Foreigners That Are Exempted From The Visa

[zeusbheld]

CAN ANYONE IN HERE POSSIBLY ANSWER MY QUESTION PLEASE ??

do these new changes mean that everyone will have to go back to there home country to get a visa for thailand ???? have other countries including neigboring countries to thailand stopped issuing visas ??????????? that is my question...... can anyone answer it please.

Nope Pattaya Girl, that was just scare mongering by A Traveler who is gloating over these new regs and gets sadistic enjoyment over the sufferings of others because his "current" visa situation is under control. When the immi whip inevitably comes down on him, aint nobody gonna care so he'll change his ID and start his whining. Someone like this is a simple troll trying to get people like you upset, Pattaya Girl. Please put him on ignore for peace of mind. He cares about no one but himself

I don't understand you comment here. The point about the possibility of individuals having to apply at their 'home' Thai embassy has been in place for over 30 years and has been used by the authorites in the past. These are facts.

I have made it very clear that there is no indication as to the intention of the authorites to use this facility, however to ignore its existence would IMHO be foolish in the extreme.

The forum is supposed to allow the dissemination of information so intelligent people may take rational viewpoints about their situation.

With your permission I shall continue to contribute in that spirit.

Regards

nah don't wait for permission, just carry on...

[Clip_My_Wings]

There are a lot of 'dodgy' people here who have no money and no WP. More than a few have warrants from their native countries. They scrounge around somehow and make the monthly 'visa run' usually on public transportation. The problem for Immigration; how to rid the country of this vermin but not run off some of the 'good folks' (with money, internet job maybe, etc.) in the process? Not an easy problem to solve. If I'm reading things right coming back in country by plane and you're okay.......the vermin can't afford this.

I think this has less to do with "vermin", as you so elequently put it, and the (as yet completely theoretical) opening of the new airport....

interesting theory ... so you envisage that the frequently delayed and no doubt over budget new airport's opening co-incides with the changing of the rules (or enforcement of existing rules) to perhaps raise additional revenue for said govt ?? if im reading correctly that is.

should we expect a new special visa for people arriving in breach of the "new rules" rather than instant deportation. lets say for instance you arrive in breach .. mai pen rai we grant you new 15 day VOA arrival 5000 baht please !!!

anyhow enough of the conspiracy theory ...as i read the rules the key words are SEVERAL and NOT MORE THAN 90 DAYS IN 6 MONTHS. several is more than 3 times so for myself travelling for weeknd stays from HK say twice a month there is no problem (6 days a month for 6 months is only 36 days). but for the person arriving on a 3 month tourist visa and then wanting to do 3 VOA's for 30 days there might be a problem as this would be continuous 6 months. a 4th VOA for the 7th month of course now definately a no go.

of course as as it appears vague to us you can only imagine how the poor immigration guy is going to be. i expect this new directive is to clearly stamp out those on continuous month on month and will allow a little discretion to the immigration officer. if he sees you keep staying maximum 30days and hpping the border for a few hrs then you going get shafted!!!

anyway the above is just my opinion .. hopefully we can get official clarification from sunbelt as there origial interpretation suggested a 3 VOA in 6 months and thats it ... regardless of time duration spent ... this is where alot of confusion has exists around this point.

[Clip_My_Wings]

There are a lot of 'dodgy' people here who have no money and no WP. More than a few have warrants from their native countries. They scrounge around somehow and make the monthly 'visa run' usually on public transportation. The problem for Immigration; how to rid the country of this vermin but not run off some of the 'good folks' (with money, internet job maybe, etc.) in the process? Not an easy problem to solve. If I'm reading things right coming back in country by plane and you're okay.......the vermin can't afford this.

agree. most of the scuttlebutt and unofficial emphasizes that they're going after 30 day overland visa runners.

if this is a good translation of the legalese, it definitely leaves room for judgment on the immigration officer's part, when faced with perpetual weekenders, oil rig workers, etc. as to how often they can enter:

3. According the Article 13 (3) of the Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), within six months period, the holder of passport or substitutive documents which issued by any country that is approved by the Minister of the Interior, under the approval of the Cabinet, to enter to temporarily stay in Thailand for tourism purpose, shall be permitted to enter Thailand several times. Each permitted time shall not be exceeding 30 days period, and the total period shall not be exceeding 90 days from the first day that the passport holder arrived in Thailand.

people are fretting about how ambiguous this part is, i really dont think it is all that ambiguous.

the careful observer will note that a.) the situation is evolving, and subject to further change, so that fact that it contradicts previous statements from immigration that it would be 3 and only 3 entries means nothing, and b.) "several" and "three" are very different words. if they meant three, they'd have said three.

(all bets are off, of course, if it turns out the translation sucks but i suspect it's decent because it reads like legalese not thaiglish. they also very carefully word the "TOTAL PERIOD" part. i fail to see how anyone can read that and conclude that it's definitely only three entries, even if you only stay overnight. certainly, the document allows that, but doesn't mandate that.

short version: it certainly appears that, based on the wording of this document, frequent weekenders and people who use the airport as a hub are safe.

This is exactly how I interpret it and makes logical sense (howver nothing is logical in thailand) ..

[warwick7735]

Hi All

This is my first post

I was coming to thai in Oct- Nov visiting friends, I was going to get a multi entry non immigrant visa in case i decided to stay for a longer period, I understood I could stay for 90days then leave and come back in. Will i still be able to do that as i would of already stayed my 90 days. is it still posible to leave and come back in to the country say 2 or 3 times so i can stay for the 12 months.

All help appreciated

Warwick

[lopburi3]

The 90 day rule does not apply to visa entry from our understanding.

[Pattaya46]

... within six months period, the holder of passport ... shall be permitted to enter Thailand several times. Each permitted time shall not be exceeding 30 days period, and the total period shall not be exceeding 90 days from the first day that the passport holder arrived in Thailand.

short version: it certainly appears that, based on the wording of this document, frequent weekenders and people who use the airport as a hub are safe.

Hi,

I am not a native english speaker and only learned english long time ago as a second language at school, but I do not understand the above rule as you

Each time you come in Thailand (for 1 day, 1 week or 30 days) you get an autorisation to stay for "a permited time of 30 days".

They clearly say the total period of permited times shall not be exceeding 90 days, not the total period you stayed in Thailand

So after 3 entries you got your 90 days and can't enter again without a visa... or a long delay.

I think they used "several" and not "three" because there are cases where you only get an autorisation to stay for 15 days, not 30, and then you could have up to 6 entries for 90 days.

I think too many people read what they would like see, not what is written...

Pattaya46

[astral]

3. According the Article 13 (3) of the Ministerial Regulation which stipulated the criterions, practices and conditions regarding the verification, exception and the changes in the visa requirements B.E. 2545 (2002) dated on 16th August B.E. 2545 (2002), within six months period, the holder of passport or substitutive documents which issued by any country that is approved by the Minister of the Interior, under the approval of the Cabinet, to enter to temporarily stay in Thailand for tourism purpose, shall be permitted to enter Thailand several times. Each permitted time shall not be exceeding 30 days period, and the total period shall not be exceeding 90 days from the first day that the passport holder arrived in Thailand.

Hidden in there is No More extensions of a 30 day Tourist Visa Exemption stamp.

We used be able to get an extra 7-10 days.

[LivinLOS]

Yeah I had noted that.. I also wonder if tourist visa's will have such trouble free / standardized 30 day extensions ??

Would put the cat firmly back among the pigions if your 3x 30 days visa runs was then shifted to a 60 day tourist visa but you couldnt extend it !! Would leave a big 30 day chunk in each 6 months hanging !!

[zeusbheld]

... within six months period, the holder of passport ... shall be permitted to enter Thailand several times. Each permitted time shall not be exceeding 30 days period, and the total period shall not be exceeding 90 days from the first day that the passport holder arrived in Thailand.

short version: it certainly appears that, based on the wording of this document, frequent weekenders and people who use the airport as a hub are safe.

Hi,

I am not a native english speaker and only learned english long time ago as a second language at school, but I do not understand the above rule as you

Each time you come in Thailand (for 1 day, 1 week or 30 days) you get an autorisation to stay for "a permited time of 30 days".

They clearly say the total period of permited times shall not be exceeding 90 days, not the total period you stayed in Thailand

So after 3 entries you got your 90 days and can't enter again without a visa... or a long delay.

I think they used "several" and not "three" because there are cases where you only get an autorisation to stay for 15 days, not 30, and then you could have up to 6 entries for 90 days.

I think too many people read what they would like see, not what is written...

Pattaya46

now, reread what you just wrote please:

Each time you come in Thailand (for 1 day, 1 week or 30 days) you get an autorisation to stay for "a permited time of 30 days".

They clearly say the total period of permited times shall not be exceeding 90 days, not the total period you stayed in Thailand

your rephrasing of it still says each time you stay you are permitted to stay 30 days, not that if you stay one day it counts as 30. the original statement said "not exceeding 30 days."

however, one thing that should be obvious to everyone in all this, is that they're leaving a lot to the discretion of the individual officers. however, to claim that the above statement clearly says or even strongly hints that they're not counting days but rather each entry counts as 30, is patently absurd. if you want, and believe that i just desperately want to believe they're not going to turn away weekenders (even though i am not one, and don't really care that deeply if they screw tourism by turning them away) i can forward it to a few dozen native speakers who don't give a shit about thailand, let alone their visa policy, and see how they interpret it.

however, even if they all agree that the stated policy clearly says your total stay regardless of number of entries cannot exceed 90 days/6 months, that doesn't mean they can't or won't turn people away after 3 entries.

while it may be a poor translation, i suspect the ambiguity is deliberate--leaving it at the discretion of immigration officers as to how many entries to allow.

[zeusbheld]

Yeah I had noted that.. I also wonder if tourist visa's will have such trouble free / standardized 30 day extensions ??

Would put the cat firmly back among the pigions if your 3x 30 days visa runs was then shifted to a 60 day tourist visa but you couldnt extend it !! Would leave a big 30 day chunk in each 6 months hanging !!

while a press conference quoted elsewhere had them saying explicitly that it is possible to stay indefinitely because they would still issue back-to-back tourist visas, and in several other places they've stated that the basic rules for tourist visas haven't changed, that doesn't mean they won't, in practice, turn a lot more people away. this would be one way of doing it. if you have to fly somewhere every 60 days, or if you're alternating and have gaps, that would be a little bit disruptive toward those trying to work, although there are easier ways to stop illegals from working.

however, i suspect that a.) they'll issue back to back single-entry tourist visas and b.) they'll extend visas, because it puts money directly in the gov't's pockets (and most likely more than they'd collect in income taxes).

[JimmyGreaves]

Wow, This topic has caused an avalance! I thought the company topic was bad but 30 day visa now everyone is worried about how to stay here. We all love Thailand that's for sure!

Chock Dee

[egg]

had a chat with with a Thai immigration official in Nong Khai on Friday ,,, he told me not to worry ,, they had not had anything official from the government ,,,,,,,, now l worry more ,,

[ServeUncutUncle]

To me it looks fairly straight fwd. the day you try to enter, they look back 6 mo's and count the number of days you have been in the country on stamps started in that period. ie: if on oct 1st, you had a stamp in your passport dated May 30th but you left on June 29th, those days should'nt count because you were stamped in more than 6 months ago. So if you timed it right you could actually be in the country 4 out of 6 months. This would make it easier for offshore guys. I am fairly certain this is how its going to be. If it was the number of days in 6 months they would have just said that. If it was simply 3 stamps in 6 months they would have just said that too. I am hoping anyway

I have a 6 year old 96 Page Passport with 90 Pages now Full, around 30% of my Passport features mainly BKK in and out Passport Stamps somewhere in the Region of 100 Sttamps....How long will it take anybody to check all these. So much for the promised 20 seconds Immigration Service at Suvarnabhumi

Edited September 18, 2006 by ServeUncutUncle

[GracelessFawn]

drummer - said it before - I'll say it again. It is all about John Mark Karr. Any questions?

Didn't John Mark Karr had a 'proper visa?' (teaching license, work permit, visa stamp??????)

[WilliamIV]

have other countries including neigboring countries to thailand stopped issuing visas ?

No.. consulates in neighbouring countries are still issuing visas to those that qualify. It does seem though that where tourist visas are concerned, only single entry tourist visas are available in the neighbouring countries.

totster

PG

It depends on what Passport you are holding.

Passport holders from Indian Sub Continent cannot get visas from neighbouring countries.

And some Countries on the VOA list qualify for only 15 days not 30 - hence the wording of the

rules under discussion.

[zeusbheld]

drummer - said it before - I'll say it again. It is all about John Mark Karr. Any questions?

Didn't John Mark Karr had a 'proper visa?' (teaching license, work permit, visa stamp??????)

read a news story the other day that said he was working illegally.