To the inexperienced international traveler, the phrase "border run" might sound bad, scary, or illegal, when it's the opposite. Doing a border run, is slang for describing the act of leaving one country and returning to it, to reset your legal time in that country.
Each government has set durations that tourists can stay in their country. Those lengths of stay can change at any time which is exactly what occurred while I was in Thailand. Here's how I stayed in Thailand legally for 6 months.
1) 45-day Visa + 30-day Extension
I flew into Bangkok in early December 2022, and received a tourist visa upon arrival. Thailand calls it, visa exemption, where it could have a different name in other countries. At that time, my visa was for 45-days and I am allowed to walk into any local immigration office to extend by 30-days, after filling out a form and paying 1900 baht (about $55).
2) Border Run to get another 45-day Visa + 30-day Extension
By mid-February 2023, I needed to leave the country and enter again on a new visa. I was living in Hua Hin at that time and took a night train into Padang Besar, Malaysia. I spent one night, and then took another night train back to Hua Hin, Thailand. Each train ride cost 885 baht (about $27) and took about 15 hours. This particular border has immigration officers that tell you to spend one night in town before going back to Thailand. Technically there are no government laws saying how long you have to be out of Thailand before re-entry but these officers are likely trying to stimulate the local economy of this tiny border town. When I entered Thailand again, I was given another 45-day visa exemption, of which I immediately extended for 30-days at the local immigration office in Hua Hin. Again, this was mid-February so I was legally able to stay in Thailand through the first of May.
3) Border Run for 30-day Visa
By the time May rolled around, I was living in Koh Lanta, a little island on the west side of the country. Since I wanted to stay longer, I hired a visa agent to assist me with my next border run ($100 for the service). They had a van pick me up in the morning and transport me to the closest land border to Malaysia, which was about a 5 hour drive. The driver gave us a bright green sticker that said visa run, and then he pointed out each kiosk I needed to attend. The first was to stamp out of Thailand, the second was stamp into Malaysia, the third was stamping out of Malaysia, and the fourth was stamping back into Thailand. This took about 10 minutes even with the long lines of other tourists doing the exact same thing. This process was absolutely hilarious and just shows you how easy it is to reset your tourist visa to continue hanging in Thailand. After the 4 stamps, the driver provided lunch at a little restaurant next to the immigration lines, and then it took about 6 hours to drive home. It's important to note that the visa I received in May was only for 30-days, as the government had just changed the length of stay the month prior.
An important factor to know about both Thailand and Malaysia is they do not require you to apply for a visa in advance (only speaking about US passport holders). That makes these border runs easy. Malaysia also allows US passport holders to stay 90-days on their tourist visa, as well as Singapore. But Vietnam requires you to apply for a visa in advance and pay a fee. It's taken about 5 days to get the visa by email, and it is only for 30-day at the moment, but they too are changing the duration to 90-days starting in mid-August 2023.
Key Takeaways
Always check the government website to see how long you can stay in a country based on your passport.
Check the websites again before you enter to ensure they haven’t made changes to your length of stay.
Ask the million other tourists that are doing border runs how they are doing it, and find an option that works well for you.
Don’t overstay your visa.
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