What is the latest on the documents required for 30-day extension at Immigration Jomtien ?

On 12/14/2025 at 10:50 PM, Maestro said:

You'll be OK for your visa-exempt arriva in March.

Thanks

This suggests they are heading towards 30 days but not confirmed yet: https://shorturl.at/8p3PP

1 hour ago, zxzoomy said:

This suggests they are heading towards 30 days but not confirmed yet: https://shorturl.at/8p3PP

A follow up to this article from a year ago?

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2981803/visa-free-stay-to-be-cut-to-30-days

Thailand is going to reduce the length of stay to 30 days, as it was before.

9 hours ago, Site With Soul said:

Thailand is going to reduce the length of stay to 30 days, as it was before.

Well that will help with the reduced tourists problem.

/satire

20 hours ago, jimmybcool said:

Well that will help with the reduced tourists problem.

/satire

It's a clever trick to increase the number of tourist entries with the same number of tourists. To arrive at 179 days visa-exempt stay, two entries are currently needed. After the change, it will take three entries, a 50% increase.

On 2/16/2026 at 4:13 PM, Maestro said:

It's a clever trick to increase the number of tourist entries with the same number of tourists. To arrive at 179 days visa-exempt stay, two entries are currently needed. After the change, it will take three entries, a 50% increase.

What about only 1 30 Day extension (next one after being 7) per calendar year thing though? That have to change that back to the old way too in order for it to take only three entries. It would be nice if they gave enough advance warning on the actual start date of the 60 to 30 day changeover is going to happen that people about to leave can get a SETV but that is probably too much to ask for.

4 hours ago, BoganBob said:

It would be nice if they gave enough advance warning on the actual start date of the 60 to 30 day changeover is going to happen that people about to leave can get a SETV but that is probably too much to ask for.

Yeah, totally agree. Have a trip booked in 6 weeks, that's tiring. But if they don't want my money, i'm sure many neighboring countries will...

6 hours ago, mrnike said:

Yeah, totally agree. Have a trip booked in 6 weeks, that's tiring. But if they don't want my money, i'm sure many neighboring countries will...

If you are that worried about it, just apply for SETV online right now. Then you'll be guaranteed 60 days.

I want to do a border run early march to the Padang Besar crossing (Malaysian Border). I have a visa exempt 60 days (dec 2025) + 30 extension and want to get another 60 days as i plan to leave Thailand early may. Technically this should be ok but i got a visa exempt + extension in 2024 also. And some tourist visa in 2023 and earlier.

Will it be ok to do a bounce: in and out the same day? I remember being refused to do that in the past and had to stay in Malaysia for a day. I even read that some have to stay more than a day. And is a hotel booking nessecary?

I think, as of now, we can only guess if/when they will change the 60 day exempt to 30 day exempt. My guess is, since it has been increasingly written about in recent weeks, there is 70-80 percent chance it will happen in the near future. As for when it would happen, my wild guess would be in April. Possibly shortly after Songkran. As I said, just a wild guess. And finally, as to how long of an advance notice they will give for that, I have no idea at all. Sadly, it is just guesses and guesses for now.

Is it correct that you can only get a 30-day extension visa-exempt entry one time in a year and if you come in again you only get a 7-day extension by AIR and no extensions if you come here by LAND ?

This is coming up on another forum again, and it seems to be an echo of that 'one immigration office somewhere' that published the rule on a glass divider and the photo went viral last year - then some other tourism govt. department said it was fake news and then and then and then..... I'm maxxing these out before deciding to go for one long-stay visa.

2 hours ago, freedomnow said:

Is it correct that you can only get a 30-day extension visa-exempt entry one time in a year and if you come in again you only get a 7-day extension by AIR and no extensions if you come here by LAND ?

This is coming up on another forum again, and it seems to be an echo of that 'one immigration office somewhere' that published the rule on a glass divider and the photo went viral last year - then some other tourism govt. department said it was fake news and then and then and then..... I'm maxxing these out before deciding to go for one long-stay visa.

Many reports of this at the end of last year. Haven't seen many reports this year, but likely impossible to say as it's only March.

13 hours ago, BrandonJT said:

Many reports of this at the end of last year. Haven't seen many reports this year, but likely impossible to say as it's only March.

It's a f-fest this stuff over visa-exempt...last year before I came it seemed to be no-limit no problem for quite a run from 2024 or so...so I never bought an METV in my country - then almost to the day I entered they brought all this conditional entry stuff and reduced extensions which were tagged by tourism dept. as "fake news" after 2 months of social media spotlighting the news rules...then it seemed to not be fake news.

I read elsewhere overlander visa-exempters were not being allowed extensions in the last month up north.

I'm rotating around nearbly countries and METV would have been so simpler.

On 3/16/2026 at 7:09 AM, freedomnow said:

Is it correct that you can only get a 30-day extension visa-exempt entry one time in a year and if you come in again you only get a 7-day extension by AIR and no extensions if you come here by LAND ?

This is coming up on another forum again, and it seems to be an echo of that 'one immigration office somewhere' that published the rule on a glass divider and the photo went viral last year - then some other tourism govt. department said it was fake news and then and then and then..... I'm maxxing these out before deciding to go for one long-stay visa.

That is being pretty strictly enforced by Chiang Mai Immigration. Can't speak to immigration departments anywhere else though.

About 2010, it was only 15 day stamp for everyone on land border

On the visa exemption 60 days, soon to become 30 days, how many times can you enter Thailand by air in a year. I ask because my grandson came last August for 3 weeks and is planning on coming this July for 3 weeks but with a side trip to Vietnam for a few days. That would give 3 entries in less than a year

1 hour ago, CaptainWindsock said:

On the visa exemption 60 days, soon to become 30 days, how many times can you enter Thailand by air in a year. I ask because my grandson came last August for 3 weeks and is planning on coming this July for 3 weeks but with a side trip to Vietnam for a few days. That would give 3 entries in less than a year

It's not about how many times you can enter, it's about how much time you've spent in Thailand over the preceding year or so. If he's only been in Thailand for 3 or so weeks within the last year, then there's no concern. Some people come for a week or two every month and it's not an issue. It's when you start to do 60 days + 30 day extension and then leave and come back and try to repeat that starts to draw the attention of the passport control officers.