How many times a year can I receive a '30-day visa exemption' in Thailand?

August 29, 2023
a year ago
Selsin ***********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Hi can someone help me out with the following question;

*How many times a year can I receive a '30 visa exempt '? *

Until now every time when I come to Thailand (without a visa) I receive a 30 day stamp at the airport. After every entree I extended it with another 30 days. Been outside the country for 2 times. Since this year until now I have received 6 stamps in Total (3 entrees + 3 extentions). Is there any limit to this or can I just book return flight and continue doing the same?
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The 30-day visa exemption in Thailand generally has no official limit on the number of entries you can have per year by air. However, frequent entries without spending adequate time outside the country may raise concerns from immigration officers. Individuals have reported successful multiple entries, but eventually, it is at the discretion of the immigration officer, who could question your entry patterns. It's recommended to prepare proof of onward travel, accommodation, and sufficient funds. Applying for a proper visa, like a tourist visa or a Non-O visa, might provide more stability and less hassle for longer stays.
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Brad ********
It depends on who you get. I was told 1 extension per year and got away with 2 visa runs but only 1 extension and was questioned at the airport and told to buy a ticket within 7 days but avoided that when i told them i have a Thai wife and daughter. Then i got the right visa but was still held up when i returned as there must have been something put into the system.
Jonathan **************************
Its like asking "how long is a piece of string?".

You can do it until you cant. When that point will be depends on a lot of different factors.

Generally, though, the more full of bounce stamps your passport is, the more likely it gets that your luck runs out.
Gary *******
Did you have to show proof of onward travel esch time you entere
Gary *******
For visa exempt,They say you must have a ticket out of the country in 30 days. What if you want an extension, , can I get in with a ticket exit 60 days from entry rather than 30?
John *******
Until that 1 io says enough apply for proper visa
Henrik *****
Much better to apply for a 60 days tourist visa ( can also be extended 30 days ) when knowing to stay for more than 30 days.

Cheaper

No need for leaving Thailand for up to 90 days.

No onward ticket needed within 30 days.

When staying 60 days, no need to locate, go to and waiting at a immigration office.

Everything done from the comfort of home.
Jo **********
i can never say what will happen to another person. I can only speak from the specific experience i had last year I entered visa exempt 8 times. in times before covid as much as 12. Never had extensions for these cases.
Selsin ***********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Jo *********
Did you enter via Cabodian border as well?
Jo **********
@Selsin **********
only by air from either Europe or Singapore
John **********
Nobody can answer this question. Every time you enter Thailand the immigration officer you stand in front of will assess you, look at your history, and decide whether to allow you to enter or not. The more frequently you enter with only a short time outside the country the higher the chances of you being refused entry
Maxim ***********
@John *********
Where you enter from is more important then who the officer is.
Maxim ***********
I've been doing visa/border runs for more then 10 years, so there is no limit, it's always at officers discretion. If you enter from Laos border (any of them), they ask 0 question no matter how full your passport is.
Twiggy ******
@Ma***
, you are lucky. The foreigner I went with entered from Laos via Nong Khai was asked and led to the head of department for an interview, and they allowed the entry. Funnier than that was when the foreigner went out of Thailand via Nakhon Phanom, they asked why so many times within a year and charged 200 Baht. When the foreigner went back to Thailand via Nakhon Phanom with a Thai who took care of all the expenses, they didn’t question.
Maxim ***********
@Twiggy *****
This isnt the head of department, its the re-entry building on the left before crossing over. They do that depending on your nationalities or stamps history, its procedure because their technology suck at the border. Its not an interview per se, you will get accepted in.
Twiggy ******
@Ma***
, they let us meet their “Hua Na” who is their manager or supervisor whom I call “head of the department”. She interviewed and took the photo of the foreigner in a friendly manner. It was the people at the front line who warned us to get a proper visa for my guest.
Maxim ***********
@Twiggy *****
You mean foreigners at the front of the line? No idea why they told u that. I crossed Nong Khai and back a few days ago. Ive crossed that border maybe 20 times, never asked any question.
Twiggy ******
@Ma***
, when we were standing in front of the Immigration counter like everyone else, they told us to go to the room on the left so the officers there could screen our passports. I saw some people who spoke Mandarin and some people who looked like Indians. They were told to go to this room too.
Maxim ***********
@Twiggy *****
Yes, that's the re-entry permit room. These are not interviews. There are 2 booth inside and sometimes they will ask foreigners to go there but it's never with intent to potentially denied you.
Twiggy ******
@Ma***
, in that room they check the history of the foreigners who have too many stamps on the passports but with no visa.
John **********
@Maxim **********
but you can only do that twice per year
Maxim ***********
@John *********
If you mean visa exempt by land, yes, 2 per calendar yes, but that give anyone 120 days. The rest, you can enter by air or just do normal tourist visa. In my case, since im married, each visa exempt give me 120 days (30-30-60). Next time I will do multi entry Non-O. Its no different then 5-10 years ago in the sense that the same airport (BKK, Phuket), and the same border (Poipet) are the ones to avoid. Its not stricter lately. You only hear about the refusal story online, nobody is posting success stories in this group.
John **********
@Maxim **********
it's different if you are married to a Thai. If you're not then each visa exempt entry only gives you a maximum of 60 days
Maxim ***********
@John *********
Yes, I know, but for the first 7 years I did the 30-30 or 60-30. I stopped entering from BKK airport in 2017. If you stay up to date you wont get rejected in. And in BKK if you contact an agent before end you get into the privilege or wtv line for 5-10k baht and be 100% accepted in. A lot of people whose passport is full do that while entering from BKK.
Kool *******
A lot of it has to do with how much time you are out of Thailand between each return.
Gregor **********
How many visa exempt entries can I get flying in?

How many tourist visas can I get in a row..

There is no answer to those questions

The honest answer is: you can do it until you can't.

Despite what people say, what people read, what immigration officers at passport control tell you, what they show you on a website, there is NO official rule about how many times you can enter thailand on a visa exempt entry by air.

In fact no one has ever been denied entry under the reason "entered too many times" because that isn't a reason to deny people entry. The denial of entry reason is always "no means to support themselves" (ไม่มีปัจจัยยังชีพตามสมควร)

It's the same for tourist visas, there is no official policy on how many you can get back-2-back.

Some consulates are "one-&-done", meaning you can get one tourist visa from them and if you go back they'll deny you. Others will give you yet another one. Some look at your previous entry/stay history (especially for those crappy agent-bought volunteer & ed visa) and some don't care.

It's a total crap shoot, and it's even worse for the countries who use the online E-visa system because each consulate can decide what their criteria is as far as how many you can get in a row from them.

Pre-covid there were people who got 3 back-2-back METV's from the consulate in their country. That means they spent close to 21 MONTHS here on those three 6 month METV's and there was no problem with immigrations when they were flying in-&-out, and no problem with the consulate giving the visa.

BUT that is not the case anymore, and we're seeing embassies and consulates deny people's applications after looking at the entry/stay history AND we're seeing people get denied entry coming IN to the country based on previous entry/stay history..

It also is irrelevant if you say "I've been here xxx months, had yyy and zzz visas and don't want to go home, will I get back in?" There is just NO way to tell if you'll get in or not and someone else who did get in safely doesn't mean YOU will skate thru..

All we can say is, if you have an extensive entry stay history, you should have the 3 famous proofs;

*onward travel within the days you'll be stamped in for

*proof of 20K baht or the equivalent in another currency in CASH

*proof of lodging

IF they're going to hassle you about entry the first thing they're going to ask for is onward travel.

Anyway, sorry this was long. It's not that I don't want to answer those questions, it's that there is no definitive answer to them
Selsin ***********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Gregor *********
Thanks a lot
Roberto *********
If you continually do it without having reasonable periods outside the country, eventually you'll be first interrogated as to why you don't have a proper visa, and eventually denied entry and sent away.
Randy ********
Technically, there’s no limit by air. But you’re eventually going to be pulled aside by the immigration officer and questioned why you’re spending so much time here via the exemption stamps. You can keep rolling the dice. You’ll soon roll snake eyes and end up denied entry. I would suggest you start entering with the proper visa. A lot less hassle and a better chance of not being stopped. I would also suggest you have everything in order when you arrive. Proof of accommodation, 20k baht (or equivalent currency) cash and an onward ticket out of Thailand within 30 days.
Nigel *********
You can keep doing it ( by air) until you can't do it anymore.
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