3 tourist visa in the same year?

[mockingbird]

Hi all.

 

I've spent 6 months in Thailand this year. 2 tourist visas + extensions. In between these visas I was back in my home country for 2 months.

I'm going back home again this week, and plan to come back to Thailand in december on another tv.

Before this year I hadn't been to Thailand for 4 years.

 

With the toughening stance Thai immigration seem to be taking, should I expect any problems?

 

(btw, I'm a contract software engineer. I can work from anywhere)

 

 

[Nick ZepTepi]

I got 3 this year.
1 X HCMC
2 X Hong Kong.

If you mix up the embassies it's a little better or easier.

You can also add a land border crossing for a 30+30 stay.

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[AlexRich]

I've done similar, the fact that you are entering from the home country is a plus. If you are entering via the Bangkok International airport I reckon you'll be fine. I used to do 3 months then spend a month or so somewhere else, then go back. I never had an issue.

 

I'll be interested to read if anyone has had a different experience.

[Nick ZepTepi]

I got a connection flight through DMK to Chiang mai - they had their own dedicated immigration officer for people coming from international & going onto a domestic.
No probs everyone straight through no queues

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[elviajero]

I don’t think you’ll have a problem based your history and time out of the country. It’s the time spent continuously in the country that counts more than the number of visas.

[mockingbird]

Thanks for the replies.

 

Much appreciated.

[JackThompson]

21 hours ago, mockingbird said:

I've spent 6 months in Thailand this year. 2 tourist visas + extensions. In between these visas I was back in my home country for 2 months.

I'm going back home again this week, and plan to come back to Thailand in december on another tv.

Before this year I hadn't been to Thailand for 4 years.

 

With the toughening stance Thai immigration seem to be taking, should I expect any problems?

Some IOs at Bangkok airports have been citing a "180 day rule".  It doesn't exist in any written form, but those IOs will claim it is "the law" and have threatened and denied based on this.  Some of the intensely dislike farangs who "stick around" in Thailand. 

 

I agree with earlier posters that time out of country will help your case, and denial of entry is unlikely.  But, being paranoid about such things - and definitely not wanting to be put in detention and the next flight all the way back, even if unlikely - I would fly to Penang and enter by land.

 

In any case, be sure to be carrying 20K Baht (more is better) worth of Cash or Travelers Checks.  You will not be afforded a visit to an ATM for it, if they are trying to deny you on the basis of not having this cash.  If entering by air, a flight-out already booked could also help, even more if you are clear that you are taking that flight to start your next already-scheduled project for "company x" at that time.

 

21 hours ago, mockingbird said:

(btw, I'm a contract software engineer. I can work from anywhere)

You cannot legally work while here in Thailand.  Though this is not currently being enforced, it would not be a valid way to claim financial-support for your time here.  Coming here "between project work" would be fine, though. 

[overherebc]

Some may agree, some may not, but the concept of having more 'free time' than working time is not a concept that is widely understood in some countries.

Spend 8 months in one country and 4 in other countries is taken as the 8 months is working and the other 4 are travelling/holiday.

Long holidays, more than 3 or 4 weeks at a time are still a reserve of the rich and well heeled in many places so your average USA or EU expat who spends 8 or 9 months a year here ( possibly as a digital nomad ) may be thought of as working here and going home for breaks the rest of the year.

A few years ago a Thai guy I knew got married and went on honeymoon for a week, including flight times to Europe, and was talking about, on return, 6 countries in 6 days ???

When I said my wife ( Thai ) and self did 2 countries in 4 weeks he asked what did you find to see and look at? I just said we both saw a lot of different ceilings. ??

[mockingbird]

On 9/10/2018 at 12:59 PM, JackThompson said:

Some IOs at Bangkok airports have been citing a "180 day rule".  It doesn't exist in any written form, but those IOs will claim it is "the law" and have threatened and denied based on this.  Some of the intensely dislike farangs who "stick around" in Thailand. 

 

I agree with earlier posters that time out of country will help your case, and denial of entry is unlikely.  But, being paranoid about such things - and definitely not wanting to be put in detention and the next flight all the way back, even if unlikely - I would fly to Penang and enter by land.

 

In any case, be sure to be carrying 20K Baht (more is better) worth of Cash or Travelers Checks.  You will not be afforded a visit to an ATM for it, if they are trying to deny you on the basis of not having this cash.  If entering by air, a flight-out already booked could also help, even more if you are clear that you are taking that flight to start your next already-scheduled project for "company x" at that time.

 

You cannot legally work while here in Thailand.  Though this is not currently being enforced, it would not be a valid way to claim financial-support for your time here.  Coming here "between project work" would be fine, though. 

Thanks.

 

I always carry in about £2000 in cash, and I would have no intention of declaring myself as a digital nomad, if asked.

I most definitely am not going to fly to Penang and do a land crossing.  That seems a little extreme.

 

I've never heard of a 180 day limit in a calender year.  Are there actual reports of people on tourist visa's being denied entry because they've spent more than 180 days in Thailand in a calender year?

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, mockingbird said:

I've never heard of a 180 day limit in a calender year.  Are there actual reports of people on tourist visa's being denied entry because they've spent more than 180 days in Thailand in a calender year?

There is no 180 day limit. That is only a verbal reason given by a immigration officer for denial of entry. In reality the reason shown on the denial of entry stamp was a lack of financial proof and/or suspicion of entering to work here.

[JackThompson]

11 hours ago, mockingbird said:

I've never heard of a 180 day limit in a calender year.  Are there actual reports of people on tourist visa's being denied entry because they've spent more than 180 days in Thailand in a calender year?

Yes, there are reports.  But because it is not a legal regulation, the IOs give a rejection-stamp based on something else.  There is virtually no functional oversight of each point of entry, so at some checkpoints, you are essentially walking into an anarchist-zone of "whatever I say goes," without regard for actual laws and regulations. 

 

We have very few cases reported (2 or 3, I recall) of rejection of persons with a Tourist Visa and the required Cash-In-Hand.  Many more were rejected for not having the Cash-In-Hand, or were interrogated and threatened but let in.

 

11 hours ago, mockingbird said:

I most definitely am not going to fly to Penang and do a land crossing.  That seems a little extreme.

Yes, it is extreme.  The reason I use land-borders, is because they are reported to consistently follow the written laws and regulations.  When I was here most of the year on tourist visas, we began getting nightmare stories reported, so I avoided airports from then on.  When coming from Penang, I took flights from Hat Yai, close to the Thai side of the border, onward to my destination. 

 

I am averse to gambling - even with good odds - where doing absolutely nothing wrong and obeying the pertinent laws and regulations to the letter can still lead to a detention cell and a forced-flight across the planet.  But ... Others still fly in and seem to do OK.  The more time you have spent here, the more it becomes a roll of the dice. 

In your case, the odds are in your favor - given you have not stayed near-continuously, will have plenty of cash, and will be arriving with a Tourist Visa. 

 

A couple recent "Too much time in Thailand" cases:

 

 

Edited September 12, 2018 by JackThompson

[mockingbird]

2 hours ago, JackThompson said:

 

A couple recent "Too much time in Thailand" cases:

 

 

Thanks for links Jack.

 

The circumstances with them do seem to be a little different from my own i.e. They were flying in to Don Muang airport on back to back visas, with a long history on tourist visas.

The time frame between my visa's are/will be 2.5 - 3 months, and before this year I hadn't been in Thailand for 4 years.

 

If there are any links/reports of someone closer to my situation having problems, then I'd appreciate hearing about them.

 

 

 

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, mockingbird said:

Thanks for links Jack.

 

The circumstances with them do seem to be a little different from my own i.e. They were flying in to Don Muang airport on back to back visas, with a long history on tourist visas.

The time frame between my visa's are/will be 2.5 - 3 months, and before this year I hadn't been in Thailand for 4 years.

 

If there are any links/reports of someone closer to my situation having problems, then I'd appreciate hearing about them.

In the first case, he entered on Tourist Visas and only stayed  6 mo/yr, spending the rest of the time in his home-country.   Note how the IO manipulated the dates to go beyond a year, since he hadn't even reached 180 days, so they could claim a higher number of days in-country.  This day-total was not consecutive, he clearly was not working here, and he owned his own condo and could afford annual trips to and from his home-country.

As I said above, you have good odds - just be prepared for completely dishonest behavior with no relationship to any law or rule, since there is no honest oversight - just however some supervisor feels about farangs that day.  Good luck.

[sananeamk0715]

When I come Thailand first 1.5 years only stay with tourist visa without any problem. Except immigration questions sometimes at the border crossing.

[BritTim]

9 hours ago, mockingbird said:

The circumstances with them do seem to be a little different from my own i.e. They were flying in to Don Muang airport on back to back visas, with a long history on tourist visas.

The time frame between my visa's are/will be 2.5 - 3 months, and before this year I hadn't been in Thailand for 4 years.

 

If there are any links/reports of someone closer to my situation having problems, then I'd appreciate hearing about them.

There is rarely a guarantee about what immigration might decide at airports. However, a problem in your case is very unlikely.