Confusion About Tourist Visas

[kohortek]

My question is: how long can a tourist stay in Thailand under the current visa regulations? I am a German living in Spain . I have a German passport. I am 20 years old. I came here to visit my father who is living in Thailand on a Non Immigration Retirement Visa. I arrived in Bangkok on January 12 th on a one way ticket. I got a visa on arrival for one month. One month later I made a visa run to Cambodia .

Now I would like to get a tourist visa (2 months) ( or maybe I could get two tourist visas) because I want to stay in Thailand for some more months to stay with my father. But it’s not easy to get some information. The visa regulation seem to change one time a month. At the travel agency where I wanted to buy a return ticket they told me, I could do one more visa run and after that I have to return to Europe . Because in the meantime the visa regulations have changed another time. No way for me to stay longer than 3 months. They told me there would be no chance to get a tourist visa (2 months) at a Thai consulate. Somebody else told me I could apply for a tourist visa but I have to produce an airline ticket at a Thai consulate that proves I will leave Thailand within 14 days. Maybe some kind of a joke. But I do not know about all that. Other people told me I could get 3 back-to-back tourist visas at a Thai consulate at Penang , Laos etc. . So I can stay for 1 year (visa runs included).

My question: what am I supposed to do to stay here in Thailand for some 4-6 months? I still got not a return airway ticket but before I buy one I would like to know if a ticket dated on the July1st would be accepted. If not I would buy a ticket with an “appropiate” date.

Have a good day Kohortek

[astral]

As you have already had 2 one month visa exemption stamp you can get a third, making up 90 days.

After that you should be able to get a 2 month Tourist visa.

Vientiane seems to be the best option.

Penang is DEFINITELY not the place to apply at the moment.

To be honest you would have been better served by getting a double Tourist visa back in the country where you live.

[lopburi3]

That agency is talking trash. There is no rule that you must leave Thailand after 90 days - only that you can not stay more than 90 days in a six month period using visa exempt entry. You can always stay on a visa entry. And you can obtain a visa without much of a problem - currently you can obtain a two entry tourist visa from Vientiane if you would like that and there should not be any requirement for airline ticket.