Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing and analyzing the issue of Border Runs and the return thereof here to Thailand. For those who have been unaware, going back and it is really interesting, it feels like it was just yesterday that we were reporting on Border closures and Laos and Cambodia and everything associated with that and speculating on whether Borders Runs would ever come back. It does appear that they are coming back but understand there is some nuance to this analysis. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article in the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: One day Cambodian Visa runs restart from Pattaya. This is a pretty good article. There is a lot of information in there. I'm going to quote an excerpt, I urge those who are watching check it out in detail if you are interested in this in detail especially in a Pattaya to Cambodia context. In a broader context there are a few things to unpack here. Quoting directly: "After a hiatus of several years, Pattaya residents and tourists can now join minibus Visa Runs to Pong Nam Ron (Hot Water Spring) to extend their visit to Thailand without overnight stays. Tourists and Expats with a variety of renewable visas, or requiring a new 30-day visa exempt, are able to use the new service. However, foreigners who initially entered Thailand with a 15 days Visa on Arrival need a Cambodian Visa in advance and cannot be processed at Border posts without one." So again, it looks like Border Runs are returning, we are seeing this return. Now this is a double-edged sword so for some expats or prospective expats or just long-term tourists this may be great. In fact, I bet long term tourists that kind of want to traipse around the area, the region kind of go to Cambodia, check that out check out Laos, Myanmar, whatever, this may be really good news and I think it is in a general sense as well but again it could be a double-edged sword. As we have discussed in other videos, with the Emergency Decree coming to an end, I think it is very possible we could revert to the sort of paradigm that was the status quo ante before all this went down within Immigration which is look during all this, during the Emergency Decree, is was very difficult to get in and out of Thailand so Immigration Officers in Thailand were much more amenable to changes of status, extensions of status under situations that they otherwise wouldn't be all that sympathetic to. Now that Border Runs are again a possibility, I think there is a good chance that we are going to see a situation evolve where conversion of status, change of status, even extension of status may get more difficult in coming months and years than it has been in the last two and a half years roughly as a result of the Emergency Decree which gave extra discretionary powers to Thai Immigration officers. 

So something to think about. While on the one hand Border Runs may be a convenience for some, the knock-on effects to these changes in policies may cause inconvenience for others.