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What are the limitations for US citizens regarding tourist visas in Thailand and the validity of a second visa application?

Thailand Visa Rules Tourist Visa Visa Run US Expat Visa Information Visa Exemption Immigration Advice

Oct 1, 2019

5 years ago

Jacquelyn *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

I am currently in Thailand on a 60 day tourist visa (I'm American). My plan was to do a visa run to Singapore to get a second visa in December, but when I emailed the embassy there they sent me this: 

"For your information,  you cannot exceed your stay more than 90 days within the past 6 months as a tourist otherwise you have to stay out of the country at least 2 to 3 months before you can apply for visa again." 

Is this true? This contradicts what I have heard from other people as well as my personal experience. When it says you can't be here more than 90 days "as a tourist", does that mean I'd have to reenter Thailand and just do visa on arrival? Very confusing! Especially since they require proof of onward travel, which is very difficult to plan if I don't know if I will be able to enter the country or not!

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The original poster is currently in Thailand on a 60-day tourist visa and plans to make a visa run to Singapore in December. They received information from the Singapore embassy indicating that they cannot exceed 90 days in Thailand within a 6-month period as a tourist, which raises questions about re-entering Thailand and applying for a visa upon return. The community's responses suggest extending the current visa, utilizing land exits for visa exemptions, and considering alternative consulates that may offer different visa issuance policies compared to the one in Singapore.

Tod *********

You are using the wrong consulate to get a tourist visa from. Pick one of the thai consulates in Lao (Vientiane or Savannakhet) or Malaysia (Penang, or Kota Bharu) and you'll be fine. Meet the requirements and you'll get the visa.

I'd say IF you're living here on back to back tourist visas or visa exempt entries you're way better off using land borders to enter the country after you get the visa. You have a way higher chance of being questioned entering by air.

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Ivan ************

Firstly, extend your current visa if you haven't already. Secondly, if you have not used any land visa exempts yet this year, you get two per year and as it is getting towards the end of the year may as well use them. Mae Sai, Nong Khai, Ban Phu Nam Ron in Kanchanaburi all good options depending where you are. Avoid Aranyaprathet. Border run will get you 30 days visa exempt and you can extend by 30. You can get four months out of this, and if you do it over the year change potentially up to eight months straight in total.

Alternately go get another visa somewhere else. But if you haven't used the visa exempt land entries yet I think worth using before you do that as how many visas you can get is limited.

Visa exempts coming back in through an airport are high risk if you have history and not recommended.

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Ivan ************

You seem to warn of this yourself, saying that there is a heightened risk of denial if doing back to back. And that's true.

But there are few if any reports of similar denials from Mae Sai or Nong Khai outside of the legal published criteria. So it would make sense that she go there.

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Ivan ************

For a first time or occasional tourist there is no issue flying into Bangkok. If you are doing a "visa run" or "border bounce" or have been here over 180 days on back to back tourist arrivals you are much more likely to be targeted and it's an unnecessary risk.

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Robert *******

@Ivan ***********

back to basic, lot of denials, highest risk in Bankok, far higher and this is based on what kind of figures? Thailand has more than 39 million visitors this year, please how many million did get denied?

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Ivan ************

That used be the case a few years ago, before they brought in the 2 per year land visa exempt limit. Since that, land borders have been generally safer, with exceptions- but borders such as Mae Sai or Nong Khai pretty much just rigidly enforce that rule and don't invent new ones.

Maybe a year or two ago the Bangkok airports in particular got very difficult with people with back to back tourist entries and there are a lot of denials. While highest risk in Bangkok there are reports from other airports also.

The risk of denied at an airport is also far higher as you will be detained until you can be flown back out, at your own expense. Land border denial if it does happen you just turn around and stay wherever you are and can try again later.

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Jacquelyn *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

Ok thank you, this is super helpful! For some reason I had thought people were more likely to get rejected at a land border than by air. Sounds like this is definitely the way to go.

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Jacquelyn *******

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Nigel *********

What's your visa history /visa exempt history in Thailand? That would be useful so that those in the know can give you better informed advice. Have you already extended your current 60 day visa?

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Robert *******

you can read some more topics on this page, or look at some programs on Youtube about immigration. There are even people, who sit for 14 to 16 hours in an airplane, just to hear sorry, you can not enter this country. That could be confusing, not the part that you might be denied a back to back tourist visa to live inside Thailand.

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Jacquelyn *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

Sounds like a great way to spend a holiday to me! 😃

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Robert *******

As i have heard is that you can not live long time using a short time visa in Thailand. a Tourist Visa is for a person, to spend their holiday in Thailand then go back home and save for a new holiday while working. But i hear lots of strange thing, like taking ice baths in Thailand as part of your yoga training.

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Jacquelyn *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

I would say it is at least somewhat confusing as I have heard of many people doing this exact thing several times in KL, and I would not expect the rules to be applied so inconsistently between embassies. But very good to know this before booking a flight to Singapore!

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Jacquelyn *******

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Benjamin ******

What I recommend doing is doing a border bounce in December, and extend it for a total of 60 days (assuming you didn't do it already).

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Randy **********

Use another consulate. If thats what they're telling you, listen to it and find somewhere else like Vietnam, Laos, KL.

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James ********

Henry St Clair check other Thai Consulates carefully ....as they too are limiting issuance of visas of many kinds. Times are changing.

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James ********

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Robert *******

if the Thai Embassy in Singapore made their own requirement that they do not hand out back to back tourist visa and limit that to a maximum of maximum 90 days within the past 6 months and they answered your request with an e-mail, who are we to tell that the Embassy is not correct?

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Ivan ************

I'm not going anywhere for visa, my advice was for the OP. In her circumstance, presuming she has not used them up already, land visa exempt rather than flying anywhere for a visa makes most sense and is what I suggested.

This specific rule is Singapore's. Other consulates may have their own rules. Most consulates do not have a "90 in 180" rule.

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James ********

@Ivan ***********

good luck with that.

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Ivan ************

It's specific to Singapore, it's not a general rule. You can go somewhere else and get a visa.

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Robert *******

There is NO minimum amount of days you have to stay inside Thailand as some people still think and there is NO maximum amount of days a year that you can stay inside Thailand. a Stay is only limited by the Admitted until or permitted up to ../../.. date stamped in your passport

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Jacquelyn *******

ORIGINAL POSTER

because I am not sure if this is an issue specific to the embassy in Singapore or if I simply misunderstood the visa rules in general.

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Jacquelyn *******

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