Immigration officer said there's a rule about being in Thailand for no more than 90 days per 6 months on a tourist visa exemption. Is this new?

[rs11]

I've been to Thailand many times over the last 10 years and never had any problems until a few days ago.  At BKK airport I got asked for a return ticket, which has never happened before.  When I said I didn't have one, I got pulled aside to speak with a supervisor.

 

He made a baseless accusation that I'm not a genuine tourist and said to count how many days I was in the country over the last 6 months.  He showed me some website that claims there's a max 90 days per 6 months rule.  I ended up only being in the country for about 40 days over the last 6 months, so I should have been fine, but he still required I purchase a return ticket and said I'm not allowed to return after this 30-day stamp for at least another 3 months.

 

Is there any truth to this rule?  Are they getting more strict lately?

 

The other people waiting before me were very rude to him, so I think I may have just got unlucky and caught him in a bad mood.

[Mike Lister]

I don't know about the visa but it makes sense in that more than 2 x 90 days in a calendar year, would make you tax resident which would point towards you not being a common or garden variety of tourist.

[mokwit]

14 minutes ago, rs11 said:

I've been to Thailand many times over the last 10 years and never had any problems until a few days ago.  At BKK airport I got asked for a return ticket, which has never happened before.  When I said I didn't have one, I got pulled aside to speak with a supervisor.

 

He made a baseless accusation that I'm not a genuine tourist and said to count how many days I was in the country over the last 6 months.  He showed me some website that claims there's a max 90 days per 6 months rule.  I ended up only being in the country for about 40 days over the last 6 months, so I should have been fine, but he still required I purchase a return ticket and said I'm not allowed to return after this 30-day stamp for at least another 3 months.

 

Is there any truth to this rule?  Are they getting more strict lately?

 

The other people waiting before me were very rude to him, so I think I may have just got unlucky and caught him in a bad mood.

Generally this sort of thing only happens to people with no previous posting history on AN.

[rs11]

1 minute ago, mokwit said:

Generally this sort of thing only happens to people with no previous posting history on AN.

Well yeah, I imagine many people make their first post when they run into their first problem.  Are you accusing me of making up a story out of boredom?

[Liquorice]

20 minutes ago, rs11 said:

I've been to Thailand many times over the last 10 years and never had any problems until a few days ago.  At BKK airport I got asked for a return ticket, which has never happened before.  When I said I didn't have one, I got pulled aside to speak with a supervisor.

Entering how?

Tourist visa, or visa exempt.

 

If entering visa exempt, the airline usually insists on an outbound ticket within 30 days.

[DrJack54]

30 minutes ago, rs11 said:

He showed me some website that claims there's a max 90 days per 6 months rule.

How did he show this "website" 

Flop out his phone.

 

There is no such rule regarding max 90 days per 6 months on visa exempt or other type of entry.

He can request an onward flight however that is very rare. 

 

When were you last in Thailand? 

Your account seems  strange. 

[Sigma6]

There is no law/rule thats states this.

But at the same time, they dont want perpeptual tourists, so eventually they will refuse you entry if you're 'living' here on tourist stamps.

 

I ran the same gauntlet for years, but its definately getting harder.

[rs11]

7 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

Entering how?

Tourist visa, or visa exempt.

 

If entering visa exempt, the airline usually insists on an outbound ticket within 30 days.

Visa exempt.

 

5 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

How did he show this "website" 

Flop out his phone.

 

There is no such rule regarding max 90 days per 6 months on visa exempt or other type of entry.

He can request an onward flight however that is very rare. 

 

When were you last in Thailand? 

Your account seems very strange. 

He had me sitting next to his desk and pulled it up on his desktop computer.  I didn't think to look at the URL at the time.  It was a page in English.

 

I had just left Thailand after being here for 3 weeks for a 1 week trip to Korea and then came back to Thailand.  Maybe I should be more careful about coming back so soon?  The way people talk about endless visa runs, I didn't think it would be a problem.

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, Sigma6 said:

.....so eventually they will refuse you entry if you're 'living' here on tourist stamps.

The OP stated.....

"  I ended up only being in the country for about 40 days over the last 6 months..." 

 

Hardly "living here" 

[rs11]

7 minutes ago, Sigma6 said:

But at the same time, they dont want perpeptual tourists, so eventually they will refuse you entry if you're 'living' here on tourist stamps.

I do have a lot of covid Thai extension stamps in my passport that they were scrutinizing.  I assume they can see all that on their computer, but maybe after I get a new passport, it will be less of a problem.

[DrJack54]

9 minutes ago, rs11 said:

....had just left Thailand after being here for 3 weeks for a 1 week trip to Korea and then came back to Thailand.  Maybe I should be more careful about coming back so soon?

With only a 3 week stay in Thailand followed by one week out you should of have no issues to enter again visa exempt. 

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, rs11 said:

I assume they can see all that on their computer, but maybe after I get a new passport, it will be less of a problem.

That won't change things. 

Have you had an ED visa in last year or two? 

[rs11]

Just now, DrJack54 said:

Have you had an ED visa in last year or two? 

 

No, I've never had anything other than visa exempt entries, a couple 30 day extensions 7 years ago, and the 1 year of covid extensions more recently.

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, rs11 said:

 

No, I've never had anything other than visa exempt entries, a couple 30 day extensions 7 years ago, and the 1 year of covid extensions more recently.

Covid in some ways doesn't count.

The Thai gov provided amnesty and covid extensions...

The fact that you have never obtained non O volunteering or recent ED visa...to me seems you had bad luck. 

If you plan to obtain a 30 day extension to your visa exempt entry then think about a SETV for next entry. 

[The Cyclist]

16 minutes ago, Sigma6 said:

There is no law/rule thats states this.

But at the same time, they dont want perpeptual tourists, so eventually they will refuse you entry if you're 'living' here on tourist stamps.

 

I ran the same gauntlet for years, but its definately getting harder.

 

@rs11

 

To back up Sigma said.

 

Way back in 2011, I was pulled and told to get a proper visa.

 

I had about 18 months of working 6 on 6 off, and was about 8 months into working 4 on 4 off.

 

Every visit to Thailand during that 6 on 6 off period, was roughly 2 weeks in Thailand, 10 - 14 days somewhere else, and the last 2 weeks back in Thailand.

 

What the actual ruling is, I do not know, but it is not something that has just started.

[rs11]

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

The fact that you have never obtained non O volunteering or recent ED visa...to me seems you had bad luck. 

If you plan to obtain a 30 day extension to your visa exempt entry then think about a SETV for next entry. 

Thanks for your insight.  I'll be leaving after this 30 day entry and give it 3-4 months before returning, since that aligns with my travel plans anyway.  It does sound like just bad luck this time.

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, The Cyclist said:

Way back in 2011, I was pulled and told to get a proper visa.

Assume at the time you were clearly under 50 and had never had non O based on marriage.

Out of interest what did you do after the warning

[Liquorice]

40 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

There is no such rule regarding max 90 days per 6 months on visa exempt or other type of entry.

There is a rule applicable to VE entries according to the MFA, and this may be the site Immigration showed @rs11

 

https://www.mfa.go.th/en/publicservice/questions-answers-on-thai-visa?cate=5d5bcb4e15e39c30600068d3

 Nationals of the United States of America and 41 other countries are eligible

to travel to Thailand, for tourism purpose, with the exemption of visa and

are permitted to stay in the Kingdom for a period of not exceeding 30 days.

Therefore, you do not need a visa.

 

However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for

at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to

at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family. Otherwise, you may be

inconvenienced upon entry into the country.

 

Furthermore, foreigners who enter the Kingdom under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay of

not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry.

[The Cyclist]

6 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Assume at the time you were clearly under 50 and had never had non O based on marriage.

Out of interest what did you do after the warning

 

I was just about to turn 50 and had only ever used the 30 day stamp on arrival.

 

I opened an account and stuck 850k in it and on my next trip came armed with a visa and had it converted to a retirement extension.

[UKresonant]

1 hour ago, rs11 said:

I've been to Thailand many times over the last 10 years and never had any problems until a few days ago.  At BKK airport I got asked for a return ticket, which has never happened before.  When I said I didn't have one, I got pulled aside to speak with a supervisor.

 

He made a baseless accusation that I'm not a genuine tourist and said to count how many days I was in the country over the last 6 months.  He showed me some website that claims there's a max 90 days per 6 months rule.  I ended up only being in the country for about 40 days over the last 6 months, so I should have been fine, but he still required I purchase a return ticket and said I'm not allowed to return after this 30-day stamp for at least another 3 months.

 

Is there any truth to this rule?  Are they getting more strict lately?

 

The other people waiting before me were very rude to him, so I think I may have just got unlucky and caught him in a bad mood.

90 days in 6 months visa exempt was something they were doing years ago, just dredged it up again probably. 

 

Surprised it has caused a problem for you, as it was intended to deter people living there on visa exempts.

[DrJack54]

11 minutes ago, Liquorice said:

Furthermore, foreigners who enter the Kingdom under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay of

not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry

Zillion of on ground reports suggest this is nonsense.

MFA = Ignore. 

[DrJack54]

16 minutes ago, The Cyclist said:

I was just about to turn 50 and had only ever used the 30 day stamp on arrival.

Thought as much that's why I asked about your age.

Back in the day I would use visa exempt entries and the old triple entry tourist visa. 

Obtained mine in Saigon.

I was already 50 and my last tourist visa the io at Saigon consulate said .

...."you live Thailand why you no have non O visa" 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, mokwit said:

Generally this sort of thing only happens to people with no previous posting history on AN.

 

Quite incredible isn't it...   People come to a website originally called 'Thai Visa.com' which was designed around helping people with Visa questions.....  I mean, the cheek of inexperienced newbies to search on the web for a Thailand based forum and ask a question about Visas...   they must all be making up stories to make Thailand look bad, eh ????  ...  

 

(Its sad that I have to explain it, but yes, that was a sarcastic response)

[richard_smith237]

It does seem that 'some' Immigration officers are getting a little stropping and some people are catching them at a bad time and they are interpreting their own rules... 

 

I do recall a few years back that there was a rule about a certain amount of visa free entries per 180 days, but if I'm not mistaken that rule was abolished, however, training here is very poor and some immigration officers may be stuck on old rules, or as above, just very grumpy and looking for a little power trip.

 

That said, it does seem in this case that the Immigration was polite and helpful in showing him whatever website he was getting his information from and getting him to purchase a return ticket - its a better option than another poster has been facing recently.

 

 

Is the arrival landscape evolving again, are we seeing a change in attitudes ??... or is this just a couple of unfortunate one-off's who were unlucky enough to face a 'jobs-worth' ????

 

What are the alternatives ?

- No more than 2 or 3 Visa free entries per year ?

- Then ensure the entrant is on Tourist Visa's ?

[Liquorice]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Zillion of on ground reports suggest this is nonsense.

And this report suggests otherwise.

 

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

MFA = Ignore. 

That's ridiculous.

[rs11]

1 hour ago, Liquorice said:

There is a rule applicable to VE entries according to the MFA, and this may be the site Immigration showed @rs11

 

https://www.mfa.go.th/en/publicservice/questions-answers-on-thai-visa?cate=5d5bcb4e15e39c30600068d3

 

That looks exactly like what he showed me, already scrolled down to the part about 90 days.

[TheAppletons]

There is no such law, rule, or regulation re: staying in Thailand.

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, Liquorice said:

And this report suggests otherwise.

 

That's ridiculous.

As is you quoting MFA.

Surprised with your experience you are posting that nonsense.

The snap you posted from MFA earlier is farcical.

 

[bigt3116]

9 hours ago, Liquorice said:

There is a rule applicable to VE entries according to the MFA, and this may be the site Immigration showed @rs11

 

https://www.mfa.go.th/en/publicservice/questions-answers-on-thai-visa?cate=5d5bcb4e15e39c30600068d3

 Nationals of the United States of America and 41 other countries are eligible

to travel to Thailand, for tourism purpose, with the exemption of visa and

are permitted to stay in the Kingdom for a period of not exceeding 30 days.

Therefore, you do not need a visa.

 

However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for

at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to

at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family. Otherwise, you may be

inconvenienced upon entry into the country.

 

Furthermore, foreigners who enter the Kingdom under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay of

not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry.

 

That rule was rescinded in about 2009

[Jack1988]

 Can the outbound ticket also be a country near thailand or must be the country where you start to fly before to come to thailand?