Popular Post zoomomancs Posted November 15 Popular Post Posted November 15 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 Vessey, splinter1949, bkkmfj2648 and 2 others 2 3 Quote
jason1975 Posted November 19 Posted November 19 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, mauRICE and bkkmfj2648 2 1 Quote
zoomomancs Posted November 19 Author Posted November 19 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). pong2, floridarob, bkkmfj2648 and 1 other 4 Quote
Keithambrose Posted November 20 Posted November 20 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. Quote
vinapu Posted November 20 Posted November 20 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 daydreamer and Enchanted_Elixir 2 Quote
Vessey Posted November 20 Posted November 20 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? pong2, forrestreid and vinapu 2 1 Quote
Enchanted_Elixir Posted November 20 Posted November 20 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… bkkmfj2648, iendo and vinapu 2 1 Quote
Keithambrose Posted November 20 Posted November 20 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. vinapu 1 Quote
mauRICE Posted November 20 Posted November 20 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. iendo, pong2 and Vessey 3 Quote
mauRICE Posted November 20 Posted November 20 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. 😏 pong2, BjornAgain and vinapu 3 Quote
vinapu Posted November 21 Posted November 21 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 mauRICE 1 Quote
Popular Post Marc308 Posted November 22 Popular Post Posted November 22 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. jimmie50, bkkmfj2648, vinapu and 3 others 5 1 Quote
PeterRS Posted November 23 Posted November 23 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. TMax and Ruthrieston 2 Quote
mauRICE Posted November 25 Posted November 25 Bangkok Post - Immigration police target visitors making multiple visa runs https://share.google/bngmUTZYumHsfRh8E Just a general update. No new specifics other than visitors who have stayed a total of 45 days or more recently would be subjected to greater scrutiny. vinapu 1 Quote
Min Posted 6 hours ago Posted 6 hours ago On 11/23/2025 at 9:06 AM, PeterRS said: 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. FYI: Two Laos boys just did the visa run a few days ago. They crossed the border at Nong Khai, stayed in Vientiane for one night and come back the next day. Just slipped in 300B each before they handed the passport to the Thai immigration officer. Got a stamp immediately, no questions asked. Keithambrose and khaolakguy 1 1 Quote
jason1975 Posted 5 hours ago Posted 5 hours ago 1 hour ago, Min said: FYI: Two Laos boys just did the visa run a few days ago. They crossed the border at Nong Khai, stayed in Vientiane for one night and come back the next day. Just slipped in 300B each before they handed the passport to the Thai immigration officer. Got a stamp immediately, no questions asked. Glad to hear that they are still able to come back to work. Thanks for reporting and sharing! Quote
