Hi all, I entered Thailand recently with a 60 day visa, but at the border they gave me an import document for the bike which states that it has to be re-exported within 30 days. When I queried this I was told "no problem". Now, when an official tells me "no problem" in this offhand way then, being the pessimist that I am, I assume that it will be a problem when I try to leave. In fact, my plan is to extend my visa for another 30 days. Can anybody please enlighten me as to the actual situation, i.e. it is or isn't a problem and if it is, where can I go to get it fixed. I perused the GTR web site, but there is only mention of importing bikes for residents, not temp import. Thanks in advance, Peter.
Peter You should be able extend the bike import till the length of your visa, up to a maximum of 6 mths at a time. Go to your local / nearest customs office & ask for extension - out to the end of your visa. When you're visa is up, ride out & come back in with the bike to start all over again. I know of a couple of guys who have had their bike in the country for a few years like this & they just rotate the border crossings.
David is exactly correct. Your bike is permitted here for thirty days by law. If you overstay on the bike for a total of two months, the fine is 1000 baht. If you overstay three months up to five months the fine stops at a maximum of 2000 baht. If you overstay more than six months, they will start using the word seize, and ask where your bike is......Instead of hopping to borders every month, I just wait until 5 months and then go. I have done this for several years on my KTM. So no problem for you getting out of Laos?
Thanks for that clarification. Yes, no major problem getting out of Laos. I think I posted that elsewhere...? Kind regards, Peter.
The 1 Million Baht question has been answered. Thanks Robert. I take it you did not have a Carnete for your 950 when you air shipped it to Bangkok. Have you taken it to other countries besides Thailand, Laos and Cambodia? Has it been to Malaysia and Indonesia without a carnete? Now I just need to find a shipper to air frieght my bike that does not want 4k for a door to door sea shipment. :evil: Happy New Year GT Riders. Biggus
Went to Nathon Customs, made it past the dog sleeping on the steps into the office - and back out: nobody home. Once I did find a pretty young customs lady, though, she seemed to know what she was doing and pulled some forms out of a drawer and I had another 30 days in short order. She explained that I have to visit another customs office for another 30 days extension. I coudln't talk her into giving me 60 days. Cost: 0. Quite amazing, seeing that they probably don't get many foreign vehicles on the island at all.
I thought I understood it all, but here is a follow-on question: Looks like I might stay in Mae Sot to do voluntary work. So, once my tourist visa is up I can do three visa runs to Myawaddy, but I don't think I can take the bike out there. Having left and re-entered the country without the bike, can I still get an extension? Or am I breaking the law by leaving without the bike?
Went to the border today for my visa run, so I'm now answering my own question: No problem whatsoever. However, at this border it's the border post that does the processing of the extension, not the head office where I went first. They did take the papers there to be signed by the big boss, though, but I waited in the border office. They made one mistake, apparently: I have a 30 day entry stamp, but they extended my bike permit by 3 months. That's just fine by me...
A few minutes after I typed the above two customs people from the border turned up at my guest house for some more form filling. Somebody had spotted the mistake they made and they took my form away to change it to one month permitted extension. Bummer. They explained that I was the first person in two years to use this procedure here and that the computer in Bangkok spat the paperwork back at them. Perhaps I shouldn't have stated the correct guest house where I was staying... Then again it may have saved me a lot of trouble when leaving. I'll never know.
