How Can I Stay Here For 1 Year With Tourist Visas?

[cubism001]

Hello, that's really it: I need to stay in Thailand for a year & finish up a project. How can I do this, using ONLY tourist visas? Keep going to Vientiane? Or should I also use Savanah Ket? (I just got a new passport; the old one was full of Thai stamps & visas.)

Thank you.

[Myran]

STOP WRITING YOUR TOPIC TITLES IN CAPS. IT GIVES THE IMPRESSION YOU ARE SCREAMING IN THE READER'S FACE.

You'll want to switch the places where you get the tourist visa. If you get three from Vientiane, you should switch to Savannakhet or somewhere else for the next ones.

[Asiantravel]

or he could go to a different embassy or consulate each time you know and be a tourist

[jacksam]

Also depending where your from you could mix in few visa exempt stamps.

[cubism001]

Hello,

That's such good information, and makes my life a lot easier.

Myran, I don't think my capitalizing four words is enough to even cause a ripple of sadness in this world. It's not like it's a stack of 8th grade grammar tests you have to read before tomorrow at 7 am.

I'm probably as desperate as the guy down there raking the leaves. I wanted to get immediate help and I thank you & everybody else for helping me so much & so fast.

Jacksam, what does that mean? Like in the olden days, going to Myanmar fo a visa exempt stamp? I'm from the US.

Cube

[lkv]

It's annoying. You have two threads about the same thing in CAPS that keep popping up.

Sorry.

Edited June 5, 2016 by lkv

[Colabamumbai]

Or you could get a Work Permit and work legally with a Non B Visa, instead of skirting the system

[ubonjoe]

Hello,

That's such good information, and makes my life a lot easier.

Myran, I don't think my capitalizing four words is enough to even cause a ripple of sadness in this world. It's not like it's a stack of 8th grade grammar tests you have to read before tomorrow at 7 am.

I'm probably as desperate as the guy down there raking the leaves. I wanted to get immediate help and I thank you & everybody else for helping me so much & so fast.

Jacksam, what does that mean? Like in the olden days, going to Myanmar fo a visa exempt stamp? I'm from the US.

Cube

You can do a border hop and would get a 30 day visa exempt exempt entry since you are from the states (G& country rule). Those entries can be extended for 30 days now.

At this time the only crossing to Myanmar that allows a crossing for a new visa exempt entry is Ranong.

[cubism001]

WOW

I'm saved.

Many thanks.

[cubism001]

Ubonjoe, this is just a hop; do I need to take a plane? Rayong, no idea.

Colabamumbai, I am shocked at the white line statement. . .. I can't get work here any more; past the legal age. B' the way. I have a 10 yr visa for India but the inflation was horrible up north a few months ago. Rooms that were 50 IC were 800 now.

Think I'll go back when my book's in print, but it's real hard to write when I'm moving around, dodging price increases. That year's better here, by far.

[Colabamumbai]

I have been working in Thailand past 65 years of age and my books are available on three of the worlds largest websites, I can write them anywhere, I only need the internet to upload them.

[cubism001]

I have been working in Thailand past 65 years of age and my books are available on three of the worlds largest websites, I can write them anywhere, I only need the internet to upload them.

Thailand gave you a work permit for writing your books? Hmmm. Please tell me more.

Last week an editor wrote that I should evaporate. Today an editor wrote that she loved my work, she'd work with me, etc.

[darrendsd]

Vientiane for a single TV, 90 days total, Visa exempt at a land crossing, 30 days plus 30 days extension, total approx 5 months, repeat again so close to 10 months then a final TV from Vientiane

[cubism001]

Vientiane for a single TV, 90 days total, Visa exempt at a land crossing, 30 days plus 30 days extension, total approx 5 months, repeat again so close to 10 months then a final TV from Vientiane

That's perfect... thanks so much!

[ubonjoe]

Ubonjoe, this is just a hop; do I need to take a plane? Rayong, no idea.

Colabamumbai, I am shocked at the white line statement. . .. I can't get work here any more; past the legal age. B' the way. I have a 10 yr visa for India but the inflation was horrible up north a few months ago. Rooms that were 50 IC were 800 now.

Think I'll go back when my book's in print, but it's real hard to write when I'm moving around, dodging price increases. That year's better here, by far.

You can do it at several border crossing to neighboring countries, Ranong is in the south of the county. You can do a out and back by air for not much more than a border run costs. Check flights to Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia. No visa is needed for Malaysia that which helps to reduce the overall costs.

[Colabamumbai]

There is no age limit for teachers in Thailand.

[Colabamumbai]

Ubonjoe, this is just a hop; do I need to take a plane? Rayong, no idea.

Colabamumbai, I am shocked at the white line statement. . .. I can't get work here any more; past the legal age. B' the way. I have a 10 yr visa for India but the inflation was horrible up north a few months ago. Rooms that were 50 IC were 800 now.

Think I'll go back when my book's in print, but it's real hard to write when I'm moving around, dodging price increases. That year's better here, by far.

Why don'y you live in Cambodia a years visa is $295.

[cubism001]

Thank you Ubonjoe. That sounds pretty wonderful. My last run to VTN by plane wasn't much more than the bus, which takes all night & is pretty dreadful. I like Myanmar; that would be fun.

Mumbai: I recently checked into Cambo, more because their housing options are similar to here. This book has just been accepted & it has tons of red tape. (I worked on it for a solid year! It really is top notch...) So I don't want to go live in Cambo. Plenty of reasons not to want to roam. And their visa rules are a bit more complicated now than they were. Do your homework on that subject.

And I was a teacher at Chiang mai University, and go try and apply there yourself: the cut off age is 60. I know one exception at Payap, a pianist who's in his 70's & has taught there for 15 years & his wife's Thai. I'm utterly uninterested in chasing around teaching kids. I'm uninterested in teaching university now, too. And I'm telling you: the cut off age is 60. I've applied. Try it yourself.

Many thanks to you all!

[rosalinda]

Vientiane for a single TV, 90 days total, Visa exempt at a land crossing, 30 days plus 30 days extension, total approx 5 months, repeat again so close to 10 months then a final TV from Vientiane

Sorry, I don't quite understand this. Isn't a tourist visa normally 60 days? (I ask because I got one in Vientiane myself two weeks ago.)

And isn't the visa-exempt stamp at land crossings (as opposed to airports) now reduced to 15 days for most visa-exempt nationalities, including Americans?

(That latter I haven't gone through myself. The reason I got a 60-day tourist visa in Vientiane, instead of doing the visa-exempt stamp when returning overland to Thailand at Chiang Khong, is that I was given to understand from my reading that coming overland I would only be eligible for a 15-day visa exemption, which I would then only be able to extend by another 15 days (presumably at the 1,900-baht cost(?)). So it seemed cheaper and easier to get the 60-day TV at Vientiane (for 1,000 baht), even though it's actually kind of overkill for me (since I only really needed 20 days. But...)

[jspill]

Vientiane for a single TV, 90 days total, Visa exempt at a land crossing, 30 days plus 30 days extension, total approx 5 months, repeat again so close to 10 months then a final TV from Vientiane

Sorry, I don't quite understand this. Isn't a tourist visa normally 60 days? (I ask because I got one in Vientiane myself two weeks ago.)

And isn't the visa-exempt stamp at land crossings (as opposed to airports) now reduced to 15 days for most visa-exempt nationalities, including Americans?

(That latter I haven't gone through myself. The reason I got a 60-day tourist visa in Vientiane, instead of doing the visa-exempt stamp when returning overland to Thailand at Chiang Khong, is that I was given to understand from my reading that coming overland I would only be eligible for a 15-day visa exemption, which I would then only be able to extend by another 15 days (presumably at the 1,900-baht cost(?)). So it seemed cheaper and easier to get the 60-day TV at Vientiane (for 1,000 baht), even though it's actually kind of overkill for me (since I only really needed 20 days. But...)

Yes 60 days but extendable to 90 within thailand at a local immigration building.

Used to be 15 now it's back up to 30 again but only for G7 nationalities, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK.

The 30 day exemption can now be extended 30 days, recently it increased. Still 1900 baht.

Thailand changes rules quite often, it's annoying.

@OP you can do around 6 months a year on visa exemptions, before running into some questioning. So 3 hops for 30 days that were each extended 30 days. No exact numbers but they appear to have an 'alert' to ask questions after 6 months on exemptions. Those questions might entail being asked to show proof of income / proof of hotel bookings / outward flight ticket etc.

I've done 4 months on exemptions so far this year already.

Edited June 6, 2016 by jspill