Is this just ChatGPT with a wrapper?

No. A generic chatbot answers from training data and happily invents a visa rule. Thaissistant checks a knowledge base we maintain before it speaks, shows you which entries grounded the answer, and hands anything live to the Tour Tiger team. Anyone can rent the model we use. Nobody can rent the corpus — or a licensed operator in Maenam who picks up the booking.

How is the information verified?

Every law-and-life entry is researched from a strict source ladder: the Royal Gazette and the statutes first, then the government bodies that enforce them, then official translations — reputable secondary sources only ever as labelled support, and forums never. Each entry names its legal basis, links its sources, and carries the date we last verified the facts. Anything that moves faster than we can verify — office-level fees, officer discretion — is marked 'verify live' instead of stated as fact. The methodology page spells out the whole discipline.

Is this legal advice?

No — and we're careful about the difference. Thaissistant explains what the law says and how processes work in general, with citations you can check. It doesn't advise on your specific case, predict outcomes, or replace a lawyer. For a decision that matters, the entry's sources tell you exactly which authority to confirm with.

Can it actually book things?

Today it takes your request and hands it to a real person at Tour Tiger — often Alexander himself, on WhatsApp or the phone — who checks availability and confirms with you directly. Payments, PromptPay, and calendar booking are planned for Phase 3. The principle holds throughout: automate the conversation, not the transaction, until we can do the transaction properly.

Can it read a Thai document for me?

Yes — paste the text of a letter, a form, a lease, or a fine, and it translates and explains what it means in plain words. Two honest caveats: the translation is unofficial (only the Thai text has legal force), and if the document is high-stakes, it will tell you to confirm with the authority or a professional rather than pretending a chat is enough.

Alexander Wich — founder, and the person who answers the WhatsApp. He built Thaissistant himself, with Claude Code, on top of the business he already runs: Tour Tiger (Thailand) Co., Ltd., TAT Licence 44/00524, a registered Thai tour operator in Maenam, Koh Samui. When the assistant hands you to a human, that human is usually Alexander or someone on his team. Feel free to test that.

What does it cost to use?

For you, asking Thaissistant is free — and so is the knowledge library. For us, a conversation runs about $0.01, the whole 6-month validation budget is under $2,000, and monthly running cost sits at $50-225. Breakeven is one or two extra bookings a month.

Why did this start on Koh Samui?

Because we wanted to be genuinely excellent somewhere before being vaguely useful everywhere. Samui gave us a licensed operator, real products, and real customers asking real questions — the loop that proved the engine. The life-and-law library is that same engine pointed at the questions every foreigner in Thailand has, not just the ones on holiday.

What happens to my data and my question?

If it's a genuine booking or service request, it becomes a lead the Tour Tiger team follows up on — that's the point. We're not in the business of reselling your inbox. Anything specific, write to hello@thaissistant.com.

Visa-exempt entry: the 60-day rule and the approved cut to 30 days

Facts verified · 2026-07-11

Since 15 July 2024, nationals of 93 countries and territories have been admitted without a visa for up to 60 days, for tourism, business engagements or urgent/ad-hoc work, extendable once at an immigration office for up to 30 more days at the officer's discretion. The list includes most of Europe, the US, UK, Australia, Japan, India, China and the Gulf states; Argentina, Chile and Myanmar enter under separate bilateral agreements with their own periods of stay.

That scheme is now on its way out. On 19 May 2026 the Cabinet approved revoking the 60-day exemption for all 93 countries and replacing it with a 30-day exemption for 54 countries/territories, a new 15-day exemption for 3, and a cut of the visa-on-arrival list from 31 countries to 4. The change only takes legal effect 15 days after the Ministry of Interior announcements are published in the Royal Gazette — and as of 11 July 2026 that publication had not been confirmed, so the 60-day rule was still being applied at the border. The forum folklore runs in both directions here: some people still repeat the pre-2024 30-day rule as current, others assume the 60 days is permanent. Neither is right — check the state of the Gazette publication before you fly.

Legal basis

Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), s. 12(1) and s. 34(3); Ministry of Interior visa-exemption announcements published in the Royal Gazette

⚠ Verify live

The 30/15-day replacement scheme takes effect 15 days after Royal Gazette publication, which could happen any week — verify the current entitlement and country list immediately before travel; historic land-border entry caps for visa-exempt travellers could not be verified from official sources this session.

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General information, not legal advice. Laws and practice change; for a decision that matters, confirm with the authority named in the sources or a licensed professional.