Answered9 months ago

Is it permissible to enter Thailand under a 30-day visa exemption before using a 60-day tourist e-visa?

Thai visa rules Tourist visa Visa exemption E-visa Thai immigration Multiple entries

asked Feb 5, 2026

views

replies

likes

> 

Hi guys i need advice about my plain

I plan to obtain a 60-day Thai tourist e-visa in advance, but use it only on my second entry.

Travel plan:

* Entry 1: Thailand – 30-day visa exemption

* Exit to the Philippines for 6 days

* Entry 2: Thailand – enter using the 60-day tourist e-visa

Questions:

1. Is this allowed, or could immigration question why I didn’t use the e-visa on the first entry?  Can he say to me why i didn't came with proper visa?

2. Does Thai immigration automatically see the e-visa in their system, or do I simply present it when I want to use it?

I do not plan any additional trips to Thailand this year.

Answer summary

The post discusses a traveler's plan to first enter Thailand using a 30-day visa exemption and then return later to use a pre-obtained 60-day tourist e-visa. The main concerns include whether immigration will question the change in planned visa usage and how immigration verifies e-visa status. Responses from the community suggest that immigration may automatically process the e-visa upon entry, and there may be scrutiny over the applicant's visa history and entries, indicating a need for careful handling of the situation during passport inspection.

14 repliesnewest first

Click comment and we will ask for your email, then OTP, then name.

Mark *******

Won't a multi-entry e-visa meet your needs?

9 months ago

Eliyahu *****

@Mark ******

its expensive 227$

9 months ago

Chris *******

I doubt it will work, as I had said earlier on this site. I have a dtv and only planned a 2 week stay so didn’t bother with getting my visa out and going through on a visa exempt but immigration pulled me up on this, they will know from your passport you have a visa and will stamp you in on that whether you like it or not

9 months ago

Eliyahu *****

The evisa is printed on an A4 sheet, they would still know and stamp it, if I didn't submit the sheet to them.

9 months ago

Chris *******

@Eliyahu ****

that’s just something you printed out,their copy is on the system. They will know as soon as they scan your passport what you have. They even asked to see my second passport which I had never declared to them.

9 months ago

James ********

Correct ✅

9 months ago

Graham ******

It doesn't matter what you plan for the rest of this year but what Immigration will be scrutinising is your recent history of stays in Thailand and, in particular, Visa Exempt entries and the number of days stayed using Visa Exempt.

9 months ago

Colin *********

@Eliyahu ****

from what I have seen in past posts in Facebook, if you have already purchased a Tourist Visa before arriving in Thailand, when you arrive, the Immigration Officer will almost certainly stamp you in on that, even if your intention is to enter Visa Exempt. I would think that the only way to avoid that upon arrival, would be to tell the Immigration Officer BEFORE you hand over your Passport, tell them what your intentions are as you explained in your post and politely ask if they will allow you to enter on Visa Exempt this time.

If you don't have any bad history of entry stamps into the country that would concern Immigration, then I don't think it would be a problem whether you entered on the Visa on first entry and Visa Exempt after returning from the Philippines. Keep in mind, that entry, even with a Tourist Visa, can be refused if the Officer is concerned about any past history.

9 months ago

James ********

You ASKED this same question in a post yesterday..

A Moderator replied to you by PM message.

Obviously you didn't read the PM message...

Here's the reply...see the FEEDBACK:

Good Luck 🍀

9 months ago

Eliyahu *****

@James *******

I didnt see any messages at my inbox, ok thank you for the answer, so what should i do? go for METV, but so expensive.. about 200$

9 months ago

Eliyahu *****

this year i want to stay at thailand 83 days only, now i at my country israel,

At year 2025 i was 83 days total, i had

First entry(60 days tourist visa + re-entry)

Second entry with visa exemption, the visa exemption i got 60 days but i used only 33 days for it

9 months ago

James ********

@Eliyahu ****

you have said that you already have a SETV single entry tourist visa. That will get you a stamp for 60 days on arrival into Thailand.

What is your passport nation?

9 months ago

James ********

@Eliyahu ****

just how long are you really wanting to stay in Thailand?

Where are you now?

What is your Thai Immigration history in 2025? How many months were you in Thailand in 2025? Did you enter Visa Exempt entry? Did you get a 30 day extension of stay with each visa exempt entry?

9 months ago

Eliyahu *****

@James *******

I still didn't do SETV, i try to thinking what to do, my passport nation is Israel

9 months ago