What is a Visa Run?

Visa Run Thailand

Visa Run ThailandPut simply, a Visa Run is exiting a country when your Visa has expired in order to obtain a new Visa or activate a re-entry on your current Visa.

If you enter Thailand on a METV or DETV, you will need to exit the country mid way through your Visa to reactivate the second entry on your Visa.

Now if you entered on a DETV, I strongly suggest not rushing to exit the country when your first entry is going to expire, instead, going to Thai Immigration and opting to extend your first entry by 30 days, which will then give you 90 days on your first entry, not 60.

There are plenty of companies around that can assist you with doing a Visa Run, whereby you jump on a bus and cross the boarder and they facilitate the whole process for you for a small fee. Now this can sometimes be the best option, considering the whole process is made possible with kickbacks people receive. If you opt to do it yourself, you are going outside the process, and can sometimes depending on where you go be confronted with disappointing rejection.

One of the most common Visa Runs is to hop a bus in busy Bangkok, and drive over the boarder into Cambodia, where you stay for approximately 4 days, and re-enter Thailand with a new SETV of 60 days. This can be extended to 90 days by going to Thai Immigration and applying for an extra 30 days.

The new METV which is only available in your home country has seen a stop to the Double Entry Tourist Visa DETV, so do not think that going to somewhere like Laos will yield this as a result for you, or believe a tour opperator who says it can be done. It can’t.