Been lurking this forum for weeks to obtain information about getting visa extensions in Thailand. I am grateful for all the information, which has helped me immensely.

 

In return, I thought I'd contribute my field report from my trip to Chaeng Wattana to get 60-day Covid extensions for myself and a partner. I hope this helps to alleviate some concerns about the process.

 

Our application was successful.

 

We entered Bangkok with the Test and Go programme in December 2021 under a 60-day tourist visa. We got our 30-day extension in January 2022 and went to do our 60-day Covid extension today (2nd March).

 

Before we left our hotel, we brought with us (i) our passports, (ii) our TM 6 cards, (iii) a printout of our hotel's guest register showing our check-in and check-out dates.

 

((iii) ended up causing a hiccup as I will recount later)

 

The Process
Arrived at Chaeng Wattana at 12:45 pm. Filled in the form saying that I'd been fully vaccinated and done ATK tests within 72 hours. Was not asked for any evidence (your mileage may vary, though).

 

Headed straight for one of the photocopy shops downstairs.

 

Paid the lady 130 baht to photocopy the relevant passport pages and fill in the Covid extension forms for me.

 

I noticed she'd ticked the first option on the affidavit - the one that says the applicant cannot return due to the ongoing Covid pandemic (or words to that effect).

 

Got my queue number at 1:02 pm. 46 people were ahead of me in the queue.

 

Got called up to the counter at about 2:45 pm. Handed in my passport and forms. The immigration officer processed everything, handed me back a screenshot with all my addresses while I was in Thailand, and asked me to sign it. Signed, handed over my 1,900 baht.

 

However, my partner's Covid extension was more difficult. The immigration officer said she could not find any evidence of my partner's TM30 details - even though we are staying in the same room at the same hotel. Without the valid TM30 details, my partner's Covid extension was mai dai.

 

We produced document (iii), as we'd specifically asked the hotel for these details because we'd be going to immigration. This wasn't satisfactory, apparently, because the officer needed to see the TM30 details in the database, and they weren't there.

 

At this point, another immigration officer stepped in and asked if she could help resolve the problem. I called the hotel manager, who asked to speak with the immigration officer, and off they went conversing in rapid fire Thai. After about 45 minutes of phone conversations, apparently the hotel manager had sorted everything out with immigration, and my partner got her Covid extension too.

 

We were done at approximately 4:15 pm.

 

Additional Notes

 

These are my observations after only two trips to Chaeng Wattana, so take with a pinch of salt.

 

1. The immigration officers felt grumpier this time round compared with last month. Maybe they're dealing with a heavier workload now with the resumption of Test and Go.
2. Immigration wasn't awful; in fact, that one lady who stepped in to help us put in a lot of extra work to make sure everything was in order. We appreciate her effort, instead of being forced to come back again another day.
3. While waiting for my problem to be sorted out, I noticed that immigration was _extremely_ strict about the TM30 filings. This corroborates many of the other messages I've read in this forum saying similar things.
4. No details were asked, or given, about a return flight, my health insurance status, whether I had accommodation arranged for the next 60 days, or the state of my finances.
5. I did not employ any visa agent. I got all the information I needed to complete this process from this forum.

Well written OP.