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

That isn't true. I have been a member of several for years.

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

I am a years-long member of other Thai Visa groups.

My ASEAN traveling experience goes back 6 years. I saw it get ridiculously strict for repeat tourists Pre-Covid. Then after Covid it became very lax but it has been tightening up again in the last year. Are you sure the tightening will stop at Multi-Entry Visas?

I saw a lot of YouTube Vloggers end up moving home because the Visa Rules were getting strict (Ironic because they were bringing a lot of Tourists in). They were giving Visa Advice that changed. The Tourist & Entry rules change regularly in Thailand.

Not the law but how Immigration interprets it. Thailand is not a textual law based culture.

It especially gets hard when Tourism numbers are up and the news about misbehaving tourists goes up also. And they think they have to "Crackdown" again. Are you seeing the trend?

Why should people spend thousands of dollars to buy a Special Visa or Put $26,000 in a Bank account for a Retirement Visa if they can stay 9 months a year on a Multi-Entry Visa?

Again, where do you think Immigration draws the line of what is Tourism and what is something else?

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

No, in the 12 months previous, I also visited 11 countries. Apparently, I should have spent 11 more days in one of them.

Btw, the attorney told me the the Internal Policy was each -Calendar Year-. Not a rolling 12 month period.

But, again, you are missing the point. They can AND WILL change and enforce their own policies on a whim.

Show me ANY documentation that you are "ENTITLED" to an extra 60 days if the validity hasn't run out.

Oh, and even if the Validity hasn't run out by the time you get your 3rd 60 days. It will have definitely run out by the time you apply for your 3rd 30 day extension.

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

"You can" Yes, I am not disputing it. But ask yourself: at what point do they decide someone is not a tourist?

They have discretionary guidelines. They could decide to use those at any time.

I don't think it was fair what they did with me either and I disagree that they applied their own rules and policies correctly. I even consulted an attorney before my trip to make sure I could get back in. He said it -shouldn't- be a problem.

But guess what? It was! They have the -discretion- to draw the line at 180 days.

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

They do it all the time. Does everyone obey stop signs in Thailand?

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

Nobody thanked me. The same sort of problems began happening with Single Entry Visa not long ago also.

It is selective and sporadic. Just because it may work for a few people does not mean it will work for everyone.

That is why they call it Discretionary.

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

I have heard that a thousand times. And it was not a written rule then either but it was an internal guideline to determine if someone is a real tourist.

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

They became more lenient after Covid but I have heard they are starting to go back to the 180 day guideline. Perhaps not yet with the Multi-Entry -Tourist- Visa YET. But I am telling you that it is discretionary. Take it or leave it.

A few months ago people were saying the same sorts of things as you are now about the Visa Exempt Stamp and I said the same thing with pushback from people like you. Now I see many people having problems.

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

I say "almost" because I showed them I just got in from 2 months in Malaysia, Indonesia, & Hong Kong. So they gave me 30 days to leave but still insisted I was not a tourist.

Ok, anyone who follows your advice deserves what they get.

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

No guarantee they will stamp you in beyond 6 months of stay.

If you wait 8 days to enter Thailand and that counts against your stay, why would you be stamped in again to exit beyond the visa Validity?

I was almost refused entry for being in Thailand for 191 days in a 12 month period. They marked my passport "Trying to live in Thailand."

It is discretionary to reject a person staying over 6 months in a 12 month period. The rational being that a Tourist wouldn't need to be in Thailand for 9 months.

They very possibly may conclude you have the wrong Visa.