Most people can get a 30 day permission to stay stamp when they enter Thailand at any of the international airports in Thailand. You must be able to show means of being able to leave Thailand such as a confirmed onward or return air ticket. Simply telling them you could travel out of the country by bus or car won't work. This 30 days can be extended by leaving Thailand and then re-entering at one of the land borders or by air. On reentering at a land border crossing you will only be given 15 days, and if you fly into the airport you will get 30 days. It doesn't matter how long you are out of the country just that you entered another country and came back. Also you must have been stamped out of Thailand then Stamped in and out of the other country to be admitted back into Thailand, This is commonly called the Border Run, there is no longer a limit on how many border runs you can do, but it can be time consuming as well as costly.

Travelers from the following countries can obtain this 30 day permission to stay at the airport.

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Macau, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland, USA, and Vietnam.

Sixty day tourist visa is good for one entry, on entering you will receive sixty days. At the end of that sixty days you can apply for a thirty day extension at any immigration post, this will give you another 30 days for a total of 90 days. After that you must either leave Thailand or do a border run as described above.

Type "O" or multiple entry visa, the "O" stands for other. Most common of these is the one year multiple entry "O" for retirement. With this type of visa you still have to leave (visa run) but when you return they will give you sixty more days and that can be extended for thirty more days at any immigration office for 1,900 Baht. Theoretically this type of visa will give you fifteen months. If you do a visa run just before the "O" visa expires you will get sixty days beyond that plus thirty if you apply for a thirty day extension from immigration.

Retirement visa is basically an extension of the "O" visa, you are required to posses a valid "O" visa before you can apply for the retirement extension. to qualify you must be fifty years old or more. Have suitable income of 800,000 Baht per year or 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank for no less than three months or a combination of both. Some immigration offices can issue you an "O" visa and then give you a retirement extension all at the same time, if you qualify. After you receive your retirement visa you will be required to report your address every ninety days. Reporting your address is very easy and only takes about five minutes at the immigration office. Below is a list of what you will need when applying.

• Passport
• Two passport size photos (can be done next door to the immigration office)
• Copies of passport and bank book (can also be done next door to the immigration office)
• A letter from a Thai bank stating you have a bank account with them.
• Proof of income either one of the following
  • A bank balance of 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank for at least three months, Or
  • A letter from your Embassy stating you have pension income of 65,000 baht or more a month
• Fee to be paid at time of applying 1,900 Baht (non refundable)

Pattaya immigration is located in Jomtiem Soi 5. Get on the road going south that leads to Jomtiem from Pattaya named Thap Phraya. Keep going straight until you get to Chom Thian Soi 5 (the new name) then turn right towards the ocean then it is only 110 meters on the left, and yes I measured it. If you have Google earth you can copy and paste these coordanances in to the search and Google earth will fly you there. 12.897731,100.871513 You can also click here Pattaya Immigration then look for the building below.