Thailand is a great destination for short term travelers, but what about those who wish to stay in the Kingdom of Thailand for a prolonged period of time? In many cases, foreign nationals arriving in Thailand with no visa are stamped in with a thirty day visa exemption. Currently, it is possible to continually renew said exemption by re-arriving at an airport in Thailand. At a land border, foreign nationals arriving in Thailand are only provided with fifteen days of lawful visa exemption status. An upshot of these rules is that long term visa status is harder to obtain in Thailand which has lead to many foreigners seeking longer term Thai visas overseas.
When using the term “long term Thai visa,” we mean visas with a validity of six months or more. In most cases this means a Thai non-Immigrant visa. However, some consider the Thai tourist visa to be a long term visa provided one obtains multiple visas at the same time. Strictly speaking, this author does not consider Thai tourist visas to be long term visas. Thai tourist visas and visa exemption stamps do not imply the same type of residential intent that is in the mind of most people staying in Thailand on a non-immigrant visa. Thai law even takes this fact into account by not allowing applicants to use presence in Thailand on tourist visas as a basis for submitting an application for Thai permanent residence.
Most foreign nationals staying in Thailand utilize either a Thai Business visa, Thai education visa, or a Thai O visa to remain in the Kingdom long term. In many cases, these individuals will initially obtain a 1 year multiple entry Thai visa and then use it as a basis for submitting an application for a Thai visa extension.
Multiple entry Thai visas are very convenient for business travelers who spend relatively long periods of time in Thailand, but leave the Kingdom on a regular basis. This visa provides the benefit of multiple entries and 90 days lawful presence upon each entry. Many expatriates refer to the “bonus” 90 days at the end of the visa’s validity. This so-called “bonus” is actually a 90 day stamp that is given toward the end of a visa’s validity. Basically, this 90 day period could run past the validity period of the initial visa. In short, a multiple entry 1 year visa can provide almost 15 months of lawful presence in Thailand if it is used correctly.
