Will I be allowed entry to Thailand in February 2026 after overstaying the 180-day rule in 2025?

@Mauro ********

your advice should also have included 'provide the name, address and phone number of the Thai lady', because Immigration officers wouldn't be stupid enough to just accept it and not check that the woman is real and the relationship was real 🙄

They're not going to accept 'future plans' for 2026 either, unless there's conclusive evidence, such as legitimate flight bookings and accommodation bookings.

@Maxim **********

it's not 4k. I just checked today and it is about 9k and I have not even spent 6 months in 2025

@Marc *******

found an agent getting most of the PH in. 3500 baht.

@Samuel ******

sent you a dm with details

@Hampus *********

What agent is that?

@Marc *******

pm

@Greg **********

Nobody cares for 6 months visa, you don’t understand… people like to move , easy and be welcome ; nobody wish to live here, or whatever ; people are traveling .

@Tania *********

my figure us based on facts from tourism authorities. By a long distance most true tourists are under 39 day stays

@David ******

The reality is quiet different ; is been like this from 90’s…

Middle class and backpackers travelling over South Asia , also summer season EU people,or, even people that do need work , come and go; they are the economy booster .

Genuine tourists.

@Alan *******

I don’t recall implying that you were abusing the rules - don’t be so sensitive 😊

@David ******

l didn't make it personal and l know you didn't. I just meant ok and some people stay longer because they can and want to but still go home as tourists. Each unto their own David.

@Shea ******

if Samuel were to apply for and be approved for an ED Visa from his own country, do you think that upon arrival at Immigration in Thailand, an officer isn't going to look at his history and deny him entry? I remember reading numerous posts, maybe in 2023 or 2024, about a crackdown on people obtaining ED Visas, because there were many using this Visa type to live in Thailand, rarely, if ever, attending classes.

@Greg **********

No way someone who stayed in Thailand for most of 2025, and want to come back again in February 2026 has a 50% chance to get in. It's 10% odds.

@Maxim **********

you are right! I will change the text into 10:90 . . simply because NOTHING "resets" in a new year.

@Alan *******

, are you reading? Nothing "resets"

@Alan *******

I don't copy anything. These are my original texts. I got my own visa-advice group and I am the admin. I NEVER post any speculations. I only post facts

@John *********

show me and l will show you. So, why ask?

@Alan *******

you asked, I delivered. Here are the guidelines issued to immigration officers. "

government agency

Crime Suppression Division, Immigration Bureau 2

Call 02-134-0302-4

No. 0029.

November 14, 2025

Regarding the order of the Immigration Bureau Commander

According to the order of the Commander of the Immigration Bureau on 12 November 2025, police officers from the Crime Suppression Division, Immigration Bureau Division 2, Operation Unit 1, must comply with the following orders:

To raise the level and intensify the screening of individuals before being considered for permission to enter the country, especially individuals/groups of individuals who have behaviors in the form of visa runs, especially those of special surveillance nationalities who may be involved in computer crimes, online crimes, online gambling, or scammers. If such behavior is found, deny entry and keep statistics. And compile statistics on screening individuals before being considered for permission to enter the Kingdom and statistics on denial of entry, along with reasons according to Section 12 (1) - (11).

1. Indications of foreigners who have entered and exited the Kingdom (out - in, in - out) more than 2 times in the form of Visa run.

1.1. Entering and exiting through land routes connected to neighboring countries frequently and spending a relatively full or almost full period of stay in the country each time according to the visa exemption rights for tourism (Por.60, Por.90, Por.30, Por.30, etc.) and

1.2. The period of time for leaving the Kingdom to a destination country that is not the place of residence (neighboring country) is only a few days and then returning in the case of foreigners entering and exiting through international airports.

1.3. Often there is a tendency to not return to the destination country which is the place of residence. Usually, they travel to a nearby destination country and stay there for a short period of time before returning.

2. In the event that foreigners are found whose travel in and out of Thailand does not meet their intended purpose for tourism, the screening process must be intensified and thorough. The decision to deny entry (reject entry) should be based on relevant laws, regulations, and orders, and they should be deported.

2.1. Collect data on entry refusals from all channels and keep it as statistics for each unit, classified by nationality and reason for entry refusal, and report it to the Immigration Bureau's monthly management meeting.

3. Increase the intensity and thoroughness in considering applications for visa application and change, and visa extension, especially for special surveillance nationalities under the policy who have more than two entry-exit (out-in, in-out) trips, resulting in a visa run. We urge strict adherence to Immigration Bureau orders, regulations, and related laws.

"

@John *********

thanks for that. I was searching for something official from my own country, but unsuccessful

@Colin ********

absolutely trustworthy advice from

@John *********

. Please ignore others, mainly this guy Alan

@Alan *******

There are no new "visa rules" or a new law.

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

It is totally up to the discretion of the immigration officer you are in front of when you apply for the extension and they will tell you if you can get the 30-days extension, or if you're only going to get the 7-days extension.

The thing is right now it's totally subjective and up to the officer you are standing in front of when you go to stamp into the country for them to decide if you're a "real tourist" or if they think you're abusing the visa exempt entry program.

There's just no real concrete clear directive as far as what's what.

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. So your experience might vary.

60 + 30 + 60 + 7 = a maximum of 157 days per year... and it seems this is regardless of whether you arrived by air or across a land border (some say that for a land border visa-exempt entry, you cannot get any extension at all)

Visa-exempt entries themselves are not limited, even though some believe that unlimited visa-free entries are possible by air. This is simply not true.

Visa-exempt entries are not limited to two entries to two entries per “rolling 1-year” period

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

Agents are warning that you should not believe FAKE NEWS telling you that visa-exempt entries are limited to two per calendar year.

The old rule that visa-exempt entries were limited to two across land borders, got discontinued on July 15th, 2024. On the paper, visa-exempt entries by air or across land and sea were “unlimited” after this date.

However this word “unlimited” did not describe the real stance of Immigration – THEY decide when your “personal limit” is up, not any text printed on the websites of Thai embassies.

Under certain circumstances, 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 don’t abuse the system.

In this case, however, the entry history in your passport and on the immigration central computer must prove that your stays were short-term holidays (like only 2-4 weeks) and the total annual stay is not exceeding 157 days (some will say not exceed 180 days, some will say 150 days – it’s unclear)

And there should be several weeks (or months) abroad between each visa-exempt stay.

Your best proof of not abusing the 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 that you 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 intended aim of the new approach was to prohibit "visa runs," where you only entered briefly a neighboring country and then immediately re-entered.

You must be able to prove the planned short stay at the immigration counter—for example, with proof of onward travel or a return journey, such as a flight ticket.

It seems that a border official would consider you being a "genuine" tourist based on such short holiday trips within a year.

In this case, they expect to see on their central computer that you never extended the 60-days visa-exempt stay permit – i.e. maximized – any of these short trips.

The 7-day extension is a REAL extension. It's not the same as the stamp "application for extension denied, you have 7 days to leave the Kingdom", even if to some people it looks like a “grace period”. I have already seen the stamp of a 7-days extension, it takes up half of a passport page. The original “you have 7 days to leave” stamp is smaller, takes something like a quarter up to one-third of the page

What has become crystal clear, is that "per year" can be defined as "per one-year period.

Some people still say they meant “calendar year” but to me this doesn’t make any sense, and we have received several confirmations that nothing “resets in a new calendar year”. The count will be for a full one-year period, period.

Those who want to be on the safe side 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.

Someone entering on a 6-months multi-entry tourist visa (two extensions possible) and a half-year interval outside of Thailand between each METV, is good to go for a maximum of consecutive “touristic” 180 days stay per 1-year period

(theoretically you could get 8 months of stay out of the METV but let’s not make it too complicated, as we have received some recent reports that the “last” 2 months admitted stay out of a METV were refused at the border)

@Greg **********

theoretically you can get 9 months +7 days. Mr Greg

@Alan *******

no you cannot get 9 months and 7 days out of a METV. Not any more

@Alan *******

no, you can't get 9 months and 7 days out of a METV any more. This is an old story. We are getting more and more reports that 8 months are maximum. You cannot get any more 30 days extension on top of the last 60 days after the visa validity expiry. And definitely no "application denied you have 7 days to leave the kingdom" stamp! You are welcome to find out

@Greg **********

thank you for the sermon. I know there are no new rules. I know. But you can't show me where it says what you are saying, so show me the official lines not wikipedia.

@Alan *******

this is my very own text. Not Google and not Wikipedia. This is based on offical information of the Thai Immigration

@Alan *******

there is no "reset"

@John *********

yes it does its 2 per calendar year according to the new rules

@Victoria *****

where did you come up with this story ??

@Victoria *****

there is no "reset" . . . . .There are no new "visa rules" or a new law.

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

It is totally up to the discretion of the immigration officer you are in front of when you apply for the extension and they will tell you if you can get the 30-days extension, or if you're only going to get the 7-days extension.

The thing is right now it's totally subjective and up to the officer you are standing in front of when you go to stamp into the country for them to decide if you're a "real tourist" or if they think you're abusing the visa exempt entry program.

There's just no real concrete clear directive as far as what's what.

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. So your experience might vary.

60 + 30 + 60 + 7 = a maximum of 157 days per year... and it seems this is regardless of whether you arrived by air or across a land border (some say that for a land border visa-exempt entry, you cannot get any extension at all)

Visa-exempt entries themselves are not limited, even though some believe that unlimited visa-free entries are possible by air. This is simply not true.

Visa-exempt entries are not limited to two entries to two entries per “rolling 1-year” period

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

Agents are warning that you should not believe FAKE NEWS telling you that visa-exempt entries are limited to two per calendar year.

The old rule that visa-exempt entries were limited to two across land borders, got discontinued on July 15th, 2024. On the paper, visa-exempt entries by air or across land and sea were “unlimited” after this date.

However this word “unlimited” did not describe the real stance of Immigration – THEY decide when your “personal limit” is up, not any text printed on the websites of Thai embassies.

Under certain circumstances, 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 don’t abuse the system.

In this case, however, the entry history in your passport and on the immigration central computer must prove that your stays were short-term holidays (like only 2-4 weeks) and the total annual stay is not exceeding 157 days (some will say not exceed 180 days, some will say 150 days – it’s unclear)

And there should be several weeks (or months) abroad between each visa-exempt stay.

Your best proof of not abusing the 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 that you 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 intended aim of the new approach was to prohibit "visa runs," where you only entered briefly a neighboring country and then immediately re-entered.

You must be able to prove the planned short stay at the immigration counter—for example, with proof of onward travel or a return journey, such as a flight ticket.

It seems that a border official would consider you being a "genuine" tourist based on such short holiday trips within a year.

In this case, they expect to see on their central computer that you never extended the 60-days visa-exempt stay permit – i.e. maximized – any of these short trips.

The 7-day extension is a REAL extension. It's not the same as the stamp "application for extension denied, you have 7 days to leave the Kingdom", even if to some people it looks like a “grace period”. I have already seen the stamp of a 7-days extension, it takes up half of a passport page. The original “you have 7 days to leave” stamp is smaller, takes something like a quarter up to one-third of the page

What has become crystal clear, is that "per year" can be defined as "per one-year period.

Some people still say they meant “calendar year” but to me this doesn’t make any sense, and we have received several confirmations that nothing “resets in a new calendar year”. The count will be for a full one-year period, period.

Those who want to be on the safe side 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.

Someone entering on a 6-months multi-entry tourist visa (two extensions possible) and a half-year interval outside of Thailand between each METV, is good to go for a maximum of consecutive “touristic” 180 days stay per 1-year period

(theoretically you could get 8 months of stay out of the METV but let’s not make it too complicated, as we have received some recent reports that the “last” 2 months admitted stay out of a METV were refused at the border)

@Greg **********

this is a good write up of what has been reported to be happening in the current environment.

@Greg **********

The crackdown was already underway since late 2024 for chronic visa runners at many borders (by land), and since 2018 ish at Bangkok and Phuket airport.

What has changed recently is for the people in the middle (so neither newcomers nor chronic visa runners), are now being denied at a much higher rate. So they have broaden who are now getting denied.

Also, getting a SETV is not gonna work if it's already clear that you are not a tourist. They will deny you entry. So can't go from visa exempt to tourist visa scheme, not gonna work.

@Victoria *****

Thailand and rules they are however the IO decides on the day.

@Wayne ********

There is definitely some truth to this. 😆

@Victoria *****

there are no new rules, only guidelines as to how to deal with persistent border runners. These don't change the underlying rules which are still in place