Hard time at suvarnabhumi on visa waiver and visa advice

[bbkkb]

Hi everyone,

I'm a french citizen, 33yo

I've been living in Thailand since 2010, on visa waivers, a few tourist visas and 1 student visa.

Even though i live here most of the year, i travel often enough now to '"be fine"'without any visa: I usually get out of the country before the 30 days because i have to go abroad for work or other reasons and i did one 30 days extension in february.

Problem is that the last 2 times i came back to Bangkok, the immigration at Suvarnhabumi gave me a bit of a hard time (relatively). The first time i was in Japan for 22 days (bkk-tokyo-bkk) and the second time i stayed a full month in Japan so it's not like if they thought that i did a visa run.

It is my third passport so i get just a few stamps and the first time the officer tried to write down how many days in total i've been in Thailand this year until he gave up (with a sweaty forehead) and called another officer who asked me where i was and for how long. He then said to the other officer "mee tang, mai pen rai" and let me come in.

2nd time, the officer said that his computer tells him i came too many times without any visa and told me: "ok this time, last time you can come without visa. Next time you need visa"

I never had a single question or anything like that from them in the past.

What kind of visa would you recommend for my situation?

I believe from what i read here that double and triple entries tourist visas are different from before and can total only 3 months of stay. If i get a double entry tourist visa, i will get 60 days on arrival but if i leave after one month and come back, i won't get another 60 days, right?

Is there any other visa that i could get?

Is there any kind of business i can open without having any employees? (if yes, you're gonna tell me that everyone would do that but...)

I'm learning japanese in a school in Bangkok but my Ed visa was refused in Paris last year: she asked why i'm learning japanese in Thailand, i said my gf is japanese and work in Bangkok and then said if i get married to my gf, then she can accept my visa (?).

Thanks in advance for your help

[paz]

You can use double entry visa from e.g. Laos. Each entry allows 60 days, extensible for 30 more. You do one border hop to activate the 2nd entry. That is not different from before.

There is no business you can open without employees.

France is not a good place to obtain any Thai visa.

[ubonjoe]

Immigration now gets an alert when you reach 6 visa exempt entries. There is no rule that they can use to deny you entry for them. They can only deny entry under section 12 of the immigration act. The most common reasons are lack of financial proof or suspicion of working here. If you can show the equivalent of 20k baht in cash that will overcome the financial proof requirement. Your travel schedule would eliminate suspicion of working here.

Getting a tourist visa would look good in your passport and they probably would not bother you for doing a few more visa exempt entries.

There has been no change to the rules for tourist visas. Just confusion about the visas validity period.. You can still get a 2nd or 3rd entry from a visa that allows more than one entry.

A two entry visa issued in Laos only has 3 months of validity so you must use the 2nd entry before that ends.

Bali will do a 3 entry tourist visa with 6 months validity but you must show tickets out of the country up to 90 days apart.

You can get a single entry non-ed visa for studying any language at a nearby embassy or consulate and then get 90 day extensions of stay.

[bbkkb]

great. I guess i'll go to Bali to a triple entry

Question: If on my first entry i want to leave after a month, can i get a re-entry to not loose the 30 days i had left and still get 2 other entries after that? Or am i being funny? hehe

[steve187]

great. I guess i'll go to Bali to a triple entry

Question: If on my first entry i want to leave after a month, can i get a re-entry to not loose the 30 days i had left and still get 2 other entries after that? Or am i being funny? hehe

Yes but the re-entry permit will only be valid til the same date as your entry stamp, so if you arrive and get a 60 day stamp, leave after 30 days with a re-entry permit and stay out the country, say 20 days you will only get a stamp in for 10 days. (the original date of the first entry).

[bbkkb]

awesome, thanks a lot for the all the help!

[Namplik]

great. I guess i'll go to Bali to a triple entry

Question: If on my first entry i want to leave after a month, can i get a re-entry to not loose the 30 days i had left and still get 2 other entries after that? Or am i being funny? hehe

Yes but the re-entry permit will only be valid til the same date as your entry stamp, so if you arrive and get a 60 day stamp, leave after 30 days with a re-entry permit and stay out the country, say 20 days you will only get a stamp in for 10 days. (the original date of the first entry).

So it is possible to get a re-entry permit on a regular tourist visa? And you can buy this when leaving at BKK?

[londoedan]

great. I guess i'll go to Bali to a triple entry

Question: If on my first entry i want to leave after a month, can i get a re-entry to not loose the 30 days i had left and still get 2 other entries after that? Or am i being funny? hehe

And Bali is a great place to get a visa ?

[hawker9000]

great. I guess i'll go to Bali to a triple entry

Question: If on my first entry i want to leave after a month, can i get a re-entry to not loose the 30 days i had left and still get 2 other entries after that? Or am i being funny? hehe

Yes but the re-entry permit will only be valid til the same date as your entry stamp, so if you arrive and get a 60 day stamp, leave after 30 days with a re-entry permit and stay out the country, say 20 days you will only get a stamp in for 10 days. (the original date of the first entry).

So it is possible to get a re-entry permit on a regular tourist visa? And you can buy this when leaving at BKK?

If I remember & recognized it correctly (I've never obtained a re-entry permit, but always wondered exactly where that was done at Suv.), right after you pass through immigration and are just about to enter the big hall/duty-free area on the air/secure side, there's a partition with a large desk in front of it manned by immigration staff. I believe this is where you obtain re-entry permits. As steve187 pointed out, a re-entry permit does NOT extend your existing "must leave by" date; it only lets you go out and then come back in again to finish out that original stay period.

[Namplik]

If I remember & recognized it correctly (I've never obtained a re-entry permit, but always wondered exactly where that was done at Suv.), right after you pass through immigration and are just about to enter the big hall/duty-free area on the air/secure side, there's a partition with a large desk in front of it manned by immigration staff. I believe this is where you obtain re-entry permits. As steve187 pointed out, a re-entry permit does NOT extend your existing "must leave by" date; it only lets you go out and then come back in again to finish out that original stay period.

I think i know where the re-entry counter is at BKK, its to the left when entering the Immigration area. And I think you need to go there first and fix/pay for the re-entry and then go to the regular Immigration counters?

Does anybody know the time frame of getting a re-entry there? I usually enter BKK in the evening and fly out after midnight. How much time extra should I calculate?

[bbkkb]

what are the requirements to get a triple entry in Bali? I need 3 flight tickets out of the country? anything else?

[swoods58]

When you go up the escalators at swampy after hand luggage scanning go back down the next escalator and turn to the right at the bottom. The retry permit desk is on the left as you enter. You go through immigration after. Takes about 20 mins.

[ubonjoe]

what are the requirements to get a triple entry in Bali? I need 3 flight tickets out of the country? anything else?

Just the rickets out that can be up to 90 days apart.

[bbkkb]

thank you!