How long can i stay ?

[englishman]

Prior to my retirement I have always done two trips a year with each trip 30 days or less staying under the Visa exemption because I am from Canada.

Now having retired I can obviously stay a little longer ...but I am a little confused about how long within a specific period

Looking at the Thai visa site it states that you can only stay a total of 90 days within a 6 month period with a visa exemption...

So my question is ..If i get a 60 day tourist visa then does this rule apply ?

I will be in Thailand for all of October and November (60 days) I have not bothered with a 60 day tourist visa this time as I will be leaving mid way through for a side trip so I know my 30 day visa exemption will be renewed ( so to speak)

BUT I was planning on another trip for February and march...this would put me over the 90 days in 6 months ..but if I have a 60 day tourist visa for that trip ...would I  be ok ?

Any ideas anyone ...I have put in an email to the Thai consulate but still not reply

thanks all

[davidge]

The so-called 'rule' was referring to visa exempt entries only. It's not clear cut as some people have no issues whilst others have been flagged by the computer.

To play safe, you may want to avoid using visa exempt too often as you just never know if they may decide to say something. If you have a visa then you will be fine.

One thing about the November side trip, if it's very short it may raise suspicions & if you use a land border rather than flying it may also raise suspicions. At one point they were only giving 15 days at land crossings but I 'think' that's stopped now? Someone else can confirm.

So, to sum up, you shouldn't have any problems but no 100% guarantees as it depends on immigration.

Another option would be to get a METV. If you think it's going to be a regular thing you can even get an O-A. Both these rather depend on your circumstances.

As I said, you are unlikely to have problems anyway.

[englishman]

Thanks for taking the time to reply..

I have seen a few articles on the net ..Most Old... that the 90 day rule was cancelled ..but it still shows on the Thai consulate web site ?  your right it's very confusing

thanks again

eman

[Yahooka]

Unfortunately many Thai consulates have outdated information..............and unfortunately the same goes for immigration officers at some border crossings .

[Grumbler]

my understanding, which may be out of date, is that coming in and going out by air is much more favourably treated.

But i only do 2 60 day visas with 30 day extension per year.

The thinking behind it is i think, that only scummy bar owners and english teachers without work permits don't have enough money to fly in and out.

In the old days scummy english teachers (i was one) would go to Vientiene by land for 2 days and night to get a fresh visa, this is probably not possible now.

An aside: pleasantly surprised getting my extra 30 days on Monday. the Jomtien office has been re-organized. took less than an hour. Stupid me forgot the "prove where you stay" form requirement, luckily had an apartment receipt in my kit, filled out the form mostly wrongly, obviously not signed by the hotel/room manager (left it blank), didn't matter, the receipt seemed to satisfy them.

The scavenger/ripoff girl in the shop there offers to do it for you for 200 baht, i guess she just makes it all up and forges a signature.

Also was 2 days over expiry, but because it was the weekend there was no extra charge, so if your visa expires on a friday, you can extend on monday for no extra, might be worth knowing.

 

[wadman]

I too have a Canadian passport.  So far, in 2017, I have done:

Stay 30 days, then extend visa at immigration office in bangkok for another 30 days

After that, do a border run to Cambodia, which gets me another 30 days.

After that, extend my visa at Jomtien immigration office for another 30 days.

After that, fly out to Kuala Lumpur (for 10 days), re-enter Thailand, visa is good for another 30 days

After that, extend my visa at Jomtien immigration office for another 30 days.

Fly out to China (for about 2 months).  And now I am back in Thailand.

[Grumbler]

6 hours ago, wadman said:

I too have a Canadian passport.  So far, in 2017, I have done:

Stay 30 days, then extend Visa at immigration office in bangkok for another 30 days

After that, do a border run to Cambodia, which gets me another 30 days.

After that, extend my Visa at Jomtien immigration office for another 30 days.

After that, fly out to Kuala Lumpur (for 10 days), re-enter Thailand, Visa is good for another 30 days

After that, extend my Visa at Jomtien immigration office for another 30 days.

Fly out to China (for about 2 months).  And now I am back in Thailand.

some of that sounds a bit odd if you don't mind me saying.

30 day visa for Canadians? 60 days is the norm, never heard of a 30 day visa.

A border run to Cambodia won't get you a new Visa, an entry stamp for 14 days normally, used to 30 days, have they changed it back?

You can't extend an entry stamp at an immigration office.

You confused me, i hope you are not confusing others, accurate Visa info can be quite important at times.

[mbamber]

7 minutes ago, Grumbler said:

some of that sounds a bit odd if you don't mind me saying.

30 day Visa for Canadians? 60 days is the norm, never heard of a 30 day Visa.

A border run to Cambodia won't get you a new Visa, an entry stamp for 14 days normally, used to 30 days, have they changed it back?

You can't extend an entry stamp at an immigration office.

You confused me, i hope you are not confusing others, accurate Visa info can be quite important at times.

I think he means he lands and gets a 30 day Visa exemption stamp. Which allows 29 nights Thailand.

[davidge]

10 minutes ago, Grumbler said:

some of that sounds a bit odd if you don't mind me saying.

30 day Visa for Canadians? 60 days is the norm, never heard of a 30 day Visa.

A border run to Cambodia won't get you a new Visa, an entry stamp for 14 days normally, used to 30 days, have they changed it back?

You can't extend an entry stamp at an immigration office.

You confused me, i hope you are not confusing others, accurate Visa info can be quite important at times.

As mbamber says, wadman must mean he comes in on the 30-day Visa Exempt Entry. The latest I read is this CAN now be extended for a further 30 days at Immigration.

Getting 15 or 30 at a land crossing seems to change on a regular basis! It sounds like at least at some crossings for some nationalities it’s back to 30 days.

There are still people doing frequent visa exempt entries with no problems. Others are pulled up at the airport and told to get a visa next time.

No real hard & fast rule that is consistently applied.

[wadman]

5 hours ago, Grumbler said:

some of that sounds a bit odd if you don't mind me saying.

30 day Visa for Canadians? 60 days is the norm, never heard of a 30 day Visa.

A border run to Cambodia won't get you a new Visa, an entry stamp for 14 days normally, used to 30 days, have they changed it back?

You can't extend an entry stamp at an immigration office.

You confused me, i hope you are not confusing others, accurate Visa info can be quite important at times.

Yes, as others have already pointed out, the initial entries were not on a visa.  They were visa exempt entries, good for a 30 days stay.

When I did my border run to Cambodia in March 2017, I got an entry stamp for 30 days.  You can see that the immigration office on that stamp is: N6 Nam Ron (as opposed to the usual Suvarnabhumi).  And yes, I extended that in Jomtien for another 30 days.  Both stamps can be seen in the photo attached.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dave01]

To answer the OP's Question.  There really is no definitive answer. You may get away with what you are doing indefinitely, or the next time you try entering you may get chatted, and told to obtain the appropriate visa for what you intend. It depends.

Strictly speaking, you are abusing the Visa Exemption. BUT you are being allowed to do so. So that is not on you, but rather on Thai Immigration.. And that is why people get confused, because Thai Immigration is anything but consistent with the enforcement and interpretation of their own rules.   Some come and go as they like, and others may get pulled on their 2nd visit...The Visa Exempt scheme is not meant to be used as a vehicle to stay for extended periods in the Kingdom, even taking into account short side trips to other countries.  They set up the METV for exactly that purpose.

I am not having a dip at the OP, but the best advice I think, is obtain the visa that is applicable to what you want to do in the place. The Visa Exemption is really for people who want a short holiday to Thailand, even though, as I wrote earlier, the Thais themselves allow for the abuse of the scheme. The only problem with that is that without warning, they will do something completely different tomorrow... who knows?  Depending on VE's, whilst doable, is really playing Russian Roulette. There WILL come a time when you come across a pissed off/over officious Immigration Officer, who will just say  "No".

Good Luck.

[usexpat46]

If you're over 50 why not get the retirement extension?