Good day. I’m traveling from US to Thailand as a tourist, arriving in Bangkok approx 072025. I plan to stay for 90 days while I figure out retirement plans.

Travel plans include a round trip ticket into and out of Bangkok. Question one is whether or not my return ticket can be scheduled for day 85 or does it have to be within 60 days of arrival and then changed after the vacation stay is extended at immigration?

My second question is for the purpose of arrival. I plan to travel over the 90 days or so. For the purpose of arriving legally must I have a three month hotel booked will they allow me to enter of if I reserve a room for three days to start?

Thank you

Kurt

For DTV visa, on 1st arrival in Thailand, do you need to show a return ticket after the 180 days period ?

Does anyone know if travelers staying about 10 days need anything besides a passport? Thanks.

Has anyone been recently asked to show return air ticket, hotel/accommodation, purpose of stay, etc., by IO while entering Thailand on DTV visa?

Is immigration asking for return tickets for entering on DTV visa

?

As i am gonna stay for 6 months. I didn't booked yet

RE: Entering Thailand as a tourist and being denied entry

We're getting more and more reports of people either being questioned extensively at the time of entry, or directly being denied entry to Thailand.

Ever since visa exempt entries were changed from 30 days to 60 days, things seem to have been getting stricter in regards to entries. As always, your entry will be at the discretion of the immigration officer you are standing in front of.

One of the key things that seems to be a point against you will be if you applied for an extension to your 60-day entry previously. If you came to Thailand as a tourist (visa exempt or tourist visa) and then applied for a 30-day extension, and then leave and return, this is what seems to be causing issues. Maybe the immigration officers believe 90 days is enough time for you to have been a tourist?

How long you need to be out of Thailand after doing these 90 days varies, and will likely be dependent upon your history in Thailand. We've seen people who returned after 3 months and still have issues. Of course some people leave and return in the same day and encounter no issues, but there's no way for you to know how it will go for you.

If you are coming to Thailand as a tourist and have already been in Thailand within the last 6 months as a tourist, there are a few things you can do to increase your odds:

Have the 3 "proofs" that can be asked for, but usually are not. If the immigration officer wants to deny you entry, these are the 3 easiest reasons for them to do it.

1) Proof of funds (20,000 baht or equivalent in another major currency, IN CASH ONLY)

2) Proof of onward travel (a ticket out of Thailand within 60 days)

3) Proof of lodging (a hotel reservation, or proof of where you will be staying in Thailand for at least the first few days. A lease agreement is not going to be in your favor when you're trying to argue that you are just a tourist and not living in Thailand)

(The single biggest item in your favor will be if you can show them a plane ticket out of Thailand within 60 days, especially if it's back to your home country)

If you have just spent your 90 days in Thailand and want to get a new stamp, then you are recommended to use a land border bounce agency to drive you to the border and make sure you get out and back in without any issues. These typically leave very early in the morning so they can get you back home before the end of the day. For example in Bangkok, they tend to leave around 4AM. Normal costs anywhere from 4-5k baht. More and more land borders are also requiring 1 or 2 nights out of Thailand if you want to do a border bounce, and using an agent will bypass that requirement as well.

You also have the option of using a "safe entry" agent at the airport if you want to fly out and back to get a fresh stamp. These typically cost around 4-5k baht as well but the price will go up if you've been spending a lot of time in Thailand. This is not the same as Fast Track which just gets you into a faster line.

Getting a tourist visa is an option, but nowhere near a guarantee. There's not really any difference between a tourist visa and visa exempt anymore as they both give you 60 days in Thailand. The immigration officers know they are one in the same and if they think you have spent too much time in Thailand as a tourist, a tourist visa isn't likely to help.

There will be many people who want to say "I entered 14 times without any problems" or "I have NEVER been asked to show money in my 800 years of entering Thailand" but it's not relevant. Unless that person has the exact same travel history as you, and was stamped in by the exact same immigration officer that you are standing in front of, their experience is irrelevant. We are talking about trends here, and the trends show that they are getting more strict across every method of entry into Thailand.

This post won't apply to 99% of people who are coming to Thailand as actual tourists for a few weeks and then going home. But there are a lot of people trying to spend a lot of time in Thailand without a long-term visa, and they are the ones in the crosshairs currently.

Just joined the group. Searching for visa requirements for an Australian to visit Chiangmai in early March for 7 days of tourism. It LOOKS like I don't need a visa at the moment. Just turn up at the airport with a passport good for at least 6 months, some hotel bookings, a ticket out again that's valid and dated, and at least 2,000 THB. What have I missed???

Good afternoon. I'm arriving into BKK next week. 2 months VISA exempt. Last time I flew from Paris, they wanted proof of return ticket. I haven't got one as I intend to visit Laos, Vietnam as well and then return to Thailand. I've already booked accommodation in laos before my 60 days is up. Foes anyone know if I show proof of this whether airlines accept it. Air india this time

Bit convoluted this.

We normally visit Thailand for 4 weeks, so as UK citizens (resident in France) the normal visa waiver thingy is fine. Last trip was 6 weeks and we did a 4 day trip to Cambodia in the middle, so again not a problem. We always entered and finished our holiday from Thailand so had the return flights booked when we arrived.

This time we are planing 6 to 8 weeks, with a possibility of a trip to Vietnam, and maybe Bali, in which case we would return to France from Singapore NOT Thailand. To give us the maximum flexibility, we were thinking of arriving in Thailand, but would book a return flight until we finalised our plan, so would not have a return ticket. Am I right in thinking the Thai immegration at BKK would not allow this, IE entering the kingdom, without a definitive ticket to say you are leaving?

I lived in Thailand from Jun 23 - Sep 24 on a Non-OA retirement visa. I plan to visit in Feb for a few weeks. Would I have any issues on entering with a visa exemption as a US citizen?