Looking to extend your visa? We’ve done it plenty of times now, here’s the essential rundown:
Thailand is a huge and exciting country, and any backpacker who plans to visit will very quickly realise that their planned length of stay is just not enough! Before leaving England, we purchased a 60 day tourist visa, thinking that that would be sufficient to see all the southern islands and Bangkok, before moving on to Cambodia. However, we hadn’t counted on Bangkok’s bustling and chaotic charm seducing us to the point of wanting to live here for a few months!
For those with expiring visas, there are two options to make sure you can stay longer. Firstly, you could take a day or two ‘running’ to another country to cross the border and back again, and steal yourself another few days. However, the easier, and usually cheaper, option is to visit an Immigration office, and apply for a visa extension.
The office in Bangkok is located about 15 minutes by taxi from Mo Chit BTS or Chatuchak MRT. It shouldn’t cost any more than 120 baht (£2.50) when using the meter. Ask the driver for ‘Immigration Government Complex in Chaeng Wattana’, and get him to take you to building B.
The Government Complex Building is huge, and you can find shops, cafes and even a 7-11 in the basement. Before you go into the Immigration office, visit the copy shop downstairs. You will need a passport photo, a copy of your photo page in your passport and a copy of your visa stamp before applying for the extension, and this copy shop is only 1 baht per page!
The Immigration office itself is very obvious by the main entrance. You will need to go to the desk and ask for a visa extension form, fill it out at the desk provided, then walk through the door at the end to the next room. The next desk will check your paperwork, and issue you a queue and desk number. Find the appropriate desk, and wait for your number to be called. This has never taken us more than an hour, but its always a good idea to take a book and a bottle of water just in case!
You will be issued an extra 30 days if you have a 60 day tourist visa, and 7 days if you have a 30 or 15 day free visa on arrival. The fee for all extensions is 1900 baht (about £40). The office is open 8.30am until 4.30pm on weekdays (don’t forget they stop for lunch: 12pm – 1pm!) and 8.30am until 12pm on Saturdays.
Try to share a taxi with others on the way back, odds are everyone’s heading to the skytrain or metro.
Good luck, it’s easy!
Sarah x
Two One-Way Flights 