Mae Sai Visa Runs Again?

[Freespirit]

Good question

 

[Freespirit]

Another point I shall bring up at Mai Sai immigration this afternoon

 

[Freespirit]

Sorry i mean CR immigration.

[Freespirit]

I just want to confirm you can go out and back in at Mai Sai for a visa exempt stamp. We did it yesterday and got 30 days. Just they kicked off because the overstay. they made a big issue of it. Just warning everybody.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, thetruth revealer said:

Would any Thai citizen not be allowed to enter Thailand even on a expired Passport???

Yes a Thai can enter on their expired Thai passport.

[thetruth revealer]

 

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Yes a Thai can enter on their expired Thai passport.

So , how is a (Dual -) Thai Citizen aible to re-enter on the expired Thai Passport ? Problem solved ?

[thetruth revealer]

18 minutes ago, Freespirit said:

I just want to confirm you can go out and back in at Mai Sai for a visa exempt stamp. We did it yesterday and got 30 days. Just they kicked off because the overstay. they made a big issue of it. Just warning everybody.

Do they still charge 500 THB at Myanmar Border Checkpoint ?

 

[sanemax]

18 minutes ago, Freespirit said:

I just want to confirm you can go out and back in at Mai Sai for a visa exempt stamp. We did it yesterday and got 30 days. Just they kicked off because the overstay. they made a big issue of it. Just warning everybody.

Did you notice anyone else doing the same ?

[Freespirit]

I just remembered I did ask Joe this question before in relation to another posters thread. Thanks Joe for confirming again. The big question is do you then get a problem if you want to take your kid out of Thailand without a Thai passport?  Because your British passport will not have any current entry stamps.

 

We originally did a  passport swap at the Malaysian border at Thai immigration from UK to Thai passport when she was  2 or 3 years old.

But I forget what happened when we returned to UK. I think we left on her Thai passport while it was still valid then switched to the UK passport on arrival  at London. airport. Of course with the Thai passport now long expired how would we do this?

[Freespirit]

We did see other farangs in the que going out, but not too many only about 6. 

[Freespirit]

The fee at Mynamar is $10 US dollars or 500 baht. A good tip for you is go to the money changer shop and exchange 350 baht for $10 US dollars and save yourself 150 baht per person. The money changer shop looks like a bank with Chinese writing above it. Its on the left hand side of the road as you drive in. It's on the corner before you get to the police station. a good landmark to look out for is the Siam bank (purple sign) on the other right hand side of the road opposite. 

If you are driving a car,, another tip is to drive up to the border and take the last U turn gap in the central reservation. After you have made the turn there is a small street goes down to a hotel car park in the back, where you pay 50baht for parking, payable when you return. Then a short walk to the border building, or turn left and walk a few hundred meters to the SCB bank and walk across the road to the money changer shop. I hope that helps.

Edited January 24, 2017 by Freespirit
left some detail out

[thetruth revealer]

8 minutes ago, Freespirit said:

The fee at Mynamar is $10 US dollars or 500 baht. A good tip for you is go to the money changer shop and exchange 350 baht for $10 US dollars and save yourself 150 baht per person. The money changer shop looks like a bank with Chinese writing above it. Its on the left hand side of the road as you drive in. It's on the corner before you get to the police station. a good landmark to look out for is the Siam bank (purple sign) on the other right hand side of the road opposite. 

If you are driving a car,, another tip is to drive up to the border and take the last U turn gap in the central reservation. After you have made the turn there is a small street goes down to a hotel car park where you pay 50baht for parking. Then a short walk to the border building, or turn left and walk a few hundred meters to the SCB bank and walk across the road to the money changer shop. I hope that helps.

In that case i prefer to go Laos Border , Chiangsaen or Chiangkong where i get free Visa as Swiss Citizen.

Spend a night at Mekong River and watch Sunset .

 

Thanks a lot ...

[ubonjoe]

11 minutes ago, Freespirit said:

I just remembered I did ask Joe this question before in relation to another posters thread. Thanks Joe for confirming again. The big question is do you then get a problem if you want to take your kid out of Thailand without a Thai passport?  Because your British passport will not have any current entry stamps.

 

We originally did a  passport swap at the Malaysian border at Thai immigration from UK to Thai passport when she was  2 or 3 years old.

But I forget what happened when we returned to UK. I think we left on her Thai passport while it was still valid then switched to the UK passport on arrival  at London. airport. Of course with the Thai passport now long expired how would we do this?

If she entered on her Thai passport she would need a valid one to leave the country. If she entered on her UK passport that would be the one she would have to use.

If you could get legal custody as a sole parent and get her a Thai passport she could leave on her Uk passport and re-enter using her new Thai passport. It would need to be done by air. It normally cannot be done at a border crossing since they check the departure and entry stamps are done in the same passport.

[thetruth revealer]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

If she entered on her Thai passport she would need a valid one to leave the country. If she entered on her UK passport that would be the one she would have to use.

If you could get legal custody as a sole parent and get her a Thai passport she could leave on her Uk passport and re-enter using her new Thai passport. It would need to be done by air. It normally cannot be done at a border crossing since they check the departure and entry stamps are done in the same passport.

Couldnt she just exit with UK Passport and Re-Enter with the Expired Thai PP??? As she is granted entry anyway???  Of course by Air, as we know already.

Edited January 24, 2017 by thetruth revealer

[ubonjoe]

30 minutes ago, thetruth revealer said:

 

So , how is a (Dual -) Thai Citizen aible to re-enter on the expired Thai Passport ? Problem solved ?

Nothing special needed to enter on the expired Thai passport. There have been people that entered with long expired passports since it is first trip back for many years.

The problem in this case is that she could enter on the expired passport but without being able to get a new one it would not be advisable.

Most people that enter on a expired passport know they can get new passport while here.

 

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, thetruth revealer said:

Couldnt she just exit with UK Passport and Re-Enter with the Expired Thai PP??? As she is granted entry anyway???  Of course by Air, as we know already.

The problem is that if she entered on the expired Thai passport is that she would not be able to leave until she is able to get a passport.

[boomerangutang]

I cross the Mae Sae / Tachilek bridge - probably more often than any other farang.  However, I do it with a multi-entry annual add-on to my 1 year Thai visa.  For that reason, I'm probably not best positioned to comment on the OP.

 

Considering Mae Sai Imm officials are subjective, the rules aren't always clear or evenly administered.  For example, they'll tell you that no day-only VIP passes are allowed for farang.  Yet they allow groups of Chinese to cross over for day visits - though the group  must be accompanied by a licensed Thai guide. 

 

I did hear from a farang recently who said they do now allow a renewal for what I call visa-on-arrival (the free 30-day thing a person gets when entering Thailand by air or whatever).  Even so, it's dicey.  Some Imm officials may allow it up to the 30th day of the visa, whereas others may only allow it up to the 15th day (which was their policy until recently, claiming 'no more border runs') .   

 

Sorry I can't be clearer, but it's like trying to see coral and fishes in a muddy stream.  Thai Imm can't figure how to make things easy and clear.   Just yesterday, I renewed my 1 year visa.  It was almost comical how many hoops the Imm officials have to jump through (and therefore make the farang jump through).  The official must have stamped 35 papers and 3 full pages of my passport.   He had about a dozen different rubber stamps on his desk.  Ridiculous.   It looks so 3rd world.

 

The sage bosses in Bangkok must be trying to make things as convoluted as humanly possible.  Why?  A process that should take 5 minutes, winds up taking between 2 hours and 5 days.  Last year I had a glitch, and it took me 4 months to clear it up.  I jest not.

 

In contrast, the DMV (vehicle registration process) in Chiang Rai has improved markedly.  Whereas in years past it was hours of BS.  Now, they've streamlined it down to minutes.  Perhaps the people running DMV should tell Imm bosses how to streamline.

 

 

[Clown Fish]

Hi, As the boarder seems to accept 30 day extensions, Is anyone looking to share the cost of transport to the boarder. I found out a mini van costs 3900 bath for a full van or 3500 for 1 person. I need to go on the before the 29th. Let me know if anyone is interested.

[boomerangutang]

13 minutes ago, Clown Fish said:

Hi, As the boarder seems to accept 30 day extensions, Is anyone looking to share the cost of transport to the boarder. I found out a mini van costs 3900 bath for a full van or 3500 for 1 person. I need to go on the before the 29th. Let me know if anyone is interested.

You bring up a good point.  One thing that Thai Imm bosses do, unwittingly (do they do anything wittingly?) .....is add to pollution, gridlock, wear & tear on vehicles, and massive wastes of time for those trying to stay legal in Thailand.   

[Freespirit]

8 hours ago, Clown Fish said:

Hi, As the boarder seems to accept 30 day extensions, Is anyone looking to share the cost of transport to the boarder. I found out a mini van costs 3900 bath for a full van or 3500 for 1 person. I need to go on the before the 29th. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Where are you travelling from?

[Clown Fish]

Where are you travelling from?

 

I'm in Chiang Mai at the moment, I've heard that there is also a green bus going every day. Costs about 350 bath for the vip bus. If we can gather about 8 -10 people the mini van is cheaper and faster.

[sanemax]

14 minutes ago, Clown Fish said:

Where are you travelling from?

 

I'm in Chiang Mai at the moment, I've heard that there is also a green bus going every day. Costs about 350 bath for the vip bus. If we can gather about 8 -10 people the mini van is cheaper and faster.

Theres a CM > Maesai Green bus at 8 AM in the morning , costs 2-300 Baht and theres a bus back at 3.30 PM and 5.30 PM .

   If you want, you can get a bus to Chiang Rai and take a mini bus from there .

I would avoid mini vans , as its quite a mountainous road and mini vans can be dangerous

[Clown Fish]

Cheers, I saw that there is a green bus all the way to Mai Sai on the green bus site. Does it only go to Chiang Rai and then we have to catch another van?

[finy]

cm to Mai sai bus station.

 

 10-20 bht sangtow to border and back

 

mai sai to cm

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, Clown Fish said:

Cheers, I saw that there is a green bus all the way to Mai Sai on the green bus site. Does it only go to Chiang Rai and then we have to catch another van?

There are a few daily direct Green buses from CM to Maesai .

If those are full, you can get a more frequent (every 15 minutes or so) CM >CR and get a mini bus from there , they leave every 20 minutes or so

 

[Clown Fish]

Cheers, 1 Last question. Is the boarder open on Sundays?

[sanemax]

6 minutes ago, Clown Fish said:

Cheers, 1 Last question. Is the boarder open on Sundays?

Yes

 

[Clown Fish]

Cheers Mate

[jollyhangmon]

On 25.1.2017 at 0:40 AM, Clown Fish said:

Cheers Mate

 

Please let us know how it went once you've dunnit, thanx.

[Ilovechiangmai]

New question. I arrived in Bangkok in Dec with u.s. Passport and got 30 day stay stamped on my passport. Before expiry date I flew to Kuala Lumpur for two weeks from Chiang Mai and returned here in CM on Jan7 and my new 30 day visa expires on Feb 5, I would like to stay an extra 30 days before I fly back yo the U.S. beginning of March. I have a signed two month apartment lease expiring March 5.
My questions: 1. Which is the least hassle free way to obtain a visa extension. At immigration office (near airport), what documents are needed and what is the cost? 2. Would it be better to make a border run to the Myanmar border, is an overnight stay needed, and what would be the cost? Worried!


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