Had an unusual experience yesterday arriving at BKK and I wanted to hear your opinions.
Background: I was in Thailand on an ED visa back in 2012. After that I moved to another country but I've kept coming back for holidays / travel, always on the 30-day exemption, never overstayed. I usually spend 2-3 months of the year in Thailand but not consecutively, and I've only applied for a 30-day extension of the visa exempt entry once (April this year).
This time I was planning to get the 30-day exemption, then extend it for another 25 days, so I wrote “55 days” under “length of stay” in the arrival card. The passport control officer questioned this and said “it's ok for this time, but next time maybe you cannot come in under visa exemption”. What?! He said I should get a 60-day visa instead because extensions “are not a good way to do this” -so why are they offered then, I wonder. I was stamped for 30 days and he didn't write any remarks on the passport.
Was he just bluffing about the not being allowed in part? Is there a maximum number of times one can get an extension on the visa exempt entry? Like I said, I've only done that once. I'm wondering if my mistake was to write “55 days” instead of say 28-30.
TLDR : Answer Summary
The user shared their experience of being questioned by an immigration officer upon arriving in Thailand on a visa-exempt entry after declaring a planned stay longer than the allowed 30 days. They expressed confusion about the officer's warning regarding future entries and whether there is a limit to extensions on the visa exemption. Commenters advised against declaring a stay longer than 30 days on the arrival card and highlighted that extensions are typically not intended for pre-planned stays beyond that duration. Some emphasized that repeated entries on visa exemptions may lead to increased scrutiny.
