Thailand Visa Exemption (60 days) and Visa On Arrival (VOA) (15 days)

[mikebell]

Thank you all for your responses. I/he are much relieved.  I have, however thought of a further complication; he/my daughter/myself are having a holiday in Vietnam.  After a short stay in Bangkok, does leaving the country & then returning negate his 60 day Visa Waiver?

14 hours ago, treetops said:

 

That's for Visa on Arrival, he presumably wants Visa Waiver which is what most western visitors get if they haven't applied for a visa back home.

 

However your post also mentions TR60 which is the abbreviation for a 60 day Tourist Visa.  Can you clarify what you're after?

He wants to stay in Thailand for 60 days on our return from Vietnam.

[VBF]

9 hours ago, mikebell said:

Thank you all for your responses. I/he are much relieved.  I have, however thought of a further complication; he/my daughter/myself are having a holiday in Vietnam.  After a short stay in Bangkok, does leaving the country & then returning negate his 60 day Visa Waiver?

He wants to stay in Thailand for 60 days on our return from Vietnam.

No.

 

Presuming your son hasn't been in an out of Thailand on a regular basis in the last year or so and usually lives elsewhere in the world? 

He'll get a 60 day exempt when he first arrives in Thailand.

Then, after his  "short stay in Bangkok," he'll leave for VN. When he returns from VN to Thailand he'll get another 60 day exempt. Presumably his holiday in VN will be a week or more, so it's clearly not just a border hop?

I would suggest that he keeps his UK return ticket with him so he can show Thai Immigration that he is truly a tourist.

 

Note: There has been talk / rumour of reducing the 60 days exempt to 30 days. This is presently ONLY a rumour but keep your eyes open on AN in case that does happen.

 

Note 2: He will need to complete a new TDAC form within 3 days of each entry into Thailand as will you and your daughter of course.  https://tdac.immigration.go.th/arrival-card/#/home

 

I'm almost certain all the above is correct - possibly if @Maestro is reading this, he'll confirm please.

[mikebell]

16 hours ago, VBF said:

No.

 

Presuming your son hasn't been in an out of Thailand on a regular basis in the last year or so and usually lives elsewhere in the world? 

He'll get a 60 day exempt when he first arrives in Thailand.

Then, after his  "short stay in Bangkok," he'll leave for VN. When he returns from VN to Thailand he'll get another 60 day exempt. Presumably his holiday in VN will be a week or more, so it's clearly not just a border hop?

I would suggest that he keeps his UK return ticket with him so he can show Thai Immigration that he is truly a tourist.

 

Note: There has been talk / rumour of reducing the 60 days exempt to 30 days. This is presently ONLY a rumour but keep your eyes open on AN in case that does happen.

 

Note 2: He will need to complete a new TDAC form within 3 days of each entry into Thailand as will you and your daughter of course.  https://tdac.immigration.go.th/arrival-card/#/home

 

I'm almost certain all the above is correct - possibly if @Maestro is reading this, he'll confirm please.

Excellent full answer.  Thank you for your time and expertise.

[JDMCanuck]

Copied and pasted from US Embassy and Consulate in Thailand

  https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/

"American citizens who wish to remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days during any six-month period will be required to obtain a valid Thai visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate that is authorized to issue visas"

 

 

According to the above my vacation plans will not work as I planned on visiting Thailand for 60 days from October 20 to Dec 20 , return to N America for 2 weeks from Dec 22 to Jan 7, then back to Thailand Jan 8  to March 7 , which puts me over the limit as stated above, as I will have entered on 2 Visa Exempt (VE) 60 day entries and stayed 120 days within less than 6 months, I had even thought, depending on how the winter in Canada was I might get a 30 day extension to the 2nd 60 day VE in January and not go back until April.

 

Any input is appreciated. Can anyone confirm the above as correct please?

[BrandonJT]

9 hours ago, JDMCanuck said:

Copied and pasted from US Embassy and Consulate in Thailand

  https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/

"American citizens who wish to remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days during any six-month period will be required to obtain a valid Thai visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate that is authorized to issue visas"

 

 

According to the above my vacation plans will not work as I planned on visiting Thailand for 60 days from October 20 to Dec 20 , return to N America for 2 weeks from Dec 22 to Jan 7, then back to Thailand Jan 8  to March 7 , which puts me over the limit as stated above, as I will have entered on 2 Visa Exempt (VE) 60 day entries and stayed 120 days within less than 6 months, I had even thought, depending on how the winter in Canada was I might get a 30 day extension to the 2nd 60 day VE in January and not go back until April.

 

Any input is appreciated. Can anyone confirm the above as correct please?

There is no rule that says this.  The US embassy does not make rules about staying in Thailand, that's Thai immigration.  But each entry is at the discretion of the immigration officers. People tend to start having problems if they've entered as a tourist and applied for a 30-day extensioon after that.  The other general guideline seems to be 90 days in 180 days can be problematic, or 6 months within a year.

[Liquorice]

12 hours ago, JDMCanuck said:

"American citizens who wish to remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days during any six-month period will be required to obtain a valid Thai visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate that is authorized to issue visas"

That is airing on caution with particular reference to entering VE and spending longer than 90 'consecutive' days in Thailand.

 

I foresee two problems with your plan.

12 hours ago, JDMCanuck said:

According to the above my vacation plans will not work as I planned on visiting Thailand for 60 days from October 20 to Dec 20

If you arrive on Oct 20th, then 60 days would be Dec 19th. The day of arrival counts as day 1.

Departing any later than Dec 19th, you'd either need a 30 day extension or be on overstay.

 

12 hours ago, JDMCanuck said:

then back to Thailand Jan 8  to March 7 , which puts me over the limit as stated above, as I will have entered on 2 Visa Exempt (VE) 60 day entries and stayed 120 days within less than 6 months, I had even thought, depending on how the winter in Canada was I might get a 30 day extension to the 2nd 60 day VE in January and not go back until April.

 

You'll be entering by air on both occasions, and Immigration could question your intentions with just such a short break of two weeks before reentering VE again.

Probably not a problem by land, but by air it's completely at the discretion of the entry clearance officer.

I'd be tempted to apply for and enter with a valid tourist visa for the second trip.

 

There is no rule on such types and numbers of entries within a given period of time, it's more guidance the Embassies note.

[treetops]

6 hours ago, Liquorice said:

If you arrive on Oct 20th, then 60 days would be Dec 19th.

 

December 18th I think.

 

12 days in Oct.

30 days in Nov.

18 days in Dec.

 

[Liquorice]

13 minutes ago, treetops said:

December 18th I think.

Correct - Google needs a maths overhaul.   😁

[Upnotover]

On 6/7/2025 at 6:56 AM, mikebell said:

Thank you all for your responses. I/he are much relieved.  I have, however thought of a further complication; he/my daughter/myself are having a holiday in Vietnam.  After a short stay in Bangkok, does leaving the country & then returning negate his 60 day Visa Waiver?

He wants to stay in Thailand for 60 days on our return from Vietnam.

He'll get another 60 day exempt entry on his return. Make sure he has a ticket out of Thailand within those 60 days, likely the airline will want to see it.

[RAZZELL]

On 2/21/2025 at 12:21 AM, daeumtnaot said:

Thanks for your reply.  There was a comment on a different forum/platform where they said if you pay something to get into like a VIP lane at immigration at the airport (can't remember what it was called) then you'll have no problem.  They also said it's better to go to a male immigration officer as the female ones are often trying to prove themselves.

 

I actually neglected to bring all the Thai Baht when I left.  Can other currencies be used in place of Thai baht?

 

It's called a "Guaranteed Entry Service." Have a look on Facebook for "Friendly Thai Visa Services".

[Maestro]

2 hours ago, Liquorice said:

Correct - Google needs a maths overhaul.   😁

 

There are two mathematical models.

 

Where 

a = arrival date; and

d = departure date

 

1. Counting days, eg immigration:

d-a+1 = [number of days]

 

2. Counting nights, eg hotels:

d-a = [number of nights]

[JDMCanuck]

Thank you both for your input. Perhaps I best go back to the drawing board. 

[candide]

On 6/9/2025 at 5:12 AM, Liquorice said:

You'll be entering by air on both occasions, and Immigration could question your intentions with just such a short break of two weeks before reentering VE again.

Probably not a problem by land, but by air it's completely at the discretion of the entry clearance officer.

Interesting comment. I would have thought that a visa run by land would look more suspect than by air.

 

I also intend to do 2x60 days this winter. Just to check:

- what's the recommended duration of short stay abroad between two entries?

- is it better by land or by air? If by land, is by bus or train better ( from VE perspective)

 

In case the VE would be back to 30 days, is there a simpler alternative to OA visa, which seems to be painful in terms of documents and conditions required?

 

[Rob Browder]

On 6/25/2025 at 9:47 PM, candide said:

Interesting comment. I would have thought that a visa run by land would look more suspect than by air.

 

I also intend to do 2x60 days this winter. Just to check:

- what's the recommended duration of short stay abroad between two entries?

- is it better by land or by air? If by land, is by bus or train better ( from VE perspective)

If it were about really "not having the money," you would be correct about land-vs-air.  But, the "best option" is purely a matter of which border / agent policy is easiest. 

 

Pay the agent 4K, and you can in/out by air next-day.  Try DIYing it, wait 2 weeks and return, and one might still be denied-entry and forced to fly back.

 

If DIY, this is why land is best - if denied-entry, just walk back to the other country and cancel your exit stamp.  By air, you might spend a day or two in airport-jail.

 

That said, one was 8-months out-of-Thailand before the 1st stay, a denied entry is unlikely if you stayed-out 2 weeks before returning for the 2nd stay. 

[persimmon]

I`m wondering about the Nongkhai crossing - is there a well known agent that can facilitate in-out same day ? Might be worth paying 4 k rather than spend x amount of time in Vientiene before  trying to get back in again .