If you are thinking about visiting Thailand for tourism, business, and other purposes, you will need to understand the immigration rules. This means that you will have to know about the number of times you can visit Thailand every single year. Furthermore, you may want to know how long you can stay during each visit to the country.
Generally, the number of times you can visit Thailand in a year depends on the type of visa you hold. Some people can only visit the Land of Smiles 2 times a year whereas others can go to Thailand as many as 4 times in a single year. Therefore, you need to consider your peculiarities to determine how many times you can visit Thailand in a year.
You must understand that the rules for the number of times a person can visit Thailand can be quite complex. Your country of residence and purpose for coming to Thailand will also have an impact on how many times you can visit Thailand in a calendar year. So, you need to carefully read the various points that will be explained later in this article.
Tourists have restrictions on how many times they can visit Thailand
Firstly, let us clarify one important thing. There are restrictions for how many times a tourist can visit Thailand in a year. But what qualifies you to be a tourist in the Land of Smiles? Being a tourist means that you don’t have a visa that allows you to stay for an extended period in Thailand. This could mean that:
- You have a proper tourist visa that allows you to stay for as long as 6 months in total during a calendar year OR
- You don’t have a proper tourist visa but get a 15-day or 30-day visa exception stamp at the immigration office when entering Thailand.
Regardless of the category you fall into, you should know that there is a maximum amount of times you can enter Thailand. Generally, you cannot spend more than 6 months in Thailand during a calendar year as long as you are considered to be a tourist.
Two times for entering via land borders for those without a proper visa under the Visa Exemption List
According to the Thai Embassy, there is a new rule that affects the number of entries into Thailand via the land borders. Some foreigners are allowed to enter Thailand under the Visa Exemption List. Notably, these foreigners are from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Australia, Belgium, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Italy, Japan, etc. Check this page to see the full list of the countries.
If you are coming into Thailand through the border posts at Malaysia, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos without getting a visa, you will only get a stamp to spend 30 days in Thailand. However, you are only allowed to visit Thailand TWICE between January 1 and December 31 of the same year. This means that the maximum duration you will be able to spend in the country will be 60 days. Staying longer than this period could lead to a penalty, except you are coming in through other means.
This rule is expected to encourage more expats to get a real visa before entering Thailand.
6 times via airports for those without a proper visa and entering under the Visa Exemption List
If you are from one of the countries under the Visa Exception List but don’t have a proper visa, you can increase the number of times to visit Thailand by coming through airports. Under this rule, you are allowed to get a 30-day stamp for as many as 6 different times from January 1 to December 31 of a particular year. Based on this rule, you can stay for a total duration of 180 days in Thailand within a single year if you fall under this category.
Expectedly, you will need to pay some amounts to get your visa stamped for an extension of your stay for 30 days.
Many times if you are on a tourist visa but for a maximum of 180 days
In case you have a proper tourist visa, you can come into Thailand as many times as you want without any restriction but there is a catch to it. Basically, you cannot spend more than 6 months in Thailand in a year if you are on a tourist visa.
As many times as you want if you have a proper non-tourist visa
Do you have a proper visa that is not a tourist visa? If yes, you can visit Thailand as many times as you want. As long as you have the right visa, you can come into Thailand several times without any restrictions. The visas that qualify for these multiple entries include:
- Non-immigrant B visa – this visa is designed for people that are visiting Thailand for business reasons. You can be a business owner or just someone doing business with another person or entity in the Land of Smiles.
- Non-immigrant O visa – this is the visa given to people that are married to Thais. It allows you to come into Thailand as many times as you wish in a year.
- Non-immigrant OA visa – this visa is meant for individuals that want to retire in the Kingdom of Thailand. It is worthwhile to understand that you must be older than 50 years before this visa will be issued to you.
As clearly shown above, there is a restriction to the number of times you can visit Thailand in a single year if you are a tourist. However, the specific number of times you can visit depends entirely on your possession or non-possession of a proper visa. Besides, your country of residence can also have a significant impact on how many times you can visit Thailand in a year. However, if you are on any category of a non-immigrant visa, you can visit or live in Thailand as many times as you want in a year.
