Expect To Spend All Day Getting A Visa Extension In Thailand
If you’re planning to travel to Thailand, the process for getting a one month visa is easy. You can get it upon arrival by filling out a short form and providing your passport.
In my case I arrived by ferry boat from the island of Langkawi in Malaysia to the island of Kolipe, in Thailand.
You have to hand over you passport when you board the boat. Once you reach Kolipe, you do the paperwork, get your passport stamped and returned.
The process is similar if you arrive by other transportation.
Getting the one month extension is far more complicated and time consuming.
In Bangkok, you go to the LAKs I.T.S mall, not the immigration center like it tells you online.
I started the process at 8:30 am and didn’t get finish until almost 4pm. I would recommend packing a lunch.
You Need To Go Thru 4 Steps
Step 1.
The first step is to fill out and sign three forms asking for all of your personal information. passport number, phone number, and where you’ll be staying. You also have to provide a passport photo to put on the last document.
Step 2
This involves standing in a long line, which takes hours to get thru, to get your papers stamped and approved. You are given your papers back and a number, then told to take a seat in another section.
While I was standing in line I read a sign advertising.that you could make an appointment and avoid much of the waiting. I didn’t find this information online. It would be worth looking into.
From 12 noon until 1pm the staff takes a lunch break, so everyone grabs a chair and sits at their place in line for an hour.
Step 3
You wait until your number is called. It can also be seen on some large hanging cards in front of the seated section. You are called in groups of five enter an office of 10 desk workers.
You then take another seat inside the office and wait to be called to the next available desk. This is where you pay. In my case it was 1900 baths, equal To about 52 dollars.
Step 4
You go back out and wait in the seated section again until you are called to receive your visa extension.
If you fail to extend, you can get charged 500 bahts, about 14 dollars for every day you overstay.
Thanks for reading.
I hope this article was helpful if you are planning to travel to Thailand.
