Come to Thailand 1 month on 2

[KevinFR]

Hello,

 

I'm French.

I have the opportunity with my work to work remotely 1 month out of 2. I decided to start doing this from April.

Do you think I might have problems if I do not get a visa every time? That I only use the exemption?
I had the bad experience last year of being evicted trying to make a visa run in Cambodia, I take my precautions this time!

Thanks you,

[MARK74]

depends how long you are planning on staying. keep the work to yourself regardless.

the fact you had problems last year doesn't look too good. get a new passport before you come back (some thinks that helps if you have history) would be better to have a visa rather than using exempt and make sure all the requirements are met. 

if doing exempt only 2 via land per year, by air no limit but not a good option as the airport IO's are known to pick up on those using them for more than tourism which by the sound of it, you would be.

don't forget you can extend each entry by 30 days at local immigration 

Edited March 5, 2019 by MARK74

[KevinFR]

Less than 30 days alternately.

The problem is also that I am in an online bank so difficult to have the bank proof that he asks. Otherwise I will have taken the visa 6 months.

[lamyai3]

18 minutes ago, KevinFR said:

I had the bad experience last year of being evicted trying to make a visa run in Cambodia, I take my precautions this time!

By evicted, are you talking about your landlord/rental situation? If so this has nothing to do with immigration.

 

Half a dozen visits a year on visa exempt entries for airport arrivals may be possible, this is limited to two per year at land borders. Single entry 60 day visas (especially from home country) are always better, and 30 days out of the country every second month doesn't look too bad - plausible that you are a frequent tourist who makes their money elsewhere. 

[MARK74]

42 minutes ago, KevinFR said:

Less than 30 days alternately.

The problem is also that I am in an online bank so difficult to have the bank proof that he asks. Otherwise I will have taken the visa 6 months.

visa exempts should be fine. if you have lots of previous stamps which i assume you have due to being denied entry at cambodia last year (i think that's what you meant?) then having a clean passport would probably be better. make sure you carry the cash required and have onward flight etc just in case.

avoid female IO's counters at airport immigration control, they have a reputation for being, let's say thorough

[KevinFR]

Currently I do not have much stamp. I made an exemption + 1 extra month. I wanted renewed by doing a visa run but they refused

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, KevinFR said:

I had the bad experience last year of being evicted trying to make a visa run in Cambodia, I take my precautions this time!

7 minutes ago, KevinFR said:

Currently I do not have much stamp. I made an exemption + 1 extra month. I wanted renewed by doing a visa run but they refused

I am guessing you were refused entry - likely at the Poipet/Aranyaprathet border-crossing?    If at that crossing - it is a bad entry-point, where they ignore the laws/rules and make up their own - similar to the Bangkok Airports (also Krabi and Phuket), but even worse.  At any other land-entry point, the laws are followed, so you could receive 2x visa-exempt entries per calendar year without a problem. 

 

As to flying in for visa-exempts on a "1 month on, one month off" schedule, I would expect you to have problems on-entry, eventually.  With a Tourist Visa, less problems, but still could have issues given the lawless unpredictability of entering by air in Bangkok.  Thailand has decided to allow it's capital-city airport immigration to be run like Mogudishu, Somalia - no oversight to ensure actual laws are enforced as written - just whatever the "big man" at that locale decides "should be" the law, in typical anarchist fashion. 

 

An METV could work, combined with having paperwork showing your non-Thai work and lots of cash or travelers checks in your pocket to show as spending money (not plastic - at least 20K Baht worth, but more is better).  Your odds of rejection with that combination are extremely unlikely.

 

If you have family here, or are over 50 years of age, there are other options.  If not, that's the best I can think of for your situation.

[Caldera]

13 minutes ago, KevinFR said:

Currently I do not have much stamp. I made an exemption + 1 extra month. I wanted renewed by doing a visa run but they refused

Where did that happen? At the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border crossing?

 

As for your future plans, assuming that you fly in from France, carry the usual (cash, proof of flight out within 30 days) plus proof of employment in France which could be helpful if you get questioned.

 

[KevinFR]

18 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

I am guessing you were refused entry - likely at the Poipet/Aranyaprathet border-crossing?    If at that crossing - it is a bad entry-point, where they ignore the laws/rules and make up their own - similar to the Bangkok Airports (also Krabi and Phuket), but even worse.  At any other land-entry point, the laws are followed, so you could receive 2x visa-exempt entries per calendar year without a problem. 

 

En ce qui concerne les vols exempts de visa avec un calendrier de "1 mois, un mois de congé", je m'attendrais à ce que vous ayez des problèmes à l’entrée, éventuellement. Avec un visa de touriste, vous rencontrez moins de problèmes, mais vous pouvez toujours avoir des problèmes étant donné l’imprévisibilité anarchique de l’entrée par avion à Bangkok. La Thaïlande a décidé d'autoriser l'immigration dans les aéroports de sa capitale comme à Mogudishu, en Somalie - aucun contrôle visant à garantir que les lois en vigueur sont appliquées - tel que le "grand homme" de cette localité décide "devrait être" la loi, en général mode anarchiste. 

 

Un METV pourrait fonctionner, combiné à des papiers montrant votre travail non thaïlandais et beaucoup d'argent ou de chèques de voyage dans votre poche pour indiquer que vous dépensez de l'argent (pas de plastique - une valeur minimale de 20 000 bahts, mais plus c'est mieux). Vos chances de rejet avec cette combinaison sont extrêmement improbables.

 

Si vous avez de la famille ou si vous avez plus de 50 ans, il existe d'autres options. Sinon, je pense le mieux à votre situation.

Yes, I crossed the border in poipet. A disaster this border.
I have no problem getting a lot of money on me, money is not a problem and I do not live in backpacker in Bangkok. And besides that I have a very good salary in France. If they ask me questions, can I say that I work remotely for a French company?

 

The problem of the tourist visa is that it must be redone every month, and each time I look only 1 month in France

Edited March 5, 2019 by KevinFR

[JackThompson]

8 minutes ago, KevinFR said:

Yes, I crossed the border in poipet. A disaster this border.
I have no problem getting a lot of money on me, money is not a problem and I do not live in backpacker in Bangkok. And besides that I have a very good salary in France. If they ask me questions, can I say that I work remotely for a French company?

The Poipet entry-point is a nightmare.  I am sorry you had to experience that.

 

Yes - I think a METV + cash + carrying proof of your job there would get through even the worst IOs.  For job evidence, recent proof of payment and anything else showing ongoing employment should work. 

But, entering without a Visa (visa-exempt), others with similar working arrangements have shown proof of employment, and still been told they must "get a visa."

As far as having the cash - it's not about if you "really have the money" or are a "backpacker" type - they just use the lack of cash as an excuse to deny entry (as if ATMs didn't exist).   It is Farangs "sticking around in their country" which a clique within some government agencies is determined to stop.

 

The main thing to keep in mind - the odds of being interrogated are low, especially with a visa, but you want to be prepared so you don't experience rejected-entry, put in detention, then put on a last minute flight back where you came from.  Your month out of the country shows you are not working in Thailand illegally (as if you would want to).  This, combined with proof of employment elsewhere and money will lead them to choose an easier target to put in detention.

[KevinFR]

Thank you very much for this information.

The number of tourist visa is not limited?

[JackThompson]

9 minutes ago, KevinFR said:

Thank you very much for this information.

The number of tourist visa is not limited?

There is no legal-limit to the number of Tourist Visas you can obtain, though some consulates invent their own limitations.  There are special limits applying at the Thai consulate in France.  I worry these could get in your way - as they generally have a "90-days out" policy. 

 

The best would be a METV (multiple-entry tourist visa), which is only available in your passport-country.  This would give you 6 months of entries.  It is possible, given your work-schedule, that you can get this there, even w/o the "time out" period they usually require, but you would need to inquire directly to find out for sure.

[KevinFR]

I still found myself at the officer's office when arriving at the airport. The immigration officer saw that I had already been deported when I tried to make a visa run.

 

For next time, can redoing the passport can prevent me from being blotted again?

[bigginhill]

Did they send you back or were you allowed entry? 

[KevinFR]

I was allowed to return this time. But I have to come back in August I think I might be stuck

[JackThompson]

On 4/20/2019 at 4:57 PM, KevinFR said:

I still found myself at the officer's office when arriving at the airport. The immigration officer saw that I had already been deported when I tried to make a visa run.

Was this with a METV, SETV, or Visa-Exempt?

 

What questions did they ask - or did they say anything about, "You stay in Thailand too much," ??  Did you tell them about your work-rotation (1 month here, one month there) , and what was their reaction?

 

On 4/20/2019 at 4:57 PM, KevinFR said:

For next time, can redoing the passport can prevent me from being blotted again?

It could help - it is possible the IO saw the rejection-stamp in your passport, and that triggered him sending you to the senior IO. 

 

It is also in their computer-system, but we don't know if it would show up on the IO's screen, unless they looked for it.

 

But, if you have an METV now, you would need to show that Visa page for your next entry, which would bring the old passport with the rejection-stamp into things.

 

Since you now have an OK entry, after the rejection, I would think the old rejection-stamp would be less of an issue next time - assuming you are gone a full-month between leaving Thailand and returning, and enter with a Visa (not exempt).