KTMphil
Senior member
Stories all over the internet today about a NEW clamp down (today) on visa runs to Mae Sai, can anyone confirm any of this?
Down south they are only allowing 3 visa runs, to get visa exempt stamps, after that you need a visa of some sort.
Have edited a bit...
Also, as to how they'll decide who is trying to stay in Thailand without a visa for more then they deem acceptable, according to the Thai Embassy UK website (Tourist Visa Exemption | ???????????????????? ? ??????????), that would seem to be those people trying to stay in Thailand (without a valid visa) for more than 90 days in any 6 month period.
I can imagine there could be a minimum amount of days that an exit has to be made for though too - before re-entry doesn't look like an 'Out-In'. No idea how many days that might be though...
Yeh, wouldn't surprise me. Loads of people getting denied entry at the airport would be messy.
Reading the thread on t.v., made me smile a bit, the guy who runs Walden Thai School didn't waste much time posting to offer his services!
Is this the Nigel chap with the magical visa's?
is it possible to exit the country via land crossing and then apply for a double entry tourist visa in Lao or Cambodia at the thai embassy then re-enter the country via land??
and HAVE to leave, but they wont let you ?!?!?
They will let you leave, just won't let you come back in? & seems very little sympathy if you're stuck in a Myanmar "free zone" without a Myanmar visa.
And there is the incoming bona fide traveller on a bike who has come to a Thailand land border..... what's in store for him?
Reading through this I'm a little concerned, I'm one of the offshore lot mentioned above but I dont do a rotation, I am usually away for 6 to 8 weeks then back in LOS for 4 to 5 and just go to the local immigration in Sakon Nakhon to get an extra week if needs be, I think I'll be ok with the 90 day in any 6 month period as mentioned in the article above but what concerns me most is the needing a return ticket as I never have a flight booked out of Thailand as this comes as and when/wherever my next job will be,
It's not really surprising, the visa-exempt 30 day system wasn't intended to be used as a means for tourists to stay in Thailand for ever, although reading a few other forums you get the feeling many have been deprived of their birthright!
This will definitively affect me, in all the years I have lived here (9 now) I have only twice had proper tourist visas.
As I work outside Thailand and on weird rotations, I have never bothered to fly to another country first after coming off work, then go to an embassy, put in application, wait 3-4 days for a visa, then fly to my home here in Thailand.
Usually I only needed to stay in Thailand for 1-3 weeks before getting a call for work and if I had to wait longer I would simply do a visa run to Mae Sai, now that option seems out of the question for me. A bit more hassle I guess.
Funny how these crack downs always comes at a time when the govt. is in trouble.
Funny how these crack downs always comes at a time when the govt. is in trouble.
I'm sure i read somewhere that a Govt official said that this latest crackdown was sparked by the PP's for sale racket exposed by the 2 guys on the missing Malaysian airlines plane?