raz0r21

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

How do you stay in Thailand for 7 months without leaving the country. 

60 day tourist visa + 30 day extension + 2 border runs to cambodia with 30 day extensions . Well, technically you "leave" Thailand, but not really tho....

I think you can stay up to a year or so, but the next calendar year will give you problems at the airport for sure. It is better to stay 6-7 months without leaving the country, and have some months in between the trips.

Hey OP,

They do this sometimes when they notice you are eligible for a retirement visa. They would prefer you switch to that instead of using tourist visas. I know it sounds weird, but yeah. It is what it is.

35 minutes ago, whitemouse said:

 

All valid points. I simply did not know specifics of embassy and consulates in Vietnam, counting on having all the paperwork won't raise any issues. But it did. Hanoi embassy website does not stipulate that in order to apply for 60 days TR one needs a reservation to cover the whole period of stay.

 

To add to list, but this information may be dated and hopefully someone can join and confirm, Kuala Lumpur embassy is the absolute worst. It is the only embassy I walked out without a visa. 20 winters in Thailand, 6 months out of the year, nothing like this has happened before and since.

 

Kuala Lumpur experience was few years ago and may have changed now.

 

They have list of all necessary paperwork on their web site, that includes recent bank statement. 

So I walked in, only to be told that the bank statement needs to be issued by mu bank in Europe, with s stamp and branch manager signature. I had with me only screen print that shows balance. I though at first she probably made a mistake,  maybe I misunderstood her, something must be lost in translation. But no, they wouldn't budge. A little man joined embassy lady behind protective glass and yelled 'Bank letter, mister! Bank stamp, mister! Bank signature, mister!'

 

I tried to explain that my bank is in Sweden, how can I get this letter for you. Nothing. This has been the only time I walked out of embassy with no visa. All the fun of extreme humidity, uncomfortably high heat, 1 week wasted. 

Should have consulted here before going. 

Thanks for the report. Really helpful.

I had an idea of applying from KL some time in the future, but after reading that ... no chance. It is very frustrating that it has come to this. Most tourist visa applications only need a screenshot of your bank and thats that. In Sweden (where I apply from aswell), they even removed this requirement completely a few months ago.

I would say its 50/50. There is a sign and an example of a TM30 copy at the check in desk, where you get your queue number for immigration in Lak Si IT Square. So better have it than not have it tbh. And like I wrote earlier, one guy sitting next to me with the other IO officer was getting a lot of trouble because he did not have a TM30. He had to exit the room as they would not do his extension without it.

I just went there to extend last week, and they didnt want to see my tm30. The document checking staff didnt want to see it, even if I showed it to them. The same thing happened in the IO office, she just gave it back to me. I dont know what to make of this, especially since they were really giving some people a hard time about TM30 right next to me.

My address is in Wutthakat and i stay in a normal condo. So I dont know whats going on. You may or may not be asked for a TM30 is my answer OP. But I dont know why some are asked and some are not.

1 hour ago, Dan O said:

I would say he doesn't know the lay of the land as he's been over using his entries and staying long term by playing the system and got caught not even a week ago. Now he's plotting again to try to enter when he has a chance with the 45 days in VN to put some distance in his stamped denial of entry. He has other options but ignores them so he rolls the dice and takes his chances.

In his case he just wants to get his belongings and go back to Europe (as far as I know). So in that situation I think I would roll the dice too. OP I suggest you get a single entry visa from Vietnam and cross through Laos by land or fly in to Chiang Mai. Its gonna be a bit of a mission but the success rate will be higher than just trying with a new exempt entry.

6 hours ago, Autonuaq said:

Any border is safe when you apply with the right visa for the goal that you want to stay that is in match with the genuine intentions you have.

Never have had any problem to enter Thailand, to leave Thailand or any other country border.

 

Probably you and the others have forgotten the Visa covers the goals and purpose you want to stay, and you seem to want to stay live here. Apply for the right Visa all worries gone.

 

Its not always that black and white, especially since the rules in Thailand are not black and white. But in the case of OP, he should have prepared better since he has been here so long and knows the lay of the land. 

I´m seeing a pattern here. The IO probably wants OP to come in with Non O because of his age. The same thing happened in another thread just recently. Even though its not a rule, I think they are using this as common practice now and turning away people who are eligible for retirement visas.

I am just speculating, but this is what it looks like.

What I think is happening here is that the IO wants the OP to switch to a Non-O based on his/her age. It´s a bit of a weird way to do it but, thats probably the case. 

Just as an example how rules differ from officer to officer....I just extended my visa exempt with 30 days in Lak Si and the guy sitting next to me was getting grilled and scolded because he didnt have a TM30. "You stay in Thailand long time already!" etc etc.

The IO that was handling my passport however, didnt even want to look at my TM30 when I presented it. I dont know what to make of this really.

4 hours ago, JoseThailand said:

 

You gave up so easy lol

 

I've been in Thailand 4 years on tourist visas and stamps

I have a really hard time believing this. Did you spend any time outside of Thailand? Anyway, if its true you have been very lucky. Impressive.

Hey OP, just a suggestion for a long stay: You get a higher chance of success by using visa service companies for your border runs and tourist visa applications in neighboring countries (usually Laos/Cambodia). The reason for this is that you don´t get questioned as much by immigration officials if you are part of a visa run group. However nothing is ever guaranteed, but I would always choose a visa run company instead of trying to do it myself - especially if I got many stamps and a long history. 

I have used www.thaivisaservice.com many times without any issues. But there are others too. Good luck!

Just a small update as well, last time I did a border run to Cambodia they didnt put the whole page visa in my passport for Cambodia, and only used small stamps. That was a positive surprise.

I know this might sound silly but try to scope out the most relaxed looking IO in the booth at the airport. But yeah, you should get a SETV at least to even attempt an entry. If you are 100 % sure you want to come back so soon, prepare yourself with all the required documents as stated in this thread, and also bring something that shows income from abroad, especially since they dont want you working here illegally.

2 hours ago, thaiasia said:

Hi everyone, I left Thailand early July and have been in Finland since then. I was wondering if it's safe to fly back to Thailand now, after being away from Thailand for about 5 months. Considering that last time I was in Thailand for a longer period of time, what are the chances of being denied entry now? If they deny entry, they'd send me all the way back to Finland?

 

Would love to spend the New Year in Thailand !

 

I would fly from Helsinki to Suvarnabhumi, straight flight.

Hello, 

There should be no issues at all. You have spent 5 months out of Thailand which most definitely eliminates the "working in thailand without a visa" questioning. If you want to be safe, apply for a single entry tourist visa online (SETV). It is a quick process and very cheap to get, and it also helps with immigration since it is considered "stronger" than a visa exempt. 

I stayed 8 months last trip using 1 SETV + 2 visa exempt + 3 extensions. Stayed in Sweden for 5 months after that, got back in October with a SETV. Just stamped through without a word. 

Good luck and enjoy Thailand!

How long you can stay is a guessing game to be honest, and it depends completely on what immigration officer you run into. However, be prepared for questioning some time around the 10-12 month mark at the latest. If you want to stay 6 months out of a year its usually not a problem as long as you can show the usual: ticket out of Thailand, 20k baht in cash, hotel booking, and a bank statement or document that convinces the IO that your income is coming from another country than Thailand.

If you want to stay a longer time, you can minimize the risk of questioning with land borders that are friendly (Friendship bridge in Laos for example), or visa run agents (like www.thaivisaservice.com). Also, there is a multiple entry visa for up to 9 months or so.

Hey,

By air there is no official limit, by land its 2 times per year. 

and to reply to your question, sorry... there is no rule about how long you can do it - but after 10 to 12 months you will almost certainly run into questioning. It has happened to many of who have come to stay for a full year. Around the 10 month mark one of my friends was told in Don Mueang to get a tourist visa in his home country instead, as it would be the "last time" he could come in with a tourist visa from a neighbouring country. He switched over to a ED visa after that.

5 hours ago, Rudi OD said:

Thank you so so much.

This is really appreciated.

I just successfully extended my second TR60 for another 30 days today at the local NST City office. 

I have until 27th November so need to make my decision then. 

An owner/admin of Thailand Visa Advice Facebook group advised me that I could go to Penang embassy in Malaysia and apply for another TR60 there, but he said if i went back to the same one in Kota Bahru that i just did 2 months ago it would get denied for sure. 

For safety though, do you think its best I make the trip to Laos instead? 

Higher chances? 

I am a UK British passport holder by the way. 

Yes, Laos has higher success rate. You can use a visa service aswell to get a even higher chance of success. My suggestion is to use www.thaivisaservice.com. Have been with them many times, never any issues.

Hello, 

You can enter "Passport Number" in the booking system, and leave ID Card number blank. Please note that Ho Chi Minh is no longer a "friendly" embassy, and the requirements are much more strict compared to Laos. 

4 hours ago, Marky Mark Mark said:

That was my next inquiry.   How long should i stay out between visits.

 

On the post you saw i was out for 6 days.

At least 1 month. They want to see that you dont live in Thailand on a tourist visa, or work without a permit. If you are worried, prepare evidence of your income from another country.

Even with long stays out of Thailand you can still get questioned tho. With your history I would bring every single document possible. Flight out, 20k baht cash, income statement, bank statement, travel plan, paid hotel booking, etc etc. 

In another thread OP wrote that he has stayed 10 months out of 12 in total, which is usually the time Immigration will start to tell you to have another visa. No time out of the country is frowned upon in my experience, and i strongly suggest you dont play with fire. Get another type of visa, stay out of the country for at least a month, or prepare to roll the dice.

13 minutes ago, fondue zoo said:

 

Visa topics always get so frothy.

Yeah, it would be better for everyone if there was more clear rules. But TIT , this is thailand. Just have to go with it

Just now, bob smith said:

nice to see all the visa rule breakers on this thread.

 

I hope immigration is keeping a close eye on you all 

which rules are being broken specifically?