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What defines a 'genuine tourist' in Thailand?

Jan 11, 2026
4 months ago
Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
what is a genuine tourist????? only as far as I know only the Chinesse go on organised tours......backpackers rarely.... party people in koh phangan?? old blokes drinking beer and?? in Pattaya for months? or people like me spending few months with family? or people just escaping the european winter??..scrap the word tourist just call everyone a visitor ???
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The discussion revolves around the definition of a 'genuine tourist' in Thailand, highlighting that it encompasses visitors who do not live there permanently or engage in illegal work. Various opinions suggest that genuine tourists typically stay for a limited time, do not rely on visa runs or extensions, and may or may not partake in organized tours. The conversation reveals a spectrum of visitor types—from casual tourists to long-term travelers—discussing the nuances and perceptions of labeling individuals based on their behavior and reasons for staying.
Mike *******
At the end of the day that’s exactly what we are Visitors who spend money

Sadly sometimes not made very welcome 🙏
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Jared **********
Looks like we got a new Billy
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Chris *********************
@Jared *********
haha can you remember Billy bull shit 😂 🤣,
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James *********
@Chris ********************
He had the Best of it (BS)!!! Hope he, and his liver, are ok, and he's finally made it to his wife and home, living a good peaceful life in Thailand 🕺🤸
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Chris *********************
IT depends on you previous entrys into Thailand the length of time you stayed,if you extended and how many times, The mood the IO is in on the day, and the way you present your self in front of the IO,
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Chris *********************
Was it Billy Brown or something 🤔
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James *********
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Jared **********
He was definitely quite the character, gotta keep his memory alive after all the entertainment he gave us

Hopefully he’s in some village in the sticks living his best life
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Chris *********************
@Jared *********
I don't even think he was ever in Thailand long term ,but he came out with some crap haha 😆
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Chris *********************
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James *********
@Jared *********
I miss his posts....
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James *********
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Jim *******
Genuine toursts are those that wear T shirts like "Fly Emirates" or "Beer Chang".

Zip off pants and Tewa sandals. Harmless and honest they are, not even knowing of stay extensions, border runs, not even knowing Thai Immigration offices exist.

Other than organized groups (like Chinese), 90

% of the tourists are like that. Thais tolerate them, as they tolerate insects. They enjoy whatever they enjoy in Thai, barely knowing where they are and what is around them.
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Nico *************
Everyone who visits another country for a certain period of time for whatever reason and will not work or retire in that country because then it becomes an expat or immigrant.
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Marty *********
It's whatever Thai Immigration says it is.
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John **********
Coming to live with your family is definitely not in the definition of tourist
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Chris *********************
@John *********
I think he said to visit his family and tour around not live with his family,
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John **********
@Chris ********************
"people like me spending a few months with family" is what he said. That's not tourism
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Chris *********************
@John *********
there is a little thing he might not of heard about called a NON O visa based on marriage, haha 😆
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Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Chris ********************
...had a non o but stopped when application went online which I found difficult...and in anycase dont meet the required finances
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Chris *********************
@Collywobble *********
yes I agree it was much better and easier when the consulates were going, but why not get the 90 day NON O ,and extend, then leave Thailand for a bit, come back and get visa exempt,looks better to immigration than constantly coming on visa exempt, just a thought.
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John **********
@Chris ********************
there are only 2 extension options available on a 90 day Non-O visa. Either 12 months or a 60 day visiting Thai family extension. So the 90 day Non-O plus the 60 day visit family extension gives 150 days maximum
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Chris *********************
@John *********
if you look what I said was to get a NO b4 he come and extended, then leave Thailand go on holiday for a few days come back and get 60 days visa exempt.
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John **********
@Chris ********************
sure but with an extension based on visiting Thai family he doesn't have to leave at all so no entry issue either
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Chris *********************
@John *********
you not listening he said he couldn't meet the requirements for a 12 months extension so I suggested the easiest option 90 day visa in UK extend in Thailand 60 days after the visa is done leave Thailand for a holiday, come back get 60 days visa exempt which would give him 7 months
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John **********
@Chris ********************
he says he's only wanting 4-5 months
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Chris *********************
@John *********
he said 7 months last year
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Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Chris ********************
7 months in the UK
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Chris *********************
@Collywobble *********
ok my miss reading.

I give up
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Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
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Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Chris ********************
dont think I meet financial requirements for a non O but will at least get a tourist visa
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John **********
@Collywobble *********
you only need to show an income of £1000 a month for the 90 Day Non-O and the visiting Thai family 60 day extension is only 1900 baht. That gets you your 5 months. From memory the 90 day visa costs something like £60
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Chris *********************
@John *********
yes then what i said was if he left Thailand after the 60 day extension for a holiday then come back on 60 days visa exempt would give him 7 months,
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John **********
@Chris ********************
yep and if he's not married the Non-O based on retirement
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John **********
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Ivan ************
@Ch***
his previous posts, he said he spends 7 months a year in Thailand with his Thai wife and called Nong Khai "home". He was arguing returning to the UK for 5 months made him a tourist.
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Chris *********************
@Ivan ***********
not a tourist then no wonder IO question him
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Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
I had non O before but when it all went online which I dont like I stopped and anyway only want stay 4 or 5 months and like a few weeks in Laos or Cambodia Vietnam or Bali so took the easy pragmatic option of visa exempt entrys which worked well for years ....times have changed......easy for people to criticise but hey water off this old ducks back
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Collywobble **********
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Jamie ******
We are ALL TOURISTS or I think the legal status is ALIEN ..Some tourists are happy to be in the 1-2 week number I day mode …some arent happy after 30-40 year of travelling continuously to be called a tourists ,,,…peoole like to put labels on other people they have never meet ..thailand was always very flexiable about the term tourist and how it implicated it before the digital nomads quite brazenly started sharing the abuse by NOT being a tourist and quite openly shared how to make money while on a tourist visa ….that effected peoole like yourself who didn’t fit into the pigeon hole of a 1-2 week tourist who chose to to stay as long as you felt ,like it was before ..no abuse of system ,,no criminal activity ,,no work just chilling longer than tne majority but within that length of time like I said we are all aliens .. I quite like that term myself
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Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Jamie *****
some are more alien than others lol !!
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Tayaout *****************
@Jamie *****
Tourists come on visa exemption or tourist visa. Most of the other long term visitors need a non-immigrant visa that they extend, and yeah we are aliens lol
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Tayaout *****************
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Colin **********
A tourist is someone who has holidays where they have tickets back to thier country, have hotels booked, and money to sustain them.

What immigration don't want people who max thier visa exempts, extend them and do border bounces to extend them further.

Anything in between is betweern you and the immigration officer.
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Collywobble **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Colin *********
backpackers do not have hotels booked
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Colin **********
@Collywobble *********
these are "thier" ideal, a backpacker would have to convince immigration, its a holiday not an easy way of avioding getting a long term visa.
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Colin **********
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Tayaout *****************
It's someone that doesn't come to live in Thailand long term. After a few months maximum they go back to their home country. They don't work, and usually don't open bank accounts, rent a place long term or have a Thai driving license. All their stuff fit in a suitcase or a backpack.
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Jim *******
@Tayaout ****************
Some people, are trying to live in Thai on nothing. That is what the crackdown is about. No new rules, just becoming more strict along the existing rules.
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Jim *******
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Linda **********
In Thailand you are a genuine tourist only during your first visit. After you figure out the layout you are living as chill as you want. So essentially a genuine tourist is a regular western parasite who can fake it succesfuly.
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Farang *********
Good list but it's not spending a few months with your family touring and spending money it appears.
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Lynnette *******
@Farang ********
it is not an issue to visit and tour around on holiday for a few weeks several times a year with it without your family. Don't make this something it's not.
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Farang *********
@Lynnette ******
it was so do not dare tell me it is not a problem. I do not come here several times a year, just once.
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Lynnette *******
You come once, no problem. Others come several times, no problem.
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Lynnette *******
@Farang ********
so it's not a problem then. Exactly as I "dared" to say.
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Farang *********
@Lynnette ******
then why was I pulled at customs.
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Jan ******************
@Farang ********
You can’t really tell without knowing more. What exactly did they question you about, and what was your previous travel pattern and entry history to Thailand?
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Lynnette *******
@Jan *****************
that's sort of what I said. Made him rant at me and quite rude too.

Anyway, I can't see why they'd have an issue with people coming to Thailand to tour around with family and spend money.
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Lynnette *******
@Farang ********
No idea. Pulled? Asked questions probably. Past visits, other info they have in the system, extensions, girlfriend, property ownership, it's immigration and they are checking why tourist people enter, so they look at patterns. Maybe attitude too. My son's British and been questioned entering Britain. Immigration doing their job.
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Farang *********
@Lynnette ******
sick and tired of people like you making accusations with out knowing the full facts. This Facebook page is full of them. There are many though who try and help. Take a guess, you're not one of them.

As for UK border force, they are a bunch of twats. Harassed me for 15 years looking for some else.
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Lynnette *******
@Farang ********
what accusation have I made? Lol. You asked why were you pulled aside so I listed the sort of reasons people get asked questions when they enter. You didn't ask for help, or advice. But you made a statement about people not being welcome to tour around with family for a couple of months, but didn't explain why you think that's an issue. It's not being stopped.
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Lynnette *******
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Jan ******************
A “genuine tourist” isn’t defined by flip-flops, backpacks, age, or how many beers you drink. It’s defined by behavior, not lifestyle. If you come, stay a reasonable time, leave again, don’t work illegally, and don’t live in Thailand by chaining exemptions together, you’re a tourist. If you effectively live there temporarily or long time without the right visa, you’re not. Simple as that.
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Garrett ***********
A genuine tourist is defined as someone the old and/or pathetic expats on the Facebook groups are NOT jealous of, have less money than them, and are significantly inferior to them. Everyone else that comes to Thailand is somehow a criminal and should be banned.
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Garrett ***********
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