Visa Run

Replies: 39 - Last Post: 16-Oct-2007 15:17 Last Post By: AladinSane

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Houdini656

27-May-2004 16:30
Posts: 1

Visa Run

I will be in Chiang Mai in July and will need to leave Thailand to renew my visa. Any suggestions?

SVTropicbird

27-May-2004 18:57
Posts: 251

The easiest probably is to go up to Chiang Rai and walk back and forth to Burma.

I took a minivan up, but there are other options.

Look at the LP and search under Chiang Rai. Also search Steve252's posts and his links.

Have a good trip.

Chanchao

27-May-2004 21:24
Posts: 6,715

Make that "Mae Sai" which is indeed in Chiang Rai province. But you can get a bus direct from the main Arcade Bus Terminal in Chiang Mai to Mae Sai. Leave early, especially if you want to make it back to Chiang Mai the same day.

Check out pics and reviews of all kinds of food at chanchao.fotopages.com. Get the Thai Travel Menu, a printable bilingual menu to help you order great food off the beaten path.

Phantom666

28-May-2004 00:33
Posts: 22

I stayed in thailand for several months and never left.... I just let one of the small agencies handle the visa run. They take your passport to the border, have it stamped and you pay a 1000 bath fee. Easy!

Diving is my religion - the ocean my holy ground!

Mr_Fishbulb

28-May-2004 01:49
Posts: 11

I wouldn't advise what Phantom666 says.

It turned out that your passport could be stamped with a fake stamp by the agency themselves so you end up in a lot of sh*t when you get found out.

Phantom666

28-May-2004 02:15
Posts: 22

Well, I left thailand without any problems and had the same agency take care of it every month, as did all my friends on the islandwithout any problems!

Diving is my religion - the ocean my holy ground!

Mr_Fishbulb

28-May-2004 02:43
Posts: 11

Just passing on what I'd heard

http://www.thaivisa.com/index.php?514&backPID=10&tt_news=544

steve252

28-May-2004 02:53
Posts: 1,263

re #3 - the situation now is completely different to how it was say 18 months ago

lots of people who did this (especially in 2002/2003) have subsequently had major problems re-entering Thailand - it's been suggested elsewhere that anyone with illegal visas/stamps in their passport should seek professional advice before attempting to re-enter Thailand, as the the consequences of getting caught (enen on re-entry) are pretty drastic

unfortunately, simply getting a new passort may not put you in the clear

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happytraveler2004

28-May-2004 07:06
Posts: 3

I was one of those people....my employer at the time got me a visa with a fake stamp. I had to surrender my passport to my embassy and had to FIGHT to be issued a new one. My advice- DO NOT AND I REPEAT DO NOT LET YOUR PASSPORT LEAVE THAILAND WITHOUT YOU. Emabassies are starting to take the "ignorance isn't an excuse" attitude and I've been told that if it happens again I'm on my own.
They are right- We need to stay informed and be careful of what kind of advice we give to others.
Travel Smart:)

happy travels
-------------------------

dearsirsam

28-May-2004 10:34
Posts: 707

Hmph, when I went to Ranong to go to Burma last year, even the guy who ran the travel agency I used to use was there himself. Immigration Office was full of divers from Ko Tao...they were all in there for ages...I am lucky I'd gotten a new passport just before heading back to Thailand. Doesn't hurt to say this repeatedly: DO NOT USE AGENCIES FOR VISA RUN ANYMORE! I have friends who got fined, met a guy being deported... Plus, the poster is from the US. The British Embassy was pretty good about helping get new passports i think, but the American Embassy's advice to people was "Ha, better get yourself a lawyer."

steve252

28-May-2004 10:41
Posts: 1,263

even the guy who ran the travel agency I used to use was there himself

nice one! :-)

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Gazebo

28-May-2004 20:38
Posts: 44

Just goes to show... tripping two sides of a triangle to get to a result may be better than a trip down the hypotenuse.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Once upon a time in the West

ARTEMIS808

29-May-2004 14:47
Posts: 1

I don't know what your time frame is like or your finances but I would suggest that instead of just stepping across the border take a trip. I would suggest Luang Prabang in Laos for a couple of days. It is a beautiful Unesco protected city and very cheap. You see more of SE Asia and accomplish your goal to boot.

WILLIAM ARTEMIS

Phantom666

31-May-2004 23:34
Posts: 22

Well obviously a lot has changed in thailand since my last visit. So how can you tell, if you have a "fake" stamp in your passport?

Diving is my religion - the ocean my holy ground!

steve252

01-Jun-2004 06:41
Posts: 1,263

any visa that was put in your passport while you personally remained in Thailand is illegal

any entry permit extension that you did not apply for in person is illegal, likewise any entry permit stamps and exit stamps that were put in your passport without you personally crossing a border

an illegal stamp can be a simple outright "fake" (forgery), or it can be an otherwise "genuine" immigration bureau stamp which was put in illegally (corruption)

Thai immigration can and do detect both types

if you know you have illegal stamps in your passport, and you know the serial number of a "fake" stamp, or of a "genuine" stamp that was known to have been systematically abused, you can check your passport for that - but if you don't find that particular serial number it doesn't really tell you anything, Thai immigration will obviously have far better information than you

if you've got illegal stuff in your passport, you need to get professional advice - and even then, there may not be any easy way to resolve it, unless you can prove that you were somehow not "responsible" (and even so you might struggle - see reply #8 above)

getting a new passport doesn't guarantee that you're in the clear - especially if you previously had dodgy visas, or if you previously left Thailand illegally

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