This year I will soon have spent 9 months in Thailand on my Special Tourist Visa. I have a 1-month trip to Vietnam coming up and then I'd like to stay in Thailand for a year using a mix of tourist visas and visa exemptions, all extended, as follows.. could it be done?

 

Tourist visa from Ho Chi Minh, VN (3 mos)
Visa exempt arriving at Hua Hin airport (2.5 mos)
Tourist visa from Vientiane, Laos (3 mos)
2 land border visa runs (4 mos)

You are asking us to gauge the mood of immigration officials at the particular times you will be arriving? ????

 

 

 

8 hours ago, underthesky said:

Visa exempt arriving at Hua Hin airport (2.5 mos)

Possible weak spot. 

so you are planning on staying a year on a mix of tourist visas and visa exempt, after the best part of a year here  already on STV, good luck with that but i would plan on the possibility of being refused entry at any of the attempts you make to enter, don't leave too much stuff in Thailand and don't have money tied up in Thailand.

I do think you may annoy and 'flare up' some IO's with that plan...........

Where are you from? Does your country offer the e-visa system?

 

If so you could apply for a METV while you're away in Vietnam and then you're covered for at least the next 6-9 months.

The airport arrivals, especially visa exempt, involve risk. Two visa exempt entries per calendar year are very safe at almost all land crossings. Arriving with a visa at almost all land crossings is very safe. With a visa, some airports are safe; a few airports have been known to improperly deny entry to those with tourist visas from an embassy/consulate.