URGENT: Export Permit Extension for Thai-Registered Motorbike

I

Italianhawksfan

Junior Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Location
Cambodia currently
Bikes
2015 Kawasaki Ninja 250 SL
Hi everyone, I'm faced with a weird problem and could really use some help...

I came to Thailand on June 1st of this year to purchase a motorbike and tour South East Asia. I bought a 2015 Kawasaki Ninja 250 off of Craigslist, transferred the green book/license plate into my name and got a Thai driver license which is valid for 2 years. After 3 months in Thailand (one 30-day exception stamp, one Cambodian border run and one 30-day visa extension) I left for Cambodia with the motorbike at the Hat Lek/Cham Yeam (Koh Kong) border checkpoint. Everything went fine except at the customs window where the customs officer gave me a document that said I had to bring the motorbike back within 30 days! The document says (in both Thai and English) that if I do not bring the motorbike back to Thailand within 30 days I will have to pay a fine of 1000 baht per day for each day that I'm late up to 10,000 baht maximum!

What the hell is this all about?! At first I thought it might be a scam being run out of that one border checkpoint to squeeze more money out of foreigners but I ran into a guy named Kay Kaesler, the owner of Big Bike Tours (www.bigbiketours.net), at the border and he said it's true. He said you can't take a Thai-registered motorbike outside of Thailand for more than 30 days.

This makes absolutely zero sense. Why restrict the freedoms of Thai residents like that? What is the reasoning behind it?

It makes even less sense when you consider the fact that I can't even stay in Thailand for more than 3 months out of the year now due to the new visa/border run restrictions. Also, I can't get a work visa and I don't want to get an education visa. Do the math... I can only stay in Thailand for 3 months out of the year but I can't leave for more than a month at a time? I would be forced to violate one of these laws at some point. I have also read online that if you come back 6 months late or longer, Thai customs will confiscate your motorbike!

This is a huge problem for me now... I was planning to tour Cambodia and Laos over a 3 month period and then re-enter Thailand, cross Myanmar and then go to India and Nepal where I would probably spend 5 or 6 months if not longer.

Has anyone else had this problem before with a Thai-registered motorbike or car? If so, what did you do about it? What was the solution?

I read online that it's possible to get an extension of the motorbike export permit. One guy said that it's possible to get a 6 month extension before leaving Thailand, but he didn't give any details as to how he got it. I tried calling the Customs Help Line in Thailand multiple times but no one ever picks up. I have also sent many emails to Customs but have not received a response. I tried to find a phone number for the Hat Lek border checkpoint but I can't find one. Does anyone know how to do this? Who do I need to contact or where do I need to go to get an extension? What is the likelihood that they will give it to me?

When I re-enter Thailand in about a week I will only have one more month that I can spend there until June of 2017 (I think) so I need to figure out a solution to this problem ASAP.

If I can't figure out how to get an extension of the export permit or Customs/Immigration won't give it to me for whatever reason, I will need to either:

1. Try to sell the motorbike in Thailand within one month.

2. Move to Cambodia and try to register the motorbike there.

If I'm able to sell the motorbike in Thailand I will probably move to Vietnam and try to buy a motorbike there instead and register it into my name. I have read that Vietnamese-registered motorbikes can travel freely all over South East Asia and that they are currently the only motorbikes that can cross the border into Vietnam without a licensed tour guide and written approval from the Ministry of Transportation in Vietnam. The question then would become, does Customs in Vietnam also give you an export permit for Vietnamese-registered motorbikes, and if so, how much time do you get???

Any help with this problem or clarity you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
You can take them outside Thailand for more than 30 days (dont believe any of the guesses on the amateur forums) , we rode 7x Thai registered motorbikes to Vladivostok Russia, they were out of Thailand for 5 months, with no issues or fees.

You have to let the Thailand Customs at the international border what your intentions are before you leave. They will then make a notation on your temporary exportation and someone will have to report to Thai Customs every 30 days on your behalf to get an temporary export extension signed off. We did this and there were no fines or fees involved to Thai Customs.

They did indicate that a maximum of 6 months temporary export for a Thai motorcycle was only allowable, over 6 months is probably possible but some special paperwork needed. Thai's have taken their motorcycles out of Thailand to ride around the world for several years, it would mean some research as to who could sign off on it at Thai Customs, probably someone in Bangkok.
 
KTMphil said:
You have to let the Thailand Customs at the international border what your intentions are before you leave. They will then make a notation on your temporary exportation and someone will have to report to Thai Customs every 30 days on your behalf to get an temporary export extension signed off. We did this and there were no fines or fees involved to Thai Customs.
Click to expand...

Ok so I can do this with Customs at the border before I leave. That answers one question I had.

What do you mean by "someone will have to report to Thai Customs every 30 days on my behalf"? They can't just give me an extension and then I come back before it expires? Is it not possible to call Customs every 30 days to check in? Does someone in Thailand have to go to Customs at a border (or the Customs office in Bangkok) and do this for me every 30 days? If so, that's nuts... How exactly did you accomplish this? You had a friend in Thailand do this for you and your 6 friends every month?

What did you tell Customs at the border when you left? Did you just say you were going on a motorbike tour to Russia and back?

What do you mean by "They will then make a notation on your temporary exportation"? What kind of notation? What does it say?
 
Ok so I can do this with Customs at the border before I leave. That answers one question I had.


Yes you can (you have to).

What do you mean by "someone will have to report to Thai Customs every 30 days on my behalf"?


I thought it was pretty clear? to extend longer than 30 days, you have to go to Customs to get the extension extended, BEFORE THE TEMPORARY EXPORT EXPIRES.


They can't just give me an extension and then I come back before it expires?

If you come back into Thailand before 30 days of course?


Is it not possible to call Customs every 30 days to check in?

No, they want to see documentation and record legally.


Does someone in Thailand have to go to Customs at a border (or the Customs office in Bangkok) and do this for me every 30 days?


Yes they do. Its not nuts, they will grant you an exception if you comply, you are being unreasonable.



What did you tell Customs at the border when you left? Did you just say you were going on a motorbike tour to Russia and back?


Yes and explained everything.



What do you mean by "They will then make a notation on your temporary exportation"? What kind of notation? What does it say?


They add comments in a computer field on your temporary export documentation that you intend to be outside Thailand more than 30 days and therefore the temporary export will need to be extended.


 
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