Thai Immigration, entry stamps and onward tickets

Since I plan to stay in Thailand for a max. of 30 - 45 days in the next 6 months, I have decided to go for the 30 day (visa exempt) entry stamp.
I have also decided not to purchase a "30 days after arrival onward ticket" beforehand. I (Canadian passport) will be flying Oct 31 from Vancouver with EVA Air via Taipei to BKK, return ticket end of April. Here are my questions:

1. How strict are EVA Air on check in Vancouver regarding a Thai visa/onward ticket after 30 days ?
2. Should Thai Immigration in BKK ask me to provide an onward ticket dated 30 days after my arrival - will Thai immigration let me purchase a ticket (Lao Air/BKK Airways to Vientiane) without any problems on the spot or will they pack me off on the next flight home? Anyone with practical experience?
3. Can I change the dates on a Lao Air/BKK Air effortlessly several times to comply with the 30 day ticket rule? Costs? Anyone with practical experience? I think Air Asia etc. do not refund tickets or readily change them?

I know the consensus in this forum is to simply get a 60 day visa - but, as stated above, I will spend very little time in Thailand over the next 6 months.One reason being that I really do not feel all that welcome anymore, for a number of reasons. I understand their desire to get rid of some of the riff raff, but this could be done in a much more straight forward manner (i.e. in Thailand rather than at embassies in surrounding countries), but that's a different topic all together.

Thanx for all your input.

1. It really depends on the agent you get. I have had an agent once simply ask me when I was leaving Thailand. I told her verbally that it would be in about 5 days. She said ok and issued my boarding pass. If you run into serious problems at the airport, just hop over to the internet somewhere and get a ticket out.
   
   2. There are reports of it happening here and there, but it has not happened to me. You know the drill though ... just don't dress like a hippy and smile. You should have no problems. Overland from Cambodia seems to be another story.
   
   3. I suppose that would depend on the availability of the flights and the fare basis rules for what you booked. You could book a refundable ticket, but who knows when you would get your refund.

Look, the chances are everything will go smoothly. Eva Air will let you fly. Thai immigration will smile and stamp your passport. But you could also be unlucky and get a nasty gate agent or an immigration officer who has decided to do her job by the letter, and then your trip is suddenly down the tube. You have a Royal Thai consulate right at 1040 Burrard in Vancouver. It's just SO easy to get a tourist visa there which will negate all of these concerns. And the 40 dollars it will cost is cheap insurance. Just about any last-minute flight option or ticket change will cost you as much or more. And much more hassle.

It's obvious the Thais are trying to steer the visa exemption option toward the classical vacation tourist who flies in, stays 2, 3 or 4 weeks, and flies home again. This is probably because it was abused so much in the past by visa runners. They really should come up with something for people planning to use Bangkok as a hub to make lengthy trips throughout the region, but they haven't, so we have to observe their rules.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>It's obvious the Thais are trying to steer the visa exemption option toward the classical vacation tourist who flies in, stays 2, 3 or 4 weeks, and flies home again. <hr></blockquote>
Tha'ts it.. in a nutshell!

This same question comes up every day, but only once a week by me. I feel it is time to speak up for my people, all those other cheapskates out there who just don't want to pony up the 40 bucks.
If you were stopped from boarding, refused entry at immigration, or shot please let us know. If you breezed through and are now holding a cold coconut with a straw in it, we want to know.
Many Thanks

# 1 & 2 : Thanx, but, still would like to know if there is a possibility to buy an onward ticket (even if accompanied by an immigration officer)
inside the immigration area (I know it is possible once you are through, of course). Has anyone on the TT ever been asked to do so?
# 3 : Yep, sure seems so
# 4 : Nothing to do with cheap charlie :-) just hate to feed any government coffers unnecessarily. May just end up getting one of those visas, though.Will let you know if they castrate or shoot me.....

Thanx

Its not possible to know the airlines attitude in advance siince its the decision of the check in supervisor if you will be allowed to fly. Try and contact the airline and ask to be put thru to someone who has authority to make ruling on this and have your ticket endorsed.

If you have not done lots of visa runs in the past , come from the list of countries tourists usually come from . no criminal record that might be encoded in your passport or is on the computer , have never been banned from Thailand , then you don't have to worry about Thai immigration on arrival .
This question is asked over and over again , but so far nobody has come up with direct reports of being given hard time by immigration for not having ticket . There is no evidence that supposed tightening of enforcement is aimed at ordinary tourists . In the case of undesirables immgration has been known to force them to get ticket , in one case I know of one person who had once been banned for drug offences was made to get ticket out of the region . His ticket to KL wasn't good enough , thats the reason some airlines prefer you to have ticket out of the region , not just to nearby country . In most cases they will just grumble though.

Another way out if you want to be sneaky is to print out fictional e ticket ininery on a computer and pass that off as your ticket out . Not endorsing or promoting that , but its a fact of life on the travel scene that people do that.

And its not clear what Thai immigration is trying to do . They are asking some people at the Cambodian borders for tickets sometimes , but not doing that at other borders . For some reason they seem to have problems with serial visa runners on Cambodian border but are less concerned with other borders , who knows what they are trying to do.

"Nothing to do with cheap charlie :-) just hate to feed any government coffers unnecessarily"

Therefore you are willing to feed the coffers of Lao Air or Bkk airways ? Because a ticket with them will cost three to four times as much as a tourist visa.

What will be your total stay in Thailand anyway, you do know that you cannot stay longer then 90 days on exempt stamps ?

Post # 7 : Yes, I know about the 90 day rule within a 180 day time period - been reading about this in the many other threads. As mentioned in my question - I only plan on a total of 30-45 days in 6 months for a number of reasons.

Feeding the coffers, well, I guess that's why I said "unnecessarily", I can always use up a plane ticket.

I think post # 6 sums it up nicely - the average Joe Tourist will be let in (by air at least) without a hassle. And if they really make me buy a ticket - so be it.

Post # 7 (same poster as # 6): Yes, this is definitely aimed at the visa run folks. But, once Thai consulates have gotten a taste for the money they can make on visas - who knows?

I now remember a conversation I had with a Swiss or German fellow Jan/Feb 2007 who claimed he simply bought two ( 30 or 60 days I don't know) tourist visas from a consulate in his home country!! I have never heard of this before - but why not?? I guess the expiry dates would be an issue. Next time I am in Toronto I'll drop by the Thai consulate and ask them.

"who claimed he simply bought two ( 30 or 60 days I don't know) tourist visas from a consulate in his home country"

Of course, he bought a double entry tourist visa, which will give him 2 x 60 days inside the country (each entry can be extended for another month @1900 baht), this visa is valid for 6 months, which means that he must make sure to use his last entry inside this 6 monhts.

RE#9,
"BY AIR AT LEAST".
No , the average tourist will be let in at the land borders including Cambodian border . Even if they ask you for ticket and you don't have one they will still let you in.
"IF THEY MAKE ME BUY TICKET".
No , in your case they will not make you buy ticket , or threaten to deny entry.