The latest episode was inspired by a chance meeting with an expat Irishman in Saigon this week. I asked him where he was off to after Saigon. He said to me Thailand, but he had troubles with obtaining Thai visa so he might have to travel to Laos first. I summed up that he had done too many visa runs in a row on exempt entries. Thailand allows many foreigners to visit the country with either a 15 or 30 day visa exemption, meaning you can enter without a visa, but only for one of these short stays. It also may require showing an onward ticket, proof that you're not staying longer than the exemption. Some people will leave the country and then immediately return, essentially doing a visa run, to extend their stay. The problem is you can going do so many of these before it raises suspicion with immigration. If you've done this more than two times they may ask you why you haven't gone to a Thai embassy and applied for a proper visa. This is where I think my Irish friend went wrong. If you're an expat none of this will be new to you. If you've lived in a place like Southeast Asia for more than a year you're very well aware of the requirements for entry into the countries of the region. This episode is kind of a brief overview of the some the do's and don'ts when it comes to visa runs, and visa exemption.
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