Staying long term on Tourist Visa Only- Experiences?

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, swerve said:

An AN poster (Russian?) recently posted that Russians can do unlimited visa exempt land border bounces.

I recall that thread and that chap was trolling along the lines of "stand your ground" and insist upon entry to Thailand visa exempt.

Eventually stated Russian pp holder.

There are couple of countries with unlimited border entries.

Malaysia being one.

My understanding is Russia is not. 

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, hydraides said:

Doesn't sound legit , you're only allowed 2 x visa exempt per calender year

Depends on your passport. 

[swerve]

I looked at the visa run website for thaivisaservice.com. It states this about (Cambodian) border bounces:

 

Visa Rule

Update 26th June 2023@04:15am: Russian, Malaysian, Indonesian, Laotian, Vietnamese and Singaporean can do this kind of OUT/IN unlimited times.

[DrJack54]

19 minutes ago, swerve said:

I looked at the visa run website for thaivisaservice.com. It states this about (Cambodian) border bounces:

 

Visa Rule

Update 26th June 2023@04:15am: Russian, Malaysian, Indonesian, Laotian, Vietnamese and Singaporean can do this kind of OUT/IN unlimited times.

Did the OP state that he has Russian pp.

The quote you posted from visa company may refer to current situation for Russians.

Certainly not the norm . 

[swerve]

The OP didn't mention his passport nationality.  I looked this up because I was curious about it.  According to the website, 6 countries can do unlimited in/out border bounces.  As you said earlier, different passports have different rules.

[DrJack54]

23 minutes ago, swerve said:

The OP didn't mention his passport nationality.  I looked this up because I was curious about it

That's funny. 

[JensenZ]

13 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

What you are talking about is called visa fraud. It is illegal. Conspiracy to commit visa fraud is also illegal and this page should not be supporting it.

There's no need for scare-mongering.

 

Getting back to back visas is not fraud. Fraud is a ciminal offense and if convicted, you'll serve time in prison, then deported. It's only fraud if you're caught using fraudulent documents to obtain a visa.

 

How long you can stay and now many stamps/visas you can get is determined by immigration policy, which constantly changes and is enforced differently depending on which way the wind blows on any given day and which consulates/immigrant offices and border entry points you use. The worst that can happen is they refuse the visa, extension or entry.

[swerve]

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

That's funny. 

I did a border bounce to Malaysia 2 months ago. All of the other riders in the minivan were Russian.  One of the Russians asked me some questions about how I was planning to stay in Thailand for more than 30 days.  She mentioned she can't do a visa exempt extension.  This incident got me thinking about border bounces and her situation.

[Caldera]

1 hour ago, swerve said:

An AN poster (Russian?) recently posted that Russians can do unlimited visa exempt land border bounces.  Strangely, Russians can't do 30-day extensions on the visa exempt. A Russian couple told me this.  Unlimited border bounce / no extensions?

That's correct. Bilateral agreement between Thailand and Russia, no official limit for entries by air AND land, but no option to extend in-country.

[JensenZ]

22 hours ago, hydraides said:

So how many people here have managed to stayed year round or nearly year round with back to back Tourist Visa's?

 

I'm talking staying 1-2 years already - with maybe 1 week holiday inbetween - going to penang/kuala lumpur/vietanne etc in between visa's

 

Hard to gauge so close after COVID but how about just before COVID also 

So much messing around. Why not get an Ed visa? The best school in Pattaya (that I know of) will get you one year for 51k (including classes). It might sound expensive, but a lot better than the uncertainty of border hopping etc. At least you know you're going to get a full year, and then you can get a re-entry permit if you want to travel out of Thailand.

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, Caldera said:

That's correct. Bilateral agreement between Thailand and Russia, no official limit for entries by air AND land, but no option to extend in-country.

Can you provide "no limit" via land visa exempt entry for Russian pp holders link..

Edited June 29, 2023 by DrJack54

[Caldera]

15 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Can you provide "no limit" via land visa exempt entry for Russian pp holders link..

I haven't found the actual bilateral agreement, but I consider the excerpt that @swerveposted here earlier from Thai Visa Service's website reliable information.

 

That's a border bounce company that takes Russians to the Cambodian border on a daily basis.

 

https://www.thaivisaservice.com/

 

 

[Caldera]

22 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

So much messing around. Why not get an Ed visa? The best school in Pattaya (that I know of) will get you one year for 51k (including classes). It might sound expensive, but a lot better than the uncertainty of border hopping etc. At least you know you're going to get a full year, and then you can get a re-entry permit if you want to travel out of Thailand.

Out of curiosity, which school do you think of as the "best school in Pattaya"?

 

Regardless of the school though, I think people on an education visa or extension need to be very careful about using re-entry permits.

[JensenZ]

7 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I haven't found the actual bilateral agreement, but I consider the excerpt that @swerveposted here earlier from Thai Visa Service's website reliable information.

 

That's a border bounce company that takes Russians to the Cambodian border on a daily basis.

 

https://www.thaivisaservice.com/

 

 

And here's the problem in a nutshell (from the link you provided):

----------------------------------------------------------------

     Same old RULES: Travellers, under visa exemption scheme, arriving via an international airport will be given a 30 day visa exempt stamp, however people using OUT/IN method to extend their stay might be questioned after few visa exempt entries. There is no specific period given and there is no rule on how many visa exempt will be issued for one person. An old rule “90 days in a 180 days period” has been cancelled many years ago. As of 31st December 2016 Thailand limit visa exempt entries at land border to TWO per calendar year. The day you arrive is counted as first day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You never know for sure.

Edited June 29, 2023 by JensenZ

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I haven't found the actual bilateral agreement, but I consider the excerpt that @swerveposted here earlier from Thai Visa Service's website reliable information.

 

That's a border bounce company that takes Russians to the Cambodian border on a daily basis.

 

https://www.thaivisaservice.com/

 

 

Think you are  missing my point.

The company referred to is a visa agent.

Have not seen any official link from immigration that states Russian nationals can do unlimited visa exempt border bounces.

Perhaps a blind eye but I cannot find anything actually stated by immigration rules. 

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

And here's the problem in a nutshell (from the link you provided):

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Same old RULES: Travellers, under visa exemption scheme, arriving via an international airport will be given a 30 day visa exempt stamp, however people using OUT/IN method to extend their stay might be questioned after few visa exempt entries. There is no specific period given and there is no rule on how many visa exempt will be issued for one person. An old rule “90 days in a 180 days period” has been cancelled many years ago. As of 31st December 2016 Thailand limit visa exempt entries at land border to TWO per calendar year. The day you arrive is counted as first day.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You never know for sure.

You are typing about visa exempt via air. 

Current posts are about visa exempt via land.

Border bounce.

 

In any event all off topic as don't think OP has stated Russian nationality 

Edited June 29, 2023 by DrJack54

[Caldera]

10 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Think you are  missing my point.

The company referred to is a visa agent.

Have not seen any official link from immigration that states Russian nationals can do unlimited visa exempt border bounces.

Perhaps a blind eye but I cannot find anything actually stated by immigration rules. 

You could try to dig up the bilateral agreement. I couldn't easily find it and it isn't really relevant to this thread as you said, but maybe someone will find and post it eventually.

 

Personally I don't doubt that what the company posts is correct. I'm sure many of their border bounce customers are Russians nowadays, they're in a great position to know. 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Via air think it's 90 days visa exempt.

Not sure re border entries. 

 

Russians get 30-day visa exemptions both by land and air. However, the visa exempt entries are under a bilateral agreement, and the limit of two by land per calendar year does not apply.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, hydraides said:

Doesn't sound legit , you're only allowed 2 x visa exempt per calender year

Visa exemptions under bilateral agreement operate under completely different rules to the standard visa exemptions. As someone else posted, the 30-day extensions are not available. But, Russians (and some others who enter under bilateral agreement) are not subject to the limit on land entries. That does not mean that immigration officials have no discretion to deny them entry. However, with the current Russia-Ukraine war situation, Immigration is being lenient with Russians.

[BritTim]

10 minutes ago, Caldera said:

You could try to dig up the bilateral agreement. I couldn't easily find it and it isn't really relevant to this thread as you said, but maybe someone will find and post it eventually.

For those who are interested: https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/DKAezaV6MH/migrate_directory/news-20170322-222931-954008.pdf.

 

Note that this English version is the legally binding one (rather than the translations to Thai and Russian).

[save the frogs]

1 hour ago, JensenZ said:

So much messing around. Why not get an Ed visa? The best school in Pattaya (that I know of) will get you one year for 51k (including classes).

there's one school ( think its in pattaya) that claims on their web site they can extend the ED Visa for up to 3 years

[JensenZ]

1 hour ago, save the frogs said:

there's one school ( think its in pattaya) that claims on their web site they can extend the ED Visa for up to 3 years

There didn't seem to be any problems for 2 years, so I suppose 3 years is quite possible, BUT, you need to start the whole process from the beginning for each year. The maximum extension on each Non-O visa is 1 year. That's one year total, not 15 months.

[JensenZ]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

For those who are interested: https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/DKAezaV6MH/migrate_directory/news-20170322-222931-954008.pdf.

 

Note that this English version is the legally binding one (rather than the translations to Thai and Russian).

That was signed in 2005. Are you sure there have been no amendments in the past 18 years?

[JensenZ]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

You are typing about visa exempt via air. 

Current posts are about visa exempt via land.

Border bounce.

 

In any event all off topic as don't think OP has stated Russian nationality 

I'm not typing about anything (I copied and pasted it - a quote), but the note by the Visa run company is NOT refering to multiple visa-free entry stamps at the airport, but at the land borders.

 

Quote: "however people using OUT/IN method to extend their stay might be questioned after few visa exempt entries. 

 

The "OUT/IN method" they are referring to is the land border bounce. Very few people would fly out and back every 30 days. That's a bit extreme. It's a visa run company specializing on van trips to borders.

 

This is not off-topic and is general information - nothing specifically related to Russians.  

Edited June 29, 2023 by JensenZ

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

Quote: "however people using OUT/IN method to extend their stay might be questioned after few visa exempt entries. 

 

The "OUT/IN method" they are referring to is the land border bounce. Very few people would fly out and back every 30 days. That's a bit extreme. It's a visa run company specializing on van trips to borders.

What does "few visa exempt entries" mean.

 

The maximum visa exempt entries per calendar year via land is TWO.

[JensenZ]

8 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What does "few visa exempt entries" mean.

 

The maximum visa exempt entries per calendar year via land is TWO.

Few: "a small number of" is a typical definition.

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, JensenZ said:

I'm not typing about anything (I copied and pasted it - a quote), but the note by the Visa run company is NOT refering to multiple visa-free entry stamps at the airport, but at the land borders.

 

Quote: "however people using OUT/IN method to extend their stay might be questioned after few visa exempt entries. 

 

The "OUT/IN method" they are referring to is the land border bounce. Very few people would fly out and back every 30 days. That's a bit extreme. It's a visa run company specializing on van trips to borders.

 

This is not off-topic and is general information - nothing specifically related to Russians.  

I find it surprising that you do not read the complete text of what you quote. The last part of that quote (which qualified what they had written long ago) was 

6 hours ago, JensenZ said:

     Same old RULES: 

   <snip>

As of 31st December 2016 Thailand limit visa exempt entries at land border to TWO per calendar year.

Of course, that applies to those using standard visa exemptions, not those under bilateral agreement that each have their own rules.

[bigt3116]

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

My understanding is Russia is not. 

"Due to bilateral visa waiver agreements with Thailand, nationals of the following countries and territories holding normal passports can enter Thailand without a visa for up to the duration listed below.^[1][2] They may enter via any port of entry "

 

Russia most certainly is on the list of those that can use land/sea borders as often as they like.

[bigt3116]

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Certainly not the norm

Yes it is the norm.

 

Signed in Kuala Lumpur on 13th December 2005

[bigt3116]

7 hours ago, Caldera said:

You could try to dig up the bilateral agreement. I couldn't easily find it and it isn't really relevant to this thread as you said, but maybe someone will find and post it eventually.

Here it is.

 

https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/DKAezaV6MH/migrate_directory/news-20170322-222931-954008.pdf