I am a US citizen and can enter Thailand with a 30 day Visa exempt stamp. 
I want to travel to Singapore for 3 or 4 days while in Thailand.  Do I need to apply for a re-entry permit?  I do not plan to stay in Thailand  more than 30 days, so I it is not important to get new 30 day visa exempt stamp.  I just want to make sure that I can re-enter Thailand without the re-entry permit.  

A question please

 

How many times have you been to Thailand (on a 30 day visa exempt) in lets say the last 1-2 years.

 

If only a Few 30 day visa exempt then no issue getting a new one on arrival back into Thailand.

 

Just to be certain (on returning from Singapore) make sure have a copy of your flight OUT with you so that you can show the IO at the airport that you will not stay long.

 

A re-entry permit would be required to maintain the validity of an actual visa or extension of stay.  A visa exempt is not a visa.  If you exit the country before the end of the visa exempt period then it is done. 

57 minutes ago, Yahtzee said:

 I just want to make sure that I can re-enter Thailand without the re-entry permit

Yes.

When you exit Thailand your 30 day stamp is done..

You can then reenter Thailand with and be issued a other 30 day visa exempt stamp.

 

Be aware that flying visa exempt the airline at departure for flight to thailand may/will require an onward flight within 30 days.

Check out "onwardticket.com for companies that can cover that with "rent a flight" 

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1293995-proof-of-onward-travel/

28 minutes ago, Yahtzee said:

want to travel to Singapore for 3 or 4 days while in Thailand.  Do I need to apply for a re-entry permit?

To preserve you "Permission to Stay" date you need a re-netry permit but why bother? You can enter Thailand again visa exempt and get a new Permission to Stay date. 

7 hours ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

To preserve you "Permission to Stay" date you need a re-netry permit but why bother? 

Actually, I don't believe a re-entry permit will preserve in any manner a 30-day exempt stamp. The 30-day exempt stamp will expire when OP leaves the country and OP will get a new 30-day stamp upon re-entry into the country (presuming he doesn't have some unusual history in Thailand).  That's all that's needed for the OP's stated plans. And it costs nothing.

5 minutes ago, CMBob said:

Actually, I don't believe a re-entry permit will preserve in any manner a 30-day exempt stamp. The 30-day exempt stamp will expire when OP leaves the country and OP will get a new 30-day stamp upon re-entry into the country (presuming he doesn't have some unusual history in Thailand).  That's all that's needed for the OP's stated plans. And it costs nothing.

A reentry permit would protect his 30 day stamp (permission of stay)

 

As has been pointed out already he can just exit and reenter visa exempt.

 

 

1 hour ago, CMBob said:

Actually, I don't believe a re-entry permit will preserve in any manner a 30-day exempt stamp. The 30-day exempt stamp will expire when OP leaves the country and OP will get a new 30-day stamp upon re-entry into the country (presuming he doesn't have some unusual history in Thailand).  That's all that's needed for the OP's stated plans. And it costs nothing.

A re-entry permit can be used to protect any permission to stay. While uncommon, this includes a visa exempt entry and, on rare occasions, may make sense. Consider that you are only allowed two land-based visa exemptions per calendar year, and you want to make a quick trip over the border, coming back nearly immediately. If you have already used your two via land for the current year, without a re-entry permit you could not cross. Even if you would still be eligible for a new visa exemption, you might choose to avoid using one of the precious land-based exemptions in case you need it later.

10 hours ago, Yahtzee said:

Do I need to apply for a re-entry permit?  

No as you can not even apply for one.

1 minute ago, brianthainess said:

No as you can not even apply for one.

He can obtain a reentry permit.

Read post above yours. 

I've never heard anything as ridiculous as getting a re-entry permit for a visa exempt entry. 

 

(a) what's the point as you get a new visa exempt entry when you return anyway, so why pay 1000 baht to limit duration of your next stay

 

(b) a re-entry permit is for a visa or the extension of stay for that visa. Entering visa exempt obviously means you don't have a visa to link a re-entry permit to

 

10 minutes ago, Pattaya57 said:

(b) a re-entry permit is for a visa or the extension of stay for that visa. Entering visa exempt obviously means you don't have a visa to link a re-entry permit to

That is the biggest misunderstanding people have about re-entry permits. The re-entry permit protects the existing permission to stay. It does not matter how you reached that permission to stay. A re-entry permit to protect a permission to stay from a visa exemption is rare, but can be logical. See my earlier post.

32 minutes ago, BritTim said:

That is the biggest misunderstanding people have about re-entry permits. The re-entry permit protects the existing permission to stay. It does not matter how you reached that permission to stay. A re-entry permit to protect a permission to stay from a visa exemption is rare, but can be logical. See my earlier post.

Do you have a  regulation/source for that statement? I've looked at several agent sites and they specifically say they cannot get you a re-entry permit for a visa exempt entry. 

 

I'll not put up agent links but here is a visa guide page saying the same thing 

 

https://visaguide.world/asia/thailand-visa/re-entry-permit/

 

4 hours ago, CMBob said:

Actually, I don't believe a re-entry permit will preserve in any manner a 30-day exempt stamp.

A reentry permit will preserve the "Permission to Stay" date. I have used it for tourist visa but never for exempt but technically I don't see why not. But there is no need as I mentioned earlier. You can get another exempt entry with a new Permission to Stay" date beyond your current one. 

Reentry Permits have an end date.  My reentry permit end date is the same date when my current visa expires.  So the end date of a reentry permit based upon a 30 Day Visa Exempt would be the same date. 

3 hours ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

A reentry permit will preserve the "Permission to Stay" date. I have used it for tourist visa but never for exempt but technically I don't see why not

Why not would be because a visa exempt entry is not eligible for a re-entry permit (as I linked in previous post)