Visa-run Aranyaprathet/Poipet

[Maigo6]

Can you tell us more about how you paid with a $20 bill.

I put a 20$ Bill and a 100 Baht note in my passport and had no problems, although a tout that was trying to fill my immigration form out was insisting that I paid with Thai money 1000 baht.

I had a 20$ Bill and thought I would give it a try and had no problem, it wasn't the case of saving 350Baht I was interested in, it was the fact that people have always said it can't be done.

Why do they have the visa fee as 20$ if 20$ is unacceptable, I tried it and it was OK for me.

[dantilley]

If one gets a Cambodian visa in advance from the Cambodian Embassy, does that then reduce the price of a Jack Golf visa run down to 1,000 Baht?

[Maestro]

I could imagine that a tour operator does not pay 1,000 Baht for the Cambodian visa of each of its passengers.

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Maestro

[abdulrahman]

The actual Cambodian visa fee is $20. You can see this on the sticker they adhere

in your passport. At the current exchange rate this is approximately 660 baht.

Quite a bit of skimming going on. If they only used a fraction of those funds

to take care of their own disadvantaged. I would give it gladly.

Looked right now at my Cambodian Visa,12th December,Fee:blank,but the friendly officer asked 1200 Baht!

[tropo]

I could imagine that a tour operator does not pay 1,000 Baht for the Cambodian visa of each of its passengers.

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Maestro

I agree. One high profile operator in Pattaya that I used last year claimed that visas were 1,200 baht and even went to the trouble of writing it down on a list as the payment for visa.

When my Filipino GF goes on a visa run to Ban Laem they ask for a 250 baht "stamp fee" because Filipinos don't have to pay for a Cambodian visa. I'm not sure who gets that, the visa run company or the Cambodian officials. The 250 baht must be to compensate for the 350 baht markup on the visa fee they're not making from her.

Will they ever clean up the borders? - Visa fee ripoff, bogus transportation tickets etc....

[Maestro]

... One high profile operator in Pattaya that I used last year claimed that visas were 1,200 baht...

Actually, I thought tour operators might pay less than the customary 1,000 Baht; quantity discount, so to speak.

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Maestro

[dantilley]

So, if everyone gets visas in advance it might go some way towards stopping these rip-offs. The Cambodian embassy's near Lumpini Park, not exactly out of the way... Or are there agents you can use in Bangkok who can get you the visa for a small fee? This would inevitably be cheaper than the extortionate border charges some people are having to cough up, so you're saving yourself cash as well as doing a good deed by giving less under the table money to these border rip-off merchants.

And I also believe it's possible to get a Cambodian visa online these days?

Edited January 19, 2008 by dantilley

[Guest]

The Cambodian Embassy building near Lumpini Pak was sold to a property developer a while ago. Don't know where the new embassy is.

[dantilley]

Ah, it still says the old address here then - but there's always the online option, which sounds like a good service deserving of support I think anyway.

[sniffdog]

You can pay with a US$20 bill .... you even can buy a US$20 bill with Thai Baht at the counter in front of the visa application counter.There were reports though, that those paying with a US$20 were kept for delayed processing.

Don't see why you put a 100 baht there too for the visa guy. There used to be a time that immigration demanded 100 baht if you stayed only 1 day. But that can be solved by writing 15 days on the arrival card and looking away when he processes your passport.

Last time I looked over the shoulder of the visa run guy in Ban Laem and he paid THB 4,800 for eight people (he punched it in on the calculator) .... nosy me.

Edited January 19, 2008 by sniffdog

[tropo]

You can pay with a US$20 bill .... you even can buy a US$20 bill with Thai Baht at the counter in front of the visa application counter.There were reports though, that those paying with a US$20 were kept for delayed processing.

Don't see why you put a 100 baht there too for the visa guy. There used to be a time that immigration demanded 100 baht if you stayed only 1 day. But that can be solved by writing 15 days on the arrival card and looking away when he processes your passport.

Last time I looked over the shoulder of the visa run guy in Ban Laem and he paid THB 4,800 for eight people (he punched it in on the calculator) .... nosy me.

Yes, it's just a sneaky way for the visa run companies to make some extra money. Perhaps they give the Cambodian officers a kick back.

Edited January 20, 2008 by tropo

[007]

Yes it does matter; the rule is not more than 90 days in six months on visa exempt entry. It is not visa entry and visa entry does not count against the 90 days.

Sorry for a repeat question. I recently read some Immigration notice that 'tourist visa extensions are counted against the 90 days allowed as visa-waiver'. True??

[tropo]

Yes it does matter; the rule is not more than 90 days in six months on visa exempt entry. It is not visa entry and visa entry does not count against the 90 days.

Sorry for a repeat question. I recently read some Immigration notice that 'tourist visa extensions are counted against the 90 days allowed as visa-waiver'. True??

No. They've never counted my visa extensions toward the 90 day allowance. I would have missed out on my last 30 day visa-exempt entry if they did.

[007]

No. They've never counted my visa extensions toward the 90 day allowance. I would have missed out on my last 30 day visa-exempt entry if they did.

Well, better to trust Thai Visa than official Thailand Immigration notices.

[Maestro]

Well, better to trust Thai Visa than official Thailand Immigration notices.

Better to understand Thai Immigration notices better. It is the extensions of stay for visa-exempt entries that can get counted as part of the maximum 90 days visa-exempt stay within 6 months.

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Maestro

[CosmicSurfer]

...I paid with a 20$ Bill and had no problems, that equals less than 1000 Baht....

Can you tell us more about how you paid with a $20 bill. I've read numerous reports on here from people attempting to pay with a $20 bill and ending up with problems.

One guy said they discretely tore his bill and handed it back asking for another. Another reported how they went really slow with his visa after paying with a $20 bill and he had to wait a long time. Others were threatened with a long wait but relented and paid with baht.

If it's so easy, could you help the rest of us with some advice on the correct way to go about it.

$20 is worth about 650 baht right now, so I'm sure a lot of people would like to save the 350 if it is easy to do.

It is Cambodian Government policy - $20 US OR 1,000 THB

You can get confirmation of that, PLUS get an actual Visa on the Cambodian E-Visa web site.

I just used their service and did my Run Yesterday. Visa cost was US$20 plus $5 service fee.. total equals about 800 THB. Used my PayPal account to pay.

No Lines, no waiting for Visa at the Border... Not even any clothes on when I applied... It just showed up in my Email box within 12 hours... No extra charge at Cambodian Border... Once I reached the window at the Border, I was stamped in and gone in 2 minutes.. faster at Exit... Spent exactly 2 minutes in Cambodia... BUT the promised special E-Visa line wasn't there.. took a while to get to the window in the regular Line... I should have taken up the offer for VIP treatment from the guy handing out Arrival/Departure Cards in the line... 100 THB would have got me 5 minute service. Next time.

I took the A/C bus from Mor Chit Bus Station... cost 414 THB return... Left Bangkok at 5:30am... Back by 5:00pm. (Took some time purse shopping at border market with my wife.) Total Visa Run cost for me was approx 1,200 Baht (Not counting the cost of her new purses.) Visa 800 + Bus 414 + lunch 25 = 1,239 Baht... Next time add the 100B VIP service..

Total add the 414 for my wife's Bus ticket (again.. not counting the Purses. ) Trip total cost was under 1,700 Baht FOR 2 PEOPLE

CS

[PaulHamon]

nice 1300 is pretty good i like it!

[robert00]

For those interested or in a position of contemplating a visa-run, this was my experience this morning from Bangkok:

...

What sort of visa did you go for???

[FRM-BKK]

For those interested or in a position of contemplating a visa-run, this was my experience this morning from Bangkok:

...

What sort of visa did you go for???

Hello Robert00

I currently hold a one year NON Immigrant "O" visa multiple entries, issued by the Thai consulate in Hull - UK.

I did the visa run to get another 90 days.

FRM-UK now Bangkok