@Eddie *****

lol, are you suggesting that the well-known fact that exemption isn't gonna work forever is a rumor on Facebook? 🤣 You do realize that you are embarrassing yourself?

@Eddie *****

only works so many times.

@Shakoor ****

no, you are only misleading. The question is whether entering by car is okay and it is, it yields the exact same resistance as flying.

If you only plan to stay 6 months total, it's much easier just doing visa exempt + extension twice. It doesn't prohibit studying (no visa prohibits that) and you save yourself the hassle of the non-ED and its extension. There are also stories about immigrations officers not understanding that studying is actually a thing and wrongly assuming that having a non-ED visa, or having had one in the past, means that you are currently trying to stay in Thailand unrighteously (so if you get a non-ED now, you can be 'punished' for that until forever).

@Ricardo ********

international driving permit.

I don't understand a few things in your post. You speak of "bypassing", but you do have a valid driving license from another country by the context? So you should be able (with an IDP) to prove that you can drive to the Thai authorities? Then what stages are 'bypassed'? Of nobody with an overseas license (and IDP) would be required to take lessons and exams.

Second, although the "switch" would make some sense (what would be the point of forfeiting one's license if you just have another one you could drive on), the Thai DLT doesn't actually switch your license. You get the Thai license in top of your current.

In most western countries this is not the case. They actually switch, as it says. So if your first licence obtained is Thai, then the procedure to get one from a western country is interestingly complicated (if you don't want to do an exam again): get Thai license, get Thai IDP (can get after 2 years), switch both to license in different country, get IDP in that country (normally it doesn't require two years, Thailand is a little off with that), go back to Thailand, get Thai license again using foreign one and IDP. Then you have both (and still one IDP).

Land entries are no longer capped at two per calendar year.

@Shakoor ****

but it isn't necessary, which is what he asked.

Yeah these checks are messy sometimes. They don't actually care, and probably know very well that immigrations doesn't actually check this either. But they have to check some box in their system or it won't accept your check-in. Technically the Laos visa is meaningless, and neither have airline crew discretionary rights to deviate from rules, but I can see why they do it.

@Luc *******

they can't give you a 60 day visa exempt stamp even if you asked. You can't not use a visa or re-entry if you have it.

Airlines can also not just randomly ask for return tickets. They pre-check whether you are eligible to enter, and with the reentry permit a return ticket isn't required. No matter how many days are left, the extension is aimed at long stay and that's how the accompanying entry rules are defined: no exit travel ticket required.