Visa runs now illegal or restricted in Thailand after November 2025?

Thailand government officials declared the following warning in November 2025

Thailand’s Immigration Bureau has intensified border inspections targeting foreigners who abuse visa-exemption policies, dismissing claims the crackdown will harm legitimate tourism. Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengron Rimphadee, immigration bureau spokesperson, said Monday that officers at land and air checkpoints have stepped up scrutiny of travelers making repeated short-term entries.

However it appears related to the border war with criminals from Cambodia and Myanmar:

Thailand's Immigration Bureau has launched four measures to prevent foreigners from entering the Kingdom as tourists but engaging in cybercrime, grey businesses, money laundering, gang activities, or being lured into forced work, as these activities pose serious threats to economic stability, social security, and public welfare.

1. Tightening the screening of 90-day visa-exempt entries repeatedly used as visa runs without returning to one's home country. Foreigners are capped at two visa runs; those with more visa runs without valid reasons will be denied entry at both international airports and border checkpoints. Since early 2025, the Immigration Bureau has refused entry to about 2,900 foreigners with similar patterns.

2. Blocking foreigners on border-area watchlists, such as in Mae Sot, Tak, areas known for scammer activity. Foreigners previously denied entry or pushed back at the Mae Sot–Myawaddy border will be denied entry again if they attempt to re-enter Thailand.

3. Tightening screening for extensions of stay by provincial immigration offices. If a visa-run pattern is detected, the Immigration Bureau will refuse the extension request or cancel the visa, followed by deportation.

Lawyers also warned visa runs can be "illegal" after these announcements.

The “visa run” in Thailand: legal analysis, risks of illegality, and alternatives that comply with Thai law

Recent administrative guidelines have imposed strict limits on land entries and introduced enhanced digital monitoring of travel patterns. Repeated visa runs are now likely to trigger automated alerts, resulting in immediate refusal of entry under the Immigration Act B.E. 2522. In severe cases, travelers face the real threat of being added to internal watchlists, detained, or banned from entry. Officers retain extensive discretion, so apparent compliance provides no real guarantee of success.

Currently are visa runs illegal for foreigners in Thailand? Or what examples of visa runs are considered illegal or restricted, or present risk for being "detained" or "banned" after November 2025?

First up, a "visa run" is by definition kind of dodgy, because you're intentionally circumventing the stay limit instead of legally extending your visa or switching to a long-term visa. So it's never been fully "legal" to visa run in the first place, and Thailand's been running hot and cold on visa runs for as long as I can remember, periodically announcing crackdowns and then slowly loosening up.

That said, the line between "visa run" (bad) and a "weekend trip across the border" (fine) is fuzzy, and the intent of the crackdowns is to stop blatant abuse, especially people working illegally on tourist visas. If you're a bona fide tourist hopping across the border to renew your visa for the first time, you have little to worry about, and the article you quote even spells out that "foreigners are capped at two visa runs". This doesn't mean you're entitled to two, only that you're assumed to be up to no good by the time you hit three. Having documents to back up being a genuine tourist, in particular a flight ticket out of Thailand within the next 90 days, is helpful at establishing your bona fides if questioned.