Singkhorn - New Myanmar Border Crossing for Thai Nationals Only Opens May 8, 2013

[george]

GOOD NEWS FOR BORDER RUNNERS

New Myanmar crossing opens Wed

The Singkhorn temporary pass in Prachuap Khiri

Khan's Muang district will be opened as a new

permanent checkpoint between Thailand and

Myanmar on Wednesday, May 8, 2013.

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: -- The Singkhorn temporary checkpoint on the border with Myanmar has been upgraded and will be opened as a new permanent pass on Wednesday.

Provincial governor Veera Sriwattanatrakul said the opening had been confirmed by both countries. It would be marked at a ceremony on Wednesday at Singkorn pass.

Singkhorn, in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Muang district, is opposite Mortong town in Myanmar. It is one of three checkpoints to be upgraded as permanent crossings to boost trade between the two countries.

The checkpoint connects Thailand with Mergui, one of the major towns in Myanmar.

The other two passes to be upgraded are Three Pagodas Pass in Kanchanaburi and Myanmar's Phayatongsu town, and Ban Nam Pu Ron in Kanchanaburi and Myanmar's Tiki town.

The plan was approved at talks between between Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Myanmar President Thein Sein on April 25 on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Brunei.


-- Phuket News 2013-05-06

[mrtoad]

So they are finally going to open the borders in Kanchanburi.

[CP3]

At both sides, doesn't seem to have any building at all?

[Haddo]

Does anyone have the coordinates of where this is, as I can't find it on Google maps, or on my Garmin GPS?

thanks

[asiamint]

wow that is good news, im amazed after 15 odd years of saying it will open up

on 2nd thoughts will foreigners be allowed to cross without a Myanmar visa, if so this will be useless for anyone in Hua Hin, as they will have to go to Bangkok to get a visa,

There is no such thing as a visa on arrival for Burma, only a play on the words.

At the Ranong crossing further south they allow you to cross into burma, they stamp you straight out or give you max 2 or 3 days but you cant leave the
island unless you have a burma visa, you have to stay on the island if you have no visa

So my question would be can you stamp in and out at Singkhorn, like you can at the ranong crossing? Or will you need a visa?

If you do need a visa hopefully Myanmar will change their ways soon

[wump]

Does anyone have the coordinates of where this is, as I can't find it on Google maps, or on my Garmin GPS?

thanks

It's located on the narrowest stretch of Thailand on the east coast near the town of Prachuap: http://goo.gl/maps/qi1cm

It's a very good road that has been newly paved 2 years ago or so.

Edited May 6, 2013 by MaikB84

[george]

So my question would be can you stamp in and out at Singkhorn, like you can at the ranong crossing? Or will you need a visa?

Singkhon is a full international border point from Wednesday. We have got that confirmed by Prachuap Khirikhan Immigration.

[Evolare]

wow that is good news, im amazed after 15 odd years of saying it will open up

on 2nd thoughts will foreigners be allowed to cross without a Myanmar visa, if so this will be useless for anyone in Hua Hin, as they will have to go to Bangkok to get a visa,

There is no such thing as a visa on arrival for Burma, only a play on the words.

At the Ranong crossing further south they allow you to cross into burma, they stamp you straight out or give you max 2 or 3 days but you cant leave the

island unless you have a burma visa, you have to stay on the island if you have no visa

So my question would be can you stamp in and out at Singkhorn, like you can at the ranong crossing? Or will you need a visa?

If you do need a visa hopefully Myanmar will change their ways soon

As far as i have been told it will be the same as other burmese border crossings with permanent status ie. ranong and mae sai. But I know many countries are in negotiations for it...but as of yet visa on arrival for most countries that have a contract with myanmar is only granted for 28day business visa and transit visa and i think that only applies to arrival in airports at the moment. Currently worse than thailand and i think they will remain being strict on tourists but will be more generous terms to Business visa holders very soon

[asiamint]

thanks George for the update

ii's a little confusing though as going to Yangoon airport you need a visa to enter Burma

Mai Sai and Ranong you can get stamped in and out and i hope it's the same in Singkhorn.

it's really going to boost land prices all around hua hin, pranburi. In the Future the islands along the coast of Myanmar are going to be world famous, they are simply stunning and they are within easy driving distance from pranburi and hua hin now.

[asiamint]

thanks Evolare

[pacovl46]

Will there be a Thai consulate there? That would be perfect!

[SOTIRIOS]

....how many kms from Bangkok....are any of these borders closer alternatives for visa runs...???

[khaowong1]

Here's a question that I've always wondered about. If your in Thailand on a 1 year non-O visa, you go into Burma for a day or two, what happens to your non-O visa? I am probably guessing, you should get a re-entry visa before hand, right?

[aidenai]

....how many kms from Bangkok....are any of these borders closer alternatives for visa runs...???

The GPS coordinates are N11.789391 E99.642906 and it's about 310 kilometres from Bangkok.

[lookingeast]

Here's a question that I've always wondered about. If your in Thailand on a 1 year non-O visa, you go into Burma for a day or two, what happens to your non-O visa? I am probably guessing, you should get a re-entry visa before hand, right?

Well, i'd hope one of the experts will respond - but until then, i'd have said that it all depends on whether your 'O' is a single or multiple-entry ? If it's a multi, you can go in and out of LOS as many times as you like until it expires, getting 90 days each time you re-enter LOS. Just waiting for the axe to fall on my neck...

[Maestro]

Does anyone have the coordinates of where this is, as I can't find it on Google maps, or on my Garmin GPS?

thanks

A photo on Panoramio gives 11° 47' 8.12" N 99° 39' 4.44" E as the coordinates for the spot from which the picture of the Thai immigration checkpoint was taken. This means that the checkpoint is about 1 km from the border.

[Maestro]

I have deleted an off-topic post about "mai sai"

[Maestro]

Here's a question that I've always wondered about. If your in Thailand on a 1 year non-O visa, you go into Burma for a day or two, what happens to your non-O visa? I am probably guessing, you should get a re-entry visa before hand, right?

If with "1 year non-O visa" you mean a non-immigrant visa valid for multiple entries into Thailand within one year from its issue date you do not need a re-entry permit as long as the visa is still valid.

[SunsetT]

wow that is good news, im amazed after 15 odd years of saying it will open up

on 2nd thoughts will foreigners be allowed to cross without a Myanmar visa, if so this will be useless for anyone in Hua Hin, as they will have to go to Bangkok to get a visa,

There is no such thing as a visa on arrival for Burma, only a play on the words.

At the Ranong crossing further south they allow you to cross into burma, they stamp you straight out or give you max 2 or 3 days but you cant leave the

island unless you have a burma visa, you have to stay on the island if you have no visa

So my question would be can you stamp in and out at Singkhorn, like you can at the ranong crossing? Or will you need a visa?

If you do need a visa hopefully Myanmar will change their ways soon

wow that is good news, im amazed after 15 odd years of saying it will open up

on 2nd thoughts will foreigners be allowed to cross without a Myanmar visa, if so this will be useless for anyone in Hua Hin, as they will have to go to Bangkok to get a visa,

There is no such thing as a visa on arrival for Burma, only a play on the words.

At the Ranong crossing further south they allow you to cross into burma, they stamp you straight out or give you max 2 or 3 days but you cant leave the

island unless you have a burma visa, you have to stay on the island if you have no visa

So my question would be can you stamp in and out at Singkhorn, like you can at the ranong crossing? Or will you need a visa?

If you do need a visa hopefully Myanmar will change their ways soon

I dont know what you mean as I had a very enjoyable border run on my own across the sea from Ranong to Burma. I was given a 14 day entry stamp for 'Myammar'. The friendly immigration staff even expressed disappointment that I was leaving the same day that I arrived when I could have stayed longer. This was in 2007 but I am not aware that they have changed entry requirements since then.

[xavierr]

I found that many places in the net use the RGTS spelling 'Singkhon' or 'Sing Khon'. Is there a reason why Thaivisa uses an obsolete transcription?

[keestha]

I expect to pass by there next month, and I hope it will be possible to hop across the border for a few hours without officially exiting Thailand. If yes, I will certainly make my way there for some sightseeing, shopping and eating.

[Mario2008]

I found that many places in the net use the RGTS spelling 'Singkhon' or 'Sing Khon'. Is there a reason why Thaivisa uses an obsolete transcription?

Thaivisa just quotes an article which uses that spelling.

[dighambara]

I found that many places in the net use the RGTS spelling 'Singkhon' or 'Sing Khon'. Is there a reason why Thaivisa uses an obsolete transcription?

In Thailand, no transcription is obsolete. Some are just better than others.

[MrVain]

Oh boy, 1 more exciting market...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

If this has been answered clearly above, I'm not catching it...

For a westerner farang in Thailand who'd want to enter Myanmar via Singkhorn, is a Myanmar visa required in advance?

Or will they have some kind of visa on arrival or automatic limited permission to stay stamp?

[bri1guy]

Up in the North I got a visa on arrival only for a 1 day pass they gave a entry visa & I was with a guide near the golden triangle but who knows what new rules Myanmar will come up with now?

wow that is good news, im amazed after 15 odd years of saying it will open up

on 2nd thoughts will foreigners be allowed to cross without a Myanmar visa, if so this will be useless for anyone in Hua Hin, as they will have to go to Bangkok to get a visa,

There is no such thing as a visa on arrival for Burma, only a play on the words.

At the Ranong crossing further south they allow you to cross into burma, they stamp you straight out or give you max 2 or 3 days but you cant leave the
island unless you have a burma visa, you have to stay on the island if you have no visa

So my question would be can you stamp in and out at Singkhorn, like you can at the ranong crossing? Or will you need a visa?

If you do need a visa hopefully Myanmar will change their ways soon

[ubonjoe]

It will be just like all the other crossings into Myanmar. Pay 500 baht to enter Myanmar and then return to Thailand.

[Tomtomtom69]

Nothing wrong with a visa requirement for entering at this border or any other. Every country I can think of that has a visa requirement does NOT allow you to enter even for a day, even near the border area if you don't have a visa for that country so I don't understand the bickering amongst some posters here about whether a visa would be required to cross this border or not and their hopes that it won't be. Myanmar is clearly an exception to the international rule of treating your country as one by applying the same entry requirements at all designated international border entry points and overland access at these crossings.

I'd be more interested in knowing whether this will be one of the first crossings (after Mae Sot/Myawaddy) to allow full overland access to other parts of the country, which would only be allowed WITH a visa in your passport. But since the Mae Sot/Myawaddy overland crossing opening date keeps changing (currently it is unclear whether it already allows overland crossings to Yangon etc. or not), I am not confident that one can reach Myeik or Dawei overland from Dan Singkorn, unless maybe someone could check with Prachuab immigration and post here?

[Khun Watchaporn]

It will be just like all the other crossings into Myanmar. Pay 500 baht to enter Myanmar and then return to Thailand.

Hopefully.

Though I usually just hand over a crisp $10 note in Mae Sot.

[KhunBENQ]

I found that many places in the net use the RGTS spelling 'Singkhon' or

'Sing Khon'. Is there a reason why Thaivisa uses an obsolete

transcription?

Smiling about the transcription thing.

The border post is named:

ด่านสิงขร

Official RTGS transkript:

Dan Singkhon

(ด่าน dan = customs house/checkpoint)

But quickly forget any hope that the english speaking world will ever use the official RTGS transkript

Cost me about 2 hours a while to find out the right name/place.

This is panoramio picture that shows it better readable:

Edited May 7, 2013 by KhunBENQ