Nomada How Far – Budget Travel Blog: Nepal, Asia & Australia

Q: Does a domestic flight count as a visa run?

No. A domestic flight never leaves Thailand, so it does not reset your stay. A visa run by air means flying to another country, such as Malaysia or Singapore, and back.

⚠️ Read this first: Mae Sai is no longer an option. The Mae Sai–Tachileik crossing into Myanmar, the route we took in 2017 and the one this post used to recommend, has been closed to foreigners since mid-2024. Only Thai and Myanmar nationals can cross, and there is no confirmed reopening date. On top of that, since 15 September 2026 most nationalities can only enter Thailand visa-exempt over land twice per calendar year. Everything below has been rewritten for these new rules.

Updated November 2026. Rules and fees checked against the TAT Newsroom, Chiang Mai Ambassador, CMLocals and the Belgian Foreign Affairs travel advice (all linked at the bottom).

Back in 2017 we were sitting in Chiang Mai with five days left on our 30-day visa exemption and no idea how to get a new stamp. The information online was a mess, so we just went for it, and our visa run post ended up helping a lot of you (44 comments and counting!). But a lot has changed since then. The border we used is closed, the rules are stricter, and some of the tips in the old version could now get you into trouble.

So we rewrote the whole thing. Here’s how we’d do a visa run from Chiang Mai today: where to go, how to get there, what it costs, and when you’d be better off not doing a border run at all.

Our 2017 visa run (for nostalgia)

In March 2017 we hitchhiked from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, took the local bus to Mae Sai and walked across the Friendship Bridge into Tachileik. The Myanmar side charged us 500 baht each for a temporary permit, kept our passports, and we spent an hour wandering through a market full of fake Marlboros, fake DVDs and fake everything. Back on the Thai side we got a fresh 30-day stamp, no questions asked. The whole day cost us about 26 USD, roughly half the price of an extension at the immigration office.

IS MAE SAI STILL AN OPTION FOR A VISA RUN?

No. The Mae Sai–Tachileik crossing has been closed to foreign nationals since mid-2024 because of the conflict in Myanmar’s Shan State. Only Thai and Myanmar citizens are let through, and nobody has announced a reopening date. If a website, a forum post or a travel agent still sends you to Mae Sai, that information is out of date. Don’t plan your border run around it.

From Chiang Mai, that leaves Laos as the only practical land option, or a flight out of the country.

WHAT ARE THE NEW THAILAND VISA RULES IN 2026?

On 31 August 2026 the new visa exemption rules were published in the Royal Gazette, and they took effect on 15 September 2026. Here’s what matters for a border run:

Visa-exempt stays are now 30 days. The old 60-day exemption is gone. 60 countries and territories get 30 days, including Belgium, the Netherlands, the rest of the EU, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia. Seychelles and Mauritius get 15 days.
Max 2 visa-exempt land entries per calendar year for most nationalities. Nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore are not subject to the cap.
The count resets on 1 January. It’s a calendar year, not a rolling 12 months, and it’s 2 entries in total, not 2 per border crossing.
Air arrivals: the official announcement only puts the limit on land-border checkpoints and doesn’t mention a limit for air or sea arrivals. Be aware that some official wording (for example from the Thai embassy in London) mentions the two-entry limit without saying “land”. Immigration officers always have the final say.
You can still extend once. A visa-exempt stay can be extended once at an immigration office for up to 30 days, at the officer’s discretion. That gives you roughly 60 days on one entry without leaving the country.

One thing nobody has clarified yet is whether land entries you made earlier in 2026, before 15 September, count toward this year’s two. If you’ve already crossed by land this year, check with Thai Immigration before you go.

Travel tip: the 2-entry rule isn’t new. When we wrote the first version of this post in 2017 there was also a 2-per-year limit at land borders. It just wasn’t enforced very strictly for a few years. Now it’s back in the law, so don’t count on officers looking the other way.

WHICH BORDER CROSSING SHOULD YOU USE FROM CHIANG MAI?

Option	Travel time from Chiang Mai	Cost (transport, round trip)	Good to know
Chiang Khong → Huay Xai (Laos)	6–7 h by bus, ~4 h by private car or van	600–1,600 THB	The most reliable option. Friendship Bridge IV, Laos visa on arrival available.
Chiang Saen (Laos)	4–5 h by bus or van	600–1,600 THB	Shorter and quieter at weekends. Crosses into the Golden Triangle area (see below).
Flight out (Kuala Lumpur, Singapore)	1–2 days	3,000–8,000 THB	Doesn’t count toward the 2 land entries.
Mae Sai → Tachileik (Myanmar)	–	–	Closed to foreigners since mid-2024.

Chiang Khong to Huay Xai: our pick

This is the crossing we’d choose. It’s direct, Thai immigration at Chiang Khong is used to visa run traffic, and the Laos side issues visas on arrival. It’s also the start of the slow boat to Luang Prabang, so if you’ve got time, you could turn your visa run into a real trip.

Chiang Saen: shorter, but check before you go

Chiang Saen is an hour or two closer, and visa run companies offer same-day trips from Chiang Mai. But note that this crossing takes you into the Golden Triangle area of Laos, and it isn’t on the standard list of Lao border posts that issue visas on arrival. The Belgian Foreign Affairs travel advice also strongly advises against visiting the casinos in the Special Economic Zones there (Bokeo is one of them) because of links to criminal activity. If you go this way, confirm the entry rules with the operator first, and just do your stamp and leave.

Flying out

If you’ve used your 2 land entries, or you just hate long bus rides, a return flight to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore costs roughly 3,000–8,000 THB depending on when you book. Note that it has to be a real international flight. A domestic flight to Bangkok never leaves Thailand and does nothing for your visa.

HOW MUCH DOES A VISA RUN FROM CHIANG MAI COST?

Here’s a realistic breakdown for a DIY run to Chiang Khong, per person:

What	Cost
Bus or minibus Chiang Mai ↔ Chiang Khong (return)	600–1,600 THB
Tuk-tuk Chiang Khong ↔ Thai border post	~150 THB per ride
Shuttle bus across the Friendship Bridge	~20 THB each way (more at weekends and after hours)
Laos visa on arrival	About US$40 for most Western passports (reported range US$30–42)
Lao overtime/weekend fee, passport photo if you forgot one	~US$1 each
A night in Chiang Khong (optional, but recommended by bus)	Cheap guesthouses from a few hundred baht

What about the Laos visa for Belgian and other EU passports? Belgians need a visa for Laos again: the temporary visa-free scheme for Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Norway, Spain and Sweden ended on 31 December 2024. A visa on arrival is still possible at Huay Xai. Laos doesn’t publish an official fee list per nationality, but travellers crossing at Huay Xai in 2025–2026 report about US$40 for most passports, with some EU nationalities paying a bit less. Bring US$45–50 in clean, new notes to be safe. You can pay in baht, but it works out more expensive (some reports say up to 2,000 THB). A Lao eVisa also works at Huay Xai, but it costs around US$50, so the visa on arrival is usually cheaper.

Organised visa runs: several companies in Chiang Mai run same-day trips to Chiang Khong or Chiang Saen for roughly 2,500–5,000 THB. Ask whether the Laos visa fee is included, because some prices include it and some don’t. It’s more expensive than doing it yourself, but you’re back in Chiang Mai the same evening and someone else worries about the timetables.

Travel tip: do the maths before you go. For an EU passport, transport plus the Laos visa often comes close to the cost of a 30-day extension at the Chiang Mai immigration office (1,900 THB when we were there in 2017, check the current fee). If you still have your extension available, that might be the cheaper and easier option, and it doesn’t use up one of your two land entries.

STEP BY STEP: HOW TO DO THE VISA RUN TO CHIANG KHONG YOURSELF

Get your bus ticket. Greenbus runs from Chiang Mai’s Arcade bus station (Terminal 3) to Chiang Khong, with morning departures (around 08:30 and 09:30 at the time of writing). Book a day or two ahead and be at the counter 30 minutes before departure. Check the current timetable on the Greenbus website or at the counter. Travel agencies and guesthouses in Chiang Mai also sell minivan seats, which are faster.
Sleep in Chiang Khong. By public bus you’ll arrive in the afternoon, so we’d stay one night and cross the next morning. Chiang Khong is a sleepy little town on the Mekong with cheap guesthouses and a nice riverside walk.
Tuk-tuk to the border. The Thai immigration building is about 20 minutes outside town. Get your exit stamp.
Cross the Friendship Bridge. You can’t walk across. Buy a ticket for the shuttle bus (around 20 THB), which leaves when it’s full.
Laos immigration. Fill in the visa on arrival form, hand over your passport, one passport photo and the fee, collect your visa at the next window and get stamped into Laos. Bring your own pen!
Head back. Get stamped out of Laos, take the shuttle back across the bridge and walk into Thai immigration for your new 30-day visa-exempt stamp. Complete your TDAC before this point (see below).
Bus back to Chiang Mai. Check the return times when you arrive in Chiang Khong, so you know how long you have.

Travel tip: cross on a weekday before 4 pm. Lao immigration charges a small overtime fee on weekends and outside office hours, and the bridge shuttle can stop running in the evening, even though the border itself stays open later.

WHAT TO CHECK BEFORE YOU GO

Passport valid for 6+ months, with at least one empty page for the Lao visa.
Complete the TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card) online before you re-enter Thailand. It replaced the paper arrival card, so the “fill in your departure card” tip from our old post no longer applies.
No overdue 90-day report. If you’ve been in Thailand long enough to need one, an overdue report can cause problems at the border and has its own fine. Sort it out before you leave.
Proof of funds and an onward ticket. Thai immigration can ask for evidence of sufficient funds (10,000 THB per person or 20,000 THB per family for most visa-exempt cases) and an onward ticket. You’ll probably not be asked, but have it ready.
Count your land entries for this calendar year. If this would be your third, a border run won’t give you a new visa-exempt stamp.
Cash: clean US dollars for the Lao visa, plus some baht for tuk-tuks and the shuttle.

WHEN IS A VISA RUN THE WRONG ANSWER?

Border runs are fine to bridge a few weeks. But if you’re planning to stay in Thailand for 6 months or more, they’re the wrong tool. You’ll run out of land entries, and officers are more likely to question someone with a long string of visa-exempt stamps.

DTV (Destination Thailand Visa): made for remote workers and long stays. It’s valid for 5 years with stays of up to 180 days per entry, extendable once for another 180 days. You need to show 500,000 THB in your bank account, and applications now also ask for a police clearance certificate. You generally have to apply from your home country (through the official Thai e-Visa website), so arrange it before you need a border run, not as a way around one.

ED visa: if you’d like to learn Thai, train Muay Thai or study something, an education visa gives you a renewable year in Thailand through an accredited school. Plenty of schools in Chiang Mai offer this.

And if you only need a few extra weeks, don’t forget the simplest option: one 30-day extension at the Chiang Mai immigration office.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT A VISA RUN FROM CHIANG MAI

How many border runs can I do per year?

Since 15 September 2026, most nationalities can enter Thailand visa-exempt over land only twice per calendar year. Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore are not subject to the limit. The count resets on 1 January. The official announcement doesn’t state a limit for air arrivals.

Can I still do a visa run to Myanmar?

No. The Mae Sai–Tachileik crossing has been closed to foreigners since mid-2024 because of the conflict in Shan State, with no confirmed reopening date. From Chiang Mai, go to Laos instead.

Can I do the visa run in one day or do I need to stay overnight?

With an organised van or a private car you can do Chiang Khong or Chiang Saen and back in one long day. By public bus it’s 6–7 hours each way to Chiang Khong, so we’d plan one night there.

Can I be refused re-entry into Thailand?

Yes. Immigration officers have discretion. Repeated visa-exempt entries, no proof of funds or no onward ticket can all lead to questions or a refusal. And after two visa-exempt land entries in a calendar year, a third won’t be granted visa-exempt.

Does a domestic flight count as a visa run?

No. A flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok or Phuket never leaves Thailand, so it doesn’t reset anything. A visa run by air means flying to another country, like Malaysia or Singapore, and back.

These rules change often and immigration officers have the final word. Always double-check with Thai Immigration (immigration.go.th, call centre 1178) before you travel.