raz0r21

Thats crazy, took me 2 hours to get mine from Sweden.

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.

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.

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.

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

which rules are being broken specifically?

Lol. Now you are just trolling. Since there is no limit on tourist visas, or how long you can stay as a tourist... its up to the immigration officer to decide. Like someone else wrote, this has been discussed ad nauseam. The reasons for someone staying a long time as a tourist differs a lot. Some people take a year off from work, there are so many different scenarios (2 of which i just used as an example).

Ever heard of sabbaticals? Snowbirds? Such a narrow minded comment.

So, back on topic. The OP had a tourist visa... which requires a flight out of Thailand. Or at least my embassy does. So why did he have to book a flight on the spot? Didnt have the ticket with him? So many questions.....

There are many foreigners who own properties and stay in them during the winter months, or rent apartments for longer periods of time in Thailand. And as you wrote, METV visas can be applied for to be able to stay longer than 180 days. As far as I know, the 6 month rules can sometimes be used as a guideline to decide if a tourist is actually a tourist. But there are also other factors to take into consideration, and every case is different.

since you have a visa issued by a thai embassy, and months inbetween last entry... i dont see the problem. However, its always a guessing game. I would bring proof of being a tourist, 20k baht, ticket out of thailand, hotel booking, maybe even income/bank statement.

As far as I know a tourist visa should be fine since its granted by an embassy. I have however witnessed the IOs telling my friend to "go back to his home country and get a visa", after back to back stays and TR:s from Vietnam. I dont know where you are entering from but if you have a TR from a embassy from your home country and have spent some time outside of Thailand it should be ok. Just saw you are gonna enter on your second entry. Afaik it should be fine.

You are going to get all kinds of answers, but after coming and going here since 2015 I can say that there is no "upper limit". It all depends on the immigration officer and their mood that day, and also which consulate or embassy you are applying from. I myself have been questioned thoroughly for "staying too long" in Thailand, but still got granted entry. As long as you dont do anything illegal you should be able to get in to the country, if you have a valid tourist visa. In my experience tourist visas are better to use than visa exempts, especially when flying in to Thailand.

Every time I have been at Lak Si I go very early. I am there at 8 AM already, ready to start filling in the forms which they bring out a bit before opening at 8:30. Usually theres only 5 to 6 people there during that time so it doesnt take more than 30-45 minutes in total. Just a suggestion for those who want a smoother experience. Thanks for the tip about the online application handymax.

My guess is they are still using windows XP on old computers ???? too much of a hassle. Im sure they can look it up if they have to

Hey, yeah thats what ive understood aswell - but I never got asked to present it before. Maybe they are just enforcing it now for some reason, but it certainly causes confusion since its not even on their website. Better to just have it with you when going to immigration from now on. These are the requirements from immigration.go.th: Documents to be submitted Application form TM.7 (application must be made in person) Copy of applicant’s passport Photo 4 x 6 cm. (not older than 6 months) Application fee 1,900 Baht.

Hi, I just want to make this post if it helps anyone else wanting to extend their visit on a visa exempt. When I went to extend the 45 day exemption yesterday the staff at the first counter (before entering the office), said that they needed to see my tm30. It was then added to the pile of documents that you need to submit to get the extension. I did see other people there without the printout of their tm30, so I cant say for sure if it was just in my case (since i had the document in hand already), or if it is always required. But yeah, just a heads up. Side note: I got my tm30 made by the rental property owner the day I entered Thailand, and a copy of it printed.

I would say that I agree with the IO in this case, but in contrast to what he/she is saying - the immigration offices actively allow extensions of back to back tourist visas and exempts (specifically through land borders with no time spent out of Thailand, or tourist visas from Laos for example). They should make up their mind on how they want the whole system to work, with clear guidelines and specific limits for what is considered staying "too long". Otherwise the hoop jumping will just continue like it is now.

I feel bad for him, and I dont wish that upon anyone. He certainly did take unneccessary risks tho, especially driving at that time of day - with almost certainly several car and truck drivers either high or drunk cruising on the roads. I dont trust the insurance companies myself, but I do trust my helmet.

Suvarnabhumi. I wasnt prepared for it at all, didnt even think it was an issue for me since i kept being in Thailand 6 months and in my home country 6 months. It took around an hour so be patient if it happens, and stay calm.

I dont know if this helps but when I got questioned it was a super quiet day. I arrived on an evening around 19:30 pm and there were no queues at immgration. The person in the booth had all the time in the world to scroll through my passport and ask questions. So I would suggest to arrive when its super busy. Good luck and keep us posted how it goes.