kimmywest1568

I am a US citizen and lived in Thailand from last December until this October.  I rented a condo in Bangkok on a one-year lease.  I came in on a 30-day exempt visa and did 30-day extensions followed by visa runs -- 2 by land and the rest by air.  My border runs were primarily via Malaysia, although I did do one in Cambodia (which was almost problematic, but I got past it). 

Not once did the immigration officer even flinch before stamping my passport -- not on a 30-day renewal, nor on a visa run.  Maybe I got lucky, but I did it.  Effortlessly.  

I've done several visa runs via Malaysia using both Penang and KL, both land and air.

As long as you stay overnight, immigration shouldn't give you a hard time, even when doing a run to get another 30-day exempt visa stamp.  (Note:  only two land runs per calendar year, although you can do land outbound, as long as inbound is by air).

I've done this several times over the past year, and I have not encountered any issues with immigration.

The key is to stay overnight

OK, so we do a visa run and get a new entry stamp, what then?

I realize the risk of having to send our passports to the US to obtain the necessary visas, assuming this is even possible.

But what about if we send our passports to DC, ask for visa stamps inside the US (via US mail, which from what I've read is acceptable), and ultimately have them sent to my US address, which would be stamped with a US entry?  Would this route help pave the way for obtaining a 6 to 12 month tourist visa if the new US visa stamp is done in DC, for example; and we obtain the newly stamped passports via our US address, sent to our Thailand address?

Many thanks for your replies.

So, if we opt for the visa runs, how long could we do that without getting in the crosshairs of legality?

We want to do this right.  We are tourists, but we want to spend more time in Thailand as part of our travels.

I read on an earlier post that holding a multiple-entry visa -- vs. a single-entry visa -- reduces the requirement for financial disclosure.

Granted, we have enough $ for self sufficiency while in Thailand, but not enough to qualify for a retirement visa -- yet.

7 hours ago, quadperfect said:

You have already done what is possible before.

There is no magic visa. 

Visa runs. Best option still.

Thanks so much!  

Question:  I read on another forum string that, for tourist visas (multiple entries), such visa eliminates the need to provide financial disclosure.

So, how does a multiple entry visa fit into the scenario I described?  

Certainly I'm OK with visa runs -- we're already in Thailand, and our exempt visas are only about 10 days old (at most).  I'm just trying to figure out a way to obtain a longer-term tourist visa but without leaving the country; for example, by utilizing a US (DC) Thai embassy to do so.  Alternatively, to obtain such services (or as intermediary) by going to the US Embassy in Thailand.

Many thanks to all for your commentary.

For those of you who are fellow US citizens, please let me know if the following is plausible:

Going through the Royal Thai Embassy in DC, where long-term tourist visa applications can be submitted and processed via mail to RTC-DC and then sent to a US address.  Mail processing is a viable option according to the website.

I have a US mail forwarding address whereby I can give instructions and pay for the visas to be sent to us to a Thailand address.

The scenario I pose isn't to circumvent anything; rather, I pose it as a legal, alternative solution.

Here's are some links:  http://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/tourist-visas/ 

http://thaiembdc.org/tourist-visa-category-tr-multiple-metv/

Excerpt:

"

Submitting application:
1. In person

between 9am.-12pm. , no appointment needed
Consular Office
Royal Thai Embassy
2300 Kalorama Rd., N.W.
Washington,D.C .20008-1623

2. By mail

(except nationalities and passport holders of the following 13 countries: Nigeria, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Ghana, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan. Applicants from the listed countries must apply in person only, and present original resident alien card or US visa)

application must include self-addressed return envelope only by these following mail service
” USPS (US Postal Service) Express Mail ”  use only flat rate mailing envelope with $24.70

postage stamp (Metered stamps will not be accepted)
Mailing address:
Consular Office
Royal Thai Embassy
2300 Kalorama Rd., N.W.
Washington,D.C 20008-1623

***The Royal Thai Embassy do not accept any responsibility for any damage or loss***

Extension of stay: Those who wish to stay longer or may wish to change their type of visa must file an application for permission at the Office of Immigration Bureau located on Soi Suan Plu, off South Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120, Tel (662) 287-3101 to 10 or at http://www.immigration.go.th The extension of stay as well as the change of certain type of visa is solely at the discretion of the Immigration officer."

We flew from the US to Bangkok (via air BKK) and are currently on a 30-day exempt tourist visa.  In the past, we've extended our visa for another 30 days.  After that, we'd take the train to Malaysia to get a fresh Thai entry visa stamp.

This time we'd like to be able to obtain a multiple-entry visa.  Do we have to leave Thailand to obtain a multiple-entry visa?

If possible, we'd like to find a way to obtain the multiple-entry visa without having to leave Thailand.

Is there a way to "convert" a 30-day exempt tourist visa to another tourist visa which will allow us to stay for one year with 90-day check-ins?

I welcome all suggestions as to the best "roadmap" from 30-day exempt tourist visa to a multiple-entry visa.

Our objective is to stay in Thailand for longer periods for tourism purposes.

Ultimately, we'd like to apply for retirement visas (we're both over age 50; we are 2 single people), but at the moment our income isn't sufficient to qualify for retirement visas.  So we're trying to find a way to accomplish the same thing, in the short-term.

Many thanks for your assistance in helping me establish a roadmap to get us from 30-day exempt visa to a tourist visa of one year -- or six months if one year is not viable.