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Can I stay in Thailand for 6 months without a visa by applying for extensions and doing an exit?

Thailand Visa Rules Visa Extensions Visa Exempt Entry Non-O Visa Tourist Visa Immigration Advice Expat Life in Thailand

Sep 22, 2025

4 days ago

Francesco ************

ORIGINAL POSTER

Good morning everyone,

I have a question since it would be my first time trying this: without a visa, would it be possible to stay in Thailand for around 6 months by applying for extensions and doing one exit?

In the past, I always used a multiple-entry visa to be on the safe side, but in the end the longest I actually managed to stay was just under 7 months.

Has anyone here already tried this?

And one more thing: is it possible to apply for 2 extensions, or only one per calendar year?

Thanks a lot for any advice!

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user inquires about the feasibility of staying in Thailand for around six months without a visa by applying for extensions and making an exit. They mention their past experience with multiple-entry visas allowing for nearly seven months of stay. Comments suggest that under visa exemption rules, one can stay for 60 days initially and apply for a 30-day extension, however, re-entering may be subject to immigration officer discretion. Others advise sticking to multiple-entry tourist visas for longer stays, emphasizing that consecutive entries without a visa may lead to re-entry issues.

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Nongnuch ********

@Francesco ***********

Myself I would stick to the multi entry tourist visa method. You can get fully legally almost 8 months of stay out of it. Pretty enough for a 6-months stay. And you can apply for the METV every other year, no problem. . . . . any consecutive visa-exempt entries if you accumulate them and maximize the stays with 30-days extensions, will within a 365-days period eventually get you to the point that your re-entry into Thailand will get rejected

4 days ago

Francesco ************

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Nongnuch *******

I think I'll apply for a 60-day + 30-day tourist visa and then leave the country, using the 60-day free period only once. That way, they shouldn't deny me it...

4 days ago

Nongnuch ********

@Francesco ***********

it doesn't matter if you are visa-exempt or or have used a 60-days tourist visa first. Every "touristic entry" counts . . . . if you exceed 180 days within a 365-days period, some Immigration officers do not believe any more that you are a "real" tourist

4 days ago

Reply to

Nongnuch ********

Evelyn *********

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4 days ago

John **********

Assuming you enter under the visa exempt rules you get stamped in for 60 days and can get one 30 day extension from your local immigration office and then you must leave. You can try repeating this but whether or not you are allowed to enter again will be up to the immigration officer you will stand in front of

4 days ago

Francesco ************

ORIGINAL POSTER

@John *********

ty in advance....Does anyone have information from people who have already tried this in the past, and whether anyone was refused entry on their second attempt?

Are there any posts in this group about situations similar to mine?

Thank you very much!

4 days ago

Phil ******

@Francesco ***********

yes people have been refused this. So use a border bounce company as safer than doing it yourself

3 days ago

Bob **********

@Francesco ***********

some make and some don’t there’s a better chance if you don’t extend for fist stamp

3 days ago

John **********

@Francesco ***********

people have been refused on the 2nd attempt, people have been successful on the 2nd attempt. Try using the search tool