Chiang Mai Immigration - Extension Of Stay

[fridgemagnet]

Yup, thanks for the reply. I will do as asked.

[ericjt]

The CM Immigration Office recently put a "take-a-ticket" system in for retirement, marriage, religious, and other visa renewals falling into that category. They limit tickets (ie, people they will see that day) to 40 per day for those kinds of visas -- 20 tickets during the morning and 20 in the afternoon. But they give out all 40 tickets on a first-come-first-served basis when the office opens in the morning. Once those 40 tickets are gone, they don't give out any more until the next day.

If you get one of the first 20 tickets, you will be seen in the AM. If you get one of the second 20 tickets, you will be seen in the PM, after lunch. And if you get one of the high number tickets, you can count on waiting most of the day. I say that because some people who don't get one of the 40 tickets for that day choose to wait and hope that another ticket becomes available. And if you're not there when they call your number, your spot can go to one of those other people who are waiting -- sort of like lining up and waiting "standby" for a full flight.

The result is that you need to get there early and queue up, making every effort to get one of the first 20 tickets. I think the office makes exceptions for visas that are about to expire or other hardship cases, but exceptions are at the discretion of the people working in the Immigration office.

For me, when my visa comes up for renewal, if this system is still in place, I'll gather up all the necessary documents/photos while I still have around 20 days before expiration and plan on being there by about 7:30 AM. That might be a little extreme, but it should limit my renewal to just one morning and keep the process as hassle free as possible.

Hope this is helpful --

[gotlost]

The CM Immigration Office recently put a "take-a-ticket" system in for retirement, marriage, religious, and other visa renewals falling into that category. They limit tickets (ie, people they will see that day) to 40 per day for those kinds of visas -- 20 tickets during the morning and 20 in the afternoon. But they give out all 40 tickets on a first-come-first-served basis when the office opens in the morning. Once those 40 tickets are gone, they don't give out any more until the next day.

If you get one of the first 20 tickets, you will be seen in the AM. If you get one of the second 20 tickets, you will be seen in the PM, after lunch. And if you get one of the high number tickets, you can count on waiting most of the day. I say that because some people who don't get one of the 40 tickets for that day choose to wait and hope that another ticket becomes available. And if you're not there when they call your number, your spot can go to one of those other people who are waiting -- sort of like lining up and waiting "standby" for a full flight.

The result is that you need to get there early and queue up, making every effort to get one of the first 20 tickets. I think the office makes exceptions for visas that are about to expire or other hardship cases, but exceptions are at the discretion of the people working in the Immigration office.

For me, when my visa comes up for renewal, if this system is still in place, I'll gather up all the necessary documents/photos while I still have around 20 days before expiration and plan on being there by about 7:30 AM. That might be a little extreme, but it should limit my renewal to just one morning and keep the process as hassle free as possible.

Hope this is helpful --

Why wait for 20 days before? You can renew 30 days and sometime more before your extension to stay expires. Also only 0730AM? I was there at 0700AM and I was number 6 in line by 0825 there were 50 people waiting. When 0830 arrived they said the machine was broke and to line up at the counter, you should of seen the circus.