Can I stay in Thailand for almost 9 months with a Multi-Entry Tourist Visa (METV) considering my travel plans?

If you want to stay the majority of the year in Thailand, then as I see it a METV is not suitable, because the validity of the visa is 6 months after the date of issue. You cannot apply for a second METV after the expiration of the first one. Even if an application would be approved by the Embassy, you will be no doubt denied entry.

The Non-Immigrant O visa for retirement seems a far better option for you. In your case it's best to use a reputable agent. It may cost you about 40.000 Thai baht, but you will not have to deposit 800,000 baht on a Thai bank account, at least not more than a few days.

A multi entry Tourist Visa can only be applied for in your home country, i.e. the country of your residence.

Recent reports indicate that the Thai embassies in Laos and Vietnam allowed tourists to apply for the METV without the need to be residents.

A multi entry Tourist Visa has a validity for use for an unlimited number of entries (“multiple entry”) during its 6-month validity.

The 6 months visa validity starts on the day the visa is issued. Thus, if you enter Thailand 9 days after it has been issued, you lose 9 days of the total of the 6 months visa validity.

PLEASE don’t confuse the date of expiry of the visa validity, with the date of expiry of the stay permit. These are two different dates!

Be aware that if applying for the METV through the E-visa online system, you will need to show proof of why you need a METV over a SETV (single entry 60-days Tourist visa)

This proof could be like a flight ticket out of Thailand to a neighbor country within the first 60 days, and a flight back home within 6 months, at least. If the processing embassy or consulate are not convinced, they may issue a SETV and won’t refund the difference in the application fee.

Many embassies have started to ask for a proof of funds for the application to the METV. It is like three months of account statements that prove you have at least savings of a minimum of 20,000 THB equivalent in your currency.

*** On each entry, you will get stamped in for a 60-days stay permit

On each and every 60 days stay permit, you can apply for a 30-days touristic extension of the stay permit, for 1900.- THB, on Immigration. You could, however, also make a border run instead, before the expiry of the 60-days stay permit.

If you take the 30-days extension, you must be aware that before the 90th day expires, you need to exit Thailand.

*** With the next entry, you will activate another 60-days stay permit

Which you also can extend for 30 more days.

To get the maximum number of days out of this visa, you should therefore enter Thailand as close as you can, to the date of issue

If you exit and re-enter Thailand as close as possible before the visa validity expires, you will get stamped in for 60 days for the last time.

You can then still get a 30 days extension of this last 60-days stay permit.

By this method, you can theoretically get almost 9 months of stay in Thailand out of the multi entry tourist visa.

WARNING: some recent reports have indicated that holders of the METV got refused a last 60 days stay permit upon the individual discretion of the Immigration officer at the border.

This means that the road to a 9-months stay could be blocked.

So please BEWARE: take into account that your actual stay maybe cannot extend 180 days.

*** The Multi Entry Tourist Visa is valid for 6 months, to be used for an unlimited number of entries during this period. The 6-month validity begins on the day the visa is issued.

Each time you enter the country you receive a 60-day stay permit, which can be extended by 30 more days, only once, at immigration for 1900 THB.

Before the 60 days or 90 days stay permits expire, you have to leave the country, and either short by a border bounce, or longer by staying in the neighboring country for a short holiday, re-enter Thailand and activate a new 60-days stay permit

Please do not confuse this: the duration of the stay permit is not the same as the duration of the visa validity.

If you leave and re-enter as close as possible before the 6-months visa validity expires, you will receive a 60-days stay permit stamp for the last time. This brings the total possible stay to almost 8 months.

You can theoretically get another 30-days extension on immigration, which brings the total stay to almost 9 months

You can only apply for and receive the 6-month multi-entry tourist visa in the country of your residence

A 60-day single entry tourist visa, however, can be obtained at any Thai diplomatic mission around the world.

The 6-months multi entry Tourist Visa is something special.

If you apply for a visa in your country using the e-visa system, don't be surprised if the day of your departure is getting closer and you haven't been issued a visa, yet.

The visa-validity starts on the date the visa gets issued. This is a different date than the expiry date of the stay permit you get stamped in when you enter.

The Thai embassies and consulates usually try to issue the visa as close as possible to your departure date so you don’t lose too many days of the 6-months visa validity

Formally, you must justify the need for multiple entries by providing documentation of at least two entries and two onward tickets. Without this, you risk being issued only a single-entry visa with no refund of the price difference—unless the embassy happens to request additional documents.

In practice, enforcement varies: some embassies apply the rules strictly, others issue multiple-entry visas with only one ticket. Your personal experience is therefore irrelevant unless the same embassy and the same visa officer handle the next person’s application.

Metv is your best option ,just mange you other trips at the end of 60 plus 30 days extension .

I have used it for many years ..with the current Crack downs you are doing exactly what they want ,having the correct pree approach Ed visas .

Try the chanthsburi trat area ,for me Fter 0 km on bikes in Thailand itbis by far the best .

Combo koh kood and chanthanui with a bit of koh mak koh chang .,all three islNds are very close but completly unique ....perfect .

Once this cambodia bs is over its also right on the border for your run

.my wife has a massage shop.on kood

As long as your last entry is before metv expiry date you can receive a further 60 days plus 30 day extension the visa is usually sent late within the week of your intended entry into Thailand as the 6 months validity starts from day of issue so do anything within those 6 months and try to arrive back in thailand day before or on expiry date to gain full usage

What you do and don't do doesn't make any difference for the METV. The visa is valid for 6 months from the date the embassy issues it. EVERY time you enter Thailand before the expiration date on the visa, you'll receive a 60 day entry stamp. You can get the visa and enter the next day, then leave for 5 months and enter again. None of it matters as long as you are entering during the validity of the visa.

If you're over 50 and only want to spend a year in Thailand and SE Asia, then the non-OA might be another option. This one has a fair amount of requirements including a health certificate and criminal background check, and the biggest one is mandatory insurance. But the way the non-OA works is that you qualify for the visa with money in your home bank account. And then every time you enter Thailand during the 1-year validity of the visa, you'll be stamped in for 1-year, or however long your insurance is valid for, whichever is less. This gives up to around 2 years in Thailand if you purchase a new year of insurance and make the last entry right before the visa expires.