Apologies in advance for the long post.
Whilst travelling around Asia for a year I used Thailand as a base and spent the majority of my time there. Therefore I was travelling in and out of the country on visa exemptions. (This was an extended holiday and I did not work)
I returned to the UK last August. I then returned for a Christmas holiday with a tourist visa issued by the Thai Embassy. I was stopped by immigration in Bangkok and told this would be the last time I could enter on a tourist visa and was told I would need a non immigrant B visa in future.
Today I contacted the Thai Consulate in Cardiff for further advice. They told me the only way I could do this now would be to get a letter from one of my friends who are business owners to say I intended to apply for a work permit when next in Thailand. However this is not the case. Apparently I also can no longer apply for the B visa in order to train Muay Thai (which I do) as this has recently been declassified to a hobby in the past couple of months. (Even though the Thai Embassy website says differently).
Does anybody have any other suggestions as I would like to continue to visit my friends on a regular basis for a break as I work hard whilst in the UK. The only other alternative I can think of is to set up a business in Thailand in order to apply for a business visa.
Any advice or alternate suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
TLDR : Answer Summary
The poster shares their experience of frequently entering Thailand on different visa types and having recently been advised that they can no longer use a tourist visa due to their travel history. They are exploring alternatives to continue visiting Thailand without needing a Non Immigrant B visa or work permit, as their plans include training in Muay Thai and visiting friends. The comments suggest various options, including the Thai Elite visa, education visas for Muay Thai training, changing residency to a neighboring country, and considerations around multiple entry tourist visas. Some commenters also highlight immigration restrictions against frequent visitors.
