Extension confusion...

[whophant]

Hi all,

 

I have a bit of a concern, and would love to get some clarification from all of the experts in the room. ????

 

My wife and I are leaving Thailand for a vacation, and are having a British tourist come to our house for those 28 days to watch our darling little cat.

 

My concern / question is about our pet-sitter's visa - he has just been to Thailand, and got the "new normal" 45 day visa on arrival, and then left the country without needing to get an extension. Now he will arrive in a couple of weeks for his second visit - about a month after his first visit - and this time will apparently get only 30 days, and so will need to get his extension (from Chiang Mai immigration, BTW).

 

Since he's not done any extensions in the past, I assume he will have no problem getting a 30 day extension this time, and I believe he can do it pretty much as soon as he's registered in a guest house in Chiang Mai.

 

He has been researching, though, and the articles he's read seem to indicate that he will need to get a TM30 and bring  it to the immigration office in order to obtain his extension.

 

So my question (finally!) is, is this the actual case? Will he need to obtain and bring a TM30 to get his 30 day extension?  If so, can he just get that TM30 from the guest house - a copy of it, at least?

 

I have been on a retirement visa for so long now that I don't know the current rules, but I don't remember ever having to provide a TM30 for an extension, and google searches sure do lead to a wildly unclear and contradictory set of "facts"!

 

So please if somebody has the real story on the most recent requirements I would be so very appreciative - it's late in the game, and our vacation kind of depends on it...

 

Thanks a million - this is a fantastic and valuable forum!

 

[DrJack54]

13 minutes ago, whophant said:

Will he need to obtain and bring a TM30 to get his 30 day extension? 

Yes.

You can do a TM30 for him or to keep it simple he could check into cheapest hotel that does TM30 for guests.

He would need to ask hotel if one they file TM30 and two can give home screenshot of that. 

Immigration will issue an extension.

 

BTW...it's irrelevant how many 30 day extensions someone has had

[Upnotover]

The guest house should do a TM30 for him (they are obliged to do so but not all do) so ought to be able to give him a copy of it (usually done online so a screenshot of their submission should be enough).

[Red Phoenix]

Most Immigration Offices only provide the 30-day extension of stay, when the applicant has 14 days or less left on his Permission to stay as stamped in his Passport by border-immigration.

Since you will be away when that normal application window starts, your 'pet-sitter' guest could book a night in a cheap Hotel/Guesthouse in order to get hold of a copy of the TM-30 (he doesn't even have to stay that night, and might bargain a further discount as he only needs a copy of that TM-30 issued in the morning before he goes to Immigration). 

Every owner of a place where a foreigner is staying is required by Thai law to notify the local Immigration Office that a foreigner is staying at their premises using that TM-30 form.  And immigration requires that  the applicant for a 30-day extension, provides a copy of the TM-30 as 'proof of his address in their province'. 

Actually if your 'pet-sitter' is staying at your house, it is you (or your wife or the landlord) - that has to notify the local Immigration Office of that fact.  This can be done on-line, but it requires that you need to register your house on the Immigration TM-30 website. Although it is not rocket science, I can imagine that you do not want to do that, so the real or virtual one night in a Hotel/Guesthouse to allow your pet-sitter to get hold of that TM-30 would probably have your preference. 

NOTE: In case you do want to register your house, so that you (or your wife or the landlord) can notify Immigration of your 'pet-sitter' staying at your premises and issuing a TM-30 for him staying with you, do send me a PM and I will send you an instruction sheet on how to do that.

[whophant]

Thanks so much to both of you -  @Upnotover & @DrJack54. This is exactly the information I needed, and I feel a lot more clear and less concerned.

 

If anybody can recommend a cheap guest house that they know will definitely file a TM30, and can provide it to our pet-sitter - and maybe one close to CM immigration - that would be wonderful.

 

Thanks again!

[whophant]

But now Red Phoenix has me all worried again, possibly because his answer is (just maybe) needlessly complex and not entirely true/relevant.

 

I have always heard that a person can file for an extension right away, and this idea that:

 

"Most Immigration Offices only provide the 30-day extension of stay, when the applicant has 14 days or less left on his Permission to stay as stamped in his Passport by border-immigration"

 

is totally new to me..

 

Further, I believe that another TM30 only needs to be filed if a person is going into a new province, and our house is in Chiang Mai province, so I'm not sure how this is applicable.

 

But if I am wrong - especially about our guest having to wait until later in his stay before he can file for an extension - please, somebody else out there, would you disabuse me of my misconceptions? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Red Phoenix]

9 minutes ago, whophant said:

But now Red Phoenix has me all worried again, possibly because his answer is (just maybe) needlessly complex and not entirely true/relevant.

 

I have always heard that a person can file for an extension right away, and this idea that:

 

"Most Immigration Offices only provide the 30-day extension of stay, when the applicant has 14 days or less left on his Permission to stay as stamped in his Passport by border-immigration"

 

is totally new to me..

 

Further, I believe that another TM30 only needs to be filed if a person is going into a new province, and our house is in Chiang Mai province, so I'm not sure how this is applicable.

 

But if I am wrong - especially about our guest having to wait until later in his stay before he can file for an extension - please, somebody else out there, would you disabuse me of my misconceptions? 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Sorry if my post confused you, that was not my intention.

In summary > Every premisse (be it a Hotel, Guesthouse or friends) where he is staying is in principle required to notify local Immigration using a TM-30 that a foreigner is staying at their place.

But your pet-sitter only needs one copy of the TM-30 notification when he applies at Chiang-Mai Imm Office for his 30-day extension of stay (that could be the one issued by the Hotel in the morning before he applies at Immigratio for the extension).

Rules in Chiang Mai may differ but normally Imm Offices only issue the 30-day extension when there is 14 days or less left on the Permission to stay.

 

[itsari]

30 minutes ago, whophant said:

Thanks so much to both of you -  @Upnotover & @DrJack54. This is exactly the information I needed, and I feel a lot more clear and less concerned.

 

If anybody can recommend a cheap guest house that they know will definitely file a TM30, and can provide it to our pet-sitter - and maybe one close to CM immigration - that would be wonderful.

 

Thanks again!

We run a guest house and give a tm 30 when requested . We give a start date and a finish date of there stay .

Red advice not wise 

[DrJack54]

36 minutes ago, whophant said:

I have always heard that a person can file for an extension right away, and this idea that.....

Disregard some of the post.

Common is to apply for 30 day extension couple of weeks early.

However often folk apply earlier. 

 

As I mentioned in earlier post .. a screenshot of hotel filing his check-in is sufficient. 

[DrJack54]

25 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Rules in Chiang Mai may differ but normally Imm Offices only issue the 30-day extension when there is 14 days or less left on the Permission to stay.

No. 

An application for a non O from visa exempt or tourist visa requires 15 prior to expiry.

In fact at CM it's 21 days.

 

As for 30 day extension to visa exempt or tourist visa that can be done up till expiry date and as early as ...."depends on the office" 

Normal is couple of weeks prior however many reports of applying basically just after arrival.

Meaning 30 days early. 

 

 

 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, whophant said:

I have always heard that a person can file for an extension right away, and this idea that:

The 30-day extension of a visa exempt entry will usually only be given, at best, during the last `14 days of the initial 30-day stay (and it can be less, possibly only the last 7 days, at a few immigration offices, especially if they are busy).

 

If you have already submitted a TM30 for your guest, forget about guesthouses. That will not be necessary. Just make sure he has a copy of the TM30 receipt you received.

[Drumbuie]

Can your British tourist apply for an e visa online from the Thai Embassy in London? 60 day Tourist Visa would mean no extension needed... https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/how-to-apply-for-thailand-s-e-visa-stickerless?page=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072dd&menu=5f4b6eb3f6ae4b236972c562

[whophant]

Wow, so many responses - thank you all so much!

 

The big question, I guess, is about how soon my pet-sitter can apply for his extension, specifically at the Chiang Mai immigration office.

 

The issue is that he is arriving on the 15th of May, and we are leaving on the 18th, and will be gone for 28 days.

 

So if he arrives and doesn't get his extension, he cannot stay at our house the whole time - his visa will run out before we come back, so he would have to travel all the way down to Chiang Mai (about 2 hours) during that time.

 

This would be a hassle for him, but also our main goal is to have somebody with our cat the whole time we are gone, without even a night or two away.

 

So, to be as focused as possible, I would like to ask:

 

Does anybody know, with at least reasonable certainty, if our guest can go to the Chiang Mai immigration office and get a 30 day extension for his visa on arrival right away - the first couple of days after he arrives - or does he have to wait until the last two weeks of his visa?

 

Really, I can't thank you all enough for your help so far!

[Red Phoenix]

12 hours ago, itsari said:

We run a guest house and give a tm 30 when requested . We give a start date and a finish date of there stay .

Red advice not wise 

OP does not have a guest-house.  But it would be possible for him to register his house on the TM-30 Immigration website, and having done so he would be able to notify Immigration that his friend is staying at his premises AND create a TM-30 for his friend with start and finish date of his stay.  That would at least avoid that his friend has to make a Hotel-booking to get hold of the required copy of the TM-30 notification for his 30-day extension application.

[sandyf]

31 minutes ago, whophant said:

The issue is that he is arriving on the 15th of May, and we are leaving on the 18th, and will be gone for 28 days.

 

So if he arrives and doesn't get his extension, he cannot stay at our house the whole time - his visa will run out before we come back, so he would have to travel all the way down to Chiang Mai (about 2 hours) during that time.

Over thinking it a bit. Although I can see your concern over the extension it is not somehing that requires your involvement.

As the guest is staying at your house the TM30 would require your involvement and I would suggest that as soon as the guest arrives you both go to immigration and physically submit the TM30. The guest would get a receipt from immigration which would take away any concerns on that issue while you were away.

At the same time enquiries could be made about the extension and it may be granted there and then. If not the guest can return as suggested by immigration.

It is very unlikely that an extension would not be granted but in a worst case scenario you will return 31 days after the guest arrives which would mean a very short overstay with little penalty.

[whophant]

Thanks to both @sandyf and @Red Phoenix for your replies, but I think we're getting way off topic.

 

My only question at this point is - can a person on a visa on arrival apply for an extension at the Chiang Mai immigration office right away - that is, within a day or two of arrival - or do they need to wait until the last couple of weeks of their stay.

 

Not to be too picky, but I would love to mainly hear from people who are pretty sure about this, from recent experience or reliable anecdotal evidence, and specifically for the Chiang Mai office.

 

Thanks so much!

[Lemsta69]

8 hours ago, whophant said:

can a person on a visa on arrival

to the best of my knowledge a Visa on Arrival can not be extended.

[Upnotover]

16 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

to the best of my knowledge a Visa on Arrival can not be extended.

Which is irrelevant in this case as that is not what he will have.  As is often the case the wrong terminology has been used throughout this thread.