CHIANG RAI – Thailand’s Immigration Bureau has stepped up checks at both land and air borders, focusing on foreigners who repeatedly use visa-exemption schemes to live in the country long term without the correct status. Senior officers have rejected claims on social media that the tougher checks will damage normal tourism, calling many of these posts fake scare tactics pushed by visa-run businesses that are now losing income.
At a press briefing in Bangkok, Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengron Rimphadee, immigration bureau spokesperson, confirmed that officers at major crossings, especially Mae Sai (Chiang Rai)–Tachileik, Aranyaprathet–Poipet, Sungai Kolok–Rantau Panjang, and several points in Ranong and Satun, have been told to inspect entry records more closely.
Staff now compare passport stamps with data from the Bureau’s biometric system to spot people who return to Thailand every 30 to 90 days purely to restart their visa-exempt stay.
Under current rules, citizens from 93 countries and territories can enter Thailand without a visa for tourism or short business trips. Most receive 60 days on arrival, which can be extended once for 30 days at an immigration office.
A smaller group, mainly G7 nationals and a few others, still receive the earlier 30-day entry that was later increased. Some nationalities also get a 60-day entry when flying into Thailand, while land and sea arrivals were limited to two 30-day entries per calendar year until those rules were relaxed again in mid-2024.
Problems arise when foreigners, from any country, treat these exemptions as a cheap way to live in Thailand by “border hopping”, leaving briefly to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, or Malaysia, then returning straight away to gain a fresh stamp.
Entry Refusals in Chiang Khong
“These people are not tourists,” Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengron said. “They live here full-time, rent flats, run online businesses, teach English without permits, or work remotely, yet they pay almost nothing in tax or social schemes while using services meant for real visitors and Thai citizens.”
He added that some passports show more than 40 land entries in one year, a pattern that he said does not match normal travel.
The stricter approach applies to all nationalities. Russian, Chinese, Indian, British, American, Canadian, Australian, and Middle Eastern visitors have all been flagged in recent checks as frequent border-hoppers.
Refusals of entry have risen at Chiang Khong and Three Pagoda Pass since early November, and several long-stay “digital nomads” and retirees have posted in Facebook groups after being denied entry and allowed only seven days to leave Thailand.
Immigration officials have directly blamed visa-run tour companies for fuelling online panic.
Firms that once charged between 2,000 and 6,000 baht per person for minivan trips to nearby borders are now sharing dramatic warnings with edited images saying “TOURISM KILLED” and claims that “Thailand doesn’t want foreigners anymore.”
Immigration’s Message is Firm
Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengrong called this behaviour nothing more than a way to protect their own business. He noted that many of these same operators also helped arrange fake Education visas for language schools that offered no real classes, and in some cases linked customers with illegal work.
“Normal tourists who come once or twice a year, stay in hotels, eat out, and follow our laws have nothing to fear at all,” Pol Col Cherngron said. “This campaign focuses on people who treat Thailand as a low-cost retirement base or tax escape while using the word ‘tourist’ as a cover.”
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool backed the stance, saying that responsible, higher-spending visitors remain the country’s main focus. Early figures for the first three weeks of November show no clear fall in total arrivals compared with 2024, despite the online noise.
Officials stressed that anyone who wants to stay longer in Thailand in a legal way still has options. Available routes include the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV), Long-Term Resident (LTR) visa, retirement visas (O-A and O-X), Elite cards, and investment routes through BOI programmes. Immigration offices also keep granting 30-day extensions to genuine tourists who apply in person and give a reasonable explanation.
As the cool season begins in the north, travellers crossing at the Mae Sai bridge in Chiang Rai are already seeing longer queues and more questions at the counters.
One immigration officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, summed up the new stance by saying, “If your passport shows you have spent 300 days in Thailand this year using only visa exemptions, you should not be shocked if we suggest you visit another country for a while.”
The message from the Immigration Bureau is firm: Thailand still welcomes visitors, but long-term border-hoppers will no longer be treated as guests.
