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Can my South African friend do a border run to extend her stay in Thailand on a visa exemption?

Visa Rules Visa Exemption Thailand Immigration South African Passport Border Run Tourist Visa Visa Extension

Dec 15, 2024

a year ago

Sheeva *********************

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hello, asking for a south africa friend here; 

My friend (south african) she has stayed close to her 90th days after extension of 30 days (totaling 90 days- she got 60 days free visa upon arrival). She just started a yoga coach certification with me

in Bangkok and that would take another 50 days at least to complete. Because the courses are only on weekends. If she goes overseas for few days by airplane and then back to bangkok would she gets 60 days of free visa again? or there will be some rejection of not entering at all? any tips? thank you !

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TLDR : Answer Summary

A South African national who has been in Thailand for nearly 90 days is considering a short trip abroad and is wondering if they can re-enter Thailand and receive an additional 60-day visa exemption. Comments indicate that as long as they haven't abused previous visa exemptions, they should be able to return and get the exemption again. The success of this plan may depend on various factors, including the discretion of the immigration officer and the frequency of previous entries. A border run, particularly via land, might be a viable option for ensuring re-entry without complications.

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Neil *********

If she hasn’t done a border run before then worth doing the first time. As from bkk she can leave on one of the buses at 4am be back by 4pm all sorted and has her 60 days again. Much easier to do yes

a year ago

John ********

She should be OK. If she were to leave at the end of December and return at the beginning of January she will definitely be OK as they measure days per calendar year...

a year ago

Graham ******

@John *******

wrong, the calendar year was for the old two Visa Exempt entries by land limit, nothing else

a year ago

John ********

@Graham *****

yes you are correct that that applied strictly to land entries previously. Now however if someone has two 60 days visa exempts in a calendar year with extensions they use it as a rule of thumb as to whether you are a tourist or a resident, it is not a strict rule. Me I prefer to get visas before I travel. This lady for example could easily have got a 6 month multiple entry visa and would then have no worries

a year ago

Reply to

John ********

Bob **********

Just depends on the IO she gets if she hasn’t abused the system she should be fine for 60+ 30 again

a year ago

Sheeva *********************

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Bob *********

thank you so much xx yeah she will actually go after 60+28 days (she got extensions for 30days) but wanna come back for continuing her certification- and this gonna be her first time bounce back bkk - overseas and bkk… what do you think? i dont think she will get an issue right?

a year ago

Anthony ******

@Bob *********

that's the exactly correct answer. It's up to the immigration. Most of the time there will be no issues. As long as she hasn't done anything wrong

a year ago

Reply to

Anthony ******

Michael ********

I can't guarantee this now because it was a number of years ago when I did this but my wife and I flew to KL and back the same day to extend our visa by an additional 30 days before we left, nothing was said when we returned to Don Mung, we live here permanently now, it was probably about 8 years ago.

a year ago

Graham ******

@Michael *******

what happened a number of years ago does not happen now, things have changed

a year ago

Reply to

Graham ******

Jan ******************

There’s no official statement regarding this. She will most certainly be able to get another 60 days visa exemption. If she does short trips abroad within this 60 days period, she will probably be able to re-enter on a technically new 60 days visa exemption as well. The main thing is not how many times you enter on a visa exemption, but how many days you stay in total within this or a period of time.

Unfortunately it’s not possible to get a re-entry permit on a visa exemption, but it’s a huge difference between maximising visa exemptions and re-enter several time in a shorter period of time an still be considered as a genuine tourist in Thailand.

a year ago

Ian **********

Unless she has a history of using a lot of visa-exempt entries she should be fine doing a border bounce. Rather than flying she could use an agency to take her to a land border. The agencies guarantee re-entry without problems.

a year ago

Sheeva *********************

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Ian *********

a year ago

Reply to

Sheeva *********************

Lynnette *******

She'll not get a free visa but an entry with no visa for 60 days called exempt. It all depends on passport.

a year ago

Reply to

Lynnette *******