Temporary Export of Personal Vehicle

[cumgranosalum]

i want to spent 2 or 3 months in Laos and take my car.

Can you tell me if there are limitations to how long I can take my Thai registered vehicle out of Thailand?

(the vehicle is wholly owned by me registered in Thailand, with no finance outstanding)

[cumgranosalum]

Sorry this was for the legal team, but someone has seen the word "vehicle" and moved it....quite pointless really....

[stevenl]

Sorry this was for the legal team, but someone has seen the word "vehicle" and moved it....quite pointless really....

Better chance of good quality answer here. Good for you somebody moved your post.

[cumgranosalum]

Sorry this was for the legal team, but someone has seen the word "vehicle" and moved it....quite pointless really....

Better chance of good quality answer here. Good for you somebody moved your post.

i asked similar Q before here....it is a legal/customs excise question and I couldn't get a definitive answer so I asked hoping to get someone who practiced law.....

[Breizh]

Hi Cumgranosalum

There is a 1 month limitation specified on the temporary export document which you will have to sign at the custom counter at the border. You will have to pay a fine if you stay longer but I cannot tell you how expensive it is as I never experienced it ! Don't forget to subscribe an insurance in Laos as you are not covered outside Thailand with your local one. At the Savanakhet border you can buy it next to the immigration booth. I paid 2300THB in february for a 1 year 1st class insurance.

Breizh

[cumgranosalum]

Hi Cumgranosalum

There is a 1 month limitation specified on the temporary export document which you will have to sign at the custom counter at the border. You will have to pay a fine if you stay longer but I cannot tell you how expensive it is as I never experienced it ! Don't forget to subscribe an insurance in Laos as you are not covered outside Thailand with your local one. At the Savanakhet border you can buy it next to the immigration booth. I paid 2300THB in february for a 1 year 1st class insurance.

Breizh

I have one years insurance for Laos already.....

I've heard this one month limit but I can't find it on any govt web site.

If that is the case what are they like about re-entry?

There are both Laos and Thai restriction here......

[LivinLOS]

Before the fine was 100b a day with a max of IIRC 1000b.. and you could be up to 6 months overstay without any issue, just pay 1000b on return..

Now, as a way to make driving vehicles from other countries (not with the huge sales tax) its been made 1000b per day and 10k max.. This is why I sold my KTM on khmer plates.

It would seem they only thought this through on an import side and ot for the export side as theres no way to be out of thailand longer than 30 days without incurring these fines.

[cumgranosalum]

Before the fine was 100b a day with a max of IIRC 1000b.. and you could be up to 6 months overstay without any issue, just pay 1000b on return..

Now, as a way to make driving vehicles from other countries (not with the huge sales tax) its been made 1000b per day and 10k max.. This is why I sold my KTM on khmer plates.

It would seem they only thought this through on an import side and ot for the export side as theres no way to be out of thailand longer than 30 days without incurring these fines.

so can I do a border run? Come back into Thailand and just turn around and go back in?

[Tomtomtom69]

Before the fine was 100b a day with a max of IIRC 1000b.. and you could be up to 6 months overstay without any issue, just pay 1000b on return..

Now, as a way to make driving vehicles from other countries (not with the huge sales tax) its been made 1000b per day and 10k max.. This is why I sold my KTM on khmer plates.

It would seem they only thought this through on an import side and ot for the export side as theres no way to be out of thailand longer than 30 days without incurring these fines.

so can I do a border run? Come back into Thailand and just turn around and go back in?

Yes.

I'd be more concerned about your car staying in Laos too long than out of Thailand too long. Really, what does Thailand have to gain from fining it's own vehicles for being away for "too long"? That's like a country fining it's citizens for being away from home for "too long". Absolutely ridiculous. But perhaps you could ask Thai customs for special permission to take your car out for 3 months at a time. Not sure if that permission would need to be sought in Bangkok or if it can be done at the border. I've never been in that situation though so can't say. I have noticed that when returning, Thai officials generally just grab the forms off you and don't even look at them, so perhaps you could get away with being out too long without being fined (or you could plead ignorance and negotiate the fine down).

Laos will give you 30 days but make sure you request it at the border. Sometimes officials give only 14 days if you don't specify 30 and then you'd have to get it extended inside Laos which is probably a pain. But for 2-3 months you'd probably have to extend it at customs inside Laos anyway. It may however be easier and less hassle if you just drive out of the country and straight back in to extend.

[Tomtomtom69]

Hi Cumgranosalum

There is a 1 month limitation specified on the temporary export document which you will have to sign at the custom counter at the border. You will have to pay a fine if you stay longer but I cannot tell you how expensive it is as I never experienced it ! Don't forget to subscribe an insurance in Laos as you are not covered outside Thailand with your local one. At the Savanakhet border you can buy it next to the immigration booth. I paid 2300THB in february for a 1 year 1st class insurance.

Breizh

The overstay fine is USD 10 per day (or equivalent in Kip or Baht). I know this because on my most recent trip to Laos by car I filled in a special form that Vientiane customs uses for foreign vehicles that are entering at the 1st Friendship Bridge at Vientiane for the FIRST time (doesn't matter that was my 4th trip to Laos with that car or that I had previously left the country via the Friendship Bridge twice) apparently each border crossing uses a separate system despite being in the same country! So when I put down 3 days on the form to correspond with my 3 day trip (not that I expected anyone to read it anyway) the head of customs got all official on me warning me that whatever I wrote down will be put in the system and the fine for overstaying is USD 10 per day so I better be sure about how long I'll stay. So I corrected it and put down 14 days. From now on, I'll always put down 30 days though, just in case. You never know if you'll need it, it's free to request it and it's a hassle to extend if you need to, just because you thought your trip wouldn't take as long as it has taken. Better just request the maximum time you can and be done with it.

Just like you might not expect to spend 90 days when going on a trip to Singapore for 2 days, but isn't it a good thing they give you a 90-day stamp anyway? I mean, what if you unexpectedly ended up in hospital for whatever reason and actually had to spend say 85 days in the country? in that case you'll be happy you got 90-days and not only say 14.