Thailand temporary import permit

[exploringimpact]

Any up to date info help on the following would be much appreciated!

I'm being told I need to get a TIP for a motorcycle I'm shipping to Thailand, despite having a carnet. Is that the case? I think it is but just double-checking.

I'm being quoted $600 for the processing of the TIP. Is that more or less in line with what's being charged?

And now for the hard question: I'm being told to provide an actualized, up to date inspection certificate from the country the bike is registered in (Ireland), plus evidence of motor tax paid, which I won't be able to do as have been away from the country for 2 years... Would anyone know if this is in fact required?


THANK YOU

[Snakeboy]

A TIP is certainly required for Thailand as for many other countries. But it is free of charge and whoever quoted you 600 $ for this is a huge scammer and you should avoid him as the plauge!

Thailand is not a Carnet demanding country so even though some travellers have had their Carnets stamped its really not neccesary or required and has no lelegal points to have it stamped.

For the other requrements you mention I have never heard about such requirements. But Thailand is sometimes a very difficult land to deal with when it comes to such things as temporary vehicle import. Maybe better to fly the bike to Malaysia? After all its just a days ride from Kuala Lumpur to the thai border?

There is a dedicated facebookgroup for overland travels for Thailand.

[exploringimpact]

Thank you Snakeboy!
Much appreciated!

[SeniGreg]

Originally Posted by Snakeboy

A TIP is certainly required for Thailand as for many other countries. But it is free of charge and whoever quoted you 600 $ for this is a huge scammer and you should avoid him as the plauge!

When I entered Thailand in October I was quoted USD 800 for same day carnet processing. Payable after arrival in Thailand. Yesterday for 10 days processing to enter Thaialand I was quoted 10 days time.

The maximum length of a TIP is 30 days but I handled the renewal myself for free despite agent asking $350.


The problem seems to be when and how to get the TIP. I could no info from customs guys at Bukit Kayu Hitam
(Major Thai Border crossing). They just gave me the WhatsApp number of some agents and closed their windows.
Thailand is not a Carnet demanding country so even though some travellers have had their Carnets stamped its really not neccesary or required and has no lelegal points to have it stamped.

For the other requrements you mention I have never heard about such requirements. But Thailand is sometimes a very difficult land to deal with when it comes to such things as temporary vehicle import. Maybe better to fly the bike to Malaysia? After all its just a days ride from Kuala Lumpur to the thai border?

There is a dedicated facebookgroup for overland travels for Thailand.[/QUOTE]

[SeniGreg]

So does anybody know what the ‘normal’ agent fee is to cover one month Temporary Import Permit to Thailand.

The guy I used last time is now quoting USD 500. Perhaps because he knows I know how to get the extra 30 days renewal free.

[Snakeboy]

You will get a TIP at the custom office when you cross the border into Thailand and it is free of charge. There is no need for an agent to do this. If you still let an agent do this he or she can charge whatever they want for that job….

[SeniGreg]

Originally Posted by Snakeboy

You will get a TIP at the custom office when you cross the border into Thailand and it is free of charge. There is no need for an agent to do this. If you still let an agent do this he or she can charge whatever they want for that job….

First time crossed into thailsamd from malsysisa ib stuipidly thought I could use a carnet.i also was missing an exit stamp from Malaysia so the Thai the customs officer gave me a list of agents to give 'fast' help.

Since then I realised might have misunderstood something. she gave me the list becauase they were all people who could get me into Thailand at the next checkpoint along within 4 hours that day. rather than 4-5 days getting TIP normal way.

live and learn because 3 hours later I was legally in Thailand and have since crossed Thai/cambodia with additional 30 extensions given for free in both at countries - no attempt at graft any all. Alsop crossed Lao /THAiland using agent services but my experioence showed me DIY m might be possible.

[pakohan]

Which border did you enter from Malaysia?

How much did it cost you?

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[beyondlimits]

A few years back when I first entered Thailand on my motorbike, I also had some confusion around the TIP requirements. One agent at the border quoted me a ridiculous fee just to process it, when as others have pointed out, it can be done for free directly with customs. My advice would be to go straight to the customs office when you arrive rather than dealing with outside agents. Most people in the FB group should be able to provide more specific guidance too. Safe travels!

[SeniGreg]

Originally Posted by beyondlimits

A few years back when I first entered Thailand on my motorbike, I also had some confusion around the TIP requirements. One agent at the border quoted me a ridiculous fee just to process it, when as others have pointed out, it can be done for free directly with customs. My advice would be to go straight to the customs office when you arrive rather than dealing with outside agents. Most people in the FB group should be able to provide more specific guidance too. Safe travels!

Just to be clear, in December 2023 the Thai Customs officials at Bukit Kayu Hitam (largest Malaysia-Thai border crossing) INSISTED I use an agent to obtain the TIP (helpfully giving me the agent’s contacts - same day was USD 800 and 5 days was USD 500 according to the agent. The same applied at another crossing in the National Park 2 hours away.

There needs to be some approval letter from Department of Transportation in Bangkok PRIOR to issuance of the TIP. Therefore you cannot just rock up to the border and get your TIP.

[Lonerider]

9w6vx crossed at that border crossing on the 20th May 2024, TIP was issued at the border and there was no mention of a usd 800 agent fee.

Of course the customs will tell you to use one an agent if they can get away with it...he probably gets a cut!

I am sure 9w6vx will be along to correct me if I am wrong!

Wayne

[9w6vx]

I crossed into Sadao, Thailand on 20/5/2024 at Bukit Kayu Hitam on my Malaysian registered bike and had no issues with the TIP.
No money required.
TIP is valid for 30 days.

When I was at Nong Khai on 10/6/2024 to renew my TIP, the customs officials were adamant that I crossed the border into Laos to get another 30 days.
I did not want to go to Laos and got the TIP renewed after speaking to a immigration officer who spoke English and directed me to the proper counter. No fee required.
I am sure the Customs officers wanted me to cross into Laos so that they could get an agent to facilitate the paperwork and charge me for it.
I was actually pissed at the Customs officers there as they were rude and unhelpful.
My TIP was not due yet so my Plan B was to go to the Customs station at Nakhom Phanom.

I crossed back into Malaysia at Sadao, Thailand/Bukit Kayu Hitam, Malaysia border crossing on 26/6/2024. I returned the TIP back to the Thai Customs officer and she didn't even look at the form.

[pakohan]

This topic is interesting to me as it is confusing. I entered Thailand twice on my German registered motorcycle, and I wanna share some thoughts since I think it might help someone in the future. Here's what I learned, believe to know, and assume:

Preamble

There're the laws and those might differ from the processes the border agents follow. There are government websites that might be outdated. This might lead to arguing between people that read the official information and then followed the protocol and the people that were just lucky. Some feel uncomfortable trying their luck while others have the mindset of "worst that can happen is I get sent back".

My experiences

The first time I showed up at the Thai border I didn't really know about the problem. As soon as the officer found out my bike is registered in Germany he showed me a sign stating that I need a document I didn't have, but he was quite helpful. When he found out I have a Carnet, I got it stamped, got the TIP, and then entered the country. Getting the exit stamp on my Carnet was a bit of a discussion, but the customs officer was like "yeah, whatever" and stamped it eventually.

After extending my visa I was even able to extend my TIP at the customs office in Bangkok.

The second time I showed up at the Thai border I tried to wing it another time, but on the evening before crossing I found a Facebook post of a guy that crossed the border two weeks prior and wrote about an agent where he was able to get the TIP within minutes. I went there was well and can confirm that it works, I only paid RM11, a little over 2€.

Before entering the first time I had an insurance ready that was still valid before I entered the second time. The first time I entered from Laos (Chong Mek), the second time I entered from Malaysia (Wang Prachan).

The official rules

The department of land transport (DLT) defines rules that someone who wants to enter has to follow. Customs at the border makes sure, that those rules are met. Those rules clearly state that an agent has to apply for the permit from the DLT via the Foreign Vehicle Permit System. The rules remind me of what I had to go through when I crossed China. It is very detailed and clearly written, even covers which driving licenses can be used, and how many agency vehicles must guide the group.

However, there are exceptions to who needs to have this DLT permit:

• Vehicles from countries with road transport agreements include Malaysia, Singapore and Lao PDR
• Local vehicles are vehicles from countries with which there is no agreement on road transport, such as Cambodia and Myanmar, which are brought in and out through land border crossings for regular business purposes, such as purchasing consumer goods, medical treatment, education, etc.

Here's my assumption: it worked for me because both times I entered from Laos and Malaysia, meaning most other vehicles crossing these border don't need the DLT permit. My case of crossing on a vehicle not registered in the countries I was crossing from was such a small exception that the customs officers there are just not used to handling that exception. They might be thinking: vehicles entering from Laos / Malaysia don't need it.

Could it be that most people that had to go through the proper process of entering tried to do so by entering from Cambodia? As the rules state, only "local vehicles", for example meaning a pickup truck bringing a few crates of bananas regularly from Cambodia to Thailand, doesn't include all vehicles from Cambodia, so border officers there are used to demanding the DLT permit regularly.

So, to wrap up: enter from Laos, rather than from Cambodia. Have the insurance ready and use small borders. The TIP I got at the border was the one I got from the agent in Malaysia before entering the second time. Could it be that in Laos (and even Cambodia) there are other insurance agents that issue that TIP immediately?

Just tell me how to get in

From Laos

• Have the insurance and Carnet ready
• Show up at Chong Mek Border
• Play nice, pay a bribe of 200THB

From Malaysia

• Visit the insurance guy before the border
• Show up at Wang Prachan Border

Extending the TIP

• Extend your visa
• Extend your TIP at the customs office in Bangkok

Useful links

• Post about my first crossing
• Post about my second crossing
• Customs website with rules
• DLT rules

P.S.
Please help me ordering my thoughts and let me know in a nice way when I made a mistake. Maybe I missed something really obvious. I'm not a native English speaker and prone to overlooking information.

Thailand doubled the stay length for visa free countries on July 16th, 2024 from 30 to 60 days. I'd be interested to know whether that applies to the TIP as well.

[Snakeboy]

Thanks for your thorough write-up Pakohan, much appricited!

Since I both have had my norwegian plated bike in Thailand for several extended time periods, and also have been following the overlander scene for many years and also have spent quite some time in Thailand (also owning a motorbike in Thailand/thai plated) in addition to have done an extended RTW trip on a bike - I think I am able to shed some light on this subject/issue. Or at least my thought about this issue.

I am also not a native english speaker so some spelling and grammar errors can be present as some misunderstandings along the way. Please let me be excused if such errors or misunderstandings occurs.

First of all - all what you write is more or less correct.

Firstly - vehicles from Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore do indeed have an easier way of crossing the respective borders as those countries have an agreement that makes bordercrossing easier for vehicles registrated in those respective countries. So such vehiceles are except from the general rule.

Secondly - as many of us know Thailand introduced new laws and regulations back in 2016 which stated that vehicels from all other countries than the above mentioned needed local thai guides with the correct liceences and an decent amount of permits to cross into Thailand (local transportation from Cambodia and Myanmar was and is ok) But for European and American etc plated vehicles and all other countries too with the above mentioned exceptions - needed guides and permits!

So how was this enforced back then? And now we are getting close to the real core of this issue/subject (IMHO it is at least)

Each and every bordercrossing enforced this……. differently! TIT - this is Thailand! Expect the unexpected! This goes for the other countries in the region as well to be honest. Every bordercrossing, every borderstaff-officer interprets the rules at their liking. So it is with the enforcing of different rules and laws as well. Its not like in Europe or Amerias or Down Under or in Aotearoa where every bordercrossing and every officer follows the same rules and enforces those rules in the same way. In Thailand its different - at one bordercrossing they will demand this and that, its not always according the «western» understanding of rules and laws - but it is what it is. At the next bordercrossing it can be totally different. Because they interpret and enforce rules and laws quite subjectivly - and to their own liking and possibly to their own benefits…

My guess is that those travellers who have been demanded to pay an agent to organise a TIP have been to some extend victims of bordercrossings and officers who might interpret the rules and laws their own way. Maybe its still the guide and permit thing that lingers on - because that rule is still valid to this day AFAIK at least. It just havent been enforced very diligently lately post -Covid. Maybe the border officers interpret the rule/law in a way so that they think if a traveller on a foreign plated bike get a TIP organised via an agent its good enough for the guide/permit rule? Thats my guess at least….

[Snakeboy]

Originally Posted by Yassine

Hi guys !

first thank you for your messages ! really helpful.

So in summary:

If entering with an EU registered bike from cambodia or from laos without CDP, you must get an agency.
Is that correct ?

No not correct. I dont think you understood what I wrote above. Each and every bordercrossing is DIFFERENT! They interpret and enforce rules and laws differently - thus there is no clear and obvious way of telling «how to cross from Cambodia to Thailand on and EU-plated bike»

I suggest you try one of the smaller bordercrossings, for example the O’Smach - Chong Chom bordercrossing 2-3 hours riding north of Siem Reap. It used to be a very relaxed crossing back in the days and I belive it still is.
If the borderstaff tell you that you need to be going through and agency - then try another crossing.

Because as I wrote above - each and every bordercrossing interpret and enforces laws and rules differently……