A friend of mine, many years in Thailand, married to a Thai, has a non immigrant O visa which expires in the summer. This summer she wishes to visit friends in the UK but has been told by Immigration that she cannot because her visa will be out of date by the time she returns and she cannot renew it any earlier than its current expiry date. OK, I accept that she can attempt to obtain a visa from a Thai Embassy in the UK, but she intended to travel around and really doesnt want the hassle of applying, attending interviews etc. My question is this...has there been a change in the rules which stipulate that a non immigrant visa (and of course the subsequent re-entry permit) cannot be obtained any earlier than its expiry date? It makes absolutely no sense to me, as it would mean my friend will never be able to travel abroad in the summer!! Daft!! I assumed she could show evidence of travel and visit Immigration a month earlier to start the process, maybe losing a few weeks of the visa, but she has been to Immigration in person and been told she cannot. This is the second person I know who has had problems extending a visa in the last month, hence my wondering if there has been a rule change. Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

She can apply for a prolonged stay within 30 days of the current expiry date, but since it is a prolonged stay based on marriage she would not be able to get the approval right away because such permission is decided in Bangkok. Hence, she would first be given a temporarily stay called "under consideration". The total time might be too long and that could be the reason why the immigration officer said what he did.

Are you talking about a visa or an extension of stay based on marriage?

She can get a non immigrant "o" by post from the Hull Thai consulate. No interviews are necessary.

You can apply as early as 30 days before your current extension expires, often even earlier if there is a good reason for it, such as travel abroad. But stgrhe hits the nail on its head when he says that you are under 30 days under consideration when applying for an extension of stay based on marriage and you have t come back after those 30 days. She might get into troubles with this and that is way immigration will be reluctant to comply. Also the extension will be scrutinized by head quarters in Bangkok, making officers less flexible.

An extension of stay always starts on the date your current extension of stay ends.