Can I travel on visa exemption while tourist visa is processing?

I’m thinking of going to Thailand at short notice and would like to potentially stay >30 days. I’m from the UK so eligible for visa exemption, and know that I must apply for the tourist visa while outside the country if I want >30 days.

It seems I need to book plane tickets before applying for visa, so my question is __can I do things in this order?:__

1. Book the tickets e.g. in 5 days
2. __Apply for a tourist visa on the website__
3. __Fly there on visa exemption before the tourist visa is finished processing__

Of course if I get declined, I would leave within 30 days, but want to know if they’d likely decline me on this basis or it’s acceptable.

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