After being away to study then work in Peninsular Malaysia for a decade, I have found myself starting to appreciate those little things we have in Sarawak.
With effect from June 18 midnight, the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Bukit Kayu Hitam and Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Sadao have extended their operations to 24 hours.
Checkpoints at the new Bukit Kayu Hitam Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) Complex. Image credit to placesandfoods.com.
However, the 24-hour operations are for a three-month trial period and involves only cargo, as well as trucks and heavy vehicles carrying goods. For more information, read here.
We have yet to see if the operations will last in the long run, or whether or not Malaysian tourists who drive into Thailand will be able to benefit from the 24-hour operations.
Currently, tourists will be able to drive into Thailand via the Bukit Kayu Hitam-Sadao border between 6am and 12am Malaysian time (18 hours daily).
Since relocating back to Malaysia over a year ago, driving back and forth between Penang and Chumphon, Thailand – where the fiancee’s home is located, has pretty much become a regular thing to do.
I used to take Train 46, until I decided one day that I could no longer put up with wasting so much time waiting and transferring to get from Point A to Point B, and that it was time to put my new car to good use.
Anyway, for those crossing the Bukit Kayu Hitam border (otherwise known as the Danok border from the Thai side) by car for the first time, it can be a little apprehensive especially when you’re doing it alone with no one else in the car to help look or ask around. But don’t worry, so long as the necessary documents are in place, the whole process should usually be hassle-free.
Having driven a number of times between Malaysia and Thailand via the Bukit Kayu Hitam border, each time I would learn and get more and more familiar with how things should be done. Therefore, I just thought to summarise in this entry, the list of documents a Malaysian driver would need to prepare and the procedure to go through in order to do the Bukit Kayu Hitam border crossing into Sadao, the district bordering Malaysia’s Perlis in the Songkhla Province.
Before crossing the Bukit Kayu Hitam border, first of all it’s crucial to know when the border gate is open or close.
Please note that at the Bukit Kayu Hitam/Danok border, the opening time is 6am (Malaysian time) or 5am (Thailand time), while closing time is 12am (Malaysian time) or 11pm (Thailand time).
In June 2017, it was reported that the Malaysian and Thai immigration authorities at Bukit Kayu Hitam would extend operational time from the existing 18 hours to 20 hours, then 24 hours in stages. Unfortunately to date, there hasn’t been any progress yet.
For a Malaysian to drive or even ride into Thailand, below is the complete list of documents required at the Sadao Immigration Checkpoint (Thai side):
A. If vehicle is under your name:
TM2 Information of Conveyance Form – 2 copies | Download
TM3 Passenger List Form (only needed when there are passengers) – 2 copies | Download
TM6 Arrival/Departure Card
Passport – valid for at least 6 months
Malaysian Driving License or International Driving License
Original Grant/Vehicle Ownership Certificate (VOC) – you may request for it to be returned if it is with the bank
Simplified Customs Declaration Form
Road Tax (Sticker on Windscreen) – ensure it is not expired
Compulsory Motor Insurance (CMI)
B. If vehicle is NOT under your name:
TM2 Information of Conveyance Form – 2 copies | Download
TM3 Passenger List Form (only needed when there are passengers) – 2 copies | Download
TM6 Arrival/Departure Card
Passport – valid for at least 6 months
Malaysian Driving License or International Driving License
Grant/Vehicle Ownership Certificate (VOC) – or a certified true copy of either one
Authorisation letter from the vehicle’s owner and copy of the owner’s passport/identification card | Download sample letter
Simplified Customs Declaration Form
Road Tax (Sticker on Windscreen) – ensure it is not expired
Compulsory Motor Insurance (CMI)
Where to get some of the above-listed documents?
For TM2 Information of Conveyance Form and TM3 Passenger List Form (only if there are passengers with you), you may download and print them out. You need two copies each.
Below is how the TM2 form should be filed out, if you decide to do it yourself:
TM2 – Information of Conveyance Form
For TM6 Arrival/Departure Card, also popularly referred to as the “Thai immigration white card”, you can get an agent to fill it out for you inside Caltex at the Gurun R&R or at one of the restaurants cum rest areas beside the main road towards Bukit Hayu Hitam after Changlun.
They normally charge a small fee of RM2, or if you would like to get just the card and fill it out on your own, most agents would ask for RM1 when honestly, you can get it for free at the Sadao Immigration Checkpoint.
However, to avoid the hassle of having to get down from your vehicle just to ask for the TM6 card, I would advice you to get it beforehand. After all, the Sadao Immigration Checkpoint can get really busy and congested with vehicles especially during peak hours.
TM6 – Thailand Immigration Arrival/Departure Card
The Simplified Customs Declaration Form, also known as the temporary vehicle import and export form, will be generated and given to you at the Customs Declaration Counter, so you need not prepare this beforehand. I will explain more about this later.
As for the Compulsory Motor Insurance (CMI), you can purchase it from one of the agents in Changloon or at other areas of the Malaysian border for around RM20. This means that if you get into a road accident in Thailand, the CMI will cover a certain amount of medical compensation.
I once purchased the CMI in Danok after passing through the Sadao Immigration Checkpoint, but at a much more costly price of 350 baht. Later, I learned that there is a way cheaper and better alternative. More information on this below.
I’m Ken, a passionate traveller from Sarawak on the exotic island of Borneo. Currently a teacher in a rural town in Southern Thailand, from time to time I share on this blog my experiences teaching the kids and living a laid-back lifestyle here. With its focus on all things Thailand, mrdefinite.net also features a handful of stories about my travel adventures in other Asian countries.
