Any Problems With Visa Free Entry Ad Infinitum?

[tangoll]

Just wish to seek any advice from any reader here having similar experience or status as my situation: I travel with a US passport and thus can enter Thailand without visa and permitted to stay each time up to 30 days. For the past year, I've been coming to BKK once every 2 months or so, and staying 3 - 5 days each time. I've now purchased a condo in Bangkok and expect that I will be coming to BKK more frequently, perhaps once a month and staying 7 - 10 days each month. Just recently, at Suvanna airport, the immigration officer is checking my passport more closely and asking each time, "How many days you stay in Thailand this trip?" When I answer 7 days, they then just stamp my passport and I'm on my way.

I don't expect I will be staying more than the 90 days per 6 months (or 180 days) counting from any month considered as the time of first arrival. My question is: will this no visa entry method work for me without problems for the foreseeable future, or should I consider getting some form of visa?

I am 65 years old, single, have a Bangkok Bank account, and can meet the retirement visa funds requirement of baht 800,000 for 3 months. I also don't expect that I will get married to a Thai national any time soon. I just like living in Bangkok.

I have my regular home in Hong Kong, and at this time, don't see my wanting to live permanently in Thailand. Should I just continue doing what I'm doing or should I consider some other form of visa? If visa, which one is most suitable? I don't want to do anything illegal or to use a loophole in the law; just want to do what is suitable for my situation. Thanks for any advice or comments, especially about any potential problems. I've gone thru the arguments about whether buying a condo in Bangkok is a wise or stupid move already, and that's not the point of this post.

[lopburi3]

As you are starting to feel the visa exempt entry can be a delay at immigration and that will become more so as passport fills up with them so at your age a multi entry non immigrant O visa would be my choice - you can probably obtain in Singapore with bank proof of 800k or more in some account somewhere. Believe that would be better than putting 800k into a non performing account in Thailand to qualify for retirement extensions of stay (which you really don't need).

[tangoll]

lopburi3, thx for your quick reply and advice. I'll find out more about this non immigrant O visa. But why do you mention Singagpore; why not the Hong Kong consulate? Does the non immigrant O visa provide for multi entry, and if so, over what period of validity is this visa, or is there a limit on the number of entries?

Thanks.

[lopburi3]

Because Singapore is one of the few places in this area to issue multi entry for non residents (using the bank account method). It allows unlimited number of entries of up to 90 days for a period of one year from day of issue.