Hi all

I have a friend here in Thailand that is on a Fulbright Scholarship doing research in the Chiang Mai area. She is a U.S. citizen. Her initial 90-day Non-Imm F visa is coming up for renewal on December 8, if I remember correctly. She is trying to find informaiton on the correct procedure for extending it since she will need to be here until July 2013.

On the MFA website, I found the following:

6. EXTENSION OF STAY

Those qualified persons can obtain an additional one year stay permit counting from the date of entry in the Kingdom pertaining to the Office of the Immigration Bureau's regulations on extension of stay. The extension of stay is at the discretion of the Immigration officer.

N.B. Applicants wishing to stay in the Kingdom longer than 90 days have to file their application either at the Thai consular mission aboard or at the Office of Immigration Bureau in Bangkok located on Government Center B, Chaengwattana Soi 7, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, Tel 0-2141-9889 (or website at (

http://www.immgration.go.th

) . The consular officer must refer the case to the Office of Immigration Bureau for approval. Upon receiving approval, the consular officer may issue the visa as instructed by the Bureau.

From that information, it appears that she has to submit the extension application to the office in Bangkok. Does anyone have any experience with this type of visa? Can the extension be done in Chiang Mai rather than having to do a trip to Bangkok? What documentation is necessary for the extension? You would think the Fulbright folks would know but they were not particularly helpful for her.

Any information appreciated.

David

I'm surpised Fulbright doesn't seem to know. They run several programs in Thailand and seem to know how to handle the visa and extension process and do that for a large group of persons having a scholarship with them.

The F-class visa is a special kind of visa and don't know about extending them. I would urge her to try through Fullbright again.

I'm surpised Fulbright doesn't seem to know. They run several programs in Thailand and seem to know how to handle the visa and extension process and do that for a large group of persons having a scholarship with them.

The F-class visa is a special kind of visa and don't know about extending them. I would urge her to try through Fullbright again.

Mario, I was surprised about the Fulbright folks too. As you say, they run several programs here and have for some time.

David