Still Confused About The 180 Days

[sosisbesar]

The more I read about the new visa regulations on the Web, the more confused I get. For instance, I'm still unsure how the 180 days are being interpreted.

a. Some say they take effect counting from the first entry after 1 October.

b. Others say that they count back from your next visit.

Since I'm leaving for BKK next week I'm really starting to get paranoid.

My last visit to Thailand was on 30 October 2006 and I returned home on 7 February 2007. During this trip I made several side trips to neighbouring countries in order not to overstay the 30 days of my VOA.

Now I have bought a cheap last minute 30-day-ticket on the impulse last week. My arrival date in BKK will be on 5 May. The return date on my ticket is 4 June. This ticket doesn't allow for any changes so if I'm not given the full 30 days' stay I'll have to buy a new ticket in Bangkok to return home earlier.

Taking my cue from premise a, my first 180 days period started on 30 October 2006 and will end on 1 May next, and I will be starting my next 180 days period upon my arrival on 5 May. In that case everything in the garden is lovely.

However, if b is the correct interpretation then all the days I spent in Thailand 6 months prior to 5 May will be taken into account. They will then start counting from 5 December and I won't be given a 30-day stamp, because I've already used up 66 days (from 5 December 2006 till 7 February 2007) of the 90 days.

Which of the two interpretations is correct?

[aussiestyle1983]

Not to worry mate, you should get your 30 days

Edited April 29, 2007 by aussiestyle1983

[lopburi3]

I assume you stayed out of Thailand for brief periods - or you were very lucky - as the time from Oct 30 until Feb 7 exceeds 90 days.

From most reports your six month period would end April 30 so you should receive a 30 day stay OK.

[sosisbesar]

I assume you stayed out of Thailand for brief periods - or you were very lucky - as the time from Oct 30 until Feb 7 exceeds 90 days.

From most reports your six month period would end April 30 so you should receive a 30 day stay OK.

Yes I made 3 side trips in order not to overstay my 30-days visas.

It might be worth mentioning that on the last of these "visa runs," when I returned from Lao on 14 January, the immigration officer highlighted the "Admitted-until-date" of 12 February. I've always wondered why he did that.

[brianwl]

Check out this link from the Phuket Gazette, it may help clarify some things.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=5662

[sosisbesar]

Check out this link from the Phuket Gazette, it may help clarify some things.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=5662

Thanks. There's a thread with conflicting views about this article on the forum.

According to this article and the comments made above, it's most likely that they'll start counting the 180 days from my 1st entry after 1 Oct. This is favourable for me since my forthcoming visit will initiate a new 180-day period