What the official "visa run crack down" documents actually say

[thykeeper]

I'm making this post I made (buried under many pages) a new thread because I think the people here who are posting have not actually read the original Thai document and are sharing false information. Please feel free to correct or add to the list but these are the facts and not subjective interpretations by officials or 2nd hand information.

The document does NOT say:

1) The document does NOT say you are limited to one entry of 30 days nor does it mention amounts of entires or days of each entry (these being entry stamps without visas).

2) The document does NOT contain ANY hard numbers. If anyone here is giving you hard numbers like 1 entry and 30 days they got this from a source which is NOT the official government announcement.

3) The document does NOT mention any new laws (these are simply guidelines).

4) The document does NOT mention specific kinds of visas.

5) The document does NOT mention specific kinds of travel like land crossing or airports.

6) The document does NOT mention "all nationalities" and in fact singles out "Korea etc...". I called the offices in BKK and they say it does apply to all nationalities but that information is NOT the official document.

The document DOES say:

1) From the starting date (the 8th I think) to the 15th of August they will start to write "O-I" (out-in) in your passport if they suspect your entry is not tourism related and then they will advise you to secure an actual visa (the entry stamp is implied here to be a problem but NOT limited to) the "correct" way.

2) After the 15th at the *discretion* of the officer they will decide if the person is doing a visa-run which is non-tourism related and if thought to be so they are instructed to refuse entry to that person.

So to conclude:

1) The focus here is clearly to restrict "visa runs" of the "out - in" nature.

2) This appears to imply entry stamps only by suggesting to acquire a proper visa but abusing the tourist visa system can also be viewed as a form of visa run. I.e. living on visas from Lao for 2 years suggests your intention is not tourism and they specifically target this.

3) It is in fact very possible that if an official sees a person making multiple border runs without a visa they can on their discretion allow this person to pass if they feel they are a valid tourist. Nowhere in the document does it give clear details that people doing X number of X category entries are refused. This is ALL left to personal discretion of human beings on the ground.

4) The document does NOT suggest to start turning people away BEFORE August 15th. If this happened to you it was the confusion of the people on the ground getting bad information or commands from their superior.

[ubonjoe]

No need for an additional topic on this. The latest news articles posted clarify the info better.than the early ones.

This topic