Border Run Alternatives

[Toosetinmyways]

6 hours ago, BritTim said:

Hmmm. Are you sure there is no longer an international-to-international transfer line in Kuala Lumpur. I know for a fact that there used to be, and I used it. I already had a boarding pass from online check in. Using it to turn around and come straight back to where you came from might be blocked when they check your boarding pass at security, I suppose.

My trip to KL was in the days before online boarding cards and it was a security issue. Penang trips were with that stupid TG night flight that arrives at 2300 and of course the departure lounge is closed as no night departures. Maybe it would work with the Airasia day flight. The unsettling part of this, was the third degree questions from Malaysian immigration why I had only spent 5 hours in Penang. This is from 9 months ago.

[Toosetinmyways]

I have just completed a border bounce to Phu Nam Ron with my Non O and there has been a couple of small changes. This applies to independent travelers only. The visaservice that I use is the same painless routine.

 

All private vehicles must use the new carpark on the right hand side before the border. Maybe have to pay. So a 200 meter walk to the border. The cafe after immigration is no longer doing pass and transport.

Just before Thai immigration there is an eating place on the left, enter and on the right side there are two little windows, get pass and transport ticket there. (If you continue through the restaurant and turn right in the van park you will find a brand new toilet block with western crappers. Oh the luxury)

Go through Thai immigration as normal and wait at the old cafe as usual for your transport across no mans land.

Obviously the tour companies stagger their times of arrival. We arrived at 0700 and there must of been 100 people at the Thai entry point. The Thai exit side had all 4 windows open and it was still a 15 minute wait.

Fingerprint pads are installed but were not being used.

 

 

[kimmywest1568]

I've done several visa runs via Malaysia using both Penang and KL, both land and air.

 

As long as you stay overnight, immigration shouldn't give you a hard time, even when doing a run to get another 30-day exempt visa stamp.  (Note:  only two land runs per calendar year, although you can do land outbound, as long as inbound is by air).

 

I've done this several times over the past year, and I have not encountered any issues with immigration.

 

The key is to stay overnight

[BritTim]

17 hours ago, kimmywest1568 said:

I've done several visa runs via Malaysia using both Penang and KL, both land and air.

 

As long as you stay overnight, immigration shouldn't give you a hard time, even when doing a run to get another 30-day exempt visa stamp.  (Note:  only two land runs per calendar year, although you can do land outbound, as long as inbound is by air).

 

I've done this several times over the past year, and I have not encountered any issues with immigration.

 

The key is to stay overnight

In my opinion, while staying overnight may help, if you are trying to stay significant periods in Thailand on visa exempt entries, then you are playing Russian roulette. It has no negative consequences until it does.

[SpanishExpat]

As I`l be doing the Padang Besar run in 2 weeks and i`ve read the overnight rule. My flight into KUL arrives 11:45pm from CGK (i just can take that flight, as I come from another country before), so I guess the entry stamp will most probably show the same day. Will there be a problem, if I cross the border in the early afternoon in PB? Of course I`ll show them the flight ticket as prove, but how strict are they there? I know that the direct return is forbidden, but I`ll sleep 5-6hrs in an airport hotel and then head in the morning to KL Central to catch the train to the border.
 

Edited August 13, 2019 by SpanishExpat

[ubonjoe]

The staying overnight requirement is for when you leave and enter at the same border crossing.

[njpj]

Hello Guys,

 

Please, help me with this question. My and my wife will be traveling around the world and our first destination is Thailand. As brazilians we are granted 90 days tourist visa. After 60 days, we will go to Japan for 15 days. We want to back to Thailand before our next destination and celebrate the "New Year" there. Is it possible? We need some special re-entry visa or we are going to get a new 90 days stamp?

 

Thanks For Your Help. ????

[elviajero]

49 minutes ago, njpj said:

Hello Guys,

 

Please, help me with this question. My and my wife will be traveling around the world and our first destination is Thailand. As brazilians we are granted 90 days tourist visa. After 60 days, we will go to Japan for 15 days. We want to back to Thailand before our next destination and celebrate the "New Year" there. Is it possible? We need some special re-entry visa or we are going to get a new 90 days stamp?

 

Thanks For Your Help. ????

You can buy a re-entry permit (1,000 baht). If you return after your Japan trip you’ll be granted the remaining 15 days of your original 90.

 

If you don’t buy the re-entry permit you will be granted a new 90 day stay under the bilateral agreement, or at least a 30 day stay under the visa exempt scheme. 

 

 

[njpj]

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

You can buy a re-entry permit (1,000 baht). If you return after your Japan trip you’ll be granted the remaining 15 days of your original 90.

 

If you don’t buy the re-entry permit you will be granted a new 90 day stay under the bilateral agreement, or at least a 30 day stay under the visa exempt scheme. 

 

 

Thank You! ????

[at15]

hi guys, what do you think on a second land border run in my current passport. I have 7 thai tourist visas in the passport and 1 visa exempt by land which is the last time i left thailand. I have spent everyday of 2019 as a tourist in thailand except for about 5 days. is it questionable to get that second land border run? very concerned with all the changes and current climate with immigration. I am debating leaving thailand for a while or going for broke in the current passport. 

Edited August 17, 2019 by at15

[BritTim]

35 minutes ago, at15 said:

hi guys, what do you think on a second land border run in my current passport. I have 7 thai tourist visas in the passport and 1 visa exempt by land which is the last time i left thailand. I have spent everyday of 2019 as a tourist in thailand except for about 5 days. is it questionable to get that second land border run? very concerned with all the changes and current climate with immigration. I am debating leaving thailand for a while or going for broke in the current passport. 

At most crossings, you will have no problem using your last visa exempt by land for 2019. I always tell people staying long periods in Thailand not to do that. Husband your visa exempt entries by land for use in emergencies when anticipated visas do not materialise. Thus, you can get the visa exempt entry by land, but I would suggest you go somewhere like Yangon for an actual visa instead. You can then take an overnight VIP bus to Myawaddy, entering Thailand by land at Maesot.

[at15]

19 minutes ago, BritTim said:

At most crossings, you will have no problem using your last visa exempt by land for 2019. I always tell people staying long periods in Thailand not to do that. Husband your visa exempt entries by land for use in emergencies when anticipated visas do not materialise. Thus, you can get the visa exempt entry by land, but I would suggest you go somewhere like Yangon for an actual visa instead. You can then take an overnight VIP bus to Myawaddy, entering Thailand by land at Maesot.

good point, but the thing is i cant really get another tourist visa at this point. my last one has the remark on it. 

[BritTim]

22 minutes ago, at15 said:

good point, but the thing is i cant really get another tourist visa at this point. my last one has the remark on it. 

It is possible that you would fail to get a tourist visa even in Yangon on that basis. That will be the time to use your carefully husbanded visa exempt. If you do go for the visa exempt this time, plan carefully for which country you intend to move to in 60 days time. It would be foolhardy to try for a tourist or Non Ed visa with no emergency fallback available which will then be your situation.

[at15]

2 minutes ago, BritTim said:

It is possible that you would fail to get a tourist visa even in Yangon on that basis. That will be the time to use your carefully husbanded visa exempt. If you do go for the visa exempt this time, plan carefully for which country you intend to move to in 60 days time. It would be foolhardy to try for a tourist or Non Ed visa with no emergency fallback available which will then be your situation.

i see, no harm in trying for a tourist visa then using the exempt as a fall back. i dont think ill be going to yangon though hell of a trip. try my luck again in savannakhet. 

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, at15 said:

hi guys, what do you think on a second land border run in my current passport. I have 7 thai tourist visas in the passport and 1 visa exempt by land which is the last time i left thailand. I have spent everyday of 2019 as a tourist in thailand except for about 5 days. is it questionable to get that second land border run? very concerned with all the changes and current climate with immigration. I am debating leaving thailand for a while or going for broke in the current passport. 

They’ve effectively taken the decision making away from IO’s at land borders by applying a strict limit, so you should be okay. If they do deny entry you simply re-enter the neighbouring country and can decide a plan B.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, at15 said:

i see, no harm in trying for a tourist visa then using the exempt as a fall back. i dont think ill be going to yangon though hell of a trip. try my luck again in savannakhet. 

Based on recent reports, that has the advantage that the result is predictable. It has been stated that Savannakhet will now only issue you a tourist visa if you have been in Thailand less than 90 days.

 

Flying to Yangon is easier (from most places) than going overland to Savannakhet. I suggest returning by land only because you stand a small risk of denied entry if flying back. If the hassle seems too great, and willing to take the risk, by all means fly back.

[Scott3000]

Is there, or can we start a thread called "Letting Go of the Good Ol' Days in Thailand"?

 

Something as overarching and constructive as the present thread, and it is a viable "Border Run Alternative" that could make for meaningful discussion. After all, the good ol' days really were good, and everybody recalls traces of them.

 

But those days are in the past. The writing has been on the wall for a few years now, and I recall living in Chile off and on during the late 90s & early 2000s -- beginning 10 years after the plebiscite to end military rule that had begun in 1973. Those processes take a long time, and we should be ready for that to extend into the 2020s and perhaps beyond, perhaps beyond many of our lifetimes.

I left Thailand 29 days ago, but it seems like a distant past already as I have moved on and reconnected with other elements of my life that were somehow blocked by my prior clinging to Thailand. I still believe there's a 50/50 chance that I will return to Thailand, but with 2 major changes: 

 

(1) It is unlikely I will live or try to live continuously in Thailand; and 

 

(2) It is unlikely that I will live in an expat hub like Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, etc. Rather, I would visit such a place, perhaps monthly, reconnect with my favorite aspects of that place, take care of practical concerns such as health care and buying supplies, then head off into the hinterlands. I've done that in Isan, living in the countryside and making monthly visits to Ubon, as well as in other countries, for example living on a boat/footpath-only property by the lake in Guatemala and spending one weekend per month in Antigua, etc., and have always been pleased with the results.

 

Funny thing is, this is exactly what the Thai tourism authorities want to promote: Alternative tourist destinations within Thailand; and ex-expatriation of foreigners, i.e., that expatriates who choose such a life be themselves expatriated from Thailand. 

 

The more I think of it, the above would be a viable Alternative to Frequent Border Runs ???? It would require extra planning and preparation on my part, to compensate for not trying to "settle in" someplace, but I'm confident the whole experience would be significantly better. Having a thread to discuss and share such ideas would be constructive.

Edited August 17, 2019 by Scott3000
added a phrase

[at15]

On 8/17/2019 at 4:11 PM, BritTim said:

Based on recent reports, that has the advantage that the result is predictable. It has been stated that Savannakhet will now only issue you a tourist visa if you have been in Thailand less than 90 days.

 

Flying to Yangon is easier (from most places) than going overland to Savannakhet. I suggest returning by land only because you stand a small risk of denied entry if flying back. If the hassle seems too great, and willing to take the risk, by all means fly back.

where has this been posted, is it official information? this would mean if your a continuous long stay person in thailand on tourist visas you could only obtain 1 tourist visa from savannakhet??

 

as far as another embassy. people talk about possibly obtaining another tourist visa with a red stamp in the passport but i dont actually recall any successful reports being posted. certainly not in the last 2 or 3 years.

Edited August 19, 2019 by at15

[at15]

kind of an off topic question, but is there value in protecting your less than 6 lifetime visa exempt entries so immigration does not get an alert on the computer or does it not really matter?

[elviajero]

42 minutes ago, at15 said:

kind of an off topic question, but is there value in protecting your less than 6 lifetime visa exempt entries so immigration does not get an alert on the computer or does it not really matter?

If living in the country it’s best not to use VE unless you have to. Although the alert is set at 6 it’s time spent in the country during those 6 entries they look at. 

 

6 is not a limit.

[at15]

19 hours ago, elviajero said:

If living in the country it’s best not to use VE unless you have to. Although the alert is set at 6 it’s time spent in the country during those 6 entries they look at. 

 

6 is not a limit.

so if you spent 60 days on all of those VE but they were very sporadic over several years you think it would not really matter to immigration?

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, at15 said:

so if you spent 60 days on all of those VE but they were very sporadic over several years you think it would not really matter to immigration?

Yes.

 

VE is designed for tourists visiting occasionally for holidays of less than 30 days. 

[acenase]

How much more difficult is it going from Bangkok to Yangon compared to Bangkok to Savannakhet?

 

You catch a bus and cross the border, or is there a plane involved? I wasn't sure of the complete step by step process.

 

Actually I thought going to Savannakhet was confusing at first, until it really is just 2 steps. Bangkok to Mukdahan and Mukdahan to Savannakhet.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, acenase said:

How much more difficult is it going from Bangkok to Yangon compared to Bangkok to Savannakhet?

 

You catch a bus and cross the border, or is there a plane involved? I wasn't sure of the complete step by step process.

The easiest way to go there is to fly from Bangkok to Yangon, there are direct flights.

 

By bus, you'd travel from Bangkok to Mae Sot, cross the border to Myawaddy, then take another bus from Myawaddy to Yangon. Please note that Yangon isn't nearby the border and that the road conditions in Myanmar are quite a bit worse than in Thailand, so that second leg is again quite a long journey, unlike the short bus trip from Mukdahan to Savannakhet.

[acenase]

26 minutes ago, Caldera said:

The easiest way to go there is to fly from Bangkok to Yangon, there are direct flights.

 

By bus, you'd travel from Bangkok to Mae Sot, cross the border to Myawaddy, then take another bus from Myawaddy to Yangon. Please note that Yangon isn't nearby the border and that the road conditions in Myanmar are quite a bit worse than in Thailand, so that second leg is again quite a long journey, unlike the short bus trip from Mukdahan to Savannakhet.

 

How about coming back to Bangkok? If I want to enter Thailand through the land border, do so at Myawaddy and then Domestic flight from Mae Sot to Don Mueng?

[BritTim]

5 hours ago, acenase said:

How about coming back to Bangkok? If I want to enter Thailand through the land border, do so at Myawaddy and then Domestic flight from Mae Sot to Don Mueng?

Yes, that is a good way to return by land. The VIP overnight buses are not bad, and this particular road (Yangon to Myawaddy) is in a decent condition. The flights are sometimes expensive these days, and a bus from Maesot is an option if counting the satang.

[Exilerunner]

Sorry to disagree with @BritTim here. I did the VIP bus BKK to Mae Sot once. If you are taller than 150 cm, you better forget about the toilet on the bus and my bus did only make one single stop.

[BritTim]

8 hours ago, Exilerunner said:

Sorry to disagree with @BritTim here. I did the VIP bus BKK to Mae Sot once. If you are taller than 150 cm, you better forget about the toilet on the bus and my bus did only make one single stop.

I very rarely use the toilets on buses, and cannot comment on them either from Yangon to Myawaddy or Maesot to Bangkok. I can say that I was comfortable in my seat the last time I took the Yangon to Myawaddy bus. Mostly, from Maesot, I fly if going to Bangkok.

[cvs04]

Just got a knock back for a 3 month non B at Savannakhet. Paperwork was all in order. They said because it was the second single entry visa in a row. New rule apparentely 4 months ago, reality is the fella just made a new rule up on the spot.

 

Never seen so many people get rejected. I've been using Savannkhet for 10 years. Maybe 40% infront of me were getting rejected.

 

One fella got knocked back because his letter said Mrs. Instead of Mr.!

 

Rules is rules as they say! Thailand are making it very apparent that they don't want farang here anymore.

Edited August 29, 2019 by cvs04

[acenase]

Quote

 

where has this been posted, is it official information? this would mean if your a continuous long stay person in thailand on tourist visas you could only obtain 1 tourist visa from savannakhet??
 

 

 

I recently went to Savannakhet for the FIRST time in July and they warned me about the being in Thailand for 6 months. They counted my previous visas I had from different embassies, issued me the visa but stamped this Remark in my passport.

 

I want to go to Yangon to get 1 more Tourist Visa, but am I risking getting my application denied there because of this stamp? Or if I just cross the stamp out like this, they won't be able to read it, so if Yangon don't care to count how many different tourist visas I have in my passport, then I guess this gives me better odds compared to them being able to read the warning and then deny my application based on the stamp alone.

 

I am avoiding airport entry at this point so Yangon seems to  be my only option for one last tourist visa and land border entry since I already been to Vientiane and Savannakhet.

 

 

Edited August 29, 2019 by acenase