Tourist visa re-entry

[coolestuk]

I hope it is ok to ask (I've looked through the back threads, and can't find a message that answers this question)....

I want to visit Thailand for 6 months of each year for the forseeable future - probably in two 3 month blocks over the year.

I live in London.  Would it be best to get a multiple entry visa from here?  Can I get one multiple entry visa that would cover two 3 month stays (plus external trips) that is valid for 12 months?  Or would I need to get a new multiple entry visa for each 3 month trip?

[george]

Yes, the best is to obtain a multiple B-visa. This one is valid for unlimited number of entried @ 90 days each. Actually it is valid for 15 months if you enter the last time just before the visa is expiring.

You will need an invitation letter from a Thai company, or a British company saing that they are sending you on business mission etc.

[coolestuk]

Thank you for your advice, George.

But I am not going on business.  Rather, I am going there to live with my boyfriend until we can accumulate the necessary 2 years of cohabitation, so that he can then get a visa to enter the UK as my partner.

In the light of this, do you know if the ordinary multiple-entry visa will permit me to visit for 3 months (and make one or two external trips and re-enter within that 3 months).  And I believe that the multiple-entry tourist visa is valid for 6 months, but I am not clear if that means 6 consecutive months, 6 months from issuance, or 6 months total stay in Thailand.

Any help appreciated.

[fester]

A double entry Tourist visa will do the job. On your first entry you will get 60 days, you can extend that visa with 30 days for 500 baht. Total 90 days.

In order to use the second entry you must travel out of Thailand and in again. You will then get another 60 days, extendable with 30 days. Total 90 days.

That's 6 months!