60-day visa exemptions are now unlimited at land borders

[Katatonica]

5 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I am surprised that you are surprised by the IO's actions.

 

 

The first principle of entry requirements is that you have the visa that is appropriate to your circumstances. VE or TV are not suitable for someone living in Thailand or making regular visits to see their Thai wife.

As explained, I am working in a country where I am not eligible to get a Thai visa and as it seemed to be common knowledge that VE's were unlimited, I think I made a reasonable choice. I get leave on a monthly basis so visiting my wife is the obvious thing to do with it. Even if I wasn't married surely just holiday trips should have been fine too. I have visited several other countries in the region very regularly with no issues at all.

[transam]

5 hours ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I am surprised that you are surprised by the IO's actions.

 

 

The first principle of entry requirements is that you have the visa that is appropriate to your circumstances. VE or TV are not suitable for someone living in Thailand or making regular visits to see their Thai wife.

Who cares how you get in to be with family...........?

 

Do you care.......?  😉

[hotandsticky]

48 minutes ago, Katatonica said:

As explained, I am working in a country where I am not eligible to get a Thai visa and as it seemed to be common knowledge that VE's were unlimited, I think I made a reasonable choice. I get leave on a monthly basis so visiting my wife is the obvious thing to do with it. Even if I wasn't married surely just holiday trips should have been fine too. I have visited several other countries in the region very regularly with no issues at all.

 

 

You are a classic oil industry visitor to Thailand - one month on, one month off..

 

The point is that, in these circumstances, you are married to a Thai and your homed is in Thailand; the appropriate visa/extension for you is one based on marriage.

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post and the replies to it.

 

@transam and @hotandsticky  Stop the bickering, please.

[treetops]

On 12/17/2024 at 9:24 AM, Maestro said:

The official text published in the Government Gazette, in Thai language, is here:

https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/37565.pdf

 

That entry refers to DTV rules.  Change to 37563.pdf for VE60 related entry.

[Maestro]

23 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

That entry refers to DTV rules.  Change to 37563.pdf for VE60 related entry.

 

Thank you, treetops. Much appreciated.

 

I now went to that post of mine and corrected the link to

https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/documents/37563.pdf

[xtrnuno41]

Entering Krabi airport.

Woman IO just starting shift, "lured" me as first, hoppa very fast.

Well not super big linings, but first inline with her.

Didnt check stamp, way later, too bad 5 days short.

10 dec arrived and valid stamp to 2 feb

Visit immigration, one starred officer, lots of bla bla. Didnt ring any bell yo me

However not giving 60 days, didnt make sense to go on and left. 

[transam]

3 minutes ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Entering Krabi airport.

Woman IO just starting shift, "lured" me as first, hoppa very fast.

Well not super big linings, but first inline with her.

Didnt check stamp, way later, too bad 5 days short.

10 dec arrived and valid stamp to 2 feb

Visit immigration, one starred officer, lots of bla bla. Didnt ring any bell yo me

However not giving 60 days, didnt make sense to go on and left. 

I don't understand any of that........🤗

[Briggsy]

52 minutes ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Entering Krabi airport.

Woman IO just starting shift, "lured" me as first, hoppa very fast.

Well not super big linings, but first inline with her.

Didnt check stamp, way later, too bad 5 days short.

10 dec arrived and valid stamp to 2 feb

Visit immigration, one starred officer, lots of bla bla. Didnt ring any bell yo me

However not giving 60 days, didnt make sense to go on and left. 

I am afraid I cannot understand what you are trying to say.

 

Did you breach the border and just enter on your own terms?

[Upnotover]

2 hours ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Entering Krabi airport.

Woman IO just starting shift, "lured" me as first, hoppa very fast.

Well not super big linings, but first inline with her.

Didnt check stamp, way later, too bad 5 days short.

10 dec arrived and valid stamp to 2 feb

Visit immigration, one starred officer, lots of bla bla. Didnt ring any bell yo me

However not giving 60 days, didnt make sense to go on and left. 

You got the special 55 days exempt entry for people from your world.  Good news is you can get a 30 day extension.  Or maybe 27.

[Rob Browder]

 

On 12/18/2024 at 3:35 PM, Katatonica said:

 Just reporting my experience then: I was stopped, questioned and allowed in with a caution that if I attempt to enter (Phuket Airport) again on VE-60, (ie after my 3rd time in about 5 months) I will be sent back. I was also informed at Phuket Town immigration office last week that the limit is 2 a year.

 

"Too much time in Thailand" or "Come too often," are not legal reasons for denial in Section 12 of the Immigration Act.  An oil/gas worker would clearly not be "working illegally" or "not have means of support," so denying entry would be illegal on its face (they will do it anyway).  The only workaround for O/G workers is pay immigration's agent to enter by air, or fly into a neighboring country and enter via a law-abiding land-border.

 

Given "agent service" is provided at the Phuket office, they are part of the "network" of IOs operating that system, so it is not surprising they are backing their collaborators' play by mouthing non-existent rules. 

 

The fact this ONLY happens at entry-points where an extortion-racket is operating says it all.  The shameless nature of making up fake-rules, then providing a "payoff" workaround, is shocking to foreigners from the West, where corruption is constrained to higher levels of govt-operations.  At least bank-robbers don't pretend to be cops.  Maybe we should call them "trans-police"? 

 

OTOH, by doing this so brazenly, it removes the "just doing their job" illusion entirely, such that even "green" / naive folks are more likely to see the nature of the system, ignore immigration-apologists, and be prepared to deal with the situation, accordingly - vs walking blind into a trap.

 

Every time one sees a closed hotel or restaurant in a tourist-area, can thank this IO/Agent "system," for the likely reason why.  Too bad Thais cannot get hired at the "moved" jobs, now operating in Cambodia, etc - where the lost-money is now being spent.  The Chinese/Indian replacement-tourists don't usually tip, so even those who still have work in the tourist-sector have a 50%+ cut in net-pay, vs the Western repeat-visitors which immigration has targeted.

[xtrnuno41]

On 12/20/2024 at 11:00 AM, xtrnuno41 said:

Entering Krabi airport.

Woman IO just starting shift, "lured" me as first, hoppa very fast.

Well not super big linings, but first inline with her.

Didnt check stamp, way later, too bad 5 days short.

10 dec arrived and valid stamp to 2 feb

Visit immigration, one starred officer, lots of bla bla. Didnt ring any bell yo me

However not giving 60 days, didnt make sense to go on and left. 

Just visa exempt, straight from EU, so would be 60 days. Nope.

I have no terms to enter Thailand, only by Thai rules, but seems there are various rules.

60 days normal, but got special negative discount, december month, or dumbass farang or whatever negative discount. However a fact.

[Maestro]

1 hour ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Just visa exempt, straight from EU, so would be 60 days. Nope.

 

There are two dates on your arrival stamp. Would you care to post these two dates?

[Katatonica]

On 12/19/2024 at 2:35 PM, hotandsticky said:

 

 

You are a classic oil industry visitor to Thailand - one month on, one month off..

 

The point is that, in these circumstances, you are married to a Thai and your homed is in Thailand; the appropriate visa/extension for you is one based on marriage.

I do not work in the oil industry, neither do I get a month off at a time. The agency (recommended by some members previously in this thread) I have been advised by is telling me that the marriage visa takes too much time and expense so are recommending retirement, although I am not retired. Nevertheless, the visa exempt gives 2 months extra for marriage and the TR (Thai family category) is a precursor to the marriage/retirement visas so either is perfectly appropriate.

[Katatonica]

22 hours ago, Rob Browder said:

 

 

"Too much time in Thailand" or "Come too often," are not legal reasons for denial in Section 12 of the Immigration Act.  An oil/gas worker would clearly not be "working illegally" or "not have means of support," so denying entry would be illegal on its face (they will do it anyway).  The only workaround for O/G workers is pay immigration's agent to enter by air, or fly into a neighboring country and enter via a law-abiding land-border.

 

Given "agent service" is provided at the Phuket office, they are part of the "network" of IOs operating that system, so it is not surprising they are backing their collaborators' play by mouthing non-existent rules. 

 

The fact this ONLY happens at entry-points where an extortion-racket is operating says it all.  The shameless nature of making up fake-rules, then providing a "payoff" workaround, is shocking to foreigners from the West, where corruption is constrained to higher levels of govt-operations.  At least bank-robbers don't pretend to be cops.  Maybe we should call them "trans-police"? 

 

OTOH, by doing this so brazenly, it removes the "just doing their job" illusion entirely, such that even "green" / naive folks are more likely to see the nature of the system, ignore immigration-apologists, and be prepared to deal with the situation, accordingly - vs walking blind into a trap.

 

Every time one sees a closed hotel or restaurant in a tourist-area, can thank this IO/Agent "system," for the likely reason why.  Too bad Thais cannot get hired at the "moved" jobs, now operating in Cambodia, etc - where the lost-money is now being spent.  The Chinese/Indian replacement-tourists don't usually tip, so even those who still have work in the tourist-sector have a 50%+ cut in net-pay, vs the Western repeat-visitors which immigration has targeted.

I imagine that it could also be policy to try to strangle a certain sector of the leisure/nightlife industry traditionally dependant on OG workers, which has definitely withered in Phuket over the last decade-plus, whilst the family-package hotels have hugely proliferated, but as you say, restaurants etc see far less income and certainly so in tips. Big new cheap food courts are packed though. One restauranteur told me recently that Russians account for 80% of room bookings on the West Coast. 

[hotandsticky]

1 hour ago, Katatonica said:

I do not work in the oil industry, neither do I get a month off at a time. The agency (recommended by some members previously in this thread) I have been advised by is telling me that the marriage visa takes too much time and expense so are recommending retirement, although I am not retired. Nevertheless, the visa exempt gives 2 months extra for marriage and the TR (Thai family category) is a precursor to the marriage/retirement visas so either is perfectly appropriate.

 

U didn't say that you were in the oil industry....I was citing oil workers as an example.

 

Agents can't get you an extension based on marriage.....the IOs can only approve retirement extensions locally.

[xtrnuno41]

20 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

There are two dates on your arrival stamp. Would you care to post these two dates?

Well already posted dates , but if you want to see prove, here it is  and it is not from photoshop

[Maestro]

 

You got the full 60 days stamped in your passport. 

[xtrnuno41]

1 hour ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Well already posted dates , but if you want to see prove, here it is  and it is not from photoshop

https://assets.aseannow.com/forum/uploads/monthly_2024_12/IMG_20241224_151428241_HDR.thumb.jpg.2ee82b8aa5db9f00c8cda5e0911aced6.jpg

Wow I see the pic I took right in front of me and then see it is 7 and not 2 feb.

I think the jetlag was still working, or whatever, incredible what a dumbass, I was and am.

Have to apologize for my story.

Good Maestro asked for a pic and I was confronted with my error, jeepers, what a blunder.

😔 incredible.

[Maestro]

7 minutes ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Wow I see the pic I took right in front of me and then see it is 7 and not 2 feb.

 

All's well that ends well.

[Maestro]

In the beginning, immigration officials seemed to have been uncertain about what to write on the line for VISA CLASS on the entry stamp for VE60 entries, but now that I have seen two stamps from two different entry points, ผ.60-ม.17 seems to have become standard.

 

 

[captain_shane]

No longer 60 days for Americans. Got only 30 days. Seems to be unlimited though, the thai border guards at Hat Lek are demanding 500 baht to return same day, which I suppose gives you the green light to enter.

[BrandonJT]

13 minutes ago, captain_shane said:

No longer 60 days for Americans. Got only 30 days. Seems to be unlimited though, the thai border guards at Hat Lek are demanding 500 baht to return same day, which I suppose gives you the green light to enter.

There's no such thing as a 30 day visa exempt anymore.  

[Caldera]

2 hours ago, captain_shane said:

No longer 60 days for Americans. Got only 30 days. Seems to be unlimited though, the thai border guards at Hat Lek are demanding 500 baht to return same day, which I suppose gives you the green light to enter.

 

Could you post a picture of your stamp please? That sounds like they've made a mistake most likely; there's currently no basis for granting anyone 30-day visa exempt stays, as the rules for those have been superseded.

[Frank Chiang]

Hi everybody,

 

I flew from Germany with Thai Airways without any Visa to BKK Suvanabhumi Airport, with a returnflight 5 1/2 month in advanced, same as I did before for every winter on NonO Visa.

(Before new regulations I fit with the NonO requirements, but now on the new rules my income is little bit lower, than requested now.)

 

At the Airport i got ผ.60-ม.17 Visa exemption without any questions.

Later i went to ChiangMai Immigration and got a 30day extension on Top.

I plan to get next 60day Visa exemption on Lao Landborder, but i read and remember something scary like : „Only 15 days entry-stamp, if one had „no Visa before“ in the passport“. ( A visa exemption is „no visa“ in my guess, so, not sure …  Just means, not need one. )

 

So, normally I would take a ChiangDao - ChiangKhong BigBike-Trip about 280km one direction, but i choose to ride the 750km (one direction) ChiangDao - NongKhai  BigBike-Trip in two days.
Just in case, I really do need a „real“ Tourist Visa from Vientiane, than I’m already there.

( one can do online, but have to pay cash in Vientiane Embassy, to start the process ! )

I went to the Thai embassy in Vientiane, (very empty by the way), and asked them „if I need to make a Tourist Visa here, or not“ .

The younger IO not sure, asked back the older IO and than they told me „you get Visa at border“.

 

So I relaxed two days in Vientiane and than leaved LaoPDR, and just got a new ผ.60-ม.17 Visa Exemption stamp at the Thai Border, without any questions.

( I carried 20.000 TBht cash and some copy’s just as preparations. )

 

I will do again a Visa Extension on top for the last visa-uncovered 10 days, I need until my return flight to Germany, on Monday.

This is 60days Visa Exemptions + Visa Extensions 2 time, for a winter in Asia for nearly 6month.

As a Fazit :
Expenses o n a NonO multiple entry is 175€, + 50 Dollar for Lao Visa 600km drivin one time, and one or two nights guesthouse.

Expenses on a Tourist Visa multiple entry is also 175€, but 2 times Lao-Visa with 100 Dollar expenses and 2 times 600km-Trips and guesthouses expenses for that.

 

Expenses on a 60day Visa Exemption is free 2 times, but Visa Extension is 1900TBht (50€) 2 times,  + 50 Dollar for Lao Visa + driving 1500km one time.

It need more time, more guesthouse, and is more adventures on the Road-Trip …

regards,

Frank

 

 

[BrandonJT]

37 minutes ago, Frank Chiang said:

I plan to get next 60day Visa exemption on Lao Landborder, but i read and remember something scary like : „Only 15 days entry-stamp, if one had „no Visa before“ in the passport“. ( A visa exemption is „no visa“ in my guess, so, not sure …  Just means, not need one. )

 

So, normally I would take a ChiangDao - ChiangKhong BigBike-Trip about 280km one direction, but i choose to ride the 750km (one direction) ChiangDao - NongKhai  BigBike-Trip in two days.
Just in case, I really do need a „real“ Tourist Visa from Vientiane, than I’m already there.

( one can do online, but have to pay cash in Vientiane Embassy, to start the process ! )

I went to the Thai embassy in Vientiane, (very empty by the way), and asked them „if I need to make a Tourist Visa here, or not“ .

The younger IO not sure, asked back the older IO and than they told me „you get Visa at border“.

 

 

You would have been fine going to Chiang Khong.  You just have to spend 2 nights in Laos now (which you did in Nong Khai as well) and they might have asked to see your flight back to Germany as well as 10,000 baht in cash.  Not sure if Nong Khai is enforcing those other requirements or not though. There is no such thing as a 15 day entry stamp for someone with a passport from a visa exempt country.

[captain_shane]

On 2/13/2025 at 12:59 PM, Caldera said:

 

Could you post a picture of your stamp please? That sounds like they've made a mistake most likely; there's currently no basis for granting anyone 30-day visa exempt stays, as the rules for those have been superseded.

 

[Briggsy]

Isn't that a Cambodian stamp rather than a Thai stamp????

[captain_shane]

1 hour ago, Briggsy said:

Isn't that a Cambodian stamp rather than a Thai stamp????

You're right. I screwed up, I was looking at the cambodian stamp instead of the thai one. It's still 60 days.

Too many singhas lately I think, my mind is cloudy.

[Caldera]

2 hours ago, captain_shane said:

You're right. I screwed up, I was looking at the cambodian stamp instead of the thai one. It's still 60 days.

Too many singhas lately I think, my mind is cloudy.

 

Alright, thanks for posting your Cambodian stamps, it's great that the mystery could be solved. So 60 day it is, just as it should be.