Tighter Visa Exempt Rules

[zoomomancs]

If immigration follow the new rules announced this week closely all the foreign men working in the bars we talk about would be blocked from entering in a few months. The visa run companies will soon know what is happening on the ground: business as usual for a Laos visa run or a new tough approach.

"Thailand’s Immigration Bureau has unveiled a series of stricter visa-run regulations. They tend to intensify its scrutiny of foreigners who repeatedly enter and exit the country under visa exemption. The measure has been taken in a bid to stamp out abuse of the system. It will help fight cybercrime and other illicit activity, officials indicated.

According to bureau guidelines, travelers who use visa-free entry more than twice without a “valid justification” may now be denied entry. Immigration officers have been instructed to flag entries that resemble visa-runs."   https://www.travelmole.com/news/thailand-visa-exemption-rules/  15/11/2025

[jason1975]

My regular guy told me the following information.

"Since November 17, all Vietnamese passport holders who have been to Bangkok two times cannot go to Bangkok anymore. All Vietnamese passport holders will be allowed to enter Thailand only twice in 2026."

His information is from travel agent who arranges visa runs for Vietnamese in Thailand.

[zoomomancs]

1 hour ago, jason1975 said:

My regular guy told me the following information.

"Since November 17, all Vietnamese passport holders who have been to Bangkok two times cannot go to Bangkok anymore. All Vietnamese passport holders will be allowed to enter Thailand only twice in 2026."

His information is from travel agent who arranges visa runs for Vietnamese in Thailand.

Thank you, Jason. This may also apply to people from Laos and Myanmar. Since few Thai men want to work in the go go bars this begs the question about the future of those bars. So I'm sad as I'm fond of many men from all these countries who work there. But things can u-turn fast in Thailand (eg cannabis; alcohol 2-5pm).

[Keithambrose]

4 hours ago, zoomomancs said:

Thank you, Jason. This may also apply to people from Laos and Myanmar. Since few Thai men want to work in the go go bars this begs the question about the future of those bars. So I'm sad as I'm fond of many men from all these countries who work there. But things can u-turn fast in Thailand (eg cannabis; alcohol 2-5pm).

Could be bad news. But hopefully  the lure of brown envelopes  will change things.

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, zoomomancs said:

Thank you, Jason. This may also apply to people from Laos and Myanmar. Since few Thai men want to work in the go go bars this begs the question about the future of those bars. So I'm sad as I'm fond of many men from all these countries who work there. But things can u-turn fast in Thailand (eg cannabis; alcohol 2-5pm).

more of this and soon Bangkok will be just place to change planes for guys going for vacations in Vietnam or Cambodia . Already combing for fun Grindr in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh I see   avatars familiar from Thailand

[jason1975]

[Vessey]

Lets hope some sort of work-around emerges given the large percentage of boys from Cambodia and Laos that populate the bars, particularly in Jomtien Complex for example.

Many of my favourite boys could be effected and my boyfriend (Laos) is very concerned as he currently does regular bi-monthly visa runs.

On the face of it (and until further practical details emerge), it would seem to me that they can either become seasonal visitors, or attempt to hide in plain sight and hope they don't get picked up?  

The cynic in me thinks that the police could do rather well out of this?

 

[Enchanted_Elixir]

7 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Could be bad news. But hopefully  the lure of brown envelopes  will change things.

In effect that will be an additional operating cost for bar staff which must be borne by someone down the line… 

[Keithambrose]

41 minutes ago, Enchanted_Elixir said:

In effect that will be an additional operating cost for bar staff which must be borne by someone down the line… 

Indeed, which won't be an added attraction. 

[mauRICE]

10 hours ago, Vessey said:

Many of my favourite boys could be effected and my boyfriend (Laos) is very concerned as he currently does regular bi-monthly visa runs.

On the face of it (and until further practical details emerge), it would seem to me that they can either become seasonal visitors, or attempt to hide in plain sight and hope they don't get picked up? 

 

Have the guys offered any reasons as to why they've not attempted to get legal? I know of many nightlife workers from neighbouring countries who are residing and working in Thailand legally. Some had even come in without passports through Thailand's porous borders (or couldn't get one as they were stateless) but eventually went through a legalisation process and obtained a permission to stay and a work permit.

[mauRICE]

15 hours ago, vinapu said:

more of this and soon Bangkok will be just place to change planes for guys going for vacations in Vietnam or Cambodia . 

Now you know that's not true. There'll still be plenty of temples for you to visit and the Sam Sen Nai Philatelic Museum will always roll out the red carpet for you. 😏

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, mauRICE said:

There'll still be plenty of temples for you to visit and the Sam Sen Nai Philatelic Museum will always roll out the red carpet for you. 😏

with 40 trips there are precious few interesting temples in Bangkok  I did not visit yet

[Marc308]

On 11/19/2025 at 5:53 PM, vinapu said:

more of this and soon Bangkok will be just place to change planes for guys going for vacations in Vietnam or Cambodia . Already combing for fun Grindr in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh I see   avatars familiar from Thailand

One has to ask where workers will come from:

1. Thailand -- very few Thais in the bars. Some available on the apps. Fewer in the future as Thailand's economy continues to become more urban.

2. Vietnam --  it is plain to see the growing economy there might overtake Thailand in coming years, having the same result as Thailand.

3. Cambodia -- border skirmishes will make/have made it more and more difficult for Cambodians to stay for extended periods of time in LOS. 

4. Laos -- the pull of China (and Laotian indebtedness to China) is very evident these days. It meas Laos, and to some extent Cambodia as well (look at Sihanoukville), are being dragged deeper into the Chinese orbit and away from ASEAN. 

5. Myanmar -- if you've been to Chiang Mai lately, you know that many (most?) of workers there are Burmese, specially from Shan State, where the civil situation is precarious to say the least. Shan borders northern Thailand and the border is porous.

[PeterRS]

On 11/20/2025 at 10:15 AM, Keithambrose said:

But hopefully  the lure of brown envelopes  will change things.

I'm not so sure. The brown envelopes solution works well when a law affecting mostly Thais is in effect. When the Immigration Department is directly invoved, I suspect they will be much less effective. And if a Vietnamese is not permitted to enter more than twice a year, he'd surely be stopped at the border from entering the Kingdom on a third try.