Questioner: Jan
Can you still make a border run following a tourist visa single entry and an extension of 30 days to extend your stay by 45 days? I thought I understood that you can only stay in Thailand for 180 consecutive days in a period of 90 days. Or am I mistaken in this?
Reaction RonnyLatYa
1. The website of the Thai embassy states the following
“….foreigners who enter the Kingdom under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay of not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry.”
https://www.thaiembassy.be/visa/?lang=en
This means that you can only stay in Thailand for a maximum of 90 days out of 180 days when this is done on the basis of “Visa Exemption”.
2. If you were to make a “border run” following a period of stay obtained with a “Tourist visa” and then re-enter on “Visa Exemption”, this rule does not count because it only applies to stays obtained with “Visa Exemption”. In that case, that count would only start from your border run and your entry on “Visa Exemption”. The previous period of stay obtained with, in this case, a “Tourist visa” does not count.
3. By the way, I don't think that this rule is really strictly applied, but apparently the rule does exist according to the website of the embassy and then it can also be applied. Personally, however, I think that this will only emerge with people who frequently and then usually use the “Visa Exemption” “back-to-back”. Those people will usually be told that the next time they wish to enter Thailand, they must first apply for a visa.
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