Our recent experience of Nong Khai (land border) immigration

I thought it might be helpful to summarise our experience when we entered by land border at NK 2 days ago. Posting anonymous as this is a public group and friends don’t need to see this!

We are a couple from Europe (in our 40s) who are currently in month 4 of our travels around SE Asia backpacking. We visited Thailand twice previously in the last year, always exiting back to the UK.

I was really concerned about this border crossing given previous comments on this page and on Google reviews. So much so that we didn’t take the international bus from Laos in case we had any issues and it left us! Do we did it DIY style.

On our current travels we have previously spent:-

- 6 weeks in Thailand (exited by flight)

- one month in Cambodia

- one month in Laos

We entered Thailand again. At NK immigration both of us were given a new 60 day visa exempt stamp, no questions asked. Not one. We had no onward flight booked but met the other criteria, if it was asked. The (male) IO was so unbothered that both of us had to ask him if that was it and we could leave 🤣

My partner never had any concerns, just me. He believes we are not the demographic they are concerned about and we don’t stay near the 60 day limit, or extend.

We will be going to Vietnam next in a couple of weeks before coming back into Thailand by air sometime in the next couple of months. I’ll be worried again for that I’m sure!

Anyway, might be useful information for someone ☺️