Drive my car cross border on Tourist Visa?

[thelongshoot]

Howdy one and all. I did search for this and couldnt find a bean of information, I hope someone can offer a tad of advice here..... I will be driving to Singapore at the end of the month, taking my truck, with my classic motorbike on the back, and also my friends classic motorbike. The truck is in my name, with book, paid for in full 2 years ago. Both scooters have books also, in mine and my buddies name.

I am on a tourist visa though, will that be an issue? Logicly speaking im just thinking the immigration dude at Malsian border might say words to the affect of "what kind of tourist are you if you own a truck and classic motorbikes here" kinda thing?

Im guessing of course i will also need some kind of international plate so I will go to the government vehicle office place and ask about that. Insurance, also. I guess Ill need to chat with my insurance firm. But yup the main worry i have at the minute is the visa?

Any feedback much appreciated!

[CharlieH]

MOVED to Motor forum

[AJS 7R]

Immigration has nothing to do with your temporary export license and customs department doesn't care about your visa status.

They just want the books to be in your names. Insurance and number plate stickers you buy at the border, just after Malaysian passport

checkpoint. Don't forget to have your books,truck and bikes translated to English.

[Tomtomtom69]

No problems crossing the border with your own Thai registered vehicle on a tourist visa. Customs and immigration are two separate issues. I am on a non-B visa but recently had a minor issue crossing into Laos at a brand new border crossing between the two countries with a car not registered in my name but in my fiancee's. I had a power of attorney though, but the customs agent originally stated that "I'm not sure a foreigner, not permanently resident in Thailand can take a Thai registered car across the border not in his/her name because he/she may not come back". I assured him I would, just look at my visa, my previous experience taking a car across between Thailand and Laos (a Lao registered car in all those cases but still) and after some careful examination of my documents including seeing that my address on the back of my driver's licence matches the address on both the car registration documents and my fiancee's ID card copy, I was good to go.

Attempting to go across from Mae Sot to Myawady, Myanmar for the day was OK without any hoopla though - they are used to vehicles crossing there since years and a power of attorney from the owner, as long as it states that the vehicle is permitted to travel to Myanmar is fine. However, Myanmar authorities only permit day return entry no more than 12km from the border. No overnight stays for the vehicle is permitted and practically speaking, Thai citizens on border passes and foreigners on day passes would bring a car across, as visa travellers, who are heading further inland can only bring a car in on a tour and that requires advance permission.

Thailand issues international number plates through the Land Transport Department offices, and will charge you 200 Baht for these, in addition to the 50 Baht charged for the international transport permit (a purple booklet), a 20 Baht registration translation document and a 5 Baht application charge for a total charge of 275 Baht.

Although the LTD will tell you that the purple booklet is valid for Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, southern China (Yunnan and Guangxi) and Vietnam, the reality could not be further from the truth. Only Laos currently recognizes the Thai international transport permit, for travel between Thai and Lao border checkpoints only. Cambodia may start accepting it soon.

Vietnam does not currently allow the entry of Thai-registered vehicles at all. Myanmar only allows limited entry near the border and then only the vehicle's registration is required.

Neither Cambodia nor Myanmar will issue insurance unless you can arrange something through Phnom Penh (in the case of Cambodia) or are going in on a tour (in the case of Myanmar). For local travel staying near the border, it's a case of you assume all risks.

China does not currently permit Thai vehicles to enter it's territory despite signing the 1999 GMS agreement. They may start permitting the entry of Thai private vehicles soon, but no date has yet been set; however, according to the Thai LTD, China will start recognising Thai driver licences this year.

For Malaysia, apparently all you need is the vehicle's Thai registration (blue book), a translated letter of the registration (which is the one I mentioned earlier) and 2 stickers, one for the front and one for the back of the car, in black background and white lettering, which mimics actual Malaysian licence plates with your Thai registration spelled out in English characters. Even if you can read Thai, you should note that the English transliteration for some reason does NOT follow the Thai. If your licence plate is say กจ 1000 กรุงเทพมหานคร which in English would correspond to either GJ 1000 Bangkok or perhaps KJ 1000 Bangkok, the Thai LTD will probably not transliterate it this way. Instead, it may end up being A2 1000 Bangkok. This could have something to do with the various possible sounds in English for these characters.

Apparently, but don't take my word for it, the Malaysian authorities don't recognise the Thai international number plates, which, if your number plate is according to the above example would then become "A2 1000 Thailand" because they want to have the province on there, however, for some bizarre reason the international plates simply state "Thailand" with no indication of province.

Also, I have yet to find one neighboring country, where Thai vehicles are permitted to enter, where an international plate is even necessary. I just returned from Laos and there is no requirement to use these plates there. Even so, while most Thai vehicles I saw only used their Thai plates, a small number did decide to change to the international ones. For Laos, since the language is so similar to Lao, there is no need. Also, neither Chinese nor Vietnamese vehicles driving in Laos change their plates so why should the Thais? Of course, they don't need to.

For travel in border regions of Myanmar and Cambodia, no need to change plates either. And as just mentioned, Malaysia may require the sticker rather than the international plates. So save your money and effort and simply get a translation of your number plate for 25 Baht plus a print out of your number plate in the form of 2 stickers. Make sure the format corresponds to the English language translation of your Thai number plate, which you will only find out once you go to a Land Transport Department office. No one will know how to translate it otherwise, because as mentioned, the LTD somehow applies a random translation to the first 2 Thai letters so no amount of knowing fluent Thai will help you - you need to check with them what is in their system.

Local third party insurance for your vehicle can be purchased at the Malaysian side of the border or in a nearby border town. Thai insurance won't be valid outside of Thailand.

One more thing: I'm not sure if you can take more than one vehicle out of the country at a time. Will you be travelling alone? While you may or may not be able to also take across your motorcycle at the same time since it's in your name, and while ordinarily a power of attorney would be acceptable for your friend's bike, it would be a lot easier if you were travelling with the same number of people as there are vehicles you will be taking across. I have no idea what they'll say at the border as every official and even border checkpoint is different, but just a word to the wise that you may encounter difficulties simply because you have more than 1 vehicle and apparently you will be the only person crossing.

[thelongshoot]

TomTom thats asuch a usefull detailed reply, thanks so much for taking the time to do that it is appreciated! It all sounds pretty easy really, im chuffed that there is no massive red tape involved.

A couple of questions though....

*The book translation. Does this have to be an 'official' stamped translation from the LTD? Or just a question of having the details within the book translated by anyone and typed on A4? Also what should this be typed in, Malaysian obviously? Or maybe English?

*Translation of number plate - is this something they do for you at the Malaysian border or will i need to do it at the LTD?

*I didn't mention that I am also going to Singapore. Do you think the same applies there or should i contact the Singapore Embassy just for a heads up?

You mentioned taking over more than one vehicle in my name. Basicly I am driving my truck, in my name, and in the back of the truck will be my classic motorbike, in my name. In addition, my friend who is also English is coming with me and in the back of the truck he will also have his classic motorbike, in his name. So, I have two vehicles, he has one. There might also be a mechanic friend going with us who is Thai so that makes three people, but I guess that does not help with this as obviously he is not the owner of the second vehicle, if you know what I mean.

I also have a motorbike trailer which i might have to take. It depends if I can get the 2 motorbikes in the back of the truck or not, it might be a tight squeeze. If I cant, one of them wil have to go on the trailer. This complicates things as the trailer is classed as something that needs a book in its own right, which I have never bothered to register as the police have never gave me any hassle for it. Now i guess I will need it, as i have no chance of taking it over without a book for it - although i do have the sales receipt. This complicates everything massively lol, so for now lets just assume i can get both bikes on the truck!

Again thanks so much for your help wit this truly appreciate it!

[dietergerhard]

An excellent reply wow

[Tomtomtom69]

TomTom thats asuch a usefull detailed reply, thanks so much for taking the time to do that it is appreciated! It all sounds pretty easy really, im chuffed that there is no massive red tape involved.

A couple of questions though....

*The book translation. Does this have to be an 'official' stamped translation from the LTD? Or just a question of having the details within the book translated by anyone and typed on A4? Also what should this be typed in, Malaysian obviously? Or maybe English?

*Translation of number plate - is this something they do for you at the Malaysian border or will i need to do it at the LTD?

*I didn't mention that I am also going to Singapore. Do you think the same applies there or should i contact the Singapore Embassy just for a heads up?

You mentioned taking over more than one vehicle in my name. Basicly I am driving my truck, in my name, and in the back of the truck will be my classic motorbike, in my name. In addition, my friend who is also English is coming with me and in the back of the truck he will also have his classic motorbike, in his name. So, I have two vehicles, he has one. There might also be a mechanic friend going with us who is Thai so that makes three people, but I guess that does not help with this as obviously he is not the owner of the second vehicle, if you know what I mean.

I also have a motorbike trailer which i might have to take. It depends if I can get the 2 motorbikes in the back of the truck or not, it might be a tight squeeze. If I cant, one of them wil have to go on the trailer. This complicates things as the trailer is classed as something that needs a book in its own right, which I have never bothered to register as the police have never gave me any hassle for it. Now i guess I will need it, as i have no chance of taking it over without a book for it - although i do have the sales receipt. This complicates everything massively lol, so for now lets just assume i can get both bikes on the truck!

Again thanks so much for your help wit this truly appreciate it!

Malaysia is the easiest country for a Thai registered vehicle to travel to; if your documents are in order there are no restrictions other than the usual 30 day at a time permission to stay.

Your local LTD will translate the registration for you at a fee of 25 Baht (or 20 Baht plus a 5 Baht application fee) in English - don't use any other third party to do it because you don't want to have problems at the border. English is fine for Malaysia anyway, it's the de facto second language there so no problems, but the Thai LTD will assume that English letters can be used in every neighboring country. In reality, each country has different rules as I already mentioned - Laos requires the purple book, while Myanmar and Cambodia, which officially allow Thai vehicles in near the border only, don't require anything; the Thai side will issue temporary export documents, which both sides will normally hang onto while issuing no papers of their own.

For motorcycles, a letter must be produced too and in fact, Thailand no longer issues a "motorcycle passport" like it does for cars, trucks and buses anymore. Therefore, heading to Laos, a translation of the registration into English, upon which customs entry and exit stamps from both sides will be made, would be used in lieu of the vehicle passport. As you're going to Malaysia, the process is the same, a translated one page print out of the registration for each vehicle you are planning to travel with. Your friend will need to do the same for his bike.

Translation of number plate in the form of a sticker with black background and white lettering can be done at your local LTD, the Malaysian border or any sticker shop. Last time I got it done at the Malaysian border it took about 2 hours though so it might be better to get it done before leaving on your trip. However, make sure you know what the international format of your number plate is first, which will be indicated on your translated registration letter. As mentioned, this could be something like "A2 1000 Bangkok". Then, if your LTD can't make the stickers for you (although most likely they can) and you happened to go to a local sticker shop, make sure you know what Malaysian number plates look like and then get them to print out two stickers, approximately the same size as a Malaysian plate and the same format, with your international licence plate number as indicated above. Sometimes I see abbreviations on these stickers such as "A2 1000 BKK" for Bangkok, or "A2 1000 SKA" for Songkhla etc.

I've been to Singapore by car, but it was inside a Malaysian car. Having seen the odd Thai car inside Singapore, I am pretty sure whatever the Malaysian requirements are will work for you in Singapore. So by having a number plate sticker in English, you'll be fine. You could confirm with the Singaporean customs authority if you want, but I am quite sure there are no special requirements, other than maybe having to purchase a toll card to pay your tolls inside the country, when you pass through Singapore customs coming from Malaysia.

As I said I'm not sure about whether it's OK to export more than one vehicle at a time, whether in your name or not. So if your friend is coming, that'll cover his motorcycle. You could write a power of attorney for the Thai mechanic friend, which will cover your motorcycle and only show it IF customs are giving you grief about exporting more than one vehicle per person. However, it could very well be that you won't encounter any difficulties at all particularly since you own both vehicles and 3 people are coming, one for each vehicle. As I've only ever exported one vehicle at a time, I don't have any personal experience though, but you should be OK.

I'd say if you need the trailer then register it; if it gets you a registration book then the process will be the same, get a translation of the registration and translated number plates (only one for the rear is enough though). Also, as a trailer, you would be unlikely to encounter any difficulties to export it temporarily as a trailer can't be classified as a stand-alone vehicle.

I hope all goes well for you (most likely it will, if your paperwork is in order) and please report back on how you go.

[Muhendis]

This topic and post has to be one of the gems of ThaiVisa. Tom, you're an ace.

[Tomtomtom69]

I just realized, after observing a few Malaysian number plate stickers on Thai vehicles, that it could be that the first two characters correspond to the position in the Thai alphabet, relative to the English alphabet they are in. In Thai, ก is the first letter of the alphabet and while in English the sound for this character is represented either as a "G" or a "K" or something in between, the international format will be "A" simply because it corresponds to the first letter in the English alphabet. I think that's how they do it, but let the LTD do it for you, as either they make it up on the spot or they somehow do it when you first register your vehicle.

[seedy]

One Nonsense post removed

[thelongshoot]

TomTom once again I am bowled over by the advice given here, thank you so much it is massively appreciated! I will come back in a few weeks to give a brief trip reprt, let you know how it all panned out but for the time being I have no worries about this part of the trip, thanks to you.

Cheers for now, TLS

[Tomtomtom69]

TomTom once again I am bowled over by the advice given here, thank you so much it is massively appreciated! I will come back in a few weeks to give a brief trip reprt, let you know how it all panned out but for the time being I have no worries about this part of the trip, thanks to you.

Cheers for now, TLS

One more thing I forgot to mention: It could be that Malaysia requires both a front and rear licence/number plate sticker for Thai motorcycles. This is because if I remember correctly, Malaysian registered motorcycles have number plates both on the front and rear, not just the rear like in Thailand.

If you only get one sticker for the rear, the Malaysian customs authorities might keep you waiting for a while, whilst a second sticker is produced for the front.

[seedy]

It could be that Malaysia requires both a front and rear licence/number plate sticker for Thai motorcycles.

Just one sticker, facing front.

I did not have a windshield, so cut the sticker in half, one on each fork leg. Singapore and back, stopped, no issue.

[Tomtomtom69]

Just came back from a trip with my truck to Laos yesterday. Asked both Thai and Lao customs if taking more than one vehicle out of the country at a time, for example, a pickup truck + motorcycle but only one traveller, if that's OK. The answer was: no problem. All that's needed are the required documents for both vehicles and preferably at least one of the two vehicles is registered in your name (although it's not expressly required as a power of attorney for both vehicles can be used if necessary, however, it's probably better if a power of attorney is required for only one of the vehicles, otherwise it could get a bit messy but as I said it's not prohibited either). It's just that it's rather uncommon for one individual to take out both a car and a motorcycle at the same time, but it can be done.

[stevenP]

Hi,

I would like to ask about the maximum allowed duration to drive car from Malaysia to Thailand.

Currently if i have 1 year work permit, is it ok to drive the car at thailand for 1 year?

Thanks,

Steven

[Tomtomtom69]

Hi,

I would like to ask about the maximum allowed duration to drive car from Malaysia to Thailand.

Currently if i have 1 year work permit, is it ok to drive the car at thailand for 1 year?

Thanks,

Steven

6 months is usually the maximum after receiving extensions from the initial 1 month period.

It may be possible to take your car to Laos or Malaysia for a few days, then come back and receive a new 1 month permit, extendable up to 6 further months. However, I haven't heard of anyone doing this, though in theory it shouldn't be a problem.

More than a few foreigners have had their foreign registered vehicles in Thailand for up to 6 months at a time though.

[VocalNeal]

One more thing: I'm not sure if you can take more than one vehicle out of the country at a time. Will you be travelling alone? While you may or may not be able to also take across your motorcycle at the same time since it's in your name, and while ordinarily a power of attorney would be acceptable for your friend's bike, it would be a lot easier if you were travelling with the same number of people as there are vehicles you will be taking across. I have no idea what they'll say at the border as every official and even border checkpoint is different, but just a word to the wise that you may encounter difficulties simply because you have more than 1 vehicle and apparently you will be the only person crossing.

This is where any potential problem starts and will you be bringing all three back?

[Ace of Pop]

By the time you've scraped the Black Crap off the windows it better to rent