Do I need a re-entry permit with a multiple entry tourist visa for Thailand?

Mar 26, 2024
7 months ago
Ted *******
ORIGINAL POSTER
Multiple Entry tourist visa - is re entry permit required?

I will arrive in Thailand next week. I have a multiple entry visa. I plan to stay 45 days, leave for a few weeks and then return. Do I need a re entry permit? Or does the Multiple Entry Visa cover that?

Thanks
874
views
3
likes
24
all likes
8
replies
0
images
4
users
TLDR : Answer Summary
If you have a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV), you do not need a re-entry permit when you leave and return to Thailand, as the visa allows multiple entries with an automatic extension of stay upon each entry. However, if your visa expires while you are out of the country and you wish to return, you would need a re-entry permit to maintain your entry stamp.
Bart **************
The METV has the re-entry condition baked in. The permit is for single entry visas and extensions of stay.
Brandon ************
Every time you enter Thailand until the end date on your visa, you will be stamped in for 60 days. You can do this as many times as you'd like.

A re-entry permit only comes into play if you arrived before your visa expires, then you leave Thailand after your visa has expired. You could purchase a re-entry permit to keep your final entry stamp alive and allow you to re-enter on that same stamp, but the time keeps ticking on it while you're out of the country.
Rene ******
@Brandon ***********
METV isnt only 3 entries?
Jay ****
Brandon ************
@Rene *****
why would it be only 3 entries? All multiple entry visas are unlimited entry during the validity dates.
Rene ******
@Brandon ***********
because I read everywhere that you can stay maximum 9 months with it (3x(60+30) days). But I think I'm wrong now...
Bart **************
@Rene *****
it's and unlimited number of entries.

We often refer to nearly 9 months stay because that's a good way to use the visa, as opposed to "just" entering multiple times during some extended holiday through the region. The latter can also be done on exemptions (if you qualify) and perhaps an occasional SETV. Staying 9 months on the other hand is not so easy with these.

Mind you that 9 months isn't the maximum stay - the theoretical maximum is 269 days but that requires either a day abroad on one of the bounces or an extra bounce. It also requires teleporting to Thailand on the day the embassy grants the visa, which indeed sounds a little optimistic. If you book flights upfront you need to buffer enough time for a potential initial refusal (I personally think you shouldn't book final flights yet because you are asking permission to enter the country and haven't been given it yet. So work with some workaround and book your actual flights later). Lastly, a minor: 270 days is also at least 3 days short of 9 months, and the way Thais count these days, you lose yet another unless you land right after midnight and leave before it.

All in all, getting 8 months 3 weeks from the visa would be the extreme. Getting 8 months 2 weeks would be very well done.
Brandon ************
@Rene *****
you can enter an unlimited number of times. People mention the 3x because most people trying to maximize the visa want to spend as much time in Thailand as possible and not leave and return a bunch of times.
Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else
... members ยท 60% approval rate
The Thai Visa Advice And Everything Else group allows for a broad range of discussions on life in Thailand, beyond just visa inquiries.
Join the Group
Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else
View the Conversation
Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else