Tourist Visa Changes – Retroactive?

[stavid68]

Tourist Visa Changes – Retroactive?

I’ve read most of the tourist visa change posts and the Pattaya Today links but I am still a bit confused and overwhelmed. I’ve spent the past year getting settled in. Last month my landlord offered me a great deal on extending my apartment lease provided I increase the security deposit, and pay a few extra months in advance – which I did. He said he needed the money to use on the purchase of a new condo and that’s why I was getting such a good deal. So I’m really feeling the pressure but it is not the end of the world.

I’m still not clear if this rule change means under a tourist visa you can no longer stay more than 180 days a year and that’s FINAL or if you could stay for most of the year (say 330 days a year) by combining visa runs with tourist visas obtained outside of border crossings at Thai embassies?

My situation:

I’m an unmarried, under 50 year old American living in Thailand on 30 day tourist visas. I have been in Thailand for the past year. I usually leave Thailand one week a month and get a new tourist visa at arrival at the airport. I’m not working in Thailand. I am living on savings and am effectively “semi-retired”.

My current tourist visa will expire the middle of October. Next week I plan to go to Australia for a week.

Questions:

1) When I return to Thailand from Australia via air the 3rd week of October can I get a 30 day tourist visa on arrival at the airport? Please note I have been living in Thailand for the past 9 months - I’m not sure if I have already maxed out on the 180 days already.

2) Or while in Australia am I eligible to apply for a 90 day tourist visa? Any guess what the chances of success are?

3) Provided I am allowed to return to Thailand the 3rd week of October, what options do I have for visa renewal say mid November and moving forward after that?

Thank you and regards,

Steve

[aussiestyle1983]

Tourist Visa Changes – Retroactive?

I’ve read most of the tourist visa change posts and the Pattaya Today links but I am still a bit confused and overwhelmed. I’ve spent the past year getting settled in. Last month my landlord offered me a great deal on extending my apartment lease provided I increase the security deposit, and pay a few extra months in advance – which I did. He said he needed the money to use on the purchase of a new condo and that’s why I was getting such a good deal. So I’m really feeling the pressure but it is not the end of the world.

I’m still not clear if this rule change means under a tourist visa you can no longer stay more than 180 days a year and that’s FINAL or if you could stay for most of the year (say 330 days a year) by combining visa runs with tourist visas obtained outside of border crossings at Thai embassies?

My situation:

I’m an unmarried, under 50 year old American living in Thailand on 30 day tourist visas. I have been in Thailand for the past year. I usually leave Thailand one week a month and get a new tourist visa at arrival at the airport. I’m not working in Thailand. I am living on savings and am effectively “semi-retired”.

My current tourist visa will expire the middle of October. Next week I plan to go to Australia for a week.

Questions:

1) When I return to Thailand from Australia via air the 3rd week of October can I get a 30 day tourist visa on arrival at the airport? Please note I have been living in Thailand for the past 9 months - I’m not sure if I have already maxed out on the 180 days already.

2) Or while in Australia am I eligible to apply for a 90 day tourist visa? Any guess what the chances of success are?

3) Provided I am allowed to return to Thailand the 3rd week of October, what options do I have for visa renewal say mid November and moving forward after that?

Thank you and regards,

Steve

1- Yes. You can still get the free 30 day visa on arrival from the airport. The 180 days in 6 months law started from October 1, any days in Thailand on a visa on arival before October 1 are not counted. But the days you spend in Thailand from now untill you leave will be counted as it is now after October 1.

2- Yes, You can get a tourist visa from any thai embassy in oz. Brisbane is the easiest and most friendly place to get any type of visa. If you can get a Thai lady to write you a letter saying that you and her are good friends and she wants you to come and stay with her for a while, they might even give you a 90 day or 1 year Non Immigrant O visa which gives you a 90 day stay in Thailand! You would also need to provide copies of her passport and id card. But yes, any Embassy in Oz will give you a visa, but if you are in Brisbane, talk to the Consul General there and he might be able to help you out..........

3- If you return to Thailand without a visa meaning you will recieve a visa on arrival from the airport, before it expires in 30 days, go to immigration and they will extend it for 30 more days, then you can get it extended for another 30 (proably 20 days in your case as you will have already been in Thailand for a week or 2 as it is already after October 1) taking your stay from the 3rd week in October up untill the 1st or 2nd week in January. Then in January you must leave and get a tourist visa from abroad.

[buddyholly1]

Last month I bought my ticket for a 4 month stay in Thailand, starting in November. I knew I had to make a visa run every 30 days. I am Canadian, living in Central America, so it is not feasible to make any visa applications before travelling.

Do the new laws mean I will have to end my stay after 90 days? Or can I get an extension, once in Thailand?

[buddyholly1]

3- If you return to Thailand without a visa meaning you will recieve a visa on arrival from the airport, before it expires in 30 days, go to immigration and they will extend it for 30 more days, then you can get it extended for another 30 (proably 20 days in your case as you will have already been in Thailand for a week or 2 as it is already after October 1) taking your stay from the 3rd week in October up untill the 1st or 2nd week in January. Then in January you must leave and get a tourist visa from abroad.

My understanding of this is that I could enter Thailand in mid-November, get extensions to my visa for 60 days once inside the country, leave on a visa run in mid-February and return to stay another 30 days, thus completing my 4-month planned stay. Is this correct/ Seems too easy?

[lopburi3]

Why not plan a trip to a Royal Thai Consulate on your way here or after you get here to obtain a tourist visa? Don't believe any place takes more than 26 hours or so and you could probably get the same day at some. If nothing else you could make one of your 30 day border trips a trip to a consulate and obtain a tourist visa - but probably better to do that early rather than later when they may feel less inclined to view your visit as touristic.