Only 3 Months Of Any Year On A Tourist Visa ?

[charlie42]

Hello  all

im a 3 months here 3 months home guy.

been doing this for 3 years now, rent a house have a car a couple of bikes

one of which i just bought last month cash.
A  fellow member has just informed me that i can only stay 3 months of any

year on the tourist visa.

i usually get a 60 day visa and extend it for another 30 days, total 90 days

twice a year.

Is this true ?

Im aware the turn around visa runners are being clamped down on.

I extended my 60 day on monday and no mention of this

 

IS MY BUDDY YANKING MY CHAIN ?

 

if this is true, what are my options apart from moving to Cambodia

 

[paz]

Not true. Your friend may honestly do not have a clue.

[charlie42]

Not true. Your friend may honestly do not have a clue.

 

Well as they say in Texas...yeeeeee haaaaaaa !
 

[Smokin Joe]

He is lying to you, plain and simple.

[Suradit69]

He is lying to you, plain and simple.

 

 

Or he could, plain and simple, just be confused.

 

I doubt anyone can manage to wade through all the conflicting "facts" posted on Thai Visa and elsewhere and not get some things wrong.

 

Read through most immigrations-related threads and you quickly realize how many people still don't know the difference between a visa and an extension of stay ... even after being here for many years on extensions of stay and sporting  long expired visas in their passports.

 

Understanding that a visa on arrival is not a visa-exempt-entry totally defeats many of the "experts" who share their wisdom here. Doing a 90 day report, applying for an extension of stay (not an extension of a visa), making  border runs (usually written "boarder runs"),  overstaying ... and a lot more ... get mangled here on a regular basis.

 

Sometimes it seems the number of posts in these threads containing incorrect, confusing, misleading "information" and wrong terminology far outweigh the correct, useful posts. Is it any wonder that "newbies" come away more confused or ill-informed than when they first came seeking information.

 

If the O/P has a "buddy" who purposely lied about tourist visas he may need to reassess what he thinks "buddy" means.

 

 

Not true. Your friend may honestly do not have a clue.

 

Yes.  If his "buddy" has no idea what he's talking about and, like so many farang, is unable to say "I don't know" for fear of loss of face. then he could very well be a long-standing poster here at Thai Visa ... refuge of the clueless.

Edited August 7, 2014 by Suradit69

[bigt116]

You will probably be ok (at least for the time being), but technically, you are NOT a tourist and should not be using tourist visas. Tourists do not own houses and cars and bikes, tourists normally visit and stay in hotels, taking in the attractions :-)

[AYJAYDEE]

You will probably be ok (at least for the time being), but technically, you are NOT a tourist and should not be using tourist visas. Tourists do not own houses and cars and bikes, tourists normally visit and stay in hotels, taking in the attractions :-)

not true. many tourists own their own vacation homes in other countries all over the world.

[charlie42]

 

He is lying to you, plain and simple.

 

 

Or he could, plain and simple, just be confused.

 

I doubt anyone can manage to wade through all the conflicting "facts" posted on Thai Visa and elsewhere and not get some things wrong.

 

Read through most immigrations-related threads and you quickly realize how many people still don't know the difference between a visa and an extension of stay ... even after being here for many years on extensions of stay and sporting  long expired visas in their passports.

 

Understanding that a visa on arrival is not a visa-exempt-entry totally defeats many of the "experts" who share their wisdom here. Doing a 90 day report, applying for an extension of stay (not an extension of a visa), making  border runs (usually written "boarder runs"),  overstaying ... and a lot more ... get mangled here on a regular basis.

 

Sometimes it seems the number of posts in these threads containing incorrect, confusing, misleading "information" and wrong terminology far outweigh the correct, useful posts. Is it any wonder that "newbies" come away more confused or ill-informed than when they first came seeking information.

 

If the O/P has a "buddy" who purposely lied about tourist visas he may need to reassess what he thinks "buddy" means.

 

 

Not true. Your friend may honestly do not have a clue.

 

Yes.  If his "buddy" has no idea what he's talking about and, like so many farang, is unable to say "I don't know" for fear of loss of face. then he could very well be a long-standing poster here at Thai Visa ... refuge of the clueless.

 

 

Wow, sounds like you had a bad day.

many thank's all the same for you wisdom.

 

Charlie

 

[Ayutthaya69]

go to the Philippines you can stay There for 16 months no border run extend your visa at the Immigration after 16 months you have to leave the country and come back do again the same .and i don understandwhy Thailand don't do the same at least make more money keep the money  in Thailand 

[Tomtomtom69]

 

You will probably be ok (at least for the time being), but technically, you are NOT a tourist and should not be using tourist visas. Tourists do not own houses and cars and bikes, tourists normally visit and stay in hotels, taking in the attractions :-)

not true. many tourists own their own vacation homes in other countries all over the world.

 

 

Similarly, many tourists, including working holiday visa makers in such countries as Australia also buy cars to use for short periods even though they are technically also tourists. Just because driving in Thailand is considered dangerous and public transport is cheap, doesn't mean all tourists don't want to drive their own cars, given the chance. Just yesterday I saw a Chinese plated car with a Shanghai license plate driving along Asok-Din Daeng Road in the direction of Sukhumvit after having previously seen a Lao plated car only 10 days earlier driving on the same stretch of road. OK neither driver is allowed to keep their cars here for more than a month at a time (some extensions may be possible) and only for tourism purposes, but it proves that tourists ARE indeed driving their own cars or purchasing cars for temporary use here. So bigt116, I don't think your definition is a very good one. But in the same way a tourist who temporarily brings in their own car may only be allowed to extend it's stay permit for as long as the driver's stay permit is valid, a tourist who purchases a car (or a condo) here can't claim that as being a reason to be allowed entry. Unless there's a visa that can be issued on the basis of owning property here, immigration requirements are separate and nobody cares whether you own a house, car, bike or whatever here. For regular visitors, it's actually quite normal since who wants to always catch the skytrain, taxis or buses everywhere, or spend a fortune on car rental?
 

[Tomtomtom69]

OP, a double entry tourist visa would actually give you up to 6 months in the country, 3 months at a time (60 days + 30 day extension at immigration) then you have to leave and re-enter to use the second entry. If you stay 3 months, followed by an absence of 3 months, and can get a hold of a 6 month validity visa, you could use it in such a way that after you've used the first 90 days, you leave for home and come back just before the "enter before" date has been reached and thus you'll get another 60 days plus the option to extend for another 30 days without needing to apply for a second visa.

 

This is perfectly legit, you don't have to keep applying for tourist visas and it looks better to immigration if you have one double entry tourist visa rather than 2 single entries as they'll inevitably view them separately. However, I believe 6-month validity double entries would need to be applied for back home since in the region (say in Laos and Vietnam) the validity is only 3 months for these double entries (same as for single entries).

[charlie42]

 

You will probably be ok (at least for the time being), but technically, you are NOT a tourist and should not be using tourist visas. Tourists do not own houses and cars and bikes, tourists normally visit and stay in hotels, taking in the attractions :-)

not true. many tourists own their own vacation homes in other countries all over the world.

 

valid point Ayjaydee NOT!. why am i not a tourist ?. I come with sufficient   funds for my stay.

 

I do not work while here, I travel the country in my car, i stay in hotels when im traveling.

 

I use my bikes when staying local to where i rent a house.

 

I may be wrong, but there no law against using a cheaper accommodation than hotels.

Or owning a car or motercycle in Thailand,well Immigration don't seem to mind,

 

THEY GAVE ME ALL THE PAPER WORK TO DO SO

 

NUMPTY !

 

 

Regards

 

Charlie
 

[charlie42]

 

 

You will probably be ok (at least for the time being), but technically, you are NOT a tourist and should not be using tourist visas. Tourists do not own houses and cars and bikes, tourists normally visit and stay in hotels, taking in the attractions :-)

not true. many tourists own their own vacation homes in other countries all over the world.

 

valid point Ayjaydee NOT!. why am i not a tourist ?. I come with sufficient   funds for my stay.

 

I do not work while here, I travel the country in my car, i stay in hotels when im traveling.

 

I use my bikes when staying local to where i rent a house.

 

I may be wrong, but there no law against using a cheaper accommodation than hotels.

Or owning a car or motercycle in Thailand,well Immigration don't seem to mind,

 

THEY GAVE ME ALL THE PAPER WORK TO DO SO

 

NUMPTY !

 

 

Regards

 

Charlie

 

apologies Ayjaydee. that was meant for Big116.

[smedly]

I think immigration will come out with a formula that stipulates length of stay in any 12 months based on Tourist visa or with 30 day VOA or any combination of the two

 

Something like this

 

Tourist Visa  - maximum stay of 6 months in any 12 months - so it could be

 

1 month rotation

2 month rotation

3 month rotation

6 month rotation

 

all the above would be a maximum stay of 6 months in any 12 month period - possibly varying by Nationality as it does at the moment

 

Then everyone would know exactly were they stood both officials and tourists alike

[aTomsLife]

OP, a double entry tourist visa would actually give you up to 6 months in the country, 3 months at a time (60 days + 30 day extension at immigration) then you have to leave and re-enter to use the second entry. If you stay 3 months, followed by an absence of 3 months, and can get a hold of a 6 month validity visa, you could use it in such a way that after you've used the first 90 days, you leave for home and come back just before the "enter before" date has been reached and thus you'll get another 60 days plus the option to extend for another 30 days without needing to apply for a second visa.

 

This is perfectly legit, you don't have to keep applying for tourist visas and it looks better to immigration if you have one double entry tourist visa rather than 2 single entries as they'll inevitably view them separately. However, I believe 6-month validity double entries would need to be applied for back home since in the region (say in Laos and Vietnam) the validity is only 3 months for these double entries (same as for single entries).

 

I've never heard of a 6 month validity visa. Maybe not available to Americans. Per the NY Consulate's website: 

 

Tourist visa

            •Validity of visa Single and double entry visas must be used within 90 days of the date of issuance. 

 

Link: http://www.thaicgny.com/%E0%B8%A0%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A9%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%AD-%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A4%E0%B8%A9-english-version/visa/validity-and-period/

[ubonjoe]

4. VALIDITY OF A VISA       The validity of a visa is 3 months or 6 months.

Source: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15398-Issuance-of-Visa.html

[aTomsLife]

 

4. VALIDITY OF A VISA       The validity of a visa is 3 months or 6 months.

Source: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15398-Issuance-of-Visa.html

 

 

Thank you. I'll certainly inquire about it at the Consulate.

 

Edit:  I assume the expiration date is determined from the day of issuance.  So if I use my first entry a month after receiving the visa, stay for three months (60+30), I'll only have two months to use the second entry. Correct? 

Edited August 7, 2014 by aTomsLife

[paz]

Edit:  I assume the expiration date is determined from the day of issuance.  So if I use my first entry a month after receiving the visa, stay for three months (60+30), I'll only have two months to use the second entry. Correct? 

 

Yes. Get visa at the latest possible time.