5 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

No denying that. Was it worthwhile to mention that this is the way it happens in HH? If only for HH residents?

I think It was worthwhile that you posted the update. Thank you. It's good to get an overview of "what's what where", as inconsistency between different immigration offices is pretty much the norm rather than the exception.

Edited April 28Apr 28 by Caldera

I'm on a second visa exemption for this year, which expires next month.

Last week, I popped in to see immigration in Hat Yai to ask about possible extensions.

I was informed that I could first get a 30-day extension, followed by a 60-day extension for visiting family afterwards, which was nice.

50 minutes ago, BillyBobzTeeth said:

I'm on a second visa exemption for this year, which expires next month.

Last week, I popped in to see immigration in Hat Yai to ask about possible extensions.

I was informed that I could first get a 30-day extension, followed by a 60-day extension for visiting family afterwards, which was nice.

So you didn't extend your first visa-exempt entry, correct?

2 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

So you didn't extend your first visa-exempt entry, correct?

Yes, that's correct.

On 4/27/2026 at 7:12 PM, rattlesnake said:

Okay, so here we have another perfect example of 'rules' being at the discretion of the various IOs.

The main protagonist of this thread went to Hua Hin IO this week, hoping to be granted a 60-day family visit extension on his second consecutive visa-exempt entry… and the staff there told him he should first get a 30-day one and then do the 60-day one. They were categorical that this was the way it should be done.

Their only criterion was that he mustn't have done any extensions in 2026. As his last one was in December 2025… no problem.

HH IO have therefore contradicted what I was adamant about (that you can't get a second 30-day extension on a second consecutive visa-exempt entry), and also what @Liquorice said (that the time frame taken into account is a 12-month window, not a calendar year).

So he's already been told by the authorities that he's good to stay for another 90 days visa-free, for a total of 300 days, without a frown or even a hint that it isn't right in any way. If (and I am willing to bet that it would be the case) he was able to do another border run after that, he could potentially do a year of visa-free stay.

That's great news! Thanks for letting us know. It is important information even though the experience we can get is only from a single office at a time. You friend here has a legit reason for the extensions and it's good to hear that at least HH office sees it that way. He's not "gaming" anything just following the rules. Unfortunately many rules changed recently and many people with a legit reason to stay in Thailand have got targeted unfairly. Obviously the reason for the rules change was to squeeze out the criminal element.

Hi. Has there been any updates on the expected changes to the 60-day visa exempt back to 30 days?

5 minutes ago, tygerstar said:

Hi. Has there been any updates on the expected changes to the 60-day visa exempt back to 30 days?

No. However seems not If but When