Anyone else ever have this happen?? My husband and I booked a visa run through a Phuket company to take us down to Penang to get our Non B's. We drove the 10ish hours over night to Malaysia. We finally arrived at the consulate to do our paper work at around 10 in the morning. It took longer than expected at the consulate but we finally all packed in the van and were on our way to our hotel. We got about 20 yards away from the consulate and all of our three vans get stopped for what we thought was a routine check point. Nope, it wasn't a check point. All three of our van drivers get arrested by the Malaysian police. We have no idea why or whats going on. The police decided that they would let the drivers get back in the vans and drive all of us to the police station. Now at first for some reason we all thought this funny, we were taking videos, pictures of our van being surrounded by cops and being escorted through the city blowing through red lights. We finally arrive at the police station and are instructed to stay in the van while all our drivers go inside to sort it out. Well, now its about 12:00 in the AM and we've been waiting in the van for about forty five minutes. Until finally a cop comes to the van and tells us that there was something wrong with the license of the vans?? Were not too sure but all we really heard was that it would be a while. Finally our driver comes out and tells us that we have to go to another police station since this ones computers were down. Awesome. We are all at this point tired, smelly, hungry and annoyed. We were told that this next police station is across from a KFC and McDonalds, that's a lie. We arrived about twenty minutes later at the second police station. In the middle of no where. At least this time were allowed out of the vans. But now its about 12:45 and were getting unbelievably hungry since the breakfast they gave us wasn't really even edible, none of us ate. We are all literally just wondering around the parking lot of the police station. It's super hot. Until finally a cop comes out demanding that we give him our passports. Great, well we of course don't have our passports since we just gave it to the consulate to get our visas. Then he asks for copies of our passports. Those that had it gave it to him. He then states that the vans might be impounded and that we might have to find our on way to the hotel and back to Thailand the following day. No joke. We are pissed to say the least. Finally about an hour later our drivers emerge from the station. They must have paid their way out of it and now we were finally on our way to our hotel. But of course our brilliant driver gets on his cell phone and starts chatting away. Well, apparently it's illegal in Malaysia to do so. We again get pulled over. Our driver gets out of the van and starts arguing with the cops. We are all thinking he's going to get arrested and were going to be stuck again but he some how talks his way out of it and we continue driving to our hotel. Of course he answers his phone again while driving even as we are all screaming "Don't answer it!!". He just looks back at us and gives a smirk and continues to answer the phone. What an idiot. We found out the next day that apparently the hotel that the company used to use got upset that the company dropped them so they called the police on them?? Who knows if thats true. We all ended up getting our passports and our visas back the next day and headed home without trouble, but boy are we glad we won't have to do a visa run anytime soon!
Anyone else have a crazy visa story?
Visa run nightmare
Yes a friend of mine took a boat over Tyron Cambodia to Vietnam . All were tourist visa runs but one wanted an ordinary visa . Well anyway it was very chaotic and the boat ride back was problematic as the boat started to sink! 12 of them and they were bailing water out of boat with cigarettes being smoked close to 6 fuel cans . Quite a long day and the boat just made it back!
Wimbleton wrote:Yes a friend of mine took a boat over Tyron Cambodia to Vietnam . All were tourist visa runs but one wanted an ordinary visa . Well anyway it was very chaotic and the boat ride back was problematic as the boat started to sink! 12 of them and they were bailing water out of boat with cigarettes being smoked close to 6 fuel cans . Quite a long day and the boat just made it back!
Yikes! What a story for your friend!
What's the most common visa run location for people in Thailand?
HaileyinHongKong wrote:What's the most common visa run location for people in Thailand?
It depends where in Thailand you are. For us, we live in Phuket and going to Penang, Malaysia is the most popular and easiest option for getting the initial Non B visas. There are several bus companies that leave at night then arrive in Malaysia the next morning, you do your paperwork and stay over one night in Penang(which is a very nice city) then your usually home around 10 at night that day. The initial Non-B gave us 60-days with a 30 day extension until our work permits come in. After that we get our visas extended for a year right at the immigration office here in Phuket with the work permit.
People who are on tourist visas here typically go to Burma to activate the second part of their visa. There are company's that do runs there that are same day trips. Burma doesn't give out new visas. We've heard from a few people that Laos is the easiest place to get a new visa these days, but its a lot further away for people in Phuket. Hope this helps! hotbuthappy.com
That is what you want in Thailand, adventure!
I think you had a good day and a great adventure, nothing to complain about. Now, I've had a few real nightmares, but too lazy to share them, but in the most recent my lovely Thai wife was stripped in the courts of 500,000 baht that was stolen from her, and despite proof of the matter in the bank records, she is now charged with perjury, could lose her pension (33 years government officer) and be sent to prison. We have a new attorney who seems to be very competent, so hopefully this can all get straightened out. If I could speak Thai I believe this could have all been avoided, but worse things can happen even in the states.
I am very sorry to hear this. I hope everuthing gets sorted out. My story is nothing compared to your nightmare. Good luck to the both of you.
Re the OP's story. I suspect it might have something to do with this:
Now I don't know the technical details but it goes something like this. Malaysian mini van drivers had noticed the Thai buses and drivers running around in their country every day and felt that they were being done out of business. Agreement was made that the Thai buses would stop just beyond the border and Malaysian buses and drivers would drive the passengers around whilst in Malaysia.
Obviously the co. you went with chose not to adhere to this agreement.
I can't say that's exactly it, but there could well be a link.
cusanus: I'm sure there's an awful lot more to this story. If you are married to a Thai and have been living in Thailand perhaps it would have been helpful to your every day life to learn Thai?
hbh, Penang is a state which includes the Island of Penang. George Town, on the island, is the capital. 
We sold our property and moved out from Thailand
in this May, we bought a house in a very beautiful
village in the south part of England.
Rosebergen wrote:We sold our property and moved out from Thailand
in this May, we bought a house in a very beautiful
village in the south part of England.
I think most here are looking to move the other way. How do you find the cost of living in England compared to Thailand?
I understand why you want to live in Thailand though.
How right you are. I'm assertive enough to have definitely derailed reversed the 2nd and 3rd judgments against my good little wife. However, key to any of this was what the new attorney calls a "good horse." I thought that the former attorney would rally to the challenge on the 2nd appeal (my wife won the first hearing), but he just walked away, failed to ensure the court had the evidence, and let her hang. Now more than ever I understand the importance of knowing where you can find a capable attorney who won't also rip you off blind, because I went through extreme measures to find this guy, and he is super. There's a 100% chance he will put down the criminal case and new lawsuit against her, there's a 90% chance he can recover the 500,000 baht she spent to pay off the mortgage, and an 80% chance he can recover the initial 500,000 baht the slut stole from her in the first place. So, write this down, ICO Law Firm, not sure if they're available everywhere in Thailand, but they have a busy office here in Chiang Mai and other places. Our guy is fairly fluent in English so I can talk to him, because at this point I have to be involved with every aspect. I was also fortunate to find an English speaking officer at the bank and finally convince him to release the records that prove my wife's side of the matter, though there are questions as to whether that evidence will be acceptable to the court now. We'll see. http://www.icothai.com/
A useful contact to have, thank you. However, I'm unsure how your story relates to to visa runs, the topic of this thread.
It doesn't relate, except that it is more than a little possible for foreigners to run into serious trouble in Thailand because they are more than a little vulnerable. I could tell you another experience I had about visas and borders that would make your hair stand up. I wished I could have found an attorney such as this one who speaks good English. That one cost me $10,000 USD and could have been far worse. You can also find yourself in jail fairly easily. A good attorney such as this one, assuming you did no wrong, is easily able to pull you out of a jam. If only I'd known how to find him when I first came to Thailand. So, take the tip and don't question why.
hotbuthappy wrote:[. We've heard from a few people that Laos is the easiest place to get a new visa these days, but its a lot further away for people in Phuket.
I don't think an air ticket from Phuket to Udon Thani is unaffordable. From there, the Lao border and Vientiane is just a little step further.
Gaudente wrote:hotbuthappy wrote:[. We've heard from a few people that Laos is the easiest place to get a new visa these days, but its a lot further away for people in Phuket.
I don't think an air ticket from Phuket to Udon Thani is unaffordable. From there, the Lao border and Vientiane is just a little step further.
A good way to get into Laos from Phuket is to fly to Bangkok then a train from Bangkok to Nong Khai which where the bridge crosses the Mekong into Laos.
You can fly to Udon Thani but you have to travel the 53 klm by taxi or get a bus.
Check with Air Asia as I understand they fly from Don Muang to Udon Thani and then have a bus which goes to Nong Khai. I have heard that this bus also goes into Vientiane but I could be wrong.
Vientiane is the best for retirement visas. If you have the paperwork all filled out, they'll walk you right through.
Articles to help you in your expat project in Thailand
To be able to work in Thailand and stay in the country without needing to apply for visa extensions regularly, you ...
I have lived in Thailand for over a year now, on a variety of visas. This week I applied for and received a ...
Work Permit renewal must be done prior to the expiration date of the permit term. You could locate this date from ...
Having reliable internet is a priority for many foreigners living in Thailand — not just for work reasons if ...
Thailand is one of the world's most popular retirement destinations. There are a number of reasons for that: ...
Thailand is not a tax haven. In Thailand, there are two main types of taxpayers — residents and ...
