New Visa Rules

[bangkokrick]

I am 49 years old and have been living in Thailand for around 6 years on a tourist visa. I have been lucky because my work takes me outside Thailand at least once a month so i have not had to do any visa runs. I always leave and enter the country by air and stay for anything from 5 days to 30 days max. Please can anyone tell me if there will be a restriction on the amount of times that i can enter on a tourist visa for the future. Things seem to be a bit ambiguous for air travellers. Can i enter as many times as i like until the 90 days are up?

Thanks Rick

[jdinasia]

HUH? you have been WORKING in Thailand for 6 years? and you have NOT had a visa during this time? (30 day visa exemption IS NOT A VISA)

You apparently will be able to enter for as many times as you want but I would NOT count on an airline boarding you 90 days after Oct1 for arrival in BKK if you do not have a VISA

[Siriam]

HUH? you have been WORKING in Thailand for 6 years?

My understanding is that Rick, worked outside Thailand, i.e. work reason force him to go abroad once in awhile.

BTW as long as he get a Tourist Visa, in his home-Country should not be difficult, he'd continue to stay here as long as he like...

Edited September 25, 2006 by Siriam

[bangkokrick]

HUH? you have been WORKING in Thailand for 6 years? and you have NOT had a visa during this time? (30 day visa exemption IS NOT A VISA)

You apparently will be able to enter for as many times as you want but I would NOT count on an airline boarding you 90 days after Oct1 for arrival in BKK if you do not have a VISA

Hi I have not been working in Thailand just living here and my work is around SE Asia. I have always entered on a tourist 30 day visa on arrival. Will this change?

[jdinasia]

You have entered on a visa exemption -------

after 90 days<day count total> from your October entry you wiill not be eligible to do that again for 90 days and you will need a VISA

[Firefan]

Jd is almost right - except it is rolling 6 months. I.e. max stay 90 days in any 180 day period. (yeah, time to flip out your calender and calculator). Cheers!

[Tywais]

Jd is almost right - except it is rolling 6 months. I.e. max stay 90 days in any 180 day period. (yeah, time to flip out your calender and calculator). Cheers!

Exactly, 90 days stay max in 180 days - no limit on entries/exits (as interpreted at the moment). Maybe I should write a program to do the days calculations and make it freely available.

[bangkokrick]

Jd is almost right - except it is rolling 6 months. I.e. max stay 90 days in any 180 day period. (yeah, time to flip out your calender and calculator). Cheers!

Hi Guys thanks for the advice. In your experience what is the easiest visa to apply for so that i can stay around 6 months at a time. I will apply for the visa in the UK which is my home country.

Cheers Rick

[jdinasia]

so it boils down to ..... you really will not be able to continue your current behavior .... you will need a real visa at least a couple of times a year

[wpcoe]

bangkokrick: If you are 49, at least you have less than a year to continue the visa/visa-waiver tap dance. :-)

Apparently, you will need to alternate 30-day-stamps-on-arrival (if your country's on the eligible list) with genuine Tourist Visas acquired at a Thai embassy/consulate outside of Thailand.

After you hit the magic 5-0, you can get a retirement visa. See: www.wpcoe.com/visa for details.

BTW, if my name sounds familiar, it should. <g>

Feel free to send me private e-mail.

[Jai Dee]

The following is an email bulletin that was issued by the American Embassy in Bangkok this morning:

Attention American Citizens:

The Thai Immigration Bureau recently announced a change in Visa Regulations that is scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2006. This change will affect citizens of 39 countries, including American citizens, who are exempt from obtaining a Thai visa prior to entering Thailand. Effective October 1, 2006, American citizens who enter Thailand without a visa will be allowed to stay in Thailand for 30 days per visit as before. However, the total duration of stay in Thailand for American citizens who enter Thailand without a visa cannot exceed 90 days in any six-month period, counting from the date of first entry.

American citizens who wish to remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days during any six-month period will be required to obtain a valid Thai visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate that is authorized to issue visas. The U.S. Embassy advises all American citizens who wish to obtain a Thai visa to contact the Thai Immigration Bureau for exact visa requirements and regulations. Persons who do not comply with the new visa regulations risk being denied reentry to Thailand at the border.

The U.S. Embassy has been attempting to seek clarifications and additional information from the Thai Immigration Bureau regarding the change in visa regulations. To date the Embassy has been unable to determine whether American citizens who have been in Thailand for 90 days or longer without a visa before October 1, 2006 will be considered to have reached their 90-day limit on October 1, 2006, or whether the 90 days will start from the first time the American citizen crosses the border into Thailand after the new regulation goes into effect. When/if the Embassy receives a definitive answer to this question we will post that information on the Embassy’s web site at: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/index.htm.

On a related note, while most border crossings in Thailand are open as normal, the September 19 coup in Thailand has caused intermittent closures at some border crossings. Border crossings into Burma are primarily affected by these closures, but the Embassy has also received sporadic reports of closures at some border crossings on the Lao and Cambodian borders. American citizens traveling by land to neighboring countries are advised to check at the border crossing point where they wish to cross the border to ensure that the border crossing point is open for business in both directions. Please note that in some instances a border crossing point has been open for business on the Thai side of the border, but closed on the neighboring side.

[bangkokrick]

bangkokrick: If you are 49, at least you have less than a year to continue the visa/visa-waiver tap dance. :-)

Apparently, you will need to alternate 30-day-stamps-on-arrival (if your country's on the eligible list) with genuine Tourist Visas acquired at a Thai embassy/consulate outside of Thailand.

After you hit the magic 5-0, you can get a retirement visa. See: www.wpcoe.com/visa for details.

BTW, if my name sounds familiar, it should. <g>

Feel free to send me private e-mail.

Hi Thanks for the info. Do i know you?

[Crossy]

Hi Guys thanks for the advice. In your experience what is the easiest visa to apply for so that i can stay around 6 months at a time. I will apply for the visa in the UK which is my home country.

Rick, try this:-

Next time you're home apply for a multi-entry non-o at either Hull or Brum (NOT the Embassy in London) on the grounds of 'Investigating retirement options in Thailand'.

This will net you 90 days stay at each entry and with correct timing can get you up to 15 months of validity. Should get you past the post to get a retirement extension assuming you can put the required 800k in your Thai bank.

[bangkokrick]

Hi Guys thanks for the advice. In your experience what is the easiest visa to apply for so that i can stay around 6 months at a time. I will apply for the visa in the UK which is my home country.

Rick, try this:-

Next time you're home apply for a multi-entry non-o at either Hull or Brum (NOT the Embassy in London) on the grounds of 'Investigating retirement options in Thailand'.

This will net you 90 days stay at each entry and with correct timing can get you up to 15 months of validity. Should get you past the post to get a retirement extension assuming you can put the required 800k in your Thai bank.

Thanks Crossy.

I will try this when i go to the UK in October and as far as the retirement visa goes the days cant pass quick enough.

Cheers Rick