Visa run and border run

A visa run or border run is a brief trip out of the country and back in order to "restart the clock" on one's allowed period of stay, where it would otherwise have expired. This is a way to extend a holiday journey beyond that allowed on a tourist visa or on a visa-free stay. Many foreign citizens, who work or live in a country where it is difficult or not possible to extend a visa — will be familiar with such trips.

In some cases, a visa run is necessary to activate new visas or change the immigration status of a person. An example would be leaving a country and then returning immediately to activate a newly issued work visa before a person can legally work.

For example, a foreigner working in Maputo, Mozambique, can get a 1-month visa on entry to the country very easily, but extending this is not an option. So the trick for many is to take the short car journey into South Africa (where citizens of many countries can enter without a visa), do some shopping and then return, picking up a new Mozambique visa on the way.

In some communities (especially when most people can enter also on visa exemption) the terms border run or border bounce are used for hopping out briefly, while a visa run typically involves going to an embassy or consulate to process a new visa.

Visa runs are frowned upon by immigration authorities as such acts may signify that the foreigner wishes to reside permanently and might also work in that country; purposes that visitors are prohibited from engaging in and usually require an immigrant visa or a work visa. Immigration officers may deny re-entry to visitors suspected of engaging in prohibited activities, especially when they have done repeated visa runs and have no evidence of spending reasonable time in their home countries or countries where they have the right to reside and work.

To combat visa runs, some countries have limits on how long visitors can spend in the country without a visa, as well as how much time they have to stay out before "resetting the clock". For example, the Schengen Area (much of Europe) imposes a maximum limit for visitors of 90 days in any 180-day period, for all the area. Some countries do not "reset the clock" when a visitor comes back after visiting a neighbouring country. For example, the United States does not give visitors a new period of stay when they come back from visiting another country in North America; instead they are readmitted to the United States for the remaining days granted on their initial entry. Some other countries, e.g. Thailand, allow visitors only a limited number of visa exemptions when arriving by land (2 per calendar year in this case).

• Try to spend at least a day out of the country on your border run. The longer you stay outside of the country, the more lenient border officers will be.
• Try to do other activities while outside of your main country: go for shopping, visit some other places, so that your trip does not become a tedious repetitive bureaucratic duty.
• Get informed – regularly check forums where long-term expats talk about the rules and various problems they have encountered.
• Read the official rules from an immigration department or a ministry of foreign affairs. The information can sometimes be unclear, but making yourself entitled to the visa according to official instructions is at least a good start.
• Make sure to get your passport stamped on exit and entry. On some borders passports aren't stamped unless you insist on it.

• Border crossing
• Visa trouble