What Are the Recent Experiences of Argentinian Nationals Regarding Visa Runs in Thailand?

Question

An Argentinian friend of us got rejected at Mae Sai border one week ago. They didn't let him leave Thailand. He had one day left on his visa exemption. So the next day he flew to KL for a week and came back to Chiang Mai.

He was at the border with his gf. The female thai immigration officer asked if they are both together than she came out of her both and showed them the sign saying no more visa runs. She started to shout and told them to talk to immigration. Than they got their passports back. They both have Argentinian passports which gives them 90 day visa exemption.

Are there any other reports like that?

Ask Thailand · Answer

Recent reports indicate that Argentinian nationals, such as one individual at the Mae Sai border, are facing difficulties with visa exemptions. Despite having a bilateral agreement allowing for a 90-day stay, an Argentinian couple was denied exit due to the strict enforcement of immigration rules at Mae Sai, which does not allow for border bouncing. This experience aligns with similar accounts from other nationals, indicating that not all borders facilitate visa runs under bilateral agreements.

Tod ********* · Answer

as [mention redacted] correctly stated not every nationality can bounce out and back in at land crossings to get 90 day visa exempt entries.

It is what it is.

Ivan ************ · Answer

This is specific to bilateral treaty countries, there was a similar report recently from a Hong Konger also at Mae Sai. She managed to persuade them but was told no more. HK is a peculiarity as it is both a bilateral treaty country but also on the two per year visa exempt list.

To get technical/pedantic these countries do not get a visa exemption but a visa waiver and these are treated differently. Argentina is not on the list of countries on the "two per year" land visa exempt police order that caused Mae Sai to restart allowing border bounces for those countries a few years back, before this Mae Sai were refusing everybody for visa exemptions.

I wouldn't take this as an indication of anything beyond applying to the few bilateral treaty countries, I don't think anything has changed there for most people.

Biff ******* · Answer

Not every border allows nationals of countries with a bilateral agreement with Thailand to border bounce. Mae Sai is one of those borders. This was not a ‘visa run’ as there is nowhere on the Myanmar side of that border where anyone can get a visa. So, a sign saying ‘no more visa runs’ is somewhat superfluous.

Benjamin ****** · Answer

This is the first time I heard of it. But, if he has an Argentinian passport, he doesn't have a visa exception, but a bi-laterial agreement, which is good for a 90 day entry.

To my knowledge, someone with that passport can enter Thailand "unlimited" times, with the definition of "unlimited" being what the immigration officer says it is.  A person can't live in Thailand forever without a visa.

What Are the Recent Experiences of Argentinian Nationals Regarding Visa Runs in Thailand?

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