Multiple Entry With Visa Excemption Stamp?

[TonyDee]

I have a flight from Toronto to Bangkok leaving January 17th to April 3 (78 days). Yes I am aware that I must have a return or "outgoing flight" within my 30 day stay in Thailand in order to get the Visa Exemption Stamp. I bought a plane ticket to Hong Kong for Feb 17 (i.e. I only stayed in Thailand for 29 days) and I will return to Thailand on March 12. From my understanding, If I leave Thailand and come back (max twice) I will be given another 30 days in Thailand. So in my case, because I'm be re-entering Thailand on March 12 I will be given another 30 days which is more than enough time since I will only be needing 22 since I leave for Toronto on April 3. I based my entire trip on this logic, i.e. double entry causing a reset in the 30 day stay. I felt confident that I wouldn't need a visa becuase I was obeying the rules. However, I just read in another post that this VIsa exemption stamp allows MULTIPLE entires and not just two like I originally thought (Double entries only apply to Transit and Tourist Visas only). So bascailly I can come in and out of Thailand as many times as I want as long as... 1) I have a outbound ticket within 30 days i.e. I can't stay in Thailand longer than 30 days at a time 2) I don't exceed 90 (maybe it's 60) days in 6 months Am I correct? The reason I want to know I becuase if this is true I plan to make a lot more side trips and using BKK as my departure point. Sorry for the long read but I really need some clarification

[Mahout Angrit]

A visa exemption stamp is good for that entry only, when you leave it is used/finished. However if you then immediately turned around and re-entered you would be given another 30 days.

Current regulations, however, only allow you to stay in Thailand for 90 days in any six month period using this method, the restriction being the number of days you spend in Thailand not the number of times you enter (and get a visa exemption stamp). Each time you enter you would be advised to have an onward or return ticket valid for a date within the 30 days.

Time spent in Thailand includes the day you enter and the day you leave and each are counted as a complete day. I calculate that if you leave Toronto on Jan 17th you will arrive in Thailand either on 17th or 18th and if you stay until February 17th it will be 31 or 32 days. You may not need to present your ticket out when you arrive at the airport but if you stick to this schedule you will be hit for an overstay when you leave.

Edited November 21, 2007 by Mahout Angrit

[TonyDee]

A visa exemption stamp is good for that entry only, when you leave it is used/finished. However if you then immediately turned around and re-entered you would be given another 30 days.

Current regulations, however, only allow you to stay in Thailand for 90 days in any six month period using this method, the restriction being the number of days you spend in Thailand not the number of times you enter (and get a visa exemption stamp). Each time you enter you would be advised to have an onward or return ticket valid for a date within the 30 days.

Time spent in Thailand includes the day you enter and the day you leave and each are counted as a complete day. I calculate that if you leave Toronto on Jan 17th you will arrive in Thailand either on 17th or 18th and if you stay until February 17th it will be 31 or 32 days. You may not need to present your ticket out when you arrive at the airport but if you stick to this schedule you will be hit for an overstay when you leave.

Thanks for the info. I didn't know they counted the day you arrive as a full day considering some flights arrival time are close to 10pm.

I actually arrive in Thailand on the 19th at 10:40am and I depart for Hong Kong on Feb 17th at 1:30pm. If you go by hours I am technically only in Thailand for 29 days but if you count the actual days I leave right on my 30th, but this is ok right?

[Mahout Angrit]

Thanks for the info. I didn't know they counted the day you arrive as a full day considering some flights arrival time are close to 10pm.

I actually arrive in Thailand on the 19th at 10:40am and I depart for Hong Kong on Feb 17th at 1:30pm. If you go by hours I am technically only in Thailand for 29 days but if you count the actual days I leave right on my 30th, but this is ok right?

Leave on the 17th and arrive on the 19th are you going by bicycle? In that case you are exactly 30days. Also if you do exit and re-enter on the same day that day gets counted twice, as the day you left and the day you re-entered.

Enjoy your trips to Thailand

Edited November 21, 2007 by Mahout Angrit

[TonyDee]

Thanks for the info. I didn't know they counted the day you arrive as a full day considering some flights arrival time are close to 10pm.

I actually arrive in Thailand on the 19th at 10:40am and I depart for Hong Kong on Feb 17th at 1:30pm. If you go by hours I am technically only in Thailand for 29 days but if you count the actual days I leave right on my 30th, but this is ok right?

Leave on the 17th and arrive on the 19th are you going by bicycle? In that case you are exactly 30days. Also if you do exit and re-enter on the same day that day gets counted twice, as the day you left and the day you re-entered.

Enjoy your trips to Thailand

I'm taking the redeye on the 17th which is a flight close to midnight so in a way I'm actually leaving on the mornin of the 18th.

Thanks for all your help

[TonyDee]

More help needed...

ok just recently I extended my trip by two weeks i.e. I now leave on the 17th of April istead of the 3rd.

My concern:

As I already mentioned above, i return from HK on March 12 which meant that if I stayed with my original depature I would have only been in Thailand for 21 days. However, with my new departure date I will be over the 30 day limit by 5 days.

My plan was to get a flight to Vietnam when I was in HK so that when I return to Thailand on March 12th I would have proof of an outgoing departure therefore allowing my to enter without any problelms. Now my conern is whether or not I am allowed to do this. I'm bascailly worried that upon entering Thailand in the beginning of my trip on Jan 17th I will have to show all my flights .

I am worried that when I show them my HK ticket it will say I am returning Marck 12th and because they already know that I leave Thailand for back home on April 17th they mite ask to see my next flight i.e. The Vietnam flight I plan on buying while in HK

Will customs need to see this second flight upfront for or do they just care about my HK flight i.e. the departure flight, not when I'm returning? From my understanding I thought they only cared about my departure flight, and they will worry about the next stage of my trip when I return in March i.e. they will cross that bridge when they get to it.

Hopefully you uderstand what I am trying to say. I bascially tried to make my question clear as possible becuase I would really like some help regarding this matter

[kelvinj]

Why not pick up a tourist visa in Hong Kong? This will give you up to 60 days in Thailand, will not count toward your 90 days in 6 months on exemption visas and you will not need to show an onward air-ticket on arrival.

[TonyDee]

thank you for your reply

I thought about doing that but since I don't plan on staying in Thailand for even two weeks when I return from HK I felt it was a waste of money. I just bascailly want to know if I have to show customs when I first enter Thailand in January and outgoing ticket for the second lag of my trip from

March-April when I return from HK. I just figured this was looking way into the future and they care about an "outgoing flight" 30 days at a time.

Can anyone confirm?

[lopburi3]

Am not sure I understand what you are trying to say but any visa exempt entry requires a ticket out of Thailand within the 30 days that such an entry allows. Each entry is treated in the same way, regardless of future plans.

[jstumbo]

Just treat each entry as a completly separate trip. When you enter, you are given a 30 day visa exempt entry, and you need to have a ticket leaving Thailand within 30 days. They do not care where to, just leaving Thailand. The only thing that you need to think about with them being connected is that you cannot stay in Thailand using visa exempt entries for more than 90 days in a 6 month period. Other than that, they are all treated separately.

[TonyDee]

That's what I thought, I just wanted to confirm...thank you