ukfamily

I would go for 12 month multiple-entry Non-O visa on basis of visiting friends, as it gives you more flexibility than a tourist visa if travelling in region and no trips to immigration for extensions or re-entry permits. Apply at Royal Thai Consulate in Hull as suggested. You will need to complete application form (can download from web) and send in with fee, passport and photo. Post by special delivery and enclose a pre-paid special delivery envelope for return of your passport. You should get this back with a couple of days.

On entering Thailand you will get a 90 day permission to stay. You must leave the country within 90 days (but you would have do to that with tourist visa and 30 day extension anyway). You can travel out of the country when you want to and each time you will receive a new 90 day permission to stay whilst your visa is valid. There is no limit on the number of times you can travel in/out of the country during the period of your visa, whereas a tourist visa is restricted to a specific number of entries unless you obtain re-entry permit.

www.thaiconsul-uk.com

Not having friends in Thailand I don't see how I could apply for the 12 month multiple entry, though this would of course save alot of hassle. My self and my family will therefore have to resort to a trip to Laos to extend the visa. However, in terms of the flight to Thailand....if officially you can't get a visa greater than the minimum in one go do you have to restrict your flight as well? Or book a flight for 6 months and hope that you will be granted another visa on your return from Laos?

Personally I fail to see the problem. If someone is a genuine tourist they have nothing to fear. On the other hand if they are working on tourist visas then they only have themselves to blame.

Agree with this, nothing's saying that you can't get 2 tourist visas back to back as long as you're a genuine tourist. Try getting a 3rd or 4th, though, and you'd have a hard time convincing them you're on holiday for a year.

So if you were a genuine traveller that wanted to spend the 5 months of winter in Thailand would this be possible? If so how does one go about it?

Having spent last winter with my family, all six months of it, travelling around India, we had hoped to repeat the wonderful experience in the Kindom of Thailand.

For a United Kingdom family, such as we are it appears that the maximum that we could stay is for three months (or 90 days to be exact). That's a shame as my 11 year old boy would greatly benefit from the cultural and educational experience of such a beautiful country, as we all would. Has anyone had experience of extending their visa, to at least 5 months, and can they advise the best way to go about it?