We couldn't walk around Bangkok at night with our children because all the street markets had sex toys and videos. Perhaps we were just in the "wrong" part of town. I am sure there are more family friendly parts of BKK but we clearly were not staying there.

Double check this - I recall if you visit are in Thailand more than X days a year, they 'might' require a visa....it's not always enforced and I think it was to keep riiffraffs with little money to stay long term.

Sorry to read this...Bkk is such a nice place and what you ran into is usually confined to only a few locations.... which unfortunately includes the lower Soi areas on Sukhumvit [tourist area for some].

I've never heard of this (which is not to say it doesn't exist).

In December 2008 a change was made to visa exemption stamps where entry by air continued to receive the 30 days and entry by land was limited to 15 days. This was absolutely intended to target the 'riffraff' and deter them from multiple visa runs.

At the same time a prior policy, whereby foreigners could only use visa exemption stamps for 90 days in every 180 period, was scrapped.

Are you possibly remembering the latter, no longer used, policy?

I was also referring to that rule... on the site of the Thai Consulate in Amsterdam the following text is posted:

If you travel to Thailand for 30 days or longer, or if you intend to visit Thailand multiple times in a short period of time, than you are required to get a visa.

That last part is probably not really enforced and couldn't be more vague (how many times in how short a time frame?).....

And of course the visa they offer are of no use when you intend to make Thailand your base of travel, you can only get a multiple entry visa for 3x90 days. And each entry will mean one of those 3 periods will be used, even when staying less than the 90 days.

The quote you give is likely a relic of the policy that is no longer in effect.

There are periods where I'm in and out of Thailand seemingly 3x per month and nothign is ever said to me.

Visa requirement: not sure if up-to-date
 

Attention American Citizens:

The Thai Immigration Bureau recently announced a change in Visa Regulations that is scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2006. This change will affect citizens of 39 countries, including American citizens, who are exempt from obtaining a Thai visa prior to entering Thailand. Effective October 1, 2006, American citizens who enter Thailand without a visa will be allowed to stay in Thailand for 30 days per visit as before. However, the total duration of stay in Thailand for American citizens who enter Thailand without a visa cannot exceed 90 days in any six-month period, counting from the date of first entry.

American citizens who wish to remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days during any six-month period will be required to obtain a valid Thai visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate that is authorized to issue visas. The U.S. Embassy advises all American citizens who wish to obtain a Thai visa to contact the Thai Immigration Bureau for exact visa requirements and regulations. Persons who do not comply with the new visa regulations risk being denied reentry to Thailand at the border.

The U.S. Embassy has been attempting to seek clarifications and additional information from the Thai Immigration Bureau regarding the change in visa regulations. To date the Embassy has been unable to determine whether American citizens who have been in Thailand for 90 days or longer without a visa before October 1, 2006 will be considered
to have reached their 90-day limit on October 1, 2006, or whether the 90 days will start from the first time the American citizen crosses the border into Thailand after the new regulation goes into effect. When/if the Embassy receives a definitive answer to this question we will post that information on the Embassy's web site at:
http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/index.htm.

As I said earlier, not sure how strict they are with enforcement [or whether they have amended it since 2006]....

That sound like the reason for the statement I found.... not too bad, with travel outside the country 90days will be 4-5 months.

I know guys that live in Thailand full time and have been doing 'Visa Runs' for 10 years.

THis is no longer in effect since, in Dec 2008, the new regs were instituted whereby arriving via land gave a 15 day visa exemption allowance but by air remained at 30 days.

The reasoning, so I'm led to believe, was if you can't afford to fly in and out then the gov doesn't want you hanging around.

I had some friends who were "diverted" to KUL when BKK was shut down by the PAD. They came overland into Thailand and were among the first to receive the 15 day allocation... which they were not aware of expecting 30 days. It was quite a surprise, and expense, when they left 27 days later.

It is a relic and no longer in effect.

What's the big deal for getting e resident visa for Thailand? Is it expensive like Australia or NZ? Is it complicated? When I checked the financial requirement was only $20K or so in the bank.

The retirement visa has, along with the ~$20K requirement, the need to show monthly income and is only eligible to those over a certain age.

Then the fun begins with filing. And I'm pretty sure you need to present yourself at immigration every 3 months like those who hold other types of non-immigrant visas.

The best way if you're not old enough (50) for a retirement visa, is to get a Non-Immigrant Ed Visa. You can sign up for a Thai language school and they'll walk you through the visa process. 5 years ago it was 30,000B/year and 15hrs/week. Both are probably more now.