I am planning 3 trips to Thailand this year, all are less than 60 days, no extensions and about 2 months in between entries.
Flying in and out of Bangkok.
Question is, can I do that without applying for a visa?
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The original poster asks if they can take three trips to Thailand within a year, each lasting less than 60 days, without applying for a visa. Responses indicate that while it is possible to do so under visa-exempt status, people have faced scrutiny after multiple entries. Suggestions include being prepared with documentation like onward tickets and proof of accommodation. Some comments recommend obtaining a multi-entry tourist visa for better predictability, especially for the third trip. The understanding of visa rules seems to focus on maintaining a balance between entries and duration in line with Thai immigration policies.
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The current guidelines suggest a max stay of 157 days using visa-exempt entries. There are no hard and fast rules, but I would be inclined to enter once visa-exempt and then get a METV
Mike Norbert: A multi-entry tourist visa. It lasts 6 months from the time of issue and gives you 60 days for every entry. You can enter on the last day of validity and still get 60 days. You can also extend every entry by 30 days for a cost of 1900 baht.
We used to do this as well, but lately we frequently faced problems/questions when we arrived. Next time we will apply for a multiple entry tourist visa.
Three separate stays of up to 60 days each within the same year, even with breaks of around two months in between, will put you near roughly 150–180 days total in Thailand within a rolling period. At that point, a third visa-exempt entry is no longer routine and becomes discretionary. In practice, it is closer to gambling than a predictable outcome. You may still be admitted, especially if your stays are clearly short-term tourism and you return to your country of domicile between trips, but you should expect a higher likelihood of questions and scrutiny. You must be prepared with a confirmed onward ticket, accommodation, and proof of funds, and you should accept that refusal is a real possibility. A tourist visa could give a slightly higher chance to get approved, but if you’re passed 50 years I would have applied for a Non O first.
Tony Iddiols I don’t have a complete overview of how many Non O visas a single embassy or consulate will issue to the same person within one year, but in practice many people are issued two without any issues. Policies can vary by foreign mission. In a 2 months home / 2 months Thailand pattern like this, a practical approach could be to use visa exempt entry for the first two trips and then secure a Non O for the third entry to reduce risk and add predictability.
so is 10 days, but the distinction is important. 3 trips each of 57 days might cause at least questions to be asked. A visa would be an idea for at least the 3rd trip
Mike Norbert A non O-A ? And get the expensive health insurance for 12months and the police checks for 3 holidays ,think that's a bit over kill when you should be ok as its your first times in Thailand, if anything a 6 month multiple tourist entry visa will do, I wouldn't bother if it was me this time but if you return next year definitely a METV
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