Tourist Visa Extension

[SammyJ]

I will be coming to stay in Thailand with a multiple entry Tourist Visa--as I will end up staying about a total of four to five months total--is it better to extend the first tourist visa the 30 days additional and then when that time is up, make a short day trip to Singapore/etc and return to activate the second Tourist Visa and the last 60 days I will need, or--when the first Tourist Visa's 60 days are up, leave the country, return, activate the second Tourist Visa, and then extend it--does it even matter?

Will Thai Immigration extend the first one when they see I have a second one?

Thanks for any advice!

[lopburi3]

Up to you. You can extend any entry if you like. And you only have to enter another country/return to get the second entry; so if you stay less than 4 months you would save the extension of stay cost.

[Tod Daniels]

Unless I am mistaken (which I could be); The BIG caveat is the "Must Be Used By" date. I think most consulates give 90 days, but at most Honorary Thai Consulates in the US you can ask they give 120.

As an example, let's say you get your visa two weeks before coming to thailand, you enter and are stamped in for 60 days. You go to immigrations and extend it for another 30. Then you leave thailand to try to activate your second entry. IF you leave after the "must be used by date", the second entry is expired and you will not get another 60 days. I believe the "Must Be Used By" date is generated when they ISSUE the visa not when you enter thailand. It is always advantageous to get your visa just before you come here rather than several weeks in advance. In a situation where your visa is expired you will get either a 30 day or 15 day visa exempt entry depending on your mode of arrival into thailand (air or land).

This topic has come up quite a lot on T/V with MANY posters having lost their second entry because they extended their first entry by 30 days yet failed to note the “Must Be Used By Date”.

Sorry, these are my observations only, and your mileage may vary, and again I freely admit I could be wrong. Please wait for more learned posters to weigh in on my comments. ..

[thaiphoon]

Most consulates issuing double/triple entry tourist visas do so with 180 day expiry date from the date of issue. Vientiane is a notable exception to that within the region - 90 days only.

[SammyJ]

Thanks very much for the information--I think I will wait a bit more before obtaining my multiple tourist visas--(review carefully, what the "use by" date is, and then use the first 60 days, depart Thailand and then get my other 60 days and then extend if necessary.

Thanks again to all for sharing advice.

[thaiphoon]

Small point, but a tourist visa is issued with a fixed number of entries, and in your case you would be applying for a double entry tourist visa (allowing 2 entries). The word 'multiple', as in multiple entry, applies to Non-Immigrant visas and would allow the holder unlimited entries into the Kingdom whilst the visa is valid.

[thaiphoon]

One post removed as seperate topic raised.