i am arriving in bkk on 1/10, leaving on 1/13 with 2 nationals and my adult son to sing pore for a cruise.be back to bkk on 1/20.next day go to pattaya where i have a reservation until 1/29. haven't planned any place after that but have a return ticket for 4/2. as far as visas are concerned how should i precede ? thank you for any help.

OK, I'll go out on a limb and assume you might be an Irish citizen.  If so, you might find obtaining a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV) from the Thai embassy in Dublin to be the most convenient way to go.  You would be stamped in for 60 days on your arrival in Bangkok on 1/10.  Then, upon your return to Thailand on 1/20 you would also be stamped in for 60 days.  If you decided to stay to 4/2 you would need to apply for a 30-day extension to your METV at an immigration office in Thailand, or exit and re-enter Thailand to receive another 60 day permission to stay based on your METV.

 

Alternatively, you could arrive in Bangkok on 1/10 without a visa and get stamped in for 30 days (visa exempt entry).  However, without having a visa you might be asked to show that you will leave Thailand within 30 days.  Presumably, you could show your air ticket to Singapore to satisfy that requirement.  Assuming you fly back into Bangkok on 1/20 you would again get stamped in for 30 days (visa exempt entry) but you might be asked to show that you will leave within 30 days since you would be arriving without a visa.  You could be expected to show an airline ticket out of Thailand within 30 days of your arrival.  You could purchase a cheap throwaway ticket to a destination in SE Asia to satisfy this requirement.  Then, you could extend your stay in Thailand for an additional 30 days beyond the first 30 days granted for the visa exempt entry by obtaining an extension at a local Thai immigration office for 1,900 Baht.  To stay till 4/2 you would find it necessary to do a flight out of Thailand and back to obtain a new visa exempt entry (30 days), which could also be extended itself for an additional 30 days by obtaining the 1,900 Baht extension at a local Thai immigration office.  I believe that as an Irish citizen you would only get 15 days if you did an exit and re-entry at a land border.  All in all the method outlined in this paragraph seems like a lot of hassle to me.  I would go with the method outlined in the first paragraph or the next paragraph.

 

Another alternative, would be to obtain a Single Entry Tourist Visa (SETV) from the Thai embassy in Singapore.  This would allow you to proceed as in the first paragraph. 

2 hours ago, skatewash said:

I believe that as an Irish citizen you would only get 15 days if you did an exit and re-entry at a land border.

It will be 30 days at a land border now. New rule went into effect on December 31st along with the rule limiting entries to 2 per year at a land border crossing.

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It will be 30 days at a land border now. New rule went into effect on December 31st along with the rule limiting entries to 2 per year at a land border crossing.

I stand corrected.  Thanks, ubonjoe!

thank you very much for the valuable information.