I've been hearing conflicting reports about the Mai Sai border crossing and would love to get some input on the current situation there.

1. Is the border at Mai Sai open?

2. Are the demanding to see cash when returning to Thailand and if so how much?

3. Is there a period of time that you should stay in Myanmar so you don't get an Out/In stamp or refused entry?

Is going there and shopping for a couple of hours long enough to avoid that or should one stay for an overnight trip?

Any and all help and suggestions would be appreciated....Please and Thanks!!

The border is open.

If you already have 3 or more entries you will not be able to get another one.

For no. 3, you might get another re-entry for the proper visa exempt period for your nationality IF you arrive at the Mae Sai checkpoint with a Myanmar visa in your passport and a few days or more spent inside Myanmar. I can't confirm this will work in every case, but it's more likely you'll be permitted back again mainly because it will look like you are touring the region rather than just doing a turnaround.

The reason why even a one night overnight stay without a Myanmar visa may be a no-go is because Thai immigration knows you'll eventually (within 14 days at the latest) have to return to the Thai side because that part of Myanmar is an effective "dead-end" without a visa due to Myanmar travel restrictions that apply to visa-less travelers (i.e. those on temporary 14 day border passes) that only allow you to travel in a restricted area of eastern Shan State before being forced to re-enter Thailand at Mae Sai (no travel to other parts of Myanmar or entering other countries such as Laos or China are permitted on this 14 day stay permit).

I was there 2 days ago.

The border is definitely open.

They granted me my 3rd (and final) visa exempt entry, for a stay of 30 days. No questions were asked when exiting, which I took as a good sign as you think - hope - they'd have the decency / intelligence to warn people they may not be getting a full 30 day stay...

Re-entering Thailand the official made sure I understood that my tourist visa was no longer valid and asked how long I intended to stay / what my return date to the UK was (which I backed up with a printout of my ticket). Nothing about money.

I'm on a brand new British passport. It would be clear to any immigration official that I'm not trying to maximise my stay here as I have no 30 day extensions and no other visas acquired in the region. Whether any of that is a factor I have no idea.

Obviously I was polite, spoke some Thai and wasn't dressed like an idiot. Oh, and I gave him a brown envelope with B2000 inside

Good luck

I was there 2 days ago.

The border is definitely open.

They granted me my 3rd (and final) visa exempt entry, for a stay of 30 days. No questions were asked when exiting, which I took as a good sign as you think - hope - they'd have the decency / intelligence to warn people they may not be getting a full 30 day stay...

Re-entering Thailand the official made sure I understood that my tourist visa was no longer valid and asked how long I intended to stay / what my return date to the UK was (which I backed up with a printout of my ticket). Nothing about money.

I'm on a brand new British passport. It would be clear to any immigration official that I'm not trying to maximise my stay here as I have no 30 day extensions and no other visas acquired in the region. Whether any of that is a factor I have no idea.

Obviously I was polite, spoke some Thai and wasn't dressed like an idiot. Oh, and I gave him a brown envelope with B2000 inside

Good luck

Why did he ask when you were heading back to the UK, or more importantly how did he know? Maybe you are living in another country in the region? Anyway, good that you had proof of outbound travel as that's what they like to see.

I was there 2 days ago.

The border is definitely open.

They granted me my 3rd (and final) visa exempt entry, for a stay of 30 days. No questions were asked when exiting, which I took as a good sign as you think - hope - they'd have the decency / intelligence to warn people they may not be getting a full 30 day stay...

Re-entering Thailand the official made sure I understood that my tourist visa was no longer valid and asked how long I intended to stay / what my return date to the UK was (which I backed up with a printout of my ticket). Nothing about money.

I'm on a brand new British passport. It would be clear to any immigration official that I'm not trying to maximise my stay here as I have no 30 day extensions and no other visas acquired in the region. Whether any of that is a factor I have no idea.

Obviously I was polite, spoke some Thai and wasn't dressed like an idiot. Oh, and I gave him a brown envelope with B2000 inside

Good luck

Why did he ask when you were heading back to the UK, or more importantly how did he know? Maybe you are living in another country in the region? Anyway, good that you had proof of outbound travel as that's what they like to see.

I told him I was going back to the UK - which is true - to back up my case of being a so-called tourist, and I showed the ticket to confirm this (he didn't ask to see it). The silly thing is that somebody could quite easily produce a fake ticket printout, or even purchase a genuine ticket then get a refund, which no doubt does happen.

I was there 2 days ago.

The border is definitely open.

They granted me my 3rd (and final) visa exempt entry, for a stay of 30 days. No questions were asked when exiting, which I took as a good sign as you think - hope - they'd have the decency / intelligence to warn people they may not be getting a full 30 day stay...

Re-entering Thailand the official made sure I understood that my tourist visa was no longer valid and asked how long I intended to stay / what my return date to the UK was (which I backed up with a printout of my ticket). Nothing about money.

I'm on a brand new British passport. It would be clear to any immigration official that I'm not trying to maximise my stay here as I have no 30 day extensions and no other visas acquired in the region. Whether any of that is a factor I have no idea.

Obviously I was polite, spoke some Thai and wasn't dressed like an idiot. Oh, and I gave him a brown envelope with B2000 inside

Good luck

New passport,so what.It should be clear to you that Thailand is up to speed.Immi. have computers now,and can check any entry you have made,old passport or new passport.

"Oh, and I gave him a brown envelope with B2000 inside"

Why did you do that?

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited May 30, 201412 yr by kjhbigv

I was there 2 days ago.

The border is definitely open.

They granted me my 3rd (and final) visa exempt entry, for a stay of 30 days. No questions were asked when exiting, which I took as a good sign as you think - hope - they'd have the decency / intelligence to warn people they may not be getting a full 30 day stay...

Re-entering Thailand the official made sure I understood that my tourist visa was no longer valid and asked how long I intended to stay / what my return date to the UK was (which I backed up with a printout of my ticket). Nothing about money.

I'm on a brand new British passport. It would be clear to any immigration official that I'm not trying to maximise my stay here as I have no 30 day extensions and no other visas acquired in the region. Whether any of that is a factor I have no idea.

Obviously I was polite, spoke some Thai and wasn't dressed like an idiot. Oh, and I gave him a brown envelope with B2000 inside

Good luck

New passport,so what.It should be clear to you that Thailand is up to speed.Immi. have computers now,and can check any entry you have made,old passport or new passport.

I was just trying to paint as clear a picture as possible of my situation and recent experience at Mae Sai immigration, with the hope that in the current climate of uncertainty it may help others. Unfortunately though, from what I've read, people I've talked to and from my own experiences, I feel the outcome for anyone facing the visa exempt predicament at the moment relies on a certain amount of fortune / misfortune.

For anyone interested - and maybe I should've mentioned it in my first post - I can tell you that this particular official spent no more than ten seconds on his computer, but yes, they can of course check your entire(?) immigration history, and are (relatively) "up to speed".

Personally I'd be more inclined to check up on someone using a brand new passport but for whatever reason this official didn't feel the need, couldn't be bothered, etc...