Mike E Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 Hi guys, thanks in advance for your help. I just arrived yesterday and am here on a simple Visa exemption or Visa on arrival I guess? My passport is stamped and good for 6 weeks. So, I'm planning on heading down to Hua Hin once I'm out of quarantine and want to know the process to extend my VISA for another month or longer. My understanding is that I can get two, one month extensions. Should I get my first extension here in Bangkok before heading to Hua Hin or is it just as easy to get an extension, say a week before my current stay expires while down in Hua Hin? Or am I wrong on all counts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stubuzz Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 I think you can get it done anywhere. By the way, did you have to get 30 or 45 days insurance for the COE? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 46 minutes ago, Mike E said: My understanding is that I can get two, one month extensions. You can only apply for one 30 day extension of your 45 day visa exempt entry (a visa on arrival is only for 15 days). If extended beyond the 29th of this month you may be able to apply for a 60 day covid 19 extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike E Posted January 18, 2021 Author Share Posted January 18, 2021 29 minutes ago, stubuzz said: I think you can get it done anywhere. By the way, did you have to get 30 or 45 days insurance for the COE? Because I am hoping to stay a minimum of 90 days, I got 90 days of travel insurance. Very reasonable cost. Much less expensive than I was paying for insurance back in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hav Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 12 hours ago, ubonjoe said: You can only apply for one 30 day extension of your 45 day visa exempt entry (a visa on arrival is only for 15 days). If extended beyond the 29th of this month you may be able to apply for a 60 day covid 19 extension. I saw different 'opinions' on this. Some say 45 days can't be extended, some say it can. Is it really possible to extend the 45 days you receive when entering the country? Been trying to call the embassy to clarify this but the line is always busy. As a european i wouldn't go for the tourist visa. Don't see a point in that. I want to stay 2 months and understood the tourist visa doesn't add 15 days for quarantine like the visa exempt. So it's actually only 45 'real' days which I would need to extend by 30 days anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritTim Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 5 hours ago, hav said: Been trying to call the embassy to clarify this but the line is always busy. A word of advice: do not ask the embassy about anything that is not directly related to the services provided by the embassy itself. The embassy has no idea what happens at immigration in Thailand, even under normal circumstances. There is absolutely no reason why the regular 30-day extension of a visa exempt entry should not be available and, if not, a Covid-19 extension would probably be possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike E Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 7 hours ago, BritTim said: A word of advice: do not ask the embassy about anything that is not directly related to the services provided by the embassy itself. The embassy has no idea what happens at immigration in Thailand, even under normal circumstances. There is absolutely no reason why the regular 30-day extension of a visa exempt entry should not be available and, if not, a Covid-19 extension would probably be possible. So, is there a certain time that you should start attempting to get the Covid-19 extension? For instance, can I ask for it as soon as I get out of quarantine even though I've still got a month on my stay? Or is it better to wait until I get closer to the end of my allowed stay? And to get the extension, you just go into any Immigration office? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritTim Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 6 hours ago, Mike E said: So, is there a certain time that you should start attempting to get the Covid-19 extension? For instance, can I ask for it as soon as I get out of quarantine even though I've still got a month on my stay? Or is it better to wait until I get closer to the end of my allowed stay? And to get the extension, you just go into any Immigration office? You should apply for a regular extension of a visa exempt entry within the last seven to 10 days of the expiry of the initial permission to stay. You cannot usually apply earlier. You can apply at any immigration office, provided you are staying within the service area of that office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hav Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 18 hours ago, BritTim said: A word of advice: do not ask the embassy about anything that is not directly related to the services provided by the embassy itself. The embassy has no idea what happens at immigration in Thailand, even under normal circumstances. There is absolutely no reason why the regular 30-day extension of a visa exempt entry should not be available and, if not, a Covid-19 extension would probably be possible. good point, thank you! Haven't thought of that. So I should get this insurance covering 100.000$ and covid treatment for the whole journey including the extension (45 + at least another 30 days). I wonder though what they will say at the airport when i arrive on visa exempt, but the date of my flight back home is 75 days after my arrival instead of 45 days?! If they ask at all. Any advice on this? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritTim Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 4 minutes ago, hav said: good point, thank you! Haven't thought of that. So I should get this insurance covering 100.000$ and covid treatment for the whole journey including the extension (45 + at least another 30 days). I wonder though what they will say at the airport when i arrive on visa exempt, but the date of my flight back home is 75 days after my arrival instead of 45 days?! If they ask at all. Any advice on this? Thanks! It is unclear whether you should specify an initial journey of 45 days or 75 days. The problem is that extensions of stay are not, officially, automatic. Although virtually always granted, they are in theory at the discretion of immigration. There is a risk that there could be problems if you state you are planning a visit longer than that permitted automatically for a visa exempt entry. My advice is not to take that risk. If possible, get a return ticket where you are permitted to change the return date. As an alternative, get the cheapest available throw away onward flight out of Thailand within 45 days. If you only have insurance for 45 days, that should not be a problem when the time comes to request an extension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salerno Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 10 minutes ago, hav said: I wonder though what they will say at the airport when i arrive on visa exempt, but the date of my flight back home is 75 days after my arrival instead of 45 days?! If they ask at all. They never ask, but, good chance you won't get a COE. Get ticket you can change or get a throwaway cheap ticket to a nearby country that's open or get one of those "fake" tickets (all booked within the 45 day period). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hav Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 Thanks to both of you! Just saw that changing the return flight is free for every ticket with Lufthansa, no matter the category. So I will book a ticket for a 45 days duration only. After my arrival, I move the return flight to another date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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