BREAKING NEWS Thailand Cuts Visa-Free Stay to 30 Days to Combat Abuse

[it is what it is]

9 hours ago, Mason45 said:

Thats a very good idea but why not cut all free visas. Do they really believe that the trouble makers will behave themselves by changing the law. While they're at it all entertainment establishments should close down by midnight. How man assualts and traffic deaths occur  between midnight and 4 am?

 

but why not cut all free visas

 

they are not free visas, it's visa exempt entry, the clue is in the name...

[thaibreaker]

25 minutes ago, Yolando said:

Quite a lot of tourists visit countries for more than 60 days.  Thailand gets a lot of snowbirds from northern Europe that stay longer than that.

Definitely. You can do with only one border run and two extensions now to get 180 days, to get away from the whole cold season in northern Europe. If this proposal goes through, it will go back to two border runs and three extensions again for the same amount of days. That's a lot of hassle.

 

In Malaysia and Vietnam you only need one border run, with no extensions to get this. I believe many will now look at those options.

[CK1980]

30 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

 

This is welcome news. 

 

Will it be implemented ? I'm not so sure. 

 

The sheer volume of tourists here on long term stay is going through the roof - who are then working illegally to support themselves. The volume of trouble makers (most likely with criminal pasts) here is astonishing. Little law enforcement dosen't help. AirBnb through the roof which is horrifc (buyers walking away from the market for fear the purchased condo will become an airbnb and hotels suffer). 

 

The real problem though is the DTV visa. Many are taking advantage of that with the laws in the process to obtain one. That visa needs to go or either toughened up. 

 

The real problem though is Thailand needs to clean up it's tourism image. The image around the world this past few years has been horrific. The set of cheap mass tourists it has inflicted on itself is very poor. Tourists would not behave as badly as they did in Singapore or Dubai. Quality over quantity. 

The real problem is people like you banging on and on about how terrible Thailand is.

 

If you think Singapore and Dubai are so much better then please go there instead. The DTV is an excellent long term Visa for people who want to live and work remotely in Thailand. Do you live here? Or do you just come on this forum to express your hatred of tourists in Thailand? Why go somewhere that you hate so much?

Thailand does not owe you anything Donnie.

[Jiggo]

Good news, brings things in line with quite a few Asian countries including Vietnam 

[thaibreaker]

10 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

Good news, brings things in line with quite a few Asian countries including Vietnam 

No it doesn't. Vietnam has longer visa exemption now, Malaysia 90 days, Cambodia more, and the Philippines more. Thailand will be dragging along in the rear window of these countries, but can compare themselves with Indonesia.

[hotandsticky]

7 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

Good news, brings things in line with quite a few Asian countries including Vietnam 

 

 

Vietnam is 45 days visa exempt, 30 days for Phu Quoc (for me).

[wensiensheng]

So I am a “bad apple” or want to illegally operate a business in Thailand. Why wouldn’t I apply for a visa and then get a one year extension on the grounds of retirement or being a student? Or if I want to avoid all the bothersome details, just pay a visa agent 35k baht to get one.

 

i mean, the point I am making is that visas are easy to get. I don’t really see how they act as a deterrent or hurdle to bad guys at all.

[ujayujay]

11 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

They would lose millions of tourists. 

Really......hold my Beer

[Gottfrid]

7 hours ago, bullseye66 said:

If your statement is correct how does giving someone 30 days on entry as opposed to 60 days help?

Please rad my first post at the top of the thread

[Gottfrid]

8 hours ago, quake said:

 

 Actually there is nothing that comes out your mouth,  I need to understand.

Bye. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for confirming you did not understand. Now I know what level I should sink down to for the next discussion

[SmokeandIce]

13 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

Just limit the worst 3 trouble makers.

It would be more civilized without the Brits, Aussies, and Americans.

[Sigmund]

Better to consider other countries for that long holiday break if it is to last more then 30 days. Many many other more hospitable countries in the region.

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

So I am a “bad apple” or want to illegally operate a business in Thailand. Why wouldn’t I apply for a visa and then get a one year extension on the grounds of retirement or being a student? Or if I want to avoid all the bothersome details, just pay a visa agent 35k baht to get one.

 

i mean, the point I am making is that visas are easy to get. I don’t really see how they act as a deterrent or hurdle to bad guys at all.

Its not really aimed at those operating illegal businesses at all in my opinion.  They obviously want to weed out a few troublemakers but to specify the countries concerned might jeopardise future relations with them, so nominating "illegal business operators"  and other general ne'er do wells avoid that diplomatic issue.

[Bday Prang]

12 minutes ago, SmokeandIce said:

It would be more civilized without the Brits, Aussies, and Americans.

and people throwing racist insults about, just like you 

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

So I am a “bad apple” or want to illegally operate a business in Thailand. Why wouldn’t I apply for a visa and then get a one year extension on the grounds of retirement or being a student? Or if I want to avoid all the bothersome details, just pay a visa agent 35k baht to get one.

 

i mean, the point I am making is that visas are easy to get. I don’t really see how they act as a deterrent or hurdle to bad guys at all.

Exactly,except for the laughable LTR visas, which most hooligans could not satisfy the financials for anyway,  there are few visas that require police checks

 

[quake]

29 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Thanks for confirming you did not understand. Now I know what level I should sink down to for the next discussion

 

That's fine.

Our last conversation is finishing right now. 

 

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, Jiggo said:

Good news, brings things in line with quite a few Asian countries including Vietnam 

do you really care that they align themselves with other countries?  

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, thaibreaker said:

If this proposal goes through, it will go back to two border runs and three extensions again for the same amount of days. That's a lot of hassle.

Don't they do multiple entry tourists visas any more? I never found them to be much hassle and they weren't that expensive as I remember

[Bday Prang]

3 hours ago, kwilco said:

Trouble with a visa is irt expires when you leave regardless of how long you've been there

Unless one has a re-entry permit ?

[racket]

6 hours ago, CK1980 said:

How is decreasing the visa exemption from 60 to 30 days going to increase national security?

 

You are talking absolute waffle..

 

How is this not making things safer? Visa-free rules are all about security to start with. I don’t buy that the leisure industry would undo a change from less than a year ago (July 2024)—they loved the extra tourists from the 60-day visa deal. Now you think they’ve flipped? You’re just swallowing what the media says.

 

I hope they rethink this decision, as I believe the 60-day visa exemption supports Thailand’s economy more than it harms it. According to Pattaya Mail: "Many of the exposed abuses have involved Chinese passport holders."

 

Why not focus on tackling the source of the issue instead one would think…

[Shocked farang]

15 hours ago, hotsun said:

due to thailands location and the type of tourists they depend on, id say theres not much they can do to achieve their goal of taking our money and not have us be there

Exactly, their goal is that we apply and pay for an expensive Visa that allows us to stay Zero days, then we send the money for the vacation and stay home. Everyone in the Kingdom would love the farangs! 

[kwilco]

5 hours ago, VBF said:

True but realistically do you not think that will apply to very few people, and those it does affect will be able to use a combination of SETV and visa free entries of 30 days each if planned correctly?

 

Even if the price doubled, which I doubt, it would still be VFM IMO

It isn't just the 60 days - it was the genera; liberalisation of admissions that helped to increase tpourist numbers. At present Thailand has big problems with not enough Chinese, and th Eurpoean market which has been shrinking will not be helped by this.

[kwilco]

1 hour ago, Bday Prang said:

Unless one has a re-entry permit ?

Yes- so you then hve to go to immigration and get a parmit 1900 baht, and all the hssle with that just on a 60 day stay which will expire in those fisrt 60 days - it means you can't be flexible and decide to pop over to Cambodia for a week etc - every time your gpoing to have to plan and book flights than get a visa - any major changes you can forget or you visa will expire. I never know when I'm going to Thailand these days or for how long - I also have friends in Laos and China so I now will have to work this all pout with visas etc. Most tourist destinations give you 60 to 90 days and re-entry - THailand tries to hold you prisoner.

[VBF]

6 minutes ago, kwilco said:

It isn't just the 60 days - it was the genera; liberalisation of admissions that helped to increase tpourist numbers. At present Thailand has big problems with not enough Chinese, and th Eurpoean market which has been shrinking will not be helped by this.

I don't share your pessimism especially looking at the crowds of Chinese in Pattaya at present. I also think that Europeans would regard  it as I do - a very minor hurdle.

Thing is, we're both conjecturing anyway until some decision is made.....if one is!

[kwilco]

THe whole thing is a mess - is they are worried about "undesirables" etc, wasn't the new ETA meant to sort that out? are they not going to implement that?

[thaibreaker]

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

Don't they do multiple entry tourists visas any more? I never found them to be much hassle and they weren't that expensive as I remember

They still have the METV choice yes. You can squeeze 9 months out of that. The old multiple entry tourist visa was indeed cheap, the newer METV has a few more requirements though, and is a little more expensive. You need to show bank statements from previous months as well.

[kwilco]

2 hours ago, VBF said:

I don't share your pessimism especially looking at the crowds of Chinese in Pattaya at present. I also think that Europeans would regard  it as I do - a very minor hurdle.

Thing is, we're both conjecturing anyway until some decision is made.....if one is!

 

In the first two months of 2025, Chinese tourist arrivals to Thailand decreased by 12% year-on-year to 1 million, mainly due to economic challenges and safety concerns, as reported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand 

[keysersoze276]

2 hours ago, kwilco said:

THe whole thing is a mess - is they are worried about "undesirables" etc, wasn't the new ETA meant to sort that out? are they not going to implement that?

Yes. They “is are worried “, aren’t is them?

[DonniePeverley]

7 hours ago, thaibreaker said:

No it doesn't. Vietnam has longer visa exemption now, Malaysia 90 days, Cambodia more, and the Philippines more. Thailand will be dragging along in the rear window of these countries, but can compare themselves with Indonesia.

 

 

Vietnam and Malaysia don't issue visa free for Chinese and Indias. Both countries require you to have a VISA AND A HOTEL BOOKING IN YOUR NAME. Thailand asks for nothing. 

[wensiensheng]

“In Phuket, licenses for 15 tour companies were cancelled due to violations. There was even an instance involving a Thai committee member appearing as an owner across five different company names, further highlighting the exploitation of business regulations.”

 

Eh hem. How did they jump from this, to 60 days visa free being the cause?

 

Is there any need for a discussion about Thai people exploiting business regulations?