If a tourist visa runs out at the weekend and the Bangkok Thai Embassy is closed on the weekends will it be ok to get an extension at the Embassy Office on the Monday after the weekend which the visa runs out, or does it have to be before the weekend?

Before, or you'll pay overstay!!

You should do a few days before as you lose nothing and then it is not an issue if you are ill or bad weather. If you obtain on first day open after holiday it will be accepted however.

just to be a pendant, there is no Thai embassy in Bangkok. Thailand doesn't need its own overseas representation in its own country.

So tell the Taxi driver you need to go to immigration at Chaeng Wattana, otherwise he might look at you a bit strangely.

Edited December 25, 201114 yr by samran

Samran - beat me to it.

Samran - beat me to it.

yaay. Do I win something???

Cheers guys!

You should do a few days before as you lose nothing and then it is not an issue if you are ill or bad weather. If you obtain on first day open after holiday it will be accepted however.

But it is not a holiday as such.

In reality the OP should go before, if he goes after he is really on overstay, to say "Oh you were closed at the weekend" is not a viable excuse.

Yes it is. If immigration is closed for any reason you can extend on the next open day.

Yes it is. If immigration is closed for any reason you can extend on the next open day.

Everyone knows Immigration is closed at the weekend so to use that as a reason not to extend your visa is very poor indeed, it can be done beforehand. Under the letter of the law the Op or whoever does it after a weekend can be charged for overstay.

Prior planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance.

He will not be charged for overstay if done on the first workday after expiration of entry. This is official policy and known to foreign Embassies and so stated on US Embassy as below (bold is mine):

Expired short-term visas can be extended after paying a fine, but the number of days elapsed since expiration is subtracted from the extension period. Application for extension must be made by the next working day after visa expiration to avoid a fine.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/thai-visas-for-americans.html

He will not be charged for overstay if done on the first workday after expiration of entry. This is official policy and known to foreign Embassies and so stated on US Embassy as below (bold is mine):

Expired short-term visas can be extended after paying a fine, but the number of days elapsed since expiration is subtracted from the extension period. Application for extension must be made by the next working day after visa expiration to avoid a fine.

http://bangkok.usemb...-americans.html

Do you change the oil on your car when the engine has seized or before?

To do it before costs nothing, and makes you look interested in following the rules of the country you are staying in, doing it afterwards makes you look like someone who is not really interested in Thailand.

The American Embassy page is quite good, here copied from the British Embassy

Don’t overstay your welcome. You are automatically fined for each day you remain in Thailand beyond the date stamped in your passport. If you cannot pay, you could be arrested.

Edited December 26, 201114 yr by beano2274

Flame and reply to it deleted.

Going the first working day after immigration is closed is wihin the rules, not bending it. If it is wiser to go early is another matter.