Myanmar land entry - can someone who's been to Ranong, Mae Sot or Kanchanaburi recently provide some insight into whether farang (or basically any foreigner that isn't a Thai citizen) can cross into Myanmar and spend the day or stay overnight? We already know that Mae Sai/Tachilek is open for stays of up to 2 weeks on the Burmese side and there has been a trip report on that already here, so need to mention that border.
I'm interested in traveling to Myanmar, in particular, using the Mae Sot/Myawaddy crossing that I'm very familiar with or Ranong/Kawthoung due to the many nice islands in the area.
However, there is simply no up to date information available, even from official Thai immigration sources, about the rules for foreigners crossing into Myanmar. If you call them (as I have) you'll be given conflicting information or some outdated entry rules for Thailand. Of course, we can't necessarily expect Thai immigration to know Burmese immigration rules, but calling Burmese immigration isn't likely to be successful.
I know border bounces are permitted at Mae Sot and while it seems that 99% of people in this forum have zero interest in spending even a minute longer than necessary outside of Thailand (hence don't care about anything other than being allowed to get a stamp to come straight back), I am actually interested in travel and don't need to do border bounces. I realize that the region outside of Myawaddy is dangerous and don't expect to be allowed to leave the city, but would have expected foreigners be allowed the same privileges as Thais in this regard, which is to be permitted to roam around the town during the bridge opening hours.
Anyone been to a Thai-Myanmar border crossing and knows the current situation? Would appreciate any updates. Doesn't matter if you didn't actually cross over or only did a border bounce. It's what immigration told you that matters.
TLDR : Answer Summary
The discussion revolves around the ability of foreign nationals to cross from Thailand into Myanmar using border points such as Mae Sot/Myawaddy and Ranong/Kawthoung. Recent reports indicate that foreigners can stay in Kawthoung for up to two weeks, provided they remain within a 20km radius unless they obtain a visa for further travel. There are updates on the acceptance of e-visas at certain border checkpoints, though onward travel from Kawthoung may be limited due to ongoing conflicts in the region.
