VIP Pass.

[Julian2]

I left Thailand today and returned without "using" my passport.

No, no midnight border crossing over the Mekong, I presented two photocopies of the front page of my passport, paid 100B, went to Burma for about four hours and returned. No stamps in my bulging passport, no NonIm-B visa near the end of it's shelf life compromised.

 

I was leaving the country with a friend who was doing a normal visa run and immigration told me that as my visa would have normally expired, I re-entered Thailand the day before expiry and was granted a 90 day extension, it had become single entry and I would only receive a 15 day visa exemption on return.

 

She, lovely lady, then instructed me in the acquisition of a VIP pass.

I'd heard of these and had been sceptical, but yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus VIP pass.

[WorldFun]

so that's like an anti-visa run then?

[ThaiHome]

You could have also bought a re-entry permit at Immigration to keep the date on your permission to stay good. Sounds like the way you did it was cheaper and easier.

TH

[Julian2]

It was a piece of cake, the shop with the photocopier was 20 metres away from immigration, 6 baht for 2 copies, I thought she said hok sip baht and would have been happy to pay it.

No extended examination of passport in Burma and when I left a guy standing out the front of the office stamped the copy while my mate had to go in and wait for his passport.

[rickfarang]

Hmmm...seems they were offering something like this back in about 1998 when I visited Burma for a few hours of shopping. It must help relations between the two countries -heaven knows they need it.