My experience as a long term tourist

[jackdd]

Every few days we have a topic here from somebody who was questioned or denied entry when using visa exempts / tourist visas. Today i want to share my positive experience.

In the previous years i made holiday in Thailand about half of the year, but this calendar year i will be spending about 11 out of 12 months in Thailand.

I arrived in Thailand at Suvarnabhumi last year in autumn, and used 3 visa exempts + extensions making visa runs to Laos (Nong Khai) when my 60 days were over.

In the middle of this year i went back to Germany for a month where i got a METV and flew back to Suvarnabhumi. Since then i also made a visa run to Laos every 60 days to get new 60 days, i recently made my last trip for this visa and can stay now until next year.

While making all these in-outs i've not once been questioned by an IO about anything, every time just got my stamp.

Maybe i was lucky, maybe the IOs at Nong Khai just follow the official rules and don't make up their own rules.

Let's see how it will go on in the future ????

[DrJack54]

The think is your "mixing up" your method of entries. Some VE an METV etc. Also you prob have breaks (esp when you went back to Germany). There is currently a thread running where member obtained setvs stayed some 18 months with few days exit to obtain each setv. Surprise surprise he was not allowed to enter los.

The breaks in entries and various visas and VE has not aroused suspicion of you working. You can prop continue. The SE,s might eventually dry up, but if your comfortable returning to Germany you can obtain METV,s and I think keep coming long time.

Edited November 19, 2018 by DrJack54
Error

[CARLO BALDASSARRE]

How old r u,

jackdd

.....?????

           

Edited November 19, 2018 by CARLO BALDASSARRE
edit

[jackdd]

13 minutes ago, CARLO BALDASSARRE said:

How old r u,

jackdd

.....?????

           

Not old enough to get a visa / extension based on retirement any time soon, so if tourist visa should stop working for me my only options were to marry, Thai Elite or stay in another country (I don't plan to work here and something like Iglu is more expensive then Thai Elite so does not make sense for me, and i also don't plan to study). So i hope i can continue with tourist visas.

Edited November 19, 2018 by jackdd

[buick]

i was stopped back when they cracked down on visa exempt entries, i think it was 2011 or so.  i was spending 8 months a year in thailand leaving every 30 days.  i was told to use tourist visas.  i was never stopped again.  always arrived by air to BKK.  i got every SETV in my home country.  my typical pattern was:

 

sept-oct: home country

nov-jan: thailand, SETV with extension

feb: short visit to HK, PI, or vietnam, return to thailand with VE entry.

mar-apr:  home country

may-july: SETV with extension

august: short visit to HK, PI, or vietnam.  return to thailand with VE entry.

 

that worked for me for the next 6 years (8 months in thailand each year).  i got my non imm O based on retirement in 2017.  i took a little risk with the VE entries and made sure i carried alot of cash (usually 1,000USD) plus had a throwaway ticket showing i was leaving in a week.

 

it did get a bit tiresome towards the end.  if i was 45 in 2017, i may very well have bought the 5 year elite visa.  but thankfully i was 50 and the SETV scheme was over for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JackThompson]

19 hours ago, jackdd said:

Maybe i was lucky, maybe the IOs at Nong Khai just follow the official rules and don't make up their own rules.

There are no reported problems at Nong Khai, or any land-borders, other than the Poipet/Aranyaprathet land-crossing.  The 20K Cash rule and a "night out" rule for visa-exempt entries (also not published) are reported coming from Malaysia - but easy to accommodate.

 

Recent "unpublished-rule" (I think they are made-up) based long-interrogations and stated-reasons for denials of entry (the stamped reason differs from what the IO says) are occurring at the Poipet/Aran crossing and the Bangkok airports, with a few older reports from some smaller airports (but none at Chang Mai airport, that I recall).

 

You are doing what is, and has always been, 100% legal and within the published-rules for decades.

Edited November 20, 2018 by JackThompson

[aledale]

17 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The think is your "mixing up" your method of entries. Some VE an METV etc. Also you prob have breaks (esp when you went back to Germany). There is currently a thread running where member obtained setvs stayed some 18 months with few days exit to obtain each setv. Surprise surprise he was not allowed to enter los.

The breaks in entries and various visas and VE has not aroused suspicion of you working. You can prop continue. The SE,s might eventually dry up, but if your comfortable returning to Germany you can obtain METV,s and I think keep coming long time.

Do you think it is possible to return to own country every 8 months, get METV, stay there 1 week, and come back in Thai for some years? 

[JackThompson]

2 minutes ago, aledale said:

Do you think it is possible to return to own country every 8 months, get METV, stay there 1 week, and come back in Thai for some years? 

Some report doing this - even entering at the problematic airports.  We do have a couple cases of refused-entry, but I think they were caught-out on the "No 20K Baht Cash" rule.  Those on SETVs with the required cash have been denied at the airports.  The METV has a more-strict money-check by the issuing-Embassy, but immigration has limited respect for the MFA. 

 

After having been in Thailand a while on Tourist-type entries, I would always enter the country by friendly land-borders only.  There is just no predicting what arbitrary and unpublished rule could be cited at the Bangkok airports (apparently no oversight to stop them), then some unrelated rejection-stamp stuck in one's passport, before being returned from whence one came.

[DrJack54]

55 minutes ago, aledale said:

Do you think it is possible to return to own country every 8 months, get METV, stay there 1 week, and come back in Thai for some years? 

Personally I don't think doing this "for some years" would be an option. Perhaps even more difficult in future. Some people talk about "rules".... There are very few that actually make it possible to be refused entry when having a valid visa. However if io suspects person is not "genuine tourist", meaning suspects alien is working then yes can refuse entry. I'm certainly no expert, but it seems a pattern of entries and length of stay outside of los is important. A week out every 8 months over a period of years may suggest to io your in Thailand for other reason than tourism. Personally I have non o based on retirement, I make this point as I think I could remain in Thailand for long time on metv , visa exempt etc etc. The reason is that I leave Thailand so often. Few weeks in Japan 3 times a year, monthly trip to Saigon etc etc. Common señse would suggest that im not working in thailand. It becomes more of problem when folk have a pattern of enter on visa or VE, extend, leave for couple of days to obtain visa or border run for stamp, wash and repeat. I wish there was a visa other than retirement, marriage etc.

Perhaps  non o based on " I like the joint, the weather, the cost of living and the added benefits". Sadly there is not. Personally if was under 45, I would buy an elite visa. Good luck with trying to live here. 

[aledale]

Thanks... I already was in thai for 3 years with 1 double entry tourist visa, 1 non-o and 5 SETV (in different countries) and then 1 year in my country. Finally in july I came back in Thai with a METV, because I can live better in a hot temperature country due to some health problems. I've never been requested to show money, maybe because it's clear I'm not here to work, but I don't like to risk to be blocked. But I'm still 44 years old.

Anyway, thanks....

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, aledale said:

Thanks... I already was in thai for 3 years with 1 double entry tourist visa, 1 non-o and 5 SETV (in different countries) and then 1 year in my country. Finally in july I came back in Thai with a METV, because I can live better in a hot temperature country due to some health problems. I've never been requested to show money, maybe because it's clear I'm not here to work, but I don't like to risk to be blocked. But I'm still 44 years old.

Anyway, thanks....

aledale, It might not suit you cost wise but the elite visa is perfect for someone mid 40s. Yes it is @ 3000usd per year (paid up front for 5 yrs) 500k baht, but it also has perks. Hassle free for your next 5 yrs. Also take into consideration amount taken off the elite visa cost without paying for your visas and visa runs. 

Edited November 20, 2018 by DrJack54
Error

[Jonathan Swift]

21 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The think is your "mixing up" your method of entries. Some VE an METV etc. Also you prob have breaks (esp when you went back to Germany). There is currently a thread running where member obtained setvs stayed some 18 months with few days exit to obtain each setv. Surprise surprise he was not allowed to enter los.

The breaks in entries and various visas and VE has not aroused suspicion of you working. You can prop continue. The SE,s might eventually dry up, but if your comfortable returning to Germany you can obtain METV,s and I think keep coming long time.

Are you truly so lazy that you can't spell out the word probably or anything else you don't feel like? It would certainly be more helpful to the less informed if you spelled out the abbreviations, or do you not realize that this forum is supposed to be of benefit to the less experienced readers, who are coming here to learn,  not  confused  further with unknown terms? The original writer was posting for the benefit of others. Why not you? As it stands, your comment reads like a secret code known only to insiders. For those readers who need to know, I've decoded our friend's gibberish: VE=visa extension. METV= multiple entry tourist visa. setvs= single entry tourist visas . SE= single entry tourist visa

[aledale]

25 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

aledale, It might not suit you cost wise but the elite visa is perfect for someone mid 40s. Yes it is @ 3000usd per year (paid up front for 5 yrs) 500k baht, but it also has perks. Hassle free for your next 5 yrs. Also take into consideration amount taken off the elite visa cost without paying for your visas and visa runs. 

yes, thanks... i'll try to get more information about that visa...

[BigT73]

11 minutes ago, aledale said:

yes, thanks... i'll try to get more information about that visa...

Theres unconfirmed talk of the double entry visa making a comeback for a short period, this works for 7 months which can easily be done in laos and theres also the ed visa.

[aledale]

1 hour ago, BigT73 said:

Theres unconfirmed talk of the double entry visa making a comeback for a short period, this works for 7 months which can easily be done in laos and theres also the ed visa.

yes, i red, but we still need more information about the "temporary double entry visa"  and in any case I already have my return ticket to Italy. And about ED visa, I really can't study thai language ...

Thanks ????

 

 

[DrJack54]

7 hours ago, BigT73 said:

Theres unconfirmed talk of the double entry visa making a comeback for a short period, this works for 7 months which can easily be done in laos and theres also the ed visa.

And where prey tell did you hear this. I may be wrong but first I hear about this. What the F, does unconfirmed talk mean? Put up or shut up

[BigT73]

6 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

And where prey tell did you hear this. I may be wrong but first I hear about this. What the F, does unconfirmed talk mean? Put up or shut up

No need to insult behind a computer, I understand its your safe space but here it is.