3 exemptions in 6 months?

[billp]

The Thai Embassy in the UK has the following on their website:

Quote

Foreigners who enter Thailand under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may only do so for 30 days at one time with a maximum of 3 times in a 6-month period by flight and 2 times a year for overland crossing.

http://www.thaiembassy.org/london/en/services/7742/84451-Tourist-Visa.html

As far as I know, this is the only embassy website to state there is a limit of 3 visa exempt entries by air in 6 months. Nowhere else have I seen it stated in such specific terms. I always thought that visa-exempt entries by air were still unlimited. The “2 per year by land” limitation is well-known of course.

Over the past year, I’ve seen a number of postings where serial visa-exempt-enterers were told at the airport “Next time you need a visa.” It seemed rather arbitrary, but could this actually have been the application of a new stealth rule?

For those who can read the Thai text, is this limitation now actually spelled out in the official published visa regulations? Or is the embassy in the UK (and random Immigration Officers at Suvarnabhumi) just, you know, making it up as they go along?

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, billp said:

For those who can read the Thai text, is this limitation now actually spelled out in the official published visa regulations? Or is the embassy in the UK (and random Immigration Officers at Suvarnabhumi) just, you know, making it up as they go along?

There is no published limit on the number of visa exempt entries by air. It’s down to the border IO’s to decide when enough is enough.

 

There is an unofficial red line of 180 days per year, which is why immigrantion get an alert after 6 entries.

 

The London Embassy have quoted a 90/180 day limit for years that was an official rule until rescinded in Dec 2008.

 

As it stands border IO’s have the power to deny entry to anyone the consider is abusing the visa exempt scheme. They rarely deny entry, and in most cases just issue a warning to get a visa.