Hopefully this can be a sensible discussion, Is it just me or is the DTV being abused to a ridiculous extent? admittedly the Thai government left it full of loopholes and open to abuse but for me it really isn't working

Is it common to get questioned when re entering the Kingdom? I come in and out a few times a year. This time I did 6 weeks here then flew to Taipei for 10 days, when I came in this time he asked how long I intended to stay and wanted to see my onward tkt.

I was planning to do another 6 weeks and go to the Philippines for a few weeks before returning again. Feeling a bit apprehensive now.

I hear people doing border runs for a day without any problems.

Hello, I just want to share my experience with re-entering on the DTV visa in Phuket (remote work).

A few days ago I arrived back to Phuket after a short 2 day trip in Dubai. I presented my passport to the immigration officer and he said "oh DTV". He took my passport to his colleague and after a quick chat asked me to follow him to the immigration office. I was asked to provide all the documentation I used to apply for the DTV visa. Luckily I had it on my laptop.

The immigration officer asked all sorts of questions like: Did I apply for the DTV visa myself? Why did I apply in Hanoi if I am an Australia citizen and UAE resident? How much money do I have?

After about 1 hour of talking to multiple immigration officers and sending my documents via email to the imm. office at the airport, I was granted a 180-day stamp.

All the immigration officers were very nice and even explained why they decided to check all my documents. According to them, it turns out that a lot of fake papers were used to obtain DTV visas in Vietnam, Loas and Myanmar,... He said if I applied in Australia or Dubai then there would be no issues. The imm officer said they do a better job of checking papers in non SEA countries.

I have a remote work DTV visa (workaction) and am employed by a US registered company. Everything is fully transparent and documented.

However, I do want to use this opportunity to caution people against using DTV visa services, where agents will provide "all the papers you need" for a fee. I have seen many ads like this around FB and telegram groups.

One person next to me in the imm. office was issued a DTV visa with what they suspect to be fake papers and according to the immigration officer they will contact the embassy of that individual and notify them that the visa has been cancelled. I don't know what happened to that person after that, but it doesn't sound like you get a chance to just buy a ticket to KL and leave.

Please use common sense when deciding to apply for the DTV visa and treat it like you are applying for a visa in any other European or western country. If you applied for a DTV visa with a 2 week cooking course and are re-entering after 6 months, expect some questions. If you have used dodgy or even fake employment or course papers to apply for a DTV, then good luck to you.

Hope this info helps. Happy to answer any questions on my experience if I forget to mention something in the post.

Is visiting Thailand too many times an issue? I went there 6 times this year, none of my stays were longer than 7 days.

I'm currently having a huge argument with a moderator of an English-speaking group

He is absolutely convinced that he believes what Tod Daniels wrote a week ago about the 60-day visa-exempt entry.

I, on the other hand, and the admin of another English-speaking visa advice group, are of the opinion that you shouldn't believe everything and should wait and see whether more reports of this kind come in.

It's true - there have been no other such statements so far.

Tod Daniels (a great guy, the visa guru of the advice groups!)

came to the conclusion a week ago that since July 15th you can make UNLIMITED 60-day visa-exempt entries via a land border. The limit of crossing a land border twice per calendar year has been dropped, he wrote

unfortunately, he is basing his argument on ONE single report, as well as the passport and the story of a Filipino who was stamped in at Nong Khai

this Filipino had already overstayed three times (!!) and had already made THREE 30-day visa-free entries since the beginning of the year!

and then the guy claims that after a 60-day visa-exempt stay permit was stamped into his passport, he asked the official how many times he could re-enter from there on

and the official answered him: "unlimited!"

I don't believe a word of this story

because - who is so stupid as to point out to the official at the border with such a stupid question that he might have made a mistake?

He would have expect that the border official will take a closer look at his passport and possibly revoke the stamp!

Do you understand?

that's why I don't believe this story

and Tod Daniels may have fallen for this story

And what else can you say about the little phrase "unlimited visa-free travel"?

The phrase "unlimited visa-free travel by air" has already suggested something that didn't actually exist

In the past, at a certain point, let’s say, the third consecutive attempt at visa-free travel, you would be taken aside at all airports (and at land borders!) and questioned about your true intentions.

And you would be warned that this would be the last time you would be allowed to enter without a suitable visa for a specific purpose.

So, please, why would it have been changed to "unlimited visa-free travel for 60 days for the rest of your Life" as of July 15th?

Based on just ONE report from a Filipino traveler about his experiences at a land border to Laos?

Why should one now start to believe that the phrase "unlimited" actually means unlimited entries by air and land?

Each entry is still granted at the discretion of the immigration officer at the border.

If an immigration officer decides that you have used visa-free entry often enough in a row and have "abused" it for a long-term stay, you can flush the next "unlimited" entry down the toilet