What visa do I need for multiple entries into Thailand during my stay in 2026?

@Dragan *********

for those who are mentally challenged with the English language, you are allowed multiple Visa Exempt entries BUT only 2 extensions, first one for 30 days, second for 7 days to get ya shit together and leave.

Gary Joe "Which year is eligible for taxation ?" none of the two ( I secretly assumed you had it split up between two calendar years)

Sylvia Corley And Amen to that 👌👍😆

Gary Joe visa is 12 rolling months

Tax is 12 calendar months Jan to Dec

Greg Alexander I'm led to believe a Calendar year is a different entity and not to be confused with a rolling 12 month period and cannot trigger a reset..therefore 4 entries =131 total days in 2025 and 1 x 56 days so far in 2026..

Which year is eligible for taxation ?

Gary Joe a total of 187 days visa exempt stays within the recent 11 months? Wow! You are a lucky man. Yes, it works as long as you do not maximize each stay, but when you have reached the magical 180 days per calendar year, you can't call yourself a "real" tourist any more, but rather a person that has now become a mandatory taxpayer in Thailand 😜

@Tom **************

I'd say you might be OK were it not for your short trip to Malaysia. I'd still recommend the METV

Steve Flanagan The new approach apparently works like I explained: as long as you avoid any extensions (because they are limited to two within a one-year period) you actually can enter visa-exempt 4, 5 or even 6 times, if you do not accumulate a total of more than 157 days within one year. I can however not give you a guarantee that you never meet the bad mooded Immigration officer who thinks that he/she needs to prevent you from entering a third or fourth time, regardless of you have never maximized a previous stay

Greg Alexander

Good work bloke.

It is up to the IO at the gate

There has been many issues with what has been ok one week and no good the next.

Yes people can mitigate but as we know Thailand is very reactionary to media scrutiny when it comes to policies of many aspects in immigration and tourism.

Lots of rumours and false narrative.

Its my take that the visa free option that I have used 3 times in 14 months is based on a two entry format over a 12 month period.

My plan is to utilise this as I had done oct-dec for a 84 day total with extention twice a year as not to overstay or misuse the tourist card that my stays are aimed at.

My original statement was a tread easy and avoide issues is the best policy. 👌

20,000 baht in the pocket

Return ticket paid for

Fly Thai airlines

And be welcomed .

Advice is given when asked and can be taken or not. Up to you. Karp

Steve Flanagan You have probably been confused by some half-witted barstool heroes and their unbiased comments on the internet.

There are no new "visa rules" and there is no new law.

There is no “reset” when a new calendar year begins.

There is no limit of two visa-exemptions within a 1-year period, and definitely not within a calendar. This is simply not true.

What has changed, mandated from above, is the strict scrutinizing of your number of visa-exempt entries and the thorough check on "visa runners" (actually they meant to say "back-to-back border runners").The new approach taken by border officials is intended to ensure that the option to do a "visa run" is not abused.

Now as far as regarding extensions on visa-exempt entries, it does appear that the Immigration offices are indeed only issuing 7-day extensions if you already got one previous 30-day extension on any visa exempt entry. The count is 60 + 30 + 60 + 7 = 157 days maximum within a 1-year period, regardless of whether you arrive by air or land.

This is not standardized. The decision is made upon the discretion of the individual immigration officer.

Unfortunately, there are some reports of tourist extensions on top of the 60-days being denied for those having arrived across a land border, while there have been some cases under the same circumstances where an extension was granted.

Fact is right now, it is subjective and up to the decision of the officer you are standing in front of when you wish to enter the country. They decide if you are a "real tourist" or if they think you are milking the visa exempt entry program.

There is just no clear directive as far as what's what, there are no official rules, however after a few interviews with Immigration top officers, a few basic patterns have crystallized.

Some people with a 30-days extension already on a previous visa exempt entry reported getting another 30-days extension without any issue, however some have reported they only got a 7-days extension issued. Your experience might vary from that.

The 7-day extension is a REAL extension. It is not the same as the stamp "application for extension denied, you have 7 days to leave the Kingdom" even if for some people it looks like the “7-days grace period”.

I have already seen the stamp of a 7-days extension, it takes up half of a passport page.

Visa-exempt entries themselves are not limited, even though some believe that unlimited visa-free entries are possible by air. It is irrelevant if you enter via a land border or by air.

Visa-exempt entries are not limited to two entries per year. This is not correct.

This is a misconception, and some agents and lawyers spread this information to make profit from panicked people.

Many agents and Immigration Volunteers are warning you should not believe those alleged news telling you that visa-exempt entries are limited to two per year. It simply is not true.

In the past, visa-exempt entries were limited to two across a land border, this old rule was discontinued on July 15th, 2024.

On the paper, visa-exempt entries by air or across land and sea were “unlimited” after this date. LET ME EXPLAIN: this wording “unlimited” is not a fixed rule of Immigration – THEY decide when your “personal limit” is up.

On a few conditions, but always at the individual discretion of the border official, multiple visa-exempt entries are possible - like four, five or even more times, if you do not milk the system.

The entry history in your passport and your profile on Immigration’s Central Computer must prove that your stays were short-term holidays (like only 2-4 weeks).

Some Immigration officers will tell you the total number of visa-exempt days should not exceed 150 days, some will tell you the limit is 157 days. It remains unclear – because there is no official rule, there is no official limit. There are only guidelines on how to treat repeated entries.

Your best proof that you are not milking the visa-free system is when you can show that you returned to your home country between each visa-exempt stay, or stayed abroad for a long time. And when you always are able to show an onward travel proof

ATTENTION: an “onwardticket” can be scolded upon by Immigration and you can be accused of showing a faked ticket, denied entry and being forced to buy a ticket back to your origin.

The new approach was to prohibit "visa runs," where you only entered a neighboring country briefly and then immediately re-entered.

You must be able to prove your short holiday at the Immigration counter—for example, with proof of onward travel or a return journey, such as a flight ticket. A border official would then rather consider you being a "genuine" tourist based on short holiday trips within a year. They expect to see on their Central Computer that you never maximized any of these visa-exempt holidays.

What is crystal-clear: "per year" means "within a one-year period”.

Some people still say it means “calendar year”, yet this does not make much sense. We have received many confirmations after January 1st, 2026, that nothing “had reset in the new calendar year”. The count is based on a rolling year.

Those who want to play safe should obtain a single-entry tourist visa in advance for stays of up to 60 days, with the option to extend for 30 more days.

ATTENTION: Aquiring a tourist visa after you have accumulated a few visa exempt stays, does NOT “clean the slate”. Touristic entries on a tourist visa will also be frowned upon when you start to misuse them. To use a tourist visa directly after you have maximized visa-exempt stays, does not free you from the obligations. The Immigration officer won’t be fooled.

For people who like to spend half a year in South East Asia and who like to make Thailand the hub for other travels, the 6-months multi-entry Tourist Visa is the choice

Steve Flanagan I wrote "there is no limit of two visa-exempt entries within a one-year period" I never wrote that they are unlimited. You seem to have a serious reading and comprehending problem

Greg Alexander

You did.

No limit actually means unlimited or no ?

Ffs this group is full of fun facts.

Same crew that tells people you dont need a IDP ,dont worry about health insurance etc etc blah blah.

You are a funny man Greg.

Gary Joe I do also :)

Steve Flanagan And i always choose a female IO to process my entry at the Airport.. like most everyone on here says not to..👍

Gary Joe

Not saying that the rules dont have exceptions to the rules.

Steve Flanagan Still not 2 like you said. Now your saying its upto the IO make up your mind.

We flew in on tuesday not one question to 5 of us. Maybe our flying pattern helps and we always have return tickets.

AtrustworthyJaguar

It is still up to the discretion of the person at the gate.

It is widely accepted that they have been cutting people off that are doing border runs and bypassing relevant visas.