raz0r21

The big deal is that it could take 24 hours (or more) to get an approval of the ETA. This would make same day border bounces obsolete.

so your friend stayed in Thailand from dec 2023 to june 2024? that should not result in a refusal of entry. What does his history of stays look like? I am guessing he has been in Thailand many times during several years staying for long stretches? Did he get warned before the denial? Usually the IO will tell you to get a visa, and if you still try your chances with an exempt after that... then thats on you.

Hey, What is the reason you fly in/out so many times? If you like Thailand so much, you should stay in country and use visa run companies to stay there. If you have to fly in so often, look into some options for "safe entry". I dont know if its allowed to show links here, so my suggestion is to contact some of the big visa agencies in Bangkok (Thaivisaservice, Bangkok Buddy). Good luck.

Thai Visa Service has update their web page with the following: "We confirmed that these runs are possible Unlimited times for some of the 93 Countries covered under this agreement. Even you had two runs this year already. We keep updating information as soon they become avalaible." They dont state which countries however, so its all very much up in the air at the moment. Just have to wait and see how it all unfolds. It does seem like they are loosening up the rules, but if something bad happens with tourists abusing exempts etc - i am sure they will put some limits again. And it seems as they already have for some countries.

There is some conflicting information in this thread. I will try my best to summarize: Some Visa Run companies are acting as glorified taxis for land border runs, and not "full service" packages. Please check what you get for the amount you pay. In Bangkok there are two big ones: Bangkok Buddy & Thai Visa Service. Afaik they are offering legit runs that basically guarantee your stamp, otherwise you will not even be let on the bus. Some news outlets (Like TNT) are reporting that only two visa exempts per land are allowed still. They/He is using thai embassies as a guideline, who often have old or wrong information. The webpage of Thai Visa Service says "Unlimited" for 60 day stamps, and I trust them more than any YouTube channel.

Not with a visa company. Most people use them for land border crossings. Its also possible to sort out visa services when entering by air. But right now it seems Thailand is having a more relaxeded view on people staying longer as tourists / digital nomads. I think its a step in the right direction, and finally a way to convince the officials that you are not "staying too long" in Thailand. But only time will tell.

Is it required? yes. Is it enforced? sometimes. You just never know! When I was extending my visa exempt at Lak Si IT-Square one of the guys sitting next to me got sent out because he didnt have it. In my case, I had it with me, but they never asked for it. Weird experience, but thats just how it is. Depends completely on the IO you get.

Yes. A tourist visa is stronger than an exempt. Many times Immigration officials ask you to get a tourist visa when you have "too many" exempts. It is also a way for the IO to see that you have been vetted by a thai embassy, so they dont have to do it. Btw, 300 dollars is absolute madness. I paid 35 euro for mine.

Every time I do a land crossing with a visa service group, they have dedicated vans for people from the philippines. Out of those I am almost certain some work illegally in Thailand. This might be the reason for the intense questioning. I remember when they were questioning me, whatever I said didnt matter... they just kept saying "no no, we dont believe you". This went on for at least 1 hour. So, I am not surprised. Also now is low season which means they have more time to question incoming arrivals.

Yeah, I remember pre-covid when I got pulled over and grilled for an hour, during early September 2019. The time was around 7pm and not a single person was walking through the booths... so they had all the time in the world to scroll through my travel history. The thing is that I was coming from a 1 month trip to Vietnam which was something they did not seem to like. I dont know what the problem is with Vietnam specifically. Was just staying a short while before my flight back home, so I entered with a visa exempt. I tried showing my ticket out but no dice.

July is low season for tourism, so there is more time to stop people and question them. Most people dont go to Thailand during this time of year for tourism either, so it might raise some flags for the IO.

There are services for "Safe entry" to Thailand available. Not sure if they are allowed to be published here on the forum, but I am sure you can find it online.

Chiang Mai is known for being a friendly airport

Yeah he was definately not prepared. But still got in after a while. Probably the IO was on a power trip. I agree about the working illegally part!

Yeah, I was very surprised by this. Apparently the biggest problems were that he 1) had been to Vietnam many times 2) didnt have a tourist visa. The "interrogation" took around 30 minutes, and the IO also threatened that he might not be let in. He also had to show proof of funds, and he presented his bank balance as proof which they eventually accepted.

Some people might be interested in this. My friend got questioned recently, and put in some area with alot of other arrivals who had a long history of stays in Thailand. This happened when he arrived in May. In my friends case, he had been out of the country for over 6 months, but still got a harsh scolding because he didnt have a tourist visa. He kept repeating that he didnt know what rules he is breaking, or what the problem was. The IO finally let him in, but told him that he could not extend with 30 days at Immigration. A few days ago he extended through a visa service agent, without issues.

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.

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 know its not supposed to be like this, but it is. Just FYI (I am sure there are many I have missed): Thai embassy/consulates in Vietnam: overly complicated visa applications. Started with this policy around 2019 afaik. Poipet border in Cambodia: avoid at all cost. Many horror stories in this forum about this border crossing. Ban Laem border in Cambodia: still ok, but only with VISA run company (as far as I know). Thai embassy/Friendship bridge border in Laos: Mostly ok. Chiang Mai airport (CNX): ok. Bangkok airport (DMK): avoid if you have a long history of tourist stamps. Bangkok airport (BKK): avoid if you have a long history of tourist stamps.

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.

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.

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.