Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing yet again Thai Visa Exemption Stamps here on this channel, and yet again with an influx of fairly new folks to Thailand, especially those who are looking to stay here long-term and kind of looking to do so in my opinion kind of in a cobbled together ad hoc manner, we are are hearing a lot of talk about “well how many Visa Exemption Stamps can I use in a given year?” 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Immigration and the new Government. Quoting directly: "The latest rule allows Visa exempt tourists to receive 60 days on arrival with a 30 days' extension at local Immigration. Nothing in print prevents these tourists from leaving the country - for example on a border hop - and repeating the procedure indefinitely. That would mean a permanent leave to remain in Thailand without any Visa simply by briefly leaving the country - even for an hour or two - four times a year. No need to show any paperwork of any kind." Yeah, that's not the case it has a practical matter.

We have done videos on this channel many, many times talking about that. The indefinite Visa exemption died right around the time I first came to Thailand some 17 years ago. In fact it was replaced by a scheme which at the time you were only allowed to get three 30-day stamps in a given 6 month period, and then some people would cobble together like a Tourist Visa with that as I recall, and then try to like cobble together a year out of that whole thing. It was an ad hoc way of doing things is what I would say about that, but it no longer exists. And I don't know who the writer is or whatever with regard to that article, but in point of fact we do have a great deal of guidance on the issue of exemptions in a given year. There was a Decree in The Royal Gazette. We did videos on it some years ago talking about the fact that there was a Decree on that issue and they brought up the fact that in a given year folks who had certain passports, basically those that had passports that allowed for Visa Exemption, those folks would be able to enter Thailand twice a year - two entries per year - without a great deal of hassle. Now it didn't preclude further entry but the presumption was past two, significant scrutiny would be applied to those trying to come to Thailand and use Visa Exemption Stamp to effectively live here. 

As discussed in other videos on this channel, there have been many major relaxation sort of changes if you will, to Thai Visa Law, to Thai Immigration Laws; we've seen a great many of the regulations especially on long-term status rolled back, we are now seeing a longer visa exemption stamp. But that being said, the presumption that one can just sort of live in Thailand indefinitely on a Visa Exemption Stamp has not only proven wrong in the past, we do have a Royal Decree or a Decree from The Royal Gazette I should say, regarding such entrances so we do have guidelines for that. Again it doesn't preclude further border runs in and out but at the end of the day, the rule is, well I shouldn't say the rule but the current guidelines dictate two entries per year without heightened scrutiny. Past that, you're going to be looking at heightened scrutiny; you are going to be looking at Immigration enforcement; you're going to be having to deal with those kinds of things. So again, the rule of thumb in my mind is nothing has really changed with regard to the policy on exemptions other than the fact that the stamp itself is for a longer period. It's now for 60 days with the option to extend by another 30, as opposed to the past where it was 30 days with the option to extend by 30. 

So the thing to take away from this video is, no, I don't think it is prudent to presume that you can use the Visa Exemption Stamp indefinitely here in the Kingdom of Thailand. 

I'm going to do a quick bumper for a lot of these Immigration videos that we are going to be doing moving forward because there are a number of options that have come up here recently and unfortunately there has just been a lot of nonsensical talk throughout the ether of the internet as well as in even like the mainstream press; the print press has been talking a lot about Immigration and quite honestly, not all of the conclusions that they are drawing are correct. So the point of this bumper if you will, is for me to just kind of remind people, it is not a terrible idea to contact a legal professional who deals with Immigration on a regular basis because there are a number of options now available for foreigners looking to be in Thailand long- term. Some of them are going to be more optimal than others depending on your own circumstances.