I'm from a visa exempt country and in early August spent 12 days in Bangkok before heading to Laos. In Laos I did a day trip to Udon Thani to then renew a 30 visa. Now I am looking to reenter Thailand but am a bit unsure of what exactly I need to do.

Does the 30 exemption reset every time I leave or is it cumulative for the year? Can I extend an exempt stay the same way I would a visa or do I have to leave the country again to procure a visa with which to extend? If I'm looking to stay in Thailand for a couple months with periodic trips to other countries in the region is that possible, and if so what's the visa I need? No working just tourism.

• Yes you get a full 30 day stay every time you enter by air. If you enter by land border you get 30 days if you're from a G7 country or 15 days from all others.

There is no cumulative total for the year.

Yes visa exempt entries can be extended for 30 days at an immigration office at a cost of 1,900 baht.

You could get a single or double entry tourist visa (TR) from Vientiane or Savannakhet.

Each TR entry gives you 60 days which can be extended by 30 days (1,900 baht)

You can purchase a re-entry permit (1,000 baht). These permits keep the period of your stay alive if you leave the country. e.g. if you left after 10 days of your 60 day stay with a re-entry permit and returned 10 days later you would still have 40 days left of the original 60.

Edited September 25, 201510 yr by elviajero

Great thanks that helps clear it up a lot. So it sounds like I wouldn't need the TR as I'm not planning to stay for more than 30 days at a time, and if I do I'll just extend. I'm currently planning to spend a few weeks, then a week in Cambodia, then a few more weeks, then a week in Myanmar, then a few more weeks, so it sounds like the exemption should be fine for these.

Thanks again for the clarification!