Hi All:

is there a rule about the accumulated (total) stay in Thailand without a VISA? Say, someone comes and goes under the Tourists' Program? Is the government clamping down on this kind of thing (in the light of lost revenue arising from VISA fees)? In the USA, this leads to some kind of total ban. Thank you! Chris, 36, German.

Hi All:

is there a rule about the accumulated (total) stay in Thailand without a VISA? Say, someone comes and goes under the Tourists' Program? Is the government clamping down on this kind of thing (in the light of lost revenue arising from VISA fees)? In the USA, this leads to some kind of total ban. Thank you! Chris, 36, German.

there is no official rule however, thats a loaded question.

you could get responses on this forum like, i've been doing it for 10 years, no problem. or, they are going to stop that soon, watch out. T i T

everything is always up to the immigration officer when you enter thailand. if he doesn't like your attitude, hair or shirt, he can legally say get lost "scruffs" as the doctor would say, sent back into no man's land with their tails between there legs.

so i would say if you want to make the visa runs to the border every month go for it, but it gets old and time consuming after awhile and you should get a real visa if you want to stay in thailand.

If you were leaving Thailand for at least a few days at a time, you might be able to do this indefinitely as you claim you are working outside Thailand and returning to spend your money etc as often as you can.

If you plan to return immediately, it would be foolish to do it more than three times.

Thank you - I had been doing that in the USA and on the 22nd return flight, the game was over. Now I'm stuck overseas and can try to unload 31 rentals, vehicles and get my cat and that motorcycle which will be confiscated unless it is out of the country by early March 2004. Chris

Thank you - I had been doing that in the USA and on the 22nd return flight, the game was over......

Great comment to a long lasting discussion in here. Sorry that it happened to you in the USA and no questions asked.

Let's face it, the 30-days visa-exemption is for tourists. Thailand is quite lenient but it does not change the fact that somebody who comes for months and months (if not years) is no longer a bona fide tourist. Never mind how many temples the visitors still wants to explore.

put everything on EBAY, except the cat

If your passport is nearly full, lost or damaged, you can obtain a new one. A multiple entry visa would be a nice start in that new passport. Small Thai consulates in Germany are quite visa friendly, same in Australia. Are you married to a Thai perhaps?