What are the risks and options for extending my stay in Thailand after a 180-day tourist visa?

Just do witj the right office did it also last week. No problem or a green card by plain is quarantee good to phuket

Why do people want rort the Thai system. I'm sure they wouldn't get away with it in their own country.

Just get the proper visa

You are not a tourist. At some point you may well get denied entry

I was in the same situation as yourself, so I left and went to Vietnam for a few days and paid 5,000bht to a visa agent for the VIP fast track service at the airport to make sure there was no issues with immigration

If you want to do another border bounce for another visa exempt entry I'd highly recommend you contact a border run company and ask them, they won't take you if they can't get you back in. Doing it yourself would be risky and staying out a few days won't change that

There's no definitive answer, but we've seen reports of immigration officers causing issues for people who've already stayed for 180 days on a METV. It might be wise to spend a few days outside the country or hire a transport service to take you out and back. Previously, doing a third entry wasn't a problem, but practice have tightened up over time.

well, most people would now recommend one last border run before the expiry of the 6-month visa validity. It would result in a last 60-days stay permit stamp. There have been reports of some refusals of such, at the borders. I would give it a try, have a plan B handy, and make sure you have the 3 famous proofs to show in case you get asked: 20,000 THB in cash, a few booked nights of accomodation and an onward travel proof out of Thailand within the 60 days you will get stamped in

There is no rule about how many entries you can get as a tourist. Some immigration offers may state 180 days but that rule doesn’t actually exist.

That said you’ve maxed out your time as a “tourist” and would certainly be a red flag to immigration if you tried to enter again.

No one can say if you’d have an issue but I’d bet you probably would. “A few days” isn’t likely to help. You’re not doing what a typical tourist would do and it would seem more likely you are trying to stay here long term (and therefore potentially working).

If you want to stay long term then look at the visa options that exist to do so.