@Lloyd *******

"based on the visa-class" I would say, not only "on the visa". And the rest of your comment is 100% correct

@Russell *******

wrong. The 12-months extension is the 1-year extension of the 90-days stay permit you got stamped into your passport when you entered Thailand using a 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa. You don't have a "visa" any more after you got stamped into Thailand . . . . .On Immigration you show them your originally issued Non-Imm-O Visa, and they will issue a "1-year Extension of the Stay Permit" . . that's what the EoS stamp says. Many people here don't understand the difference between a visa and a stay permit, that's why you read so much utter nonsense in the Facebook groups . . this is what you wrongly call "visa extension" . . . WHERE is there ANY mentioning that this thing is a "visa" ?

@Colin ********

thank you, I shall enjoy

@Colin ********

" if the OP were to go to try to apply for the first extension of stay any more than 30 days before that original Visa expires" . . . . . this is wrong. It is 30 days before the 90-days admitted STAY PERMIT expires, which he got stamped when he entered Thailand, not "before the visa expires". Because the visa already "expired" i.e. it became used and void when he entered Thailand on it. Why people always confuse the visa validity with the lenght of the stay permit stamped, it's out of my range of understanding, mainly because almost every Thai Embassy website is mentioning the difference so you can avoid this mistake

@Edward *********

it is always less expensive to buy the re-entry permit at the Immigration office. The best method is, buy the re-entry permit right after you have been issued the "1-year Extension of the Stay Permit" stamp in your passport. In most Immigrations, you will need two passport size pictures for the application to a re-entry permit

@Edward *********

" One time is only ฿1000 but multiple reentry will set you back about ฿2500." . . . . . . . . .that was definitely wrong and you didn't really understand what they said. A multi re-entry permit is 3800 THB on every Immigration office in Thailand. At the airports you have to add 200 THB to the above fees of 1000 for single and 3800 for multiple, if you don't bring readily prepared application forms and passport size pictures

all copies you present Immigration can be black and white, but your signature on each copy must be done in blue ink

@Edward *********

the copies can be black and white, but your signature on each must be done in blue ink

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 this calendar year (since January 1, 2025).

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.

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 per calendar year. This is a misconception, and some agents spread this information to make profit from panicked people. Some agents are warning that you should not believe FAKE NEWS telling you that visa-exempt entries are limited to two per calendar year.

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, 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 2-4 weeks, and the total annual stay must not exceed 157 days (some will say not exceed 180 days)

And there should be several weeks or months between each 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.

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" is defined as "per calendar year."

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 single-entry tourist visas plus two extensions, with a few months interval between each stay, is good to go for a maximum of “touristic” 180 days "per a 1-year period" (not per calendar year – as this is calculated differently)

@Tod ********

rather small, less than of a page, compared to the half-page Extension stamp