On 7/19/2026 at 1:55 AM, DonniePeverley said:

It will probably never come out.

They've already back tracked on plans to make Indians get a visa.

They panic at any hint of a fall in tourism.

Could be. If they do change back to 30 days exempt they are going to have a rude shock when the tourist numbers fall, or the money stops rolling in !!! The condo market will suffer badly. Less tourists, difficulty in getting visas easily, ( so easy online for other countries!!!!) with long waiting times , bad service from western Thai Embassies.

Immigration won’t manage with the number of people wanting to extend another 30 days too. It’s already a mess now with endless queues and mostly unfriendly staff. We will see.

20 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

I can not remember the last time I got a 60 day visa for Thailand, that's how long ago it was. I took my passport and the forms to a consulate, and came back a week later to pick it it.

After reading another member's post that the 60 day visa is now an eVisa and can be bought online, it prompted me to reply to you post.

You have misunderstood my post.

The Thai government basically stated it was due to foreigners behaving badly that the 60 day visa exemption was scrapped. If they can simply buy the same access to Thailand online, the only real change I can see is the Thai government bank 1,900 baht.

It appears it has nothing to do with crime syndicates etc.

My post had nothing to do with Cheap Charlies and Snowbirds.

I merely pointed out that I don't see what difference the change is going to make, except for the "chunk change" of people paying the 1,900 baht. It will do absolutely nothing to keep undesirable tourists out of Thailand.

Crafts

I've been saying this since they first had their flash of inspiration. it's a ludicrous explanation and nothing to do with 'bad guys'. The bad guys don't give a damn whether they're stamped in for 30 or 60 days. They're off the radar the moment they leave the air terminal.

E.g. - anyone with more than 2 years overstay under their belt today came in on 30 days VE. Saw an African with over a thousand days the other day. He arrived b4 2024 on a 30 day VE. I say it's either incompetence, a limp attempt at PR by the authorities or attempting to raise more cash during a drop in tourist numbers. One thing it is most definitely not is an attempt to rein in 'bad guys'.

Poor babies....only 30 days...waaaaaahhhh.

Life will go on. There is always Cambodia and Nam.

42 minutes ago, BusyB said:

I've been saying this since they first had their flash of inspiration. it's a ludicrous explanation and nothing to do with 'bad guys'. The bad guys don't give a damn whether they're stamped in for 30 or 60 days. They're off the radar the moment they leave the air terminal.

E.g. - anyone with more than 2 years overstay under their belt today came in on 30 days VE. Saw an African with over a thousand days the other day. He arrived b4 2024 on a 30 day VE. I say it's either incompetence, a limp attempt at PR by the authorities or attempting to raise more cash during a drop in tourist numbers. One thing it is most definitely not is an attempt to rein in 'bad guys'.

Have you seen the videos circulating,..1 week in Thailand..normal, 2 weeks in Thailand, moped 3 weeks..tattoos, 4th week Muay Thai..5th week big bike etc..basically people get comfortable and think they can do anything, especially working..how many yoga, fitness, relaxation courses are their...all run by skint foreigners trying to eak out a living illegally...

Going to hit the Scandi snowbirds hard, too.

I believe you can still get a 60 day visa before entering with the option of getting 30 days extended on...is this correct?...that would give you 90

If they are true seasonal Travelers intended to stay more for more than a month or two they can easily get a one-year extension. This is not a crisis, this is more like a mountain out of a molehill.

6 minutes ago, Lingba said:

I believe you can still get a 60 day visa before entering with the option of getting 30 days extended on...is this correct?...that would give you 90

I can see a problem at airline check-in. Visa for 60 days but return flight 90 days later. How will that work out?

Is the 30 days extension 100% guaranteed? Will the airline accept that?

I really don't know.

Edited 20 hours ago20 hr by emptypockets

On 7/19/2026 at 1:54 AM, Jim Waldron said:

A 60-day eVisa can be obtained online. You don't even need to send off your passport to make the application!

The fee is currently ฿1,900 if applied for directly through Thai Immigration or a Royal Thai Embassy.

Just allow up to 4 weeks for processing.

Once in Thailand you can extend your stay by a further 30-days at Immigration offices for an additional ฿1,900.

Visit the official Website of Thailand Electronic Visa:

https://www.thaievisa.go.th

Correct. A bit of intelligence goes a long way my friend.

29 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

I can see a problem at airline check-in. Visa for 60 days but return flight 90 days later. How will that work out?

Is the 30 days extension 100% guaranteed? Will the airline accept that?

I really don't know.

For flight, the requirement is a visa or if visa exempt a return ticket within the exempt period. So no, not an issue.

1 minute ago, stevenl said:

For flight, the requirement is a visa or if visa exempt a return ticket within the exempt period. So no, not an issue.

Thanks for the clarification.

Not just Swiss retirees. I've been wintering in Thailand for 20 years. What is required is a 'Snowbird' visa. I doubt I would keep coming if they made insurance compulsory as a recent UK quote for 6 months was over £800 for my age 73. I am financially prepared to pay for any medical cost that I might occur.

7 hours ago, MeRakThai said:

Agreed, i am 1,200 kms away from the Canberra and the thai embassy. Online really is a blessing.

i lived only 10km from the nearest consulate but I skillfully avoided even that small journey simply by using the postal service, back in the day, I didn't find the e visa application much different other than there was no need to buy a stamp or find a post box.

On 7/19/2026 at 9:43 AM, ikke1959 said:

If someone want to come to Thailand for seasonal retirement it will be no problem to apply for the visa. A few maybe will stay away, but whole 30 day visa system is being blown up for nothing. Many other countries have visa rules and you hardly read anything about that on internet. Just apply for a visa and people can stay in Thailand as long as they want. More than 30 days are not tourists anymore

How many times on this forum do I have to debunk this ridiculous claim that someone on a holiday of more than 30 days can’t be a tourist? I’m in Europe on an 85 day trip, having entered 90 days visa exempt. I’m on my balcony right now, looking over the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Doing nothing but all the normal tourist stuff of swimming at beach resorts, looking at ancient buildings, exploring old cities etc. How exactly am I not a tourist?

37 minutes ago, CygnusX1 said:

How many times on this forum do I have to debunk this ridiculous claim that someone on a holiday of more than 30 days can’t be a tourist? I’m in Europe on an 85 day trip, having entered 90 days visa exempt. I’m on my balcony right now, looking over the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Doing nothing but all the normal tourist stuff of swimming at beach resorts, looking at ancient buildings, exploring old cities etc. How exactly am I not a tourist?

If you search on the internet what a tourist is you will find that it is someone for a short period of time visit a location for pleasure, sightseeing and relaxation. I suppose you are staying 90 days in the same hotel enjoying your same view. NO you are on a 85 day trip. I just talk in general not for specific persons.. you want to be a tourist for 90 day no problem, but in fact you are not with 90 days. If you have a job you even could not spend 90 days every year for holiday. And be honest many retirees here are no tourists too as they do the same as you now on your balcony

58 minutes ago, CygnusX1 said:

How many times on this forum do I have to debunk this ridiculous claim that someone on a holiday of more than 30 days can’t be a tourist? I’m in Europe on an 85 day trip, having entered 90 days visa exempt. I’m on my balcony right now, looking over the sparkling Mediterranean Sea. Doing nothing but all the normal tourist stuff of swimming at beach resorts, looking at ancient buildings, exploring old cities etc. How exactly am I not a tourist?

Sure it happens, but it's not the run of the mill tourism. Those exceptions can apply for a tourist visa, nothing wrong with that.

On 7/19/2026 at 6:00 PM, KhunHeineken said:

I can not remember the last time I got a 60 day visa for Thailand, that's how long ago it was. I took my passport and the forms to a consulate, and came back a week later to pick it it.

After reading another member's post that the 60 day visa is now an eVisa and can be bought online, it prompted me to reply to you post.

You have misunderstood my post.

The Thai government basically stated it was due to foreigners behaving badly that the 60 day visa exemption was scrapped. If they can simply buy the same access to Thailand online, the only real change I can see is the Thai government bank 1,900 baht.

It appears it has nothing to do with crime syndicates etc.

My post had nothing to do with Cheap Charlies and Snowbirds.

I merely pointed out that I don't see what difference the change is going to make, except for the "chunk change" of people paying the 1,900 baht. It will do absolutely nothing to keep undesirable tourists out of Thailand.

Can’t you “imagine” something by doing a little out of the box thinking?

I thought that was your forte?

😂😂

5 hours ago, BusyB said:

I've been saying this since they first had their flash of inspiration. it's a ludicrous explanation and nothing to do with 'bad guys'. The bad guys don't give a damn whether they're stamped in for 30 or 60 days. They're off the radar the moment they leave the air terminal.

E.g. - anyone with more than 2 years overstay under their belt today came in on 30 days VE. Saw an African with over a thousand days the other day. He arrived b4 2024 on a 30 day VE. I say it's either incompetence, a limp attempt at PR by the authorities or attempting to raise more cash during a drop in tourist numbers. One thing it is most definitely not is an attempt to rein in 'bad guys'.

Yes, they are creating the appearance of doing something to filter out certain foreigners, without actually doing it, and making 1,900 baht from them and letting them in anyway. 🙂

Thailand is making it very clear that they do not want long stay foreigners.

I tried applying for a 60 day visa in 2024. The website is CRAP. What they ask for is not what they actually want. I failed completely and wound up coming in on 30 day visa exempt.

I don't want to be required to apply for the visa a month in advance. I don't want to be required to book a place to stay through Agoda and such. I had a place arranged by emailing the owner of a small guesthouse, which is not "official" enough for the Thai bureaucrats and I was forced to book it for a higher price through Agoda to satisfy the requirements.

They have already made bank accounts unavailable, which I am also angry about since I had a bank account.

The rules as they stand today allow for me to spend five months per year there, but the government is making that more and more difficult.

Personally, I think they are trying to destroy the low end of the economy for political reasons.

1 hour ago, ikke1959 said:

If you search on the internet what a tourist is you will find that it is someone for a short period of time visit a location for pleasure, sightseeing and relaxation. I suppose you are staying 90 days in the same hotel enjoying your same view. NO you are on a 85 day trip. I just talk in general not for specific persons.. you want to be a tourist for 90 day no problem, but in fact you are not with 90 days. If you have a job you even could not spend 90 days every year for holiday. And be honest many retirees here are no tourists too as they do the same as you now on your balcony

Not sure what your point is exactly. Yes, I’m travelling around Europe, but if I were staying 85 days in the one country, even in the one location such as a city I wished to thoroughly explore, I’d still be a tourist, and I’d have no problems under my 90 day visa exempt. If the internet says that you can only be a tourist for a short period of time such as 30 days or less, I’d just have to completely disagree. Yes, long holidays are a lot easier for retirees than for full time employees, but there are many of us! There’s almost an undercurrent in this debate that isn’t explicitly stated, in that while there are heaps of things to keep a tourist in Europe occupied for 90 days, anyone spending more than 30 days in Thailand must have seen all the tourist sites worth visiting, which is a bit insulting to Thailand.

27 minutes ago, CygnusX1 said:

Not sure what your point is exactly. Yes, I’m travelling around Europe, but if I were staying 85 days in the one country, even in the one location such as a city I wished to thoroughly explore, I’d still be a tourist, and I’d have no problems under my 90 day visa exempt. If the internet says that you can only be a tourist for a short period of time such as 30 days or less, I’d just have to completely disagree. Yes, long holidays are a lot easier for retirees than for full time employees, but there are many of us! There’s almost an undercurrent in this debate that isn’t explicitly stated, in that while there are heaps of things to keep a tourist in Europe occupied for 90 days, anyone spending more than 30 days in Thailand must have seen all the tourist sites worth visiting, which is a bit insulting to Thailand.

I don't understand your point... you are upset that you are not called a tourist if you stay longer than 80% of the "normal" tourists, who are working or are not retired. Who cares what name a visitor have, just to make sure that abuse of visa by longstayers, Thailand has now a 30 day free visa. If you like to stay for a longer time, be my guest, and I am not opposed it. But for someone staying longer than the common tourist, just as you can find on internet, there is a visa needed. I don't care if I have to call you a tourist or not. Besides that if you travel around in Europe you are not in every place for a long time, so yes, you are a tourist in every place, country you visit. Europe is not 1 country

1 hour ago, CygnusX1 said:

Not sure what your point is exactly. Yes, I’m travelling around Europe, but if I were staying 85 days in the one country, even in the one location such as a city I wished to thoroughly explore, I’d still be a tourist, and I’d have no problems under my 90 day visa exempt. If the internet says that you can only be a tourist for a short period of time such as 30 days or less, I’d just have to completely disagree. Yes, long holidays are a lot easier for retirees than for full time employees, but there are many of us! There’s almost an undercurrent in this debate that isn’t explicitly stated, in that while there are heaps of things to keep a tourist in Europe occupied for 90 days, anyone spending more than 30 days in Thailand must have seen all the tourist sites worth visiting, which is a bit insulting to Thailand.

I have another problem.. I am living 20 yrs in Thailand but I can't manage to get registered here. I am not a tourist anymore after 20 yrs but they change the rules every time.. First it was impossible to get an Thai Id and yellow book, than a few years later I needed a translated and legalized copy of my passport to get a yellow book. But I live too far away from Bangkok to do it easily and besides I did not want to pay the money for in fact nothing. I am paying tax here, I have social security and at that time even a workpermit, but I could not register. A few years later I tried again and than I needed a legalized copy of my passport and 2 witnesses, crazy I said and went a way. Last year I did my final attempt. but now I needed my marriage certificate, 2 witnesses, the head of the village and a letter of the immigration..I have given up now. In 20 yrs unable to register.. I am not a tourist live on a 1 year visa year after year, but If I understand you correctly you would call me a tourist???? A visa is much easier to apply, and you can stay as long as you want. Snow birds, tourists, who cares what name has the visa

On 7/19/2026 at 12:00 PM, KhunHeineken said:

I can not remember the last time I got a 60 day visa for Thailand, that's how long ago it was. I took my passport and the forms to a consulate, and came back a week later to pick it it.

After reading another member's post that the 60 day visa is now an eVisa and can be bought online, it prompted me to reply to you post.

You have misunderstood my post.

The Thai government basically stated it was due to foreigners behaving badly that the 60 day visa exemption was scrapped. If they can simply buy the same access to Thailand online, the only real change I can see is the Thai government bank 1,900 baht.

It appears it has nothing to do with crime syndicates etc.

My post had nothing to do with Cheap Charlies and Snowbirds.

I merely pointed out that I don't see what difference the change is going to make, except for the "chunk change" of people paying the 1,900 baht. It will do absolutely nothing to keep undesirable tourists out of Thailand.

Removing the easies method for the longer stay abusers is the easiest deterrent. Charging for the easiest alternative to the longer stay abusers is a deterrent that creates income.

Win win.

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

I have another problem.. I am living 20 yrs in Thailand but I can't manage to get registered here. I am not a tourist anymore after 20 yrs but they change the rules every time.. First it was impossible to get an Thai Id and yellow book, than a few years later I needed a translated and legalized copy of my passport to get a yellow book. But I live too far away from Bangkok to do it easily and besides I did not want to pay the money for in fact nothing. I am paying tax here, I have social security and at that time even a workpermit, but I could not register. A few years later I tried again and than I needed a legalized copy of my passport and 2 witnesses, crazy I said and went a way. Last year I did my final attempt. but now I needed my marriage certificate, 2 witnesses, the head of the village and a letter of the immigration..I have given up now. In 20 yrs unable to register.. I am not a tourist live on a 1 year visa year after year, but If I understand you correctly you would call me a tourist???? A visa is much easier to apply, and you can stay as long as you want. Snow birds, tourists, who cares what name has the visa

No, I certainly wouldn’t call you a tourist! You’re getting into the area of the huge difficulty of achieving residency status in Thailand, and have my sympathy. My point is that whether you’re a tourist or not depends on what you’re doing in a country, not your length of stay. As for your point on who cares whether you’re called a tourist or not, some people on this forum are justifying the 60 to 30 day reduction on the visa exempt with the argument that anyone staying over 30 days can’t be a tourist.

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

I don't understand your point... you are upset that you are not called a tourist if you stay longer than 80% of the "normal" tourists, who are working or are not retired. Who cares what name a visitor have, just to make sure that abuse of visa by longstayers, Thailand has now a 30 day free visa. If you like to stay for a longer time, be my guest, and I am not opposed it. But for someone staying longer than the common tourist, just as you can find on internet, there is a visa needed. I don't care if I have to call you a tourist or not. Besides that if you travel around in Europe you are not in every place for a long time, so yes, you are a tourist in every place, country you visit. Europe is not 1 country

“Europe is not 1 country” - see my post above - “but if I were staying 85 days in the one country, even in the one location such as a city I wished to thoroughly explore, I’d still be a tourist, and I’d have no problems under my 90 day visa exempt”

7 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

I have another problem.. I am living 20 yrs in Thailand but I can't manage to get registered here. I am not a tourist anymore after 20 yrs but they change the rules every time.. First it was impossible to get an Thai Id and yellow book, than a few years later I needed a translated and legalized copy of my passport to get a yellow book. But I live too far away from Bangkok to do it easily and besides I did not want to pay the money for in fact nothing. I am paying tax here, I have social security and at that time even a workpermit, but I could not register. A few years later I tried again and than I needed a legalized copy of my passport and 2 witnesses, crazy I said and went a way. Last year I did my final attempt. but now I needed my marriage certificate, 2 witnesses, the head of the village and a letter of the immigration..I have given up now. In 20 yrs unable to register.. I am not a tourist live on a 1 year visa year after year, but If I understand you correctly you would call me a tourist???? A visa is much easier to apply, and you can stay as long as you want. Snow birds, tourists, who cares what name has the visa

Like most expats, with the exception of those who have citizenship or permanent residency, you are a tourist, albeit a long term tourist. You may not consider yourself a tourist after living in Thailand for a long time but you have no right to stay beyond the term of your visa or extension of stay. That can be amended, denied or cancelled at the stroke of a pen. No amount of discussion can change that.

20 hours ago, riverhigh said:

Another knee jerk reaction to policy change. Approximately 97% to 99% of the Swiss population uses the internet.

Another unsupported statistic pulled from heaven knows where..... about 4% are under 4 years old.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by jacko45k

10 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Removing the easies method for the longer stay abusers is the easiest deterrent. Charging for the easiest alternative to the longer stay abusers is a deterrent that creates income.

Win win.

I suppose it comes down to the definition of "long stay abuser." As another member pointed out, an overstayer will just overstay on a 30 day exemption.

However, the Thai government said this would stop criminals, not people who breach immigration laws.

The policy will do neither. All it will do is get 1,900 baht out of law abiding tourists, particularly the snowbirds.