In and out of Thailand for 1 year: should I worry about visa?

[2road]

Hello,

 

 

I have been here in Thailand, legally, for almost 1 year;   During my 1 year stay  I did 2 visa runs in Vientiane and one in Savannakhet;

 

Now next December my 2 month visa (renewable for 30 days) expires;

Should I worry about immigration will deny my renewal? Is it better to "stay out" for a while before reentering

 

I hear from friends that if you stay here for tool long using the "visa run" method one day the immigration might deny entry, and ban you for some time.

 

Pls advice

 

Thank you, I really appreciate.

[ubonjoe]

You will not have a problem getting the 30 day extension of the 60 day entry from your tourist visa.

You should have no problem getting another single entry tourist visa.

I think your friends are talking about doing border hops for visa exempt entries not tourist visa entries. You would not be banned from returning if you were denied entry trying to one.

[2road]

Thank you ubonjoe,

 

Based on what you say I can keep applying for a 2 months tourist visa (+30 days extension) forever?

[steve187]

no, i would have thought you were almost on the limit with Laos.

 

where was your first SETV from

[2road]

what SETV?

[BritTim]

There is no absolute limit to the number of single entry tourist visas (SETVs) you can get. Typically, each consulate has their own limits, sometimes based on the number of previous tourist visas in your passport total, and sometimes depending only on the number from that particular consulate. In most cases, you cannot easily get more than three tourist visas from the same consulate.

 

You should be able to add three from Penang, another couple from Savannakhet, two from Hong Kong, one each from HCMC and Hanoi, and probably one from Yangon to your existing collection without too much trouble. Using agents, even more would be possible for a price. All this is based on existing rules which are always subject to change.

Edited November 12, 2016 by BritTim

[2road]

thank you Brtittim,

 

in theory, when can I go back safely to Vientiane? say 1 year from now?  or once you hit the limit you better avoid that embasy forever?

Edited November 13, 2016 by 2road

[BritTim]

It is probably best to wait for a new passport before going back to consulates where you have reached their limit. I tend always to think about travel from Bangkok, so my comments may not apply if you are up North. However, given the fact that Malaysia does not require a visa for visitors, Penang is similar cost to Vientiane. Savannakhet is similar in price also (though longer travel time). If you are of a nationality that has visa exempt entry to Vietnam, given the current availability of cheap airfares, that can also be a decent option, especially as HCMC and Hanoi are pleasant places to visit. This being the case, I would not be straining to get extra visas in Vientiane.

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, 2road said:

thank you Brtittim,

 

in theory, when can I go back safely to Vientiane? say 1 year from now?  or once you hit the limit you better avoid that embasy forever?

You would probably get another SETV from Vientaine, but I think it would be prudent to go elsewhere and @BritTim gives you some good alternatives. If Vientaine did issue another they might also issue the warning stamp, which doesn't look good when applying elsewhere.

 

I get the feeling that Vientaine will now take all visas issued by themselves into account regardless of when they were issued. So until you get a new passport the visas you have might stay in-play regardless of when you apply again.

[2road]

thank you

i only wonder what happens once someone hit the limit of

all the embassies mentioned above?.apply for a new passport?

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, 2road said:

thank you

i only wonder what happens once someone hit the limit of

all the embassies mentioned above?.apply for a new passport?

Yes getting a new passport will clear out your history of visas at embassies and consulate since they only look at what is in the passport.

[impishbynature]

So how would I go if I had two passports (one NZ and one Aussie) and alternated their use on re-entries?

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, 2road said:

thank you

i only wonder what happens once someone hit the limit of

all the embassies mentioned above?.apply for a new passport?

 

Having hit the limit at all consulates within easy reach, your passport is likely to be full up anyway. As a guideline, each SETV requires 2 pages (including entry and exit stamps) if traveling to consulates where you have visa exempt entry and 3 pages if going somewhere that necessitate a visa for that country. By the time you have a dozen SETVs in your passport (2-3 years) you will need a new passport anyway.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, impishbynature said:

So how would I go if I had two passports (one NZ and one Aussie) and alternated their use on re-entries?

 

As long as you are traveling by air, you can make that work fine (you cannot swap passports when leaving overland). Each passport will end up with its own limits (at least as far as the consulates are concerned).  The only issue that would make me vaguely uneasy is the feeling that immigration on entry might link the passports and, if they did, might consider that you are gaming the system. I doubt that would happen in practice.

[2road]

On Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 0:51 AM, BritTim said:

There is no absolute limit to the number of single entry tourist visas (SETVs) you can get. Typically, each consulate has their own limits, sometimes based on the number of previous tourist visas in your passport total, and sometimes depending only on the number from that particular consulate. In most cases, you cannot easily get more than three tourist visas from the same consulate.

 

You should be able to add three from Penang, another couple from Savannakhet, two from Hong Kong, one each from HCMC and Hanoi, and probably one from Yangon to your existing collection without too much trouble. Using agents, even more would be possible for a price. All this is based on existing rules which are always subject to change.

 

 

Some of my friends were able to get a 6 months visa (thai embassy in Italy) .

 

what they do is they spend 6 months here and 6 months in italy. 

 

may I ask if this type of visa has limits as well? as far as I know they go to the same thai consulate.

[BritTim]

51 minutes ago, 2road said:

 

 

Some of my friends were able to get a 6 months visa (thai embassy in Italy) .

 

what they do is they spend 6 months here and 6 months in italy. 

 

may I ask if this type of visa has limits as well? as far as I know they go to the same thai consulate.

 

As far as I know, there are usually no limits to the number of multiple entry tourist visas (or single entry tourist visas, for that matter) you can get from your home country. (There may be exceptions in a few countries, such as France.) However, the documentary requirements for the METV in some countries (such as proof of employment) may make it impractical for most visitors..

[jollyhangmon]

40 minutes ago, BritTim said:

 

As far as I know, there are usually no limits to the number of multiple entry tourist visas (or single entry tourist visas, for that matter) you can get from your home country. (There may be exceptions in a few countries, such as France.) However, the documentary requirements for the METV in some countries (such as proof of employment) may make it impractical for most visitors..

 

Yessir, seems a bit contradictory per se to say the least - a comparatively long term visa (up to about 9 months here) vs. 'proof of employment' ...?! Plus obviously pretty much different from place to place ... 

[LPCustom69]

You could go to your home country and get a METV and quit worrying.

[alocacoc]

A friend of mine does every 90 days a visa run for a SETV. He do alternate between Vientiane and Savannakhet every time. In the meanwhile, he has more then 3 SETV from Vientiane. I don't know how many from Savannakhet. So far no stamp/warning for him.

[2road]

On Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 11:23 PM, LPCustom69 said:

You could go to your home country and get a METV and quit worrying.

hi

 

if I am correct, to obtain a metv u need to show 7K in the bank and proof of employment?

[elviajero]

4 minutes ago, 2road said:

hi

 

if I am correct, to obtain a metv u need to show 7K in the bank and proof of employment?

It depends which country you're applying in, but many require the equivalent of approximately 250,000 baht in the bank and employment/business.