, at least

try and get something right.

You just keep pumping out incorrect information, making up ridiculous claims with no evidence at all

to prove your outlandish statements like "land crossings are now 15 days for everyone".

Saying things like the VIP pass "is predicated on the color of a person's skin and their facial features"

is just ludicrous.

You're just lucky that most of your fairy tales are posted in the CR forum where it escapes major scrutiny from the mods.

If you posted your tripe in the visa subforum, most of it would be deleted as it's pure fabrication.

If I post something I'm not sure about, I use conditional language such as 'it appears as though....' As for items which I'm sure about and/or happened to me or a person I know, then I post it as such. If you can refute any of the following, go ahead....

>>> day-passes a.k.a. VIP-passes are not given to non-Asian-looking farang this month.

>>> people with one visa-on-entry (or whatever you wanna call it) from Bkk airport are not allowed to leave the country if they're within days (how many days? we don't know) of the v-o-a expiring. Along with that, they're required to pay Bt.1,900 for a renewal/extension which wasn't a requirement until recently.

>>> Rules are getting stricter regarding renters / landlords.

If you can factually refute (not just emotional knee jerk name-calling) any of those three items, let's hear it.

Note: I post such info in the hope it may preclude others from experiencing disappointments. For some folks, like those traveling up from Chiang Mai, it's a 4.5 hr trip each way. It wouldn't be right for them to travel 9 hours just to find out they could have done things easier and less costly. No one has to take my word for what I post. Look at Thai Visa main topic (top of page, and the reason T.Visa forum got started years ago). There are a slew of troubled posts mentioning the same things - about Thai Imm changing rules and not even sticking with the rules they make, and being confused themselves. Recently, I've been in 2 Thai Imm offices, and it's not uncommon for officials to shout back and forth to each other within the office, trying to figure what's up and what's down. If they're confused, how does that reflect on the people coming in there, willing to spend money to do what's right to try and stay legal?

Firstly, I cannot see any name calling, emotional or otherwise.

Secondly, you don't use conditional language at all, that's one of the issues.

You post it as if it's gospel. And hearing something from a friend would be considered hearsay, not fact.

Some cases in point, recently posted verbatim by you

"day passes are doubtful now for white-skinned farang. For Chinese, I think it's easy. Not sure about Chinese-looking foreigners from Taiwan, Korea, etc. It's a toss-up".

Seeing as a white-skinned farang forum member recently posted that he received a VIP pass, you know this how?

"As for 'day-pass' or 'VIP-pass' it's quite doubtful (about a 1% possibility at this time)".

How did you reach the about 1% figure?

"For the day-pass, it's predicated on the color of a person's skin and their facial features. It has nothing to do with # or type of rubber stamps in passport.

They don't even look at passport when they make the decision. It's an edict handed down from Bangkok. If anyone can venture a guess why there's that restriction, let us know".

Apart from the skin colour and facial feature nonsense, you say it's been ordered by Bangkok. You must've seen it in writing the I guess.

Honestly, I was going to say you couldn't make this stuff up, but you obviously do.

Have you any factual evidence to back any of the above statements up?

I would love to hear them.

BTW, it's not up to me to refute them, it's up to you to prove them.

Ayway, I've had enough of going around the mulberry bush with you.

I'm outta here.

[boomerangutang]

Firstly, I cannot see any name calling, emotional or otherwise.

Secondly, you don't use conditional language at all, that's one of the issues.

You post it as if it's gospel. And hearing something from a friend would be considered hearsay, not fact.

Some cases in point, recently posted verbatim by you

"day passes are doubtful now for white-skinned farang. For Chinese, I think it's easy. Not sure about Chinese-looking foreigners from Taiwan, Korea, etc. It's a toss-up".

Seeing as a white-skinned farang forum member recently posted that he received a VIP pass, you know this how?

You're referring, I believe, to Scea. Please, Scea, tell us when you got the VIP crossing. I doubt it's within the past week, but I could be wrong. I've gotten VIP passes in the past also. That's not the issue. The issue is changing policies at the border - RECENTLY.

"As for 'day-pass' or 'VIP-pass' it's quite doubtful (about a 1% possibility at this time)".

How did you reach the about 1% figure?

Actually, it probably zero %. I'm referring to MaeSai crossing, and got it from first hand info and from severasl friends who were turned down recently. Sorry I don't have the video version with subtitles. I could post their photos and bios, but I think that would be going a bit far, don't you?

Apart ....you say it's been ordered by Bangkok. You must've seen it in writing the I guess.

Honestly, I was going to say you couldn't make this stuff up, but you obviously do.

Have you any factual evidence to back any of the above statements up?

I would love to hear them.

BTW, it's not up to me to refute them, it's up to you to prove them.

No, I don't have it in writing from Bangkok. Neither do I have the recent rain storm in writing from Bangkok - but it rained nevertheless.

Pardon me if I don't speak in politically correct language. I've stated what I know. You can assume it's wrong, or you can prove me wrong, whatever. If nothing else, the info I post may help others avoid a lot of wasted time and money ....and disappointment.

It sounds as if my missives bother you. Should I be sorry about that? Perhaps I should only report rosy news, and you'd like that better. How about this: many people gathered around the Mae Sai sign smiling and taking selfies. There, is that better?

Anyway, I've had enough of going around the mulberry bush with you.

I'm outta here.

bye. I've got 2 dozen mulberry bushes you can go around, but you don't have to believe me if you don't want to - or if that news bothers you. Up to you, bud.

[boomerangutang]

Just a slight veering off from this Mae Sai thread, does anyone know if the VIP pass is/was offered at other land border crossings?

My point here all along is that it has always been discretionary; get on their hate list, or even arrive in the company of such a person, and it's going to get uphill very quickly.

Even a bit of irate yelling and shouting wont fix it.

I don't think I'm on anyone's hate list. Have you heard differently? Two days ago, one of the border guards came out from behind his booth and smiled while repeatedly touching my arm. Is that a sign of hate? Oh, and he was kindly telling me that there are no VIP passes until possibly next month. I didn't get in writing from Bkk though, sorry 'bout that.

If you know of anyone or see anyone shouting at Imm officers, maybe you should step forward and discipline such people. I don't know anyone like that. I did see a farang shouting at staff in a hardware store, two months ago. I was going to say something to him, but didn't.

I long ago came to the conclusion that Boomer’s problems are Boomer’s problems and they are perhaps due to his attitude and apparently spending so much time hanging around the border annoying immigration officers. Most of us have no problem at all with immigration.

Anyone desiring to visit Thailand should get the appropriate visa before traveling unless they are just passing through for a few days on their way to somewhere else. Trying to stay for an extended period of time without a visa is no longer something one can count on.

Do you know anyone "spending so much time hanging around the border annoying immigration officers." ? Maybe you should chastize that person (though I would leave them to their business). I don't know anyone like that.

"Most of us have no problem at all with immigration" Good for you'all. Most people don't have the flu either. But sometimes some people get the flu, and they have to take measures to deal with it.

[Donnchadh]

I this tread supposed to help people or just a place to bitch at each other, we can all ignore subjective comment so long as there is something useful in the flow, the bulk of you are a waste of space, this Boomer bloke at least is talking about the current situation, I just traveled on the green bus Mae Sai To Chiang Rai from Pasang, three falang on board all of whom had been turned back at Mae Sai, to be clear they are all just tourists using Thailand as a travel hub, one guy had arrived ten days ago and simply wanted a day in Burma, not one was on what seem to be considered a visa run, so any advice that will save time and money is welcome, but trawling through so much of this fecken crap that just muddies the water, get a fecken life.