ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS:

Immigration Office Holiday Closure April

ALL Immigration offices in the country will be closed the following days

Monday April 6th

Monday April 13th

Tuesday April 14th

Wednesday April 15th

Plan accordingly.

Remember IF you have a stamp that expires on a day the immigration office is closed (weekends or holidays) and you go the very next day they are open you can get your extension like normal will not be charged for overstay but you will get a thai language stamp that says "overstay xxx days fine waived due to holiday closure:"

Border crossings are open like normal and do not close for holidays.

Copying and pasting this message from Tod Daniels, who is a moderator in our sister visa advice group. He knows more about these things than almost anyone.

ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS

"Reset" on 60 day visa exempt entries

Okay everyone, seeing as the new year has rolled around and I've had a chance to contact several border bounce companies who take people to land borders for visa exempt entries as well as talked to a number of people denied entry at the airports flying back in, I thought it was about time for an update.

It would appear from the many many MANY people being denied entry flying in visa exempt that there was no reset for air entry Visa exempt stamps once the year rolled over.

In fact, what it actually looks like is; the immigration officers at passport control will look at your previous entry/stay history and more importantly looking at the number of days spent in Thailand during the previous running year before your arrival.

Example you show up on January 8th they will look at all your entry/stay history until January 8th last year.

There are reports that some officers are bandying about the number 150 days in country. If you have hit that number during the previous year you can and most likely will be denied entry coming in free stamp by air. <- Note: this appears to be sporadic and does not happen all the time.

Now for at least some good news;

It does appear that for visa exempt land entries the count did indeed "reset". People who have bounced out and back after the new year were told they could get two free stamp (visa exempt) entries by land this year

Also we are getting less and less reports of people being told they can only get a 7-Day extension on a visa exempt entry, and there are also reports that even from a visa exempt entry by land people were able to get a 30-day extension like normal <- you might remember that there were postings saying visa exempt land entries could not be extended at all.

Some border bouncers are reporting that they were asked for proof of onward travel within 60 days and proof of funds 20k baht or the equivalent (in CASH), but again these are sporadic reports not consistent with any border crossing, or nationality.

Keep in mind people that at this time all the Cambodia/Thai land borders are still closed. Also the only Burma border with Thailand that's open for foreigners for out/back travel is the one at the Ranong pier with Kawthaung

That's all I got people.. I wanted to wait until I had at least some idea of what's going on from a few different sources.

Best of luck with it, Everyone a safe and healthy New Year as well

Hi, I'm planning on going for a trip to China then Laos and returning to Thailand at Nhong Khai. If I'm away for 2 weeks, have a visa, everything in order, should I anticipate issues and change my plans? I actually want to go to Isaan 😅 but I could fly from Vientiane to Bangkok I guess if that border crossing has become problematic. Thank you.

i have been to thailand 3 times since11may 2025 can i go again in march 2026

Good morning everybody, if I want to arrange a land exit from Pai, could you advise me which is the best and cheapest way? For example is something possible to do it west side to Myanmar? Thanks.

Copied from another group ***

ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS

Visa Exempt Entry

We're getting inundated with posts by people worrying about whether they'll get in or not and I've probably denied over 100 posts from people who outline their stay history on free stamps and then ask if they'll get in or not next time.. :O :/

Believe it or not, no one on this group or any other thai related group has a clue whether your entry/stay history will flag when you go to stamp in at passport control. It seems pretty hit or miss and quite random right now.

It does appear that you're a "real tourist" <- as in you're not trying to live here on repeated free visa exempt entries w/extensions you should have no issue at all comin' into the country. Especially if when you come here you don't stay the full time the visa exempt entry allows (60 days)

However if the officer sees your entry/stay history and it's more than a few free stamp entries especially if there's very little time outside thailand between them you can almost bet you'll be pulled aside and questioned on what you're doing..

All you can do is have proof of onward travel (preferably showing you're going back to where ever you come from in 60 days) and hope for the best.

Extensions of stay on visa exempt entries

Now as far as extensions on visa exempt entries go, it does appear that the immigration offices are indeed issuing 7 day extensions if you already got one 30 day extension on ANY visa exempt entry this year (since Jan 1 2025).

It is totally up to the immigration officer you're in front of when you apply for the extension and they'll tell you if you can get the 30 OR if you're only gonna get the 7 days. Some people with a 30 day extension already on a previous visa exempt entry report getting another 30 extension without any issue, some are told they only get 7 days. So your mileage may vary :(

Land border crossings

For all intents and purposes you people need to consider the Lao land borders closed :O They're not letting people out if you're wanting to come back visa exempt. They just turn you back at the border crossing. There are reports they weren't even letting people on valid multi-entry visas out at that border last week.

It appears to be the same for the Ranong/Kawthaung border with burma, and the Satun border with Malaysia in the south.

NOTE; One last thing;

Just so we're all clear, there is no official rule stating you get 2 visa exempt entries in a calendar year. Nothing stating that has been published at all :O It's only worded that there will be "heightened scrutiny" for people who have multiple visa exempt entries.

That's about all I got as far as info.. Sorry it's so vague

Hey folks! I've seen the recent visa info floating around from various sources, but one thing I've not seen verified is that land border visa runs are no longer allowed. I'm not sure which of the following is the case...

-With a DTV, you can leave by land for a week and come back by land (at the discretion of the visa officer) - yay or nay?

-With a tourist visa or visa waiver, you can leave by land for a week and come back by land (at the discretion of the visa officer) - yay or nay?

Or, is it that all visa classes MUST enter by air if they're coming back a few days or a week or two after leaving by land?

If anyone can link to an actual source that speaks to this, it would be great. Some border run companies said that land border run is no longer allowed, but the official announcements didn't say that, so it's unclear whether that particular part was a temporary measure or not. I'd love to see some sources (not just commenters, but actual sources ;)) that address this point. Thanks!

Hello all,

I’m in need of some advice…

In the past I’ve never had any issues or questions asked about my travels in Thailand.

Pretty much all of my time has been spent in Koh Tao diving.

In 2016 I had a non-immigrant B visa but eventually sold my share in the company and went back home. The rest of my travels have been on Tourist visa’s or visa on arrival(exemption).

Most recently I did two border crossings in Ranong to Myanmar and back in december 2023 and then march 2024 and left the country in april 2024.

Last week I re-entered Thailand with a new tourist visa which was granted to me by Thai Embassy in my home country. Upon arrival the IO asked me questions about why I’m here and when I’m leaving. ( I was in Transit on Bangkok International airport with connection to Samui) My answer was here for vacation and I’m not sure yet when I will leave. He then looked at my passport which was brand new with no stamps but saw in his computer that I’ve done two border-runs and asked me: you think is okay you go to Burma for 1 day and come back same day? You think this is normal. I didn’t know what to answer him but he took me to another IO and she was a bit more understanding. She told me I had to get a DTV visa if I want to stay longer time in Thailand and I explained to her that I’m not here for any cultural soft power activities. I had to book my outbound flight on the spot for when my 60 days are up. She said next time better for you to have a DTV when coming to Thailand.

My questions are:

- Do you think I’m marked or blacklisted in the system?

- Will IO in Koh Tao allow me to extend with 30 days and will they see the information about my booked outbound flight?

- Where would I best go abroad to after my 60 or 90 days to apply for DTV visa?

Anyone has similar experiences?

Thank you kap.

Hi guys, doing a dtv reset run at Friendship Bridge 4.

Is it possible to pay with baht for the lao visa?