Confused - visa options.

[Inquisitorial]

Hi I am hoping some of you would be able to provide us some guidance.  

 

Some Background:

 

We first arrived in Bangkok in August 2019 on a 30 day tourist exemption visa.  We have left the country every 30 days to explore Asia and elsewhere in the world.

 

Since Jan 2020 we have returned to Thailand via air twice.  We were supposed to fly to South Korea at the end of this month but due to the Coronavirus this trip has understandably been cancelled.

 

Our next trip is booked to depart Thailand on the 2nd June.

 

We sought one 30 day extension in January which was granted and we are now required to leave the country on or before the 1st April.

 

My question is:

 

1.  How many times can you enter Thailand on a tourist exemption visa?  I am confused as I have read two times and six times.  

 

2. Can you extend a Tourist 30 day exemption more than once in a calendar year.

 

3.  Any other options open to us? 

 

Your guidance/advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ubonjoe]

1. By air their is no written limit on visa exempt entries. But getting them back to back to stay here can be a problem.

You can do 2 at land border crossing per calendar year. That would be a better choice rather than getting another one by air.

2. You can get one 30 day extension for every visa exempt entry. There is no limit on how many times you can do it.

3. If planning to stay longer then getting a single entry tourist visa at a nearby embassy or consulate would be a better choice. It would allow one 60 day entry that can be extended for 30 days.

[BritTim]

You can enter Thailand twice in a calendar year via a land crossing. So far, clear. There is no official hard limit when entering by air. When you request visa exemption at an airport, it is at the discretion of Immigration whether it will be granted. The "six visa exempt limit" has never been a firm limit. It just notifies the official that you are a frequent user of visa exemptions, and prompts the official to scrutinise you more closely as a "genuine tourist".

 

With your history, I would not be at all surprised if you start getting aggressively questioned about what you are doing in Thailand when trying to enter visa exempt by air. If convenient, get tourist visas. The visa exempt entry by land at most crossings is absolutely fine. However, as noted, you can only do that twice in a calendar year.

[Inquisitorial]

Thank you so much Ubonjoe and BritTrim. great info ????????

 

at this stage we are thinking of flight to KL and obtain the 60 day visa.  Off to explore flight deals. 

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, Inquisitorial said:

Thank you so much Ubonjoe and BritTrim. great info ????????

 

at this stage we are thinking of flight to KL and obtain the 60 day visa.  Off to explore flight deals. 

The cheapest flights to KL will be DMK.

Good luck with reentry.

[DrJack54]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The cheapest flights to KL will be DMK.

Good luck with reentry.

OP, you state you entered Thailand August 2019. How many days in total have you spent in los until now?

Reason I ask is that you really are tourists, however the way Thailand works is that visa exempt exempt entries esp to DMK airport will at some point cause you issue.

Your obtaining visa now but there might be an issue at some airports

[Inquisitorial]

42 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, you state you entered Thailand August 2019. How many days in total have you spent in los until now?

Reason I ask is that you really are tourists, however the way Thailand works is that visa exempt exempt entries esp to DMK airport will at some point cause you issue.

Your obtaining visa now but there might be an issue at some airports

Since August we have been in Thailand for about 140 days, we have a holiday home here and use Bangkok as a base for our travel.  Most of our arrivals have been via Suvarnabhumi airport, we have only had one arrival at DMK and this trip to KL will be our second. 

[DrJack54]

8 minutes ago, Inquisitorial said:

Since August we have been in Thailand for about 140 days, we have a holiday home here and use Bangkok as a base for our travel.  Most of our arrivals have been via Suvarnabhumi airport, we have only had one arrival at DMK and this trip to KL will be our second. 

So let's call it 5 months in over ~ 7 months with frequent trips out. You are tourists. I'm thinking only joint give your grief would be DMK.

Also you plan next to return with setv. 

You will be fine. Worst case scenario would be denied entry at DMK fly back to KL. Your setv would still be valid and you could enter via border or fly to CMX no problem.

I fly every couple of weeks. When I see someone hassled in front of me at DMK, I have noticed the farang with detailed info of travel plans etc seem to have less trouble. 

Enjoy your stay.