Can I cross to Laos for 3 nights and return to Thailand for a new 30-day visa extension?

Don't go to Vietnam because you won't want to go back to Thailand.

Now I’ve got my retirement visa but before to get another 60 days I made a border run to Laos. At the border, they told me I could not cross and I had to fly in so I had to go back to Udon Thani take a flight to Bangkok and then go to Laos. I don’t know if it’s the same now, but that was an unbelievable pain in the ass.

@Stephen ********

okay. So you are currently stamped in for 60 days which you can extend for another 30 days at your local immigration office then you have a couple of choices depending on what you want to achieve and how long you want to stay. At the end of the 90 days you will need to leave Thailand to a nearby country and then you can return...

1. If all you want is another 60 days and have no prior history in Thailand you can just cross a border and return for that although normally best to spend a night or 2 outside Thailand but you can potentially only do this once

2. If you want to spend much longer in Thailand, and you are over 50, you could apply for a 90 day Non-O visa at the Thai consulate of country you travel to before returning. Then you can open a Thai bank account, place 800k baht in it and apply for a 12 month extension of stay

First time extension is 30 days allowed second time is only 7 days allowed

The question is not if this is permitted, but given how immigration are enforcing rules and discretions, if this is realistic. If you have a pristine immigration record, and meet all the requirements on reentry, maybe it will work out. You need to consult a reputable visa advisor and do whatever they advise (a valid visa is not a guarantee of entry even then).

Jesus, so complicated 😫

No. No land borders.

I would still go to Vietnam. It's amazing and you're only planning on going for a week which is only 4 days more than what you've intended for Laos.

So, in my view doesn't make any difference to the time you spend in Thailand. Given that you're spending 120 days there.

Yes

Hang on. You arrived with a 60 day visa exempt which you haven't extended and you haven't done a border bounce yet you've been here for 120 days? Is that correct or have you already done a border bounce so you've been here 60 + 60 days on 2 visa exempt entries?