How long can you stay in Thailand, and is it true you can do border runs for a year or longer?

I have been here for about 10 years. I have had a number of visas but mostly tourist visas. Basically, a person who does this is gaming the system and therefore are taking some risks... But it's worked out for me.

Things have changed. I will tell you a bit of my own history with this one....I lived in Thailand from 2011-2015 with back to back to back tourist visas. No one ever gave me any crap entering the country..I really think those days are gone, but I have heard stories of people claiming to be living here for years still with only a TV...

In the past it was possible to do this but not easy to get more than about 6 months now

Go to the website of the Thai Embassy nearest to you, and read all about which visa are available.

Or you could simply scroll through earlier posts in this group, to find out what suits you best.

Your profile says you are retired and in the Philippines. Thailand does NOT have the same policy as the PH regarding tourist entries. It is easy to stay in Thailand as a tourist for 6 months but after that your stay becomes more uncertain (at the discretion of the immigration officers). If you are an actual tourist then that isn’t so much of a problem since you are in a position to leave at any time. But if you invest in a yearlong condo lease, buy a motorbike, or fall in love then you situation is more precarious as a tourist. In the PH you can be a tourist for 3 years and do a border run and then repeat. Thailand doesn’t have anything like that for tourists.

A retirement visa in Thailand will operate similar to the SRRV in the Philippines but it will be more expensive. I would think that even using a visa agent in Thailand would be at least as, probably more, expensive as living as a tourist in the Philippines.

No, that is not true. You might get away with it but you certainly cannot plan on it. Who told you this?

You can stay as long as your visa or entry stamp allows you to. While there's no official limit on border runs visa exempt entries are for tourism, if the immigration officer you stand in front of assesses you are not a tourist they can deny you entry

Get a visa!!!

"unlimited", until they tell you at the border that you can't

If you get a job you can work remotely there, they have a 5yr remote work visa for foreigners. Probably why I'm gonna finish my BA as a data scientist, live and travel everywhere and work remotely.