Caldera

It's an official procedure with official requirements and an officially numbered form (TM86, TM87). There really isn't anything extraordinary about it that makes it much different from applying for an extension.

You will need to explain why issuing a non-immigrant visa is MORE at the discretion of the officer than issuing an extension. In both cases, there's an official set of requirements that need to be met. And in both cases, there can be extra requirements imposed by the immigration office you use. I don't see any difference really.

Realistically, people affected by this rogue interpretation of the rules have two options. Either use an agent, or do a border bounce to gain extra time to season the money. I don't think reporting them will go anywhere, as each Thai government office is basically being run like a fiefdom. They get away with it and they know it.

With your recent immigration history, anything could happen when you attempt to enter visa exempt by air another time in the near future. Staying out for a week and having a ticket to the UK within 30 days from entering Thailand would greatly improve your chances in case of being questioned. If I were you, I'd consider a border bounce by land instead. For your future plans, as others have said, getting a METV in the UK would be the best solution to stay longer.

Time for the dinosaurs to ride into the sunset.

Booking an onward ticket and downloading the confirmation literally takes a few minutes. As for being prepared, you need to have internet connectivity and credit card details ready, that's it. It's not quite clear where they asked you. At the gate? That would be stressful, but still doable. It's more likely to be asked when checking in though.

There's no hard limit, but repeatedly flying out and back in without much time spent outside of Thailand certainly increases the risk of attracting scrutiny. Can't you at least make a holiday out of it instead of flying back in on the same day? You're pretty much begging for an IO to take an interest in you.

Maybe it's time that the Chinese are granted visa exempt entry, instead of milking them for visa fees.

Very saddening. RIP Joe. Both the quality of the help he's provided to so many over the years and his patience will be sadly missed.

Yes, same as with any other visa exempt entry.

Today and tomorrow are public holidays in Thailand. Try on Monday.

I was just offered a free trial for six months and signed up for it. Afterwards it will be 19 baht per month. For my first food delivery order after signing up, I saved 20 baht in delivery fees. That in itself would already have paid for the monthly subscription fee. For the time being, it seems to be well worth it for regular users. Only time will tell what will happen once they've persuaded enough people to subscribe though.

The noose is tightening. His New York trial will soon be the least of his worries.

Phuket Police investigating Phuket Police, what could possibly go wrong! ????

I like the man, but given his age, I think he should have decided to retire after his first term. I can see how you'd like to cling to the office, and especially considering who the successor might be, but still, it's a disappointing decision.

Correct. As long as as she doesn't want to spend more than 90 days in Thailand consecutively, there's nothing further to do.

Yes, unless you have a longterm extension and a re-entry permit.

So they hassled more than 100 bona fide tourists and netted zero overstayers. What a great way to make tourists feel welcome, while doing absolutely nothing to keep the country safe.

I see the Thai police farce is making the headlines again. They can't seem to stay out for more than a few weeks, there's always a fresh scandal just around the corner.

Yeah you can get lucky, they tend to be lazy and don't really want to do the extensive paperwork. How did the Cambodians react to this though? Considering that you had to go back to get your exit stamp canceled. Twice. Did they extract any money from you?

If you've been to Thailand as a tourist only, then why do you want or need to do a Thai police check? Did you do anything bad and think there might be an outstanding warrant for your arrest? Checking for this would be a different kind of check.

No, they don't do that anymore.

Did you attempt to re-enter Thailand at that land border, but were denied entry and had to go back to Cambodia? That's what this stamp indicates anyway. It doesn't mean you're banned from entering Thailand, but having that stamp in your passport certainly doesn't help.

Does that opinion have any basis in fact? If someone is eligible for visa exempt entry, such as the OP who is a German national, why do you think they can't re-enter visa exempt overland once the multi-entry visa has expired?

Same for me, I'd much prefer HCMC over Penang and make it a holiday, not just a one day bounce. Our OP Simon is a Brit, so he's eligible for Vietnam's visa exempt program.