realistically how long can I stay in Thailand long-term doing visa runs

[Plutojames88]

9 hours ago, Ronuk said:

It's now getting laughable attempting to play the system! Why would an address in Cambodia fool the Thai immigration in to thinking your just a 'Regular visitor' instead of a serial visa runner? Why not just bite the bullet and move to Cambodia completely? After all, you keep telling us how easy and great it is now you can go stay for 3 years?
I really do wonder sometimes 

I reside in Australia but retire soon.

Was only suggesting.

 

I had interests in Thailand I sold off in early 2015 when I realised the junta was there to stay.

[hawker9000]

23 hours ago, JackThompson said:

 

Many/most of those you saw may have been exempts - but as I said, I am avoiding the airports.  After reading the story of the guy who was delayed by immigration, so he would miss an outgoing connecting flight, I won't even exit via airports any more.  On my last exit at Poipet, I was delayed, and they suggested I return via air.  I considered this a way to pass the ball (me) to a guy who could hurl it (my life) to the other side of the planet.  Your information about recent activity at airports reinforces my perception.

 

 

I don't (either question); ThaiVisa is the best sort of "poll" system of which I am aware.  For now, my suggestion is to definitely get a visa every time, use land-borders, and be prepared to spend some time outside the country and/or travel to other border-points, if a problem arises.

 

Given that a visa is not a guarantee of entry, we pretty much agree.  A visa is "worth more" than a visa exempt plan of entry (ITO assurance), and a visa obtained from one's own country rather than a neighboring country or other country in the region is I think "worth more" yet.   But (and I think this is becoming more true as time passes) trying to basically reside in Thailand indefinitely through any combination of visa exempt entries and tourist visas is rolling the dice.  IOs can see your record of entries & exits even if you obtain a new passport, though I'm not sure if it all pops up on their screens automatically or they have to query for it.

 

Realistically the original question was "how long can I stay in Thailand long-term doing visa runs", and if by that the OP means tourist visas, then the answer is he's taking his chances and the likelihood of being denied entry increases the longer he keeps trying to do it on a back-to-back (or nearly back-to-back) basis.   

[Ronuk]

17 hours ago, elviajero said:

"I fail to see anything bad about it? You pay up and get the service that you paid for."

One example. You pay for a 20 year visa and only get a 5 year visa with no guarantee it will be renewed or that money would get refunded if the scheme is cancelled. Why not issue a 20 year visa so you get the service you pay for?

 

There is no way it will become the "preferred program" by immigration. I doubt immigration earn very much at all from the scheme. The TAT are the only shareholder and I doubt it was set up as a money making scheme. IMO it was originally introduced to encourage affluent, especially Asians, to come to Thailand and to provide an easy ticket for them to come and go. These visitors, being potential investors and wealth creators, are where the benefit to the country/government comes from. 

 

I think they will simply continue to make it harder to get multiple back to back visas. Nothing else is necessary.

 

Without access to accounts I remain sceptical about the motives behind the new packages. And I would be very pissed off if I had spent 2M baht, when all I wanted was the visa, only to see the price drop to 1M! I nearly did the former and I would only do the latter if I actually got what I paid for.

 

Have you noticed a pattern developing over the last couple of weeks? Problems arising with all sorts of visas and entries....But nobody has a problem whatsoever on a PE visa? Now why do you think that might be the case? Do you think it's possibly to do with immigration 'Preferring' to deal with Elite customers that have, very obviously invested a lot of money in there visas and bumping up the visa finance purse?
Lets be honest here. Who would you consider the 'Thailand Elite' company to be and then work out how it is so easy for people on the program.

[JackThompson]

2 hours ago, hawker9000 said:

Given that a visa is not a guarantee of entry, we pretty much agree.  A visa is "worth more" than a visa exempt plan of entry (ITO assurance), and a visa obtained from one's own country rather than a neighboring country or other country in the region is I think "worth more" yet.   But (and I think this is becoming more true as time passes) trying to basically reside in Thailand indefinitely through any combination of visa exempt entries and tourist visas is rolling the dice.  IOs can see your record of entries & exits even if you obtain a new passport, though I'm not sure if it all pops up on their screens automatically or they have to query for it.

 

Realistically the original question was "how long can I stay in Thailand long-term doing visa runs", and if by that the OP means tourist visas, then the answer is he's taking his chances and the likelihood of being denied entry increases the longer he keeps trying to do it on a back-to-back (or nearly back-to-back) basis.   

 

I would only add - at almost all land-borders, until right now, it is not a problem to enter on serial Tourist Visas, regardless of how many years one has resided here "most of the time."  Given this, one could flip the argument around, and say, "Enjoy staying in Thailand long term now, while it is still possible for under 50s, because things might change."

[hawker9000]

9 hours ago, JackThompson said:

 

I would only add - at almost all land-borders, until right now, it is not a problem to enter on serial Tourist Visas, regardless of how many years one has resided here "most of the time."  Given this, one could flip the argument around, and say, "Enjoy staying in Thailand long term now, while it is still possible for under 50s, because things might change."

 

Am not aware of anything that supports the idea that things are "looser" at the border checkpoints - with WRT this discussion - than at the airport.  Especially with the southern checkpoints in mind, I would actually suggest just the opposite.   So NOT a given.

 

All beside the point however.  Since ALL IOs have it within their discretion to "suspect" you of violating Article/Section 12 and denying entry, and since you'll have to deal with one at either the border or the airport, it remains a roll of the dice to plan on using Tourist Visas to reside in Thailand indefinitely.   And to just keep insisting"it's possible" to do so is to utterly ignore the facts and more like bad advice.

Edited August 25, 2016 by hawker9000

[thaitero]

I really do not also agree on this using landborder theory when living on touristvisas.

I think that best place to get fair treatment when/if questioned is the main airport of thailand.

Edited August 26, 2016 by thaitero

[hohososo]

I really do not also agree on this using landborder theory when living on touristvisas.

I think that best place to get fair treatment when/if questioned is the main airport of thailand.[emoji4]

Except if denied entry at the airport, you must fly back to your home country.

[thaitero]

2 minutes ago, hohososo said:

 

Except if denied entry at the airport, you must fly back to your home country.

 

Well, If for some reason after showing required cash, bank statements, thai chanote etc i am denied entry to Thailand, home country is the place i would like go for a while to think my lifesetup again. I really think that suva is the place you will not most likely have problems since they are better trained there than for example in some landborder in midde of jungle..

[BritTim]

12 minutes ago, hohososo said:

Except if denied entry at the airport, you must fly back to your home country.

 

 

This misinformation continues to be peddled. If denied entry, you are sent back to your previous location. This could, of course, be your home country, but only if that is where you flew from.

 

You are sent back to your home country if arrested in Thailand and deported, but that is a completely different matter.

[JackThompson]

12 hours ago, thaitero said:

Well, If for some reason after showing required cash, bank statements, thai chanote etc i am denied entry to Thailand, home country is the place i would like go for a while to think my lifesetup again. I really think that suva is the place you will not most likely have problems since they are better trained there than for example in some landborder in midde of jungle..

 

Not me.  I'd much rather be in Cambodia or Malaysia.  My life-setup is just fine in either of those - not as good as Thailand - but a heck of a lot better than where my passport would send me. 

 

You are right that there are a few borders in the South, and one in the East (Poipet) which are dicey - but so what?  You just avoid those, or travel to the next one.  Beats being put in detention, any day.  I guess I just don't like the idea of being "locked up," arbitrarily.  To each their own.

 

12 hours ago, BritTim said:

 

This misinformation continues to be peddled. If denied entry, you are sent back to your previous location. This could, of course, be your home country, but only if that is where you flew from.

 

That may be true in some cases, but not all.  The IO can choose.  I cannot find the thread now, where a guy with a re-entry permit on an Ed Visa was sent home to France.  He begged to go back to Hong Kong, where he had just come from.  They said no.  The excuse was, that some other destination could 'send him back' (though this would not happen with a French passport after only a short, previous stay in Hong Kong). 

 

I have read other cases where what you state was the process on Visa Exempt entries.  I'm not rolling the dice.  Maybe better odds at the airport, but much more disastrous consequences.