Is there a time limit of stay for whose who have stayed in Thailand for above 100 days consecutively?

[Scottjouro]

5 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

I work on the internet as a freelancer, which means that I don't take jobs from anybody locally.

 

I find the local Thai to be quite nice, so I want to stay here for a while. But the Thai immigration may not accept this reason.

 

Could you tell me some good reasons to tell the Thai immigration in case that they would interrogate me ?

If the IO believes you are in country for reasons which are for the purpose tourism, no visible means of support, extensive lengths of time in country for no apparant reason, suspision of working illegally....all of these can trigger an interrogation.... if IO is not happy with reasons you give, they will not let you in visa or not 

 

In your case they would be well founded, your working illegally...

[elgenon]

15 hours ago, elviajero said:

No, there is no set limit. However, immigration officers have discretional power to stop you entering whenever they have good reason. The longer you stay in the country as a 'tourist' using back to back visas the chances of being questioned at the border or denied entry increase. You are not supposed to "reside" (live) in Thailand as a tourist.

 

The longest you can stay continually as a tourist is 90 days per entry. There is no official limit on the number of entries you make. The longer you stay out of the country between entries will help, but there is no set rule.

Didn't he leave to get the 30 day exempt? So it's not really continuous If he had an METV he could stay up to 9 months right? But he would have to leave and re-enter after a max of 90 days. Immigration doesn't consider that living there, do they?

[BritTim]

11 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

Thanks. I got my tourist visa in Vientiane, Laos and arrived in Thailand via border-crossing in Nongkhai. So if I travel to Vientiane or Savannakhet to apply for a tourist visa this time, it would be difficult to get the approval.

You would definitely have no problem at Savannakhet, and likely no problem in Vientiane unless you had at least three previous tourist visas from there.

Edited August 20, 2018 by BritTim

[BritTim]

8 hours ago, Sheryl said:

They don't enforce it, sort of an unofficial "don't ask/don't tell" policy. But it will not work well as an explanation to the IO....

Actually, a few people have explained to immigration that they are digital nomads, and had that accepted as proof that"they are "not working illegally in Thailand" (technically incorrect, of course). That said, I would not recommend this approach.

[NoshowJones]

17 hours ago, Scottjouro said:

Pretty much up to the IO letting you in...

I think that answers the question for this topic.

[NoshowJones]

17 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

What do you mean by the IO letting you in?

 

There's got to be some rule for the Immigration Official to follow.

Really! Don't they usually make up their own?

[NoshowJones]

17 hours ago, elviajero said:

No, there is no set limit. However, immigration officers have discretional power to stop you entering whenever they have good reason. The longer you stay in the country as a 'tourist' using back to back visas the chances of being questioned at the border or denied entry increase. You are not supposed to "reside" (live) in Thailand as a tourist.

 

The longest you can stay continually as a tourist is 90 days per entry. There is no official limit on the number of entries you make. The longer you stay out of the country between entries will help, but there is no set rule.

"whenever they have good reason". Good reason for one IO may not be good reason for another.

[NoshowJones]

9 hours ago, manarak said:

I thought it had been confirmed by immigration that doing online work with no connection to Thailand (i.e. digital nomads) did not require a work permit?

Probably confirmed by one IO and not another, if you read through this topic, the word discretion sometimes pops up, and Thai Immigration officers have so much of it.

Edited August 20, 2018 by possum1931

[steve73]

What if you had a local bank account and could show "significant" funds being transferred from your home country (or elsewhere).?  Would this not help convince an Imm Officer that you had sufficient funds and were not working in Thailand?

 

edit....You could for example have a large trust fund adequate to provide you a full life of leisure.

Edited August 20, 2018 by steve73

[ouagadougou]

19 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

Thanks. Have you ever got into that situation before (denied extension of stay/tourist visa application for staying too long in Thailand) ?

I was denied a 30 day extension of stay to a Single Entry Tourist Visa.  Senior officer went through my passport and counted the number of days I'd stayed in Thailand that year.  He said I had gone over 180 days so charged me the regular bt1,900 extension fee and gave me 7 days to exit the country.  This was 2 years ago.

[Scottjouro]

1 hour ago, steve73 said:

What if you had a local bank account and could show "significant" funds being transferred from your home country (or elsewhere).?  Would this not help convince an Imm Officer that you had sufficient funds and were not working in Thailand?

 

edit....You could for example have a large trust fund adequate to provide you a full life of leisure.

Why would a legitimate tourist require a local bank account ?...it would be a red flag to an IO...goes to inferr your not a real tourist...given you are not suppose to be able to open a bank account on a toursit visa or waiver

 

So your cunning plane aint so cunning...if one had a large trust fund one would not be nickle and diming their stays in Thailand by blagging visas and waiver, you would buy a TE visa either 5 or 20 year type and be legit 

[Scottjouro]

48 minutes ago, ouagadougou said:

I was denied a 30 day extension of stay to a Single Entry Tourist Visa.  Senior officer went through my passport and counted the number of days I'd stayed in Thailand that year.  He said I had gone over 180 days so charged me the regular bt1,900 extension fee and gave me 7 days to exit the country.  This was 2 years ago.

180 day law disappeared years ago...

[ouagadougou]

20 minutes ago, Scottjouro said:

180 day law disappeared years ago...

Yes, I'm aware of that.... and was at the time it happened.  My passport was inspected by senior staff after talking with a lower ranking official.  Not surprisingly, immigration can to a certain degree do as they please.  I left the country and received another SETV.

[Scottjouro]

41 minutes ago, ouagadougou said:

Yes, I'm aware of that.... and was at the time it happened.  My passport was inspected by senior staff after talking with a lower ranking official.  Not surprisingly, immigration can to a certain degree do as they please.  I left the country and received another SETV.

If they believe you are not in country for the reasons you say you are...then yes they can do as they please...the onus is not on them to prove anything...the onus is on you to prove or convince them 

[lkv]

48 minutes ago, ouagadougou said:

Yes, I'm aware of that.... and was at the time it happened.  My passport was inspected by senior staff after talking with a lower ranking official.  Not surprisingly, immigration can to a certain degree do as they please.  I left the country and received another SETV.

What Immigration office did that happen at?

[elviajero]

1 hour ago, Scottjouro said:

2 hours ago, ouagadougou said:

I was denied a 30 day extension of stay to a Single Entry Tourist Visa.  Senior officer went through my passport and counted the number of days I'd stayed in Thailand that year.  He said I had gone over 180 days so charged me the regular bt1,900 extension fee and gave me 7 days to exit the country.  This was 2 years ago.

180 day law disappeared years ago...

That regulation applied to visa exempt entry. However, since then IO's are regularly quoted saying that 180 days is a "limit". It is clearly a line at which they are ordered to scrutinise 'tourists' more closely. Effectively it's an unofficial limit, and why the visa exempt flag is set to 6 ( 6 x 30 = 180). An IO would be perfectly in the rights to deny an extension for any 'tourist' that had stayed longer than typically required for 'tourism'.

[Scottjouro]

Just now, elviajero said:

That regulation applied to visa exempt entry. However, since then IO's are regularly quoted saying that 180 days is a "limit". It is clearly a line at which they are ordered to scrutinise 'tourists' more closely. Effectively it's an unofficial limit, and why the visa exempt flag is set to 6 ( 6 x 30 = 180). An IO would be perfectly in the rights to deny an extension for any 'tourist' that had stayed longer than typically required for 'tourism'.

Lets be practical and logical, staying in any country 6 months or over on short term visas, visa waivers etc is eventually going to raise questions as to what exactly are you up to in that country...some countries do in fact have rule which basically says 180 days a year in country and your not allowed back in for 180 days...

 

 

[Skeptic7]

22 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

What do you mean by the IO letting you in?

 

There's got to be some rule for the Immigration Official to follow.

The rules are...There ain't no rules! Not Kingdomwide anyway and extremely inconsistent from one Immigration Office to the next. Follow TV actual visa threads (like yours) that should have a standard and consistent answer and you will find that BEFORE giving an answer, the very first question asked by the Mods and those knowledgeable here is maddeningly...'to which IO are you going?' It's because the "rules" are different from IO to IO. No strict set of rules followed, just enforced (or made up) or disregarded from IO to IO. 

 

Spend any amount of time in Thailand at all...and you will find that this inconsistency is pretty much the norm in nearly every aspect of life. 

[JackThompson]

On 8/19/2018 at 5:51 PM, 634738AGHXI said:

What do you mean by the IO letting you in?

 

There's got to be some rule for the Immigration Official to follow.

Yes, whatever his boss says.  We have many reports of "laws" being quoted to those being denied-entry (or threatened with denial) which simply do not exist.

 

But then, because actual laws do exist, and they don't want to get caught making up non-existent laws, they stamp a "real" reason for the denial in the victim's passport - regardless of whether that "real" reason has any probable bearing on the foreigner in question, or whether any questions related to the reason were asked, and/or any evidence requested to prove/disprove the allegation.

 

In most circumstances, Thailand is a relatively modern and civilized country full of great people.  But at certain immigration checkpoints, one's experience may seem more similar to countries without those qualities.

 

On 8/19/2018 at 5:56 PM, 634738AGHXI said:

Have you ever stayed in Thailand more than 120 days continuously using tourist visa and visa exempt ? if you did, then what did the immigration official ask you when extending your stay at the Thai immigration, such as showing money, bank account statement, etc. ?

Yes.  I never had any problem.  How much time I had spent in Thailand recently/ever never came up.  Denials of 30-day extensions of Tourist-Entries are very rare (to those from nations who qualify, of which India is not one).

 

On 8/19/2018 at 8:08 PM, 634738AGHXI said:

Thanks. So that means that I would not be questioned by the Thai immigration for extending for 30 days of stay of my visa exemption. But after that, when I would leave Thailand and would return in the future either with a tourist visa or an exemption of visa, I would likely be interrogated by the immigration at the airport/border checkpoint, right?

 

If that would be the case, in the future, would I get denied entry for my history of visas and visa exemptions ?

If entering with a valid visa, that would happen Only if you enter via checkpoints that enforce non-existent laws/rules regarding "how long" you have stayed in Thailand before.  Such limits are not laws, and have never been published as ministerial-orders, as have other published restrictions. 

 

The only land-border that does this (per reports for years) is Poipet/Aranyaprathet checkpoint; all others are allowing entry, though some may request to see 20K Baht worth of cash.  Both Bangkok airports are also perilous zones for those who have stayed in Thailand longer periods recently, or even in past years. 

 

The way to avoid any worries is to enter by-land somewhere other than Poipet.

 

21 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

Thanks. I got my tourist visa in Vientiane, Laos and arrived in Thailand via border-crossing in Nongkhai. So if I travel to Vientiane or Savannakhet to apply for a tourist visa this time, it would be difficult to get the approval.

There is no reason to believe this is so, based on current reports - either obtaining another Tourist Visa or an extension of one.

The Vientiane-consulate will deny a visa only after they (or another consulate) have placed an extra-stamp of text on a visa which reads, "This person travels frequently to Thailand on Tourist Visas..."  If you attempt to apply again after this, they will tell you that you need to get a new passport first. 

At Savannakhet, they simply require more documents, and do not apply this extra-stamp to their Visas.  If you have a copy of a bank-statement (over 20K Baht worth - can be your home-country bank), plus a ticket-out within 89 days, plus a hotel/condo booking, you are set.

 

21 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

Thanks. I'm young. Maybe that would create more suspicion. I have been thinking about taking a flight to Cambodia or Vietnam to apply for another tourist visa. But I'm scared of getting denied because I have already got one tourist visa in passport.

Cambodia can be difficult recently - may give you the "extra stamp" (which could create problems in the future) - but Vietnam should be OK with only one other tourist-visa in your passport.

 

21 hours ago, 634738AGHXI said:

Is there any restriction on the number of tourist visas or the required time gap between two tourist visas that a person could apply for within one year? 

No.  No such limit exists.  Individual consulates do have their own made-up rules on the issuance of Visas, however.  Best to check what is happening at a particular consulate before making plans to go there. 

But be aware that IOs at the Bangkok Airports (possibly some other airports) and the Poipet/Aranya entry-point may cite non-existent legal-limits on how long you can stay in the country - then deny-entry based on another "legal" reason entirely.  That's a valid danger to be concerned about - but one can easily avoid this by not entering at those locations. 

If you enter at any land-border other than Poipet/Aranya, with a valid-visa and 20K baht worth of cash or travelers checks, all recent reports indicate you will not have a problem entering the country.  If flying back from a country further away, Penang or Vientiane are close to safe land-border entry points, from which one can fly domestic to their final destination within Thailand.

[Cletus]

22 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

BS

well, most of the people here seem to agree with me, so probably BS is yours.

[FritsSikkink]

19 minutes ago, Cletus said:

well, most of the people here seem to agree with me, so probably BS is yours.

Loads of people believe in an imaginary friend, so I don't care what most people think. Most people can't think properly to start with.

[elviajero]

12 hours ago, elgenon said:

Didn't he leave to get the 30 day exempt? So it's not really continuous If he had an METV he could stay up to 9 months right? But he would have to leave and re-enter after a max of 90 days. Immigration doesn't consider that living there, do they?

Immigration will take the total of each separate entry into account.

 

An METV is a multiple entry visa designed for people that live outside of Thailand and want to visit frequently during the 6 months it’s valid for. It is not meant to be used to live in the country. If it were they would have created a visa giving a 6 month stay.

 

IMO Immigration consider anyone that has spent months in the country as living in the country. Spending an hour over the border every couple of months doesn’t reset the clock on the time you have continuously lived in the country.

[lkv]

14 hours ago, elviajero said:

Immigration will take the total of each separate entry into account.

 

An METV is a multiple entry visa designed for people that live outside of Thailand and want to visit frequently during the 6 months it’s valid for. It is not meant to be used to live in the country. If it were they would have created a visa giving a 6 month stay.

 

IMO Immigration consider anyone that has spent months in the country as living in the country. Spending an hour over the border every couple of months doesn’t reset the clock on the time you have continuously lived in the country.

All this is because of the constant misleading information coming from visa run companies over the years, that teach you how to use your multiple entry visa "correctly" , i.e. doing border runs. 

Edited August 21, 2018 by lkv

[ReneTH]

I've been on tourist visa's for most of the past 5-6 years and never really had any problem at all. 
Now since December only had 30 day on arrivals, extensions at CM immigration, 2x Mae Sai and 1 single entry from Vientiane.

All I know is that it helps a lot to fly back home once a year and not taking the cheapest options (Cambodia / Laos only). I guess it depends on the IO, where you are from etc. I do avoid Don Muang airport though.

Edited August 21, 2018 by ReneTH

[jackdd]

3 hours ago, lkv said:

All this is because of the constant misleading information coming from visa run companies over the years, that teach you how to use your multiple entry visa "correctly" , i.e. doing border runs. 

When i applied for a METV the Thai consulate in Germany advised me how to use the METV Visa "correctly" by re entering Thailand just before the visa expires and then extend it by 30 days so that i can spend nearly 9 months in Thailand ?

[634738AGHXI]

On 8/20/2018 at 2:40 PM, JackThompson said:

Yes, whatever his boss says.  We have many reports of "laws" being quoted to those being denied-entry (or threatened with denial) which simply do not exist.

 

But then, because actual laws do exist, and they don't want to get caught making up non-existent laws, they stamp a "real" reason for the denial in the victim's passport - regardless of whether that "real" reason has any probable bearing on the foreigner in question, or whether any questions related to the reason were asked, and/or any evidence requested to prove/disprove the allegation.

 

In most circumstances, Thailand is a relatively modern and civilized country full of great people.  But at certain immigration checkpoints, one's experience may seem more similar to countries without those qualities.

 

Yes.  I never had any problem.  How much time I had spent in Thailand recently/ever never came up.  Denials of 30-day extensions of Tourist-Entries are very rare (to those from nations who qualify, of which India is not one).

 

If entering with a valid visa, that would happen Only if you enter via checkpoints that enforce non-existent laws/rules regarding "how long" you have stayed in Thailand before.  Such limits are not laws, and have never been published as ministerial-orders, as have other published restrictions. 

 

The only land-border that does this (per reports for years) is Poipet/Aranyaprathet checkpoint; all others are allowing entry, though some may request to see 20K Baht worth of cash.  Both Bangkok airports are also perilous zones for those who have stayed in Thailand longer periods recently, or even in past years. 

 

The way to avoid any worries is to enter by-land somewhere other than Poipet.

 

There is no reason to believe this is so, based on current reports - either obtaining another Tourist Visa or an extension of one.

The Vientiane-consulate will deny a visa only after they (or another consulate) have placed an extra-stamp of text on a visa which reads, "This person travels frequently to Thailand on Tourist Visas..."  If you attempt to apply again after this, they will tell you that you need to get a new passport first. 

At Savannakhet, they simply require more documents, and do not apply this extra-stamp to their Visas.  If you have a copy of a bank-statement (over 20K Baht worth - can be your home-country bank), plus a ticket-out within 89 days, plus a hotel/condo booking, you are set.

 

Cambodia can be difficult recently - may give you the "extra stamp" (which could create problems in the future) - but Vietnam should be OK with only one other tourist-visa in your passport.

 

No.  No such limit exists.  Individual consulates do have their own made-up rules on the issuance of Visas, however.  Best to check what is happening at a particular consulate before making plans to go there. 

But be aware that IOs at the Bangkok Airports (possibly some other airports) and the Poipet/Aranya entry-point may cite non-existent legal-limits on how long you can stay in the country - then deny-entry based on another "legal" reason entirely.  That's a valid danger to be concerned about - but one can easily avoid this by not entering at those locations. 

If you enter at any land-border other than Poipet/Aranya, with a valid-visa and 20K baht worth of cash or travelers checks, all recent reports indicate you will not have a problem entering the country.  If flying back from a country further away, Penang or Vientiane are close to safe land-border entry points, from which one can fly domestic to their final destination within Thailand.

Thanks for your detailed answer.

[634738AGHXI]

11 hours ago, ReneTH said:

I've been on tourist visa's for most of the past 5-6 years and never really had any problem at all. 
Now since December only had 30 day on arrivals, extensions at CM immigration, 2x Mae Sai and 1 single entry from Vientiane.

All I know is that it helps a lot to fly back home once a year and not taking the cheapest options (Cambodia / Laos only). I guess it depends on the IO, where you are from etc. I do avoid Don Muang airport though.

Thanks

[Scottjouro]

On 8/20/2018 at 3:48 PM, Skeptic7 said:

The rules are...There ain't no rules! Not Kingdomwide anyway and extremely inconsistent from one Immigration Office to the next. Follow TV actual visa threads (like yours) that should have a standard and consistent answer and you will find that BEFORE giving an answer, the very first question asked by the Mods and those knowledgeable here is maddeningly...'to which IO are you going?' It's because the "rules" are different from IO to IO. No strict set of rules followed, just enforced (or made up) or disregarded from IO to IO. 

 

Spend any amount of time in Thailand at all...and you will find that this inconsistency is pretty much the norm in nearly every aspect of life. 

The simple fact is they dont need rules...if their is any doubt as to the reason for your visit, you can be denied entry to a country not just Thailand, and in some cases/ countries they dont even need to give you a reason...

 

If you tell an IO you are a tourist, he/she believes you entering a country for reasons other than being a tourist, he can deny you entry...as simple as that...if some idiot as a "tourist" is going to try an get cute quoting paragraphs from immigration law/rules to an IO, its only going to end badly for the person trying to get in.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, Scottjouro said:

The simple fact is they dont need rules...if their is any doubt as to the reason for your visit, you can be denied entry to a country not just Thailand, and in some cases/ countries they dont even need to give you a reason...

 

If you tell an IO you are a tourist, he/she believes you entering a country for reasons other than being a tourist, he can deny you entry...as simple as that...if some idiot as a "tourist" is going to try an get cute quoting paragraphs from immigration law/rules to an IO, its only going to end badly for the person trying to get in.

That immigration officials can more or less do what they like, lie, and claim they are denying entry for reasons specified in Section 12 of the Immigration Act is an indication that Thailand is a third world country with better than average infrastructure. In regard to adherence to the Immigration Act (at least as far as Westerners is concerned) Thailand has regressed. 15 years ago, the rules were followed as laid out in the Immigration Act and related Police/Ministerial Orders.

[AYJAYDEE]

56 minutes ago, BritTim said:

That immigration officials can more or less do what they like, lie, and claim they are denying entry for reasons specified in Section 12 of the Immigration Act is an indication that Thailand is a third world country with better than average infrastructure. In regard to adherence to the Immigration Act (at least as far as Westerners is concerned) Thailand has regressed. 15 years ago, the rules were followed as laid out in the Immigration Act and related Police/Ministerial Orders.

in every case? who told you?