My First Visa Run. Where Should I Go?

[Fitzy]

Hey folks, I'm a Canadian citizen here with my American wife in Chiang Mai. We came in on a double entry, 90 day visa on October 1st, and we just got an extension for our final 30 days which gives us until December 30th.

We'd like to stay longer. It's amazing here.

So, I'm wondering if my lurking on these forums has served me well and I'm correct on this: it's my understanding that if we fly out on, say, December 28th to a nearby country with a consulate, we can get a similar 90 day, double entry visa which will allow us to fly back in and stay until right around the end of March. Yes?

My real question: what's the quickest and most painless way to do this? A trip to Laos? Burma? Malaysia? I tend to get antsy about these things, so although I've been reading the posts here a lot, a concise understanding of my situation would calm the nerves greatly.

Thanks folks.

[PoorSucker]

If you have a double entry tourist visa you just have to make a border hop.

Go to Mae Sai, enter Burma, Spend a half hour in the market, enter Thailand again and you will receive a new 60 day stamp.

Check your visa, you must do this before the expire date.

Ask a travel agency in Chiang Mai, there are companies that makes visa runs to Mae Sai.

[Fitzy]

Fantastic! Very do-able. How many times can I do this?

[thaiphoon]

A double entry tourist visa would give you nearly 6 months stay; 60 days on entry then obtain 30 day extension, do border run to activate second 60 day entry before visa expiry and obtain further 30 day extension at Thai immigration. The only consulate currently providing double entry tourist visas in the region is Vientiane.

Be aware of the current crackdown on back to back tourist visas:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Crackdown-To...at-t297046.html

[Fitzy]

Thanks for pointing that out. I mean, what are the chances that we'd be denied if we went to Vietnane? Definitely not seeking employment.

Ideally, we'd like to stay until March, so if we could do two crossings into Burma for two 60 day visas, that would be perfect.

[PoorSucker]

Check your visa again, are you sure you have double entry?

The 60 days you can extend with 30 days at immigrations, taking you to end of March.

[Fitzy]

Yeah, it's definitely a double entry. I came in on October 1st, and it was my understanding that after 60 days, I needed to pay for a 30 day extension, which I did. Paid up my 1,900 THB, which is taking me up until December 30th. Now, the concern is staying beyond that.

Wait, are you saying I can just leave and come back in and get this Visa extended rather than getting a whole new one?

Pardon me, I'm confused

[Fitzy]

Ah, OK, wait, I see what you're saying now. Cross into Burma around the end of the month, and get a 60 day visa. Then extend that for 30 days right before it runs out.

Perfect. Thank you, folks. You're a godsend.

[lopburi3]

Almost right - you exit Thailand/enter other country and return. You use the second entry of the visa you now have. Immigration stamps your passport for a 60 day stay (not a visa but a permitted to stay stamp). Then before the 60 days you obtain another 30 day extension of stay for 1,900 baht as you did last time.

What you do have to watch is the use before date on your visa as second entry must be while visa is still valid. Normally they are valid for 90 or 180 days from date of issue.

[Ayutthaya69]

Fantastic! Very do-able. How many times can I do this?

burma visa half day cost 500 baht and you save 1 page on your passport its only a stamp

[Fitzy]

Ah, got you.

So I have an extension stamp which says I can remain until December 30th, as well as the original visa date which says "Use by: December 16th".

So I guess on the 14th or 15th I hightail it to Burma for my 60 days, then renew that for 30 before it runs up. Won't take me right up until the very, very end of March, but I suppose that's good enough. I'll just have to return for another 6 months in Fall 2010!

[thaiphoon]

If your visa says "Enter Before 16th December" you must re-enter Thailand by 15th December at the latest to activate your second 60 day period of stay.

[jb5music]

THERE'S ONE MAJOR PROBLEM THAT ALL OF YOU MISSED....

When you get a double entry tourist visa and enter on Oct 1st

You then must go to the border and re-enter before Dec 1st again to

activate the second entry.

THE VISA ITSELF ONLY HAS A VALIDITY OF 2 MONTHS.

ALL ENTRIES HAVE TO BE USED BEFORE 60 days.

By going to immigration and extending the first entry to

December 30th you wasted the 1000 extra baht you paid for the double entry

instead of the single entry.

The visa and the extension will now expire and will be done with - kaput, fine

Once an extension expires nothing more can be done with that visa.

[lopburi3]

Not true. A tourist visa has a validity of at least 90 days from date of issue. You can make entry any time during that period. The 60 days is the permitted to stay time from date of entry and has nothing to do with validity of visa.

[nonghoidave]

Thanks for pointing that out. I mean, what are the chances that we'd be denied if we went to Vietnane? Definitely not seeking employment.

Ideally, we'd like to stay until March, so if we could do two crossings into Burma for two 60 day visas, that would be perfect.

Hi,

Don't have expertise in the visa time line issues, I have the multi-entry Non-immigrant "O" visa, good for one year, where I have to leave every 90 days and re-enter.

I live in Chiangmai, and had a friend here call a tourist service that picked me up at my condo at 7:00am. New, comfortable van, good aircon and cushy, reclining seats. We picked up a van load of tourists at various hotels, mostly Aussies. Headed towards Chaing Rai, through very scenic mountain roads. Stopped at some tourist trap with hot springs along the way, good for a drink and toilet.

Then off to some little village "the Golden Triangle", where there was a boat ride available around some island of Laos, where a casino sat. I stayed at pier side restaurant and had some Thai food, while the rest went on boat ride....many of the "long-tail" type boats there. Then off to Chiang Rai for lunch at a Chinese buffet. Not so good.

From there to Mae Sai, I was the only one in need of visa stamp, so the others went walking around the crowded tourist market near immigration. I literally spent two minutes getting stamped out of Thailand (told to return by 5:00 pm, it was @ 2:30 pm, not sure what that was about, maybe because I had no Burmese visa??), walked to other end of bridge into Myanmar, went inside office, gave them my passport, they asked how long I was staying, I told them 5 minutes to get stamp, had them fiddle around for @ 5 minutes on computer, then paid 500 baht, got my stamp, went back to Thai Immigration on other end, entered and had by next 90 days stamped into passport, spent no more than 15-20 minutes for whole "ordeal."

Then off to see Long-Neck Karen village (which I didn't pay to enter), then off on return to Chiangmai, with toilet stop and refreshments at some roadside gas station mini-mart.

Paid 800 baht total, got back to Nong Hoi at 7:00 pm.

I'd highly recommend it if you don't have vehicle to drive or Thai friend to take you to border. Bring camera, some very lovely mountain views.

So, you like Chiangmai, eh? Yes, very nice here now....you'll be glad to leave in the spring when the smoke from agricultural burning starts clogging the air. Trust me.