HiMaybe a stupid question... but i arrived in Thailand with a double entry tourist visa and I have already extended it for 30 days after the first 60 day period had expired. This means I must leave the country and come back to activate the 2nd entry before the visa runs out (90 days after the stamp in my passport). My question is.... do i have to go on one of these organized visa runs and pay 1900 baht, or would it be possible to maybe rent a car, drive to the border, park the car on the thai side and just walk across the border and back again without paying anything or filling out any visa forms?many thanks for your advises

You cna either do it yourself or go with a visa-run company.

You must not only leave the country, but also enter and another country, for which in most cases you will need to buy a visa at the border. Immigraiton checks if you have the right stamp for leaving the country. Only when you return by air will they not check for an exit stamp from the other country.

You exit/return within 90 days of visa issue for a new 60 day stay and you must exit stamp from Thailand, obtain visa/entry stamp for other country/exit stamp from other country/entry stamp for 60 days from Thailand.

You do not need to use a visa service but you must still pay for any visa required.

Many thanks for your replies....

Where would the best place to cross the border from Bangkok, Cambodia? if so, what is the name of the town? and any idea of the price of a visa to cambodia?

Thanks again

hi,

there's poipet or maybe you could go upto mai sot in burma i heard it's re-opened (cost 500 baht for entry).

how long is your visa valid for ? because if it's only the 3 month one then maybe you have to do you border hop sooner than you think, written on the visa what is the enter before date ?

where did you get the visa from ?

IMPORTANT NOTE. You MUST re-enter Thaiand before the 'enter before' date on the visa itself, this is nothing to do with any of your entry stamps or extensions.

Thanks for your reply

my visa is a double entry tourist visa i got from the thai embassy in oslo. the date os issue was 28th sept, and the "enter before" date is 28th dec. I arrived in thailand on the 14th oct, and on the 28th nov i extended it for 30 days at bkk immigration, but for some reason they stamped my passport for the 11th jan.

My belief is that i have to go out the country and return on/before the 28th dec.... correct?

My belief is that i have to go out the country and return on/before the 28th dec.... correct?

Yes.

For safety re-enter before the 28th, there are reports that picky immigration officers are interpreting 'before' as just that, before.

Correct and the extension date appears correct as it is 30 days added to your original 60 days permitted to stay - day of arrival is day one in that count.

Many thanks for all everyones help, it can be a bit daunting/confusing the first time.

Does this chap need to stay over in other country ?

I thought the Visa service run providers. just did it all while you sat in the shade and came back same day ?

Whats the Visas / entry costs for different crossing points to do this ?

I think that should be of help to readers.

Thanks

no you don't need to stay overnight in a different country , you can just spent 5 mins or many weeks/days it's upto you.<br>but you can't avoid having to pay the 500 baht to enter burma or 20 $ for cambodia or 35$ for laos , malaysia is free apparently.<br>

no you don't need to stay overnight in a different country , you can just spent 5 mins or many weeks/days it's upto you.<br>but you can't avoid having to pay the 500 baht to enter burma or 20 $ for cambodia or 35$ for laos , malaysia is free apparently.<br>

Malaysia is free but it's a long way from Bangkok to Sadao and you're not ging to do it in one day even if you drive yourself it's over 1000 kilometers one way!

the reason they stamped you in for the 11th jan is because it's 60 days + 30 days from when you entered but if you want to activate you second stage of your visa this has to be done earlier as your aware.

you must have applied for your visa a couple of weeks before you entered thailand.

most people don't get to use all the 30 days from there first extension in practice, the second time you extend is better.

some visas are valid for 6 months from issue and this confusion over which dates to use isn't so much of a problem usually.