Littlewei Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Hi I'm an American Passport holder that got a 3 month tourist visa in Kuala Lumpur. Will I be able to extend one more month at Phuket immigration without leaving the country? When I search on the internet, it says that a tourist visa is usually 60 days and then you can extend one month without leaving at Phuket Immigration. However, when I went to get my visa in KL, they gave me 90 days to my surprise. Does this mean I can still extend 1 month or does this mean that this is all I can get and I must leave the country after it expires? I'm pretty far from Phuket immigration, so do not want to drive there to find out the answer beforehand if I can avoid it. Thanks so much for the help in advanced! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beechguy Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) I think you are misunderstanding the dates. The 90 days is how many days the visa was valid to be used, they should have stamped a permission to stay date 60 days in your passport upon entering Thailand. Yes, you can apply for an extension at any immigration office, and no need to wait until the last day. Edited January 16, 2014 by beechguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 You are completely right. I just noticed that. Man these visas are very confusing! When I asked the person who gave me the visa at the Thai embassy what the enter before February 13th meant, she said I just needed to leave Thailand by February 13th. So I just thought I got a 90 day visa. So now I just was looking though my passport and noticed that I got a stamp that said "Admitted until January 13th" when I entered the country. So unfortunately I've overstayed 3 days. I took it for granted that the visa counter person in KL gave me a clear explanation and didn't think to double check the stamp when I entered the country. I've found on the internet that tourist visas are actually 60 days for Americans, and that you can extend 2 times, 30 days each. But considering I've overstayed already, what does that mean? Does this mean I must leave the country since I overstayed? Or can I just go to Phuket immigration and pay a fine for overstaying 3 days and then pay a fee for extension until Feb 13th? Its very frustrating because you would think a visa should say exactly when you need to leave by or how long you can stay, rather than you needing to check the stamp at entry. I did also find this one the web. Can you confirm whether or not its true? Expired short-term tourist 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. So from this article, it looks like I do not have to leave the country and can just pay an small overstay fine and then pay the extension fee until February 13th. But then can I extend a second time for another 30 days until March 12th? Any insight would be much appreciated! I have a small daughter (toddler), so leaving the country is a real headache for us. So I really hope I don't have to do it! Thanks so much in advanced! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beechguy Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I would go to immigration and explain your situation, hope fully they will just levy the fine and let you extend. You will only get one 30 day extension, however, ow if you cross the border by land you can get a 30 day visa exempt entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 So it sounds like its just up to the officer if they want to fine me or make me leave the country? Seems like there is a lot of mixed information out there when I'm looking at previous posts asking the same question. Some people say that its stupid to go to immigration and they'll make you leave the country that same day. That sounds horrible, especially with no one to take care of my daughter. Anyone have a recent experience like this they can share? Should I bring my daughter to phuket immigration? At least they will know its not easy for me to just up and leave the country. I really don't have any one to take care of her. My good friend that I would trust is in Japan now and her father is in the US. My daughter has overstayed too, but I do know of the law that any child under 14 has no penalties of overstaying even if its for years. Should I bring her and not bring her passport and only mine? Any other thoughts or advice? Feeling a bit nervous and not sure what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sceptict11 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Just go to immigration soon --------the longer its left the worse it becomes ! You will have to pay a fine of 500bht /day overstay but the immigration guys will give you the extension less the overstay time. There will be no problem with the child's "overstay" Be smart , polite and apologise for the oversight ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Should I bring my 3 year old daughter? Seems like almost all Thai people have a soft spot for kids and are much nicer to you when you have them with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sceptict11 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Should I bring my 3 year old daughter? Seems like almost all Thai people have a soft spot for kids and are much nicer to you when you have them with you. That is a decision you must make ! Be aware that Phuket Town immigration can be a busy and not very "child friendly " place. You could also consider using the Patong immigration office which tends to be quieter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 You are completely right. I just noticed that. Man these visas are very confusing! When I asked the person who gave me the visa at the Thai embassy what the enter before February 13th meant, she said I just needed to leave Thailand by February 13th. So I just thought I got a 90 day visa. So now I just was looking though my passport and noticed that I got a stamp that said "Admitted until January 13th" when I entered the country. So unfortunately I've overstayed 3 days. I took it for granted that the visa counter person in KL gave me a clear explanation and didn't think to double check the stamp when I entered the country. ... See if this link helps a little to clear up the confusion: What does the visa expiration date mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Thanks, it now all makes sense. But seriously, I think they must do this just to make people overstay and pay fines or divert payment to immigration rather than the embassy. Its pretty damn confusing. Any other visa I've gotten in any other country (and I've traveled a ton) has everything written on the actual visa that you need to know. Thanks for everyone's kind advice, will head to immigration this morning straight away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 What, exactly, is it that you find missing in the tourist visa you received at the Thai embassy in Kuala Lumpur? A definition of the word enter? Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 No. What is missing is the amount of time you are allowed to stay before you need to leave or extend. That information is on the web or in other documents, but not on the visa itself. All other visas I've received from other countries have an issue date, a last day to enter and the length of time you are allowed to stay. And I've traveled to 25 countries and never got confused as to when I need to leave. Thai tourist visa's don't have the length of time you are allowed to stay on the actual visa itself. So when I asked the Kuala Lumpur embassy person who gave me the visa when I needed to leave Thailand or how long I could stay, she simply said it was the same day as the last date to enter. In some ways its true, but its much trickier because I'm paying an overstay fine for not leaving or extending by 60 days and not the actual 90 days that the visa is good for. Her English wasn't very good, so she didn't explain that you must look at the date stamped when you arrive as to when you need to leave or extend. Other countries, the last day to enter is the same as the last day to extend or leave. If you didn't notice, I'm a native speaker of English, so no need to be insult me. No need to cancel out your good karma for the post you gave me trying to help clarify the issue for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sceptict11 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 No. What is missing is the amount of time you are allowed to stay before you need to leave or extend. That information is on the web or in other documents, but not on the visa itself. All other visas I've received from other countries have an issue date, a last day to enter and the length of time you are allowed to stay. And I've traveled to 25 countries and never got confused as to when I need to leave. Thai tourist visa's don't have the length of time you are allowed to stay on the actual visa itself. So when I asked the Kuala Lumpur embassy person who gave me the visa when I needed to leave Thailand or how long I could stay, she simply said it was the same day as the last date to enter. In some ways its true, but its much trickier because I'm paying an overstay fine for not leaving or extending by 60 days and not the actual 90 days that the visa is good for. Her English wasn't very good, so she didn't explain that you must look at the date stamped when you arrive as to when you need to leave or extend. Other countries, the last day to enter is the same as the last day to extend or leave. If you didn't notice, I'm a native speaker of English, so no need to be insult me. No need to cancel out your good karma for the post you gave me trying to help clarify the issue for me. No. What is missing is the amount of time you are allowed to stay before you need to leave or extend. That information is on the web or in other documents, but not on the visa itself. All other visas I've received from other countries have an issue date, a last day to enter and the length of time you are allowed to stay. And I've traveled to 25 countries and never got confused as to when I need to leave. Thai tourist visa's don't have the length of time you are allowed to stay on the actual visa itself. So when I asked the Kuala Lumpur embassy person who gave me the visa when I needed to leave Thailand or how long I could stay, she simply said it was the same day as the last date to enter. In some ways its true, but its much trickier because I'm paying an overstay fine for not leaving or extending by 60 days and not the actual 90 days that the visa is good for. Her English wasn't very good, so she didn't explain that you must look at the date stamped when you arrive as to when you need to leave or extend. Other countries, the last day to enter is the same as the last day to extend or leave. If you didn't notice, I'm a native speaker of English, so no need to be insult me. No need to cancel out your good karma for the post you gave me trying to help clarify the issue for me. If as is claimed , an "experienced" traveler would check what an immigration officer had stamped in the passport. It is entirely the immigration officers decision as to how long anyone is allowed to stay ------in any country. Failing to check an entry stamp is a personal failure ------nothing to do with "visas" , immigration or competency in the use of English. Guess my "karma" is now exhausted ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 I never said it wasn't my failure to look at the stamp. But the reality is that in many other countries, the immigration does not stamp a date you need to leave by when you enter the country. They simply stamp the date you entered. Yes, they are ultimately able to decide how long you stay, but they follow what the embassy gives you unless there is a special reason they want to overrule that decision. Like if you seem suspicious for some reason, they have the right to give you a stamp that can cancel your visa which says how long you could originally stay. My last reply was only because I don't really understand why someone who seems super kind and helpful would condescend another person by saying that I don't know what the words "date to enter" means in English when its 100% clear that I'm a native speaker. Are you here to help people or find opportunities to hurt people's feelings for no particular reason? I'm here because I care that I'm following the law and I know I made a mistake and I want help to rectifiy it. I have a responsiblity to a 3 year old child to do so. And I made sure to thank everyone who did respond to my post. My question is why are other people here? To genuinely help people or to find opportunities to direct negative energy towards people who have less experience in Thailand than they do, who come here seeking much needed help? I don't know the answer to that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sceptict11 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 (edited) "But the reality is that in many other countries, the immigration does not stamp a date you need to leave by when you enter the country" True ............which could result in a world of trouble if one overstayed ! Thailand, on the other hand, are very helpful in indicating exactly how long an individual is permitted to stay ! However ....... for example, last time I entered the USA the stamp given by the immigration officer clearly indicated I was allowed a 90 day stay --------------Guess that is OK for the USA and not for any other country ? Always wise to check what is entered in ones passport ! Edited January 18, 2014 by Sceptict11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 18, 2014 Author Share Posted January 18, 2014 Why would it necessarily be a world of trouble? The visa says how many days you can stay. The date entered is also stamped in your passport. So you add the days and then know when you need to leave. Overstaying in other countries sometimes results in no fines at all, or trouble with the police like it does in Thailand. Only warnings if its not excessive. There is no disagreement on what you are saying about looking at the stamps carefully. Double and triple checking everything is the right thing to do when you are not super experienced in a country. But that is the life of a traveler or expat. Everyone will make a mistake on something or need help clarifying something. I have no idea what the USA does cause I'm a citizen and have never had to get a visa there. Nor did I claim that the USA has great policies or procedures that are more fair or less confusing than Thailand. My question is why are you trying to start an argument that doesn't exist? I just said that what I experienced was confusing to me based on my past experiences. It does seem less confusing if you have all the information in one place - the one piece of paper that is the visa. This website wouldn't have even gotten started if Thai visas were super straight forward and no one needed help to clarify things. I lived in China for 7 years and there is no website that has this much talk about visas, not even anything close to it at all. Its much more straight forward. If you'd like to start an argument that doesn't exist, you are free to do so. Just don't know what the motivation behind that is though... Sounds like we've been to different countries and have had different experiences, so there is nothing to argue about. My child has a fever and pinkeye and coughing up a storm during the night. That's why I'm awake this late. So I won't go on any longer. I just think people who answer posts to help shouldn't turn around and take the opportunity to try and start arguments that don't exist. Its just plain negative and sad. But thank you for your initial help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sceptict11 Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I do not want an argument ! Sorry about the little one -- Hope the child recovers soon You kicked this off by implying that somehow -----"they" deliberately make people overstay ! To repeat it is a personal responsibility to ensure one understands and abides by the immigration rules of any country. Just admit your "mistake" get over it and stop trying to deflect blame ! Interesting that you claim to have a US passport but DO not understand US immigration laws ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paz Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Littlewei, do not be put off by the karma spoiling presence in this thread. It's a little like flies, they have to be there and do what they are programmed for. BTW, you are absolutely correct, the Thai immigration system is confusing, inefficient, and unfair. And as soon one says that, the reaction is what you've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I suspect it was the following text in a post you made early on in this topic that prompted me to ask whether what you found missing in your Thai visa was a definition of the word "enter": ...When I asked the person who gave me the visa at the Thai embassy what the enter before February 13th meant... Other than to Thailand I have not travelled much recently to countries where I needed a visa, so my visa stamps for the last five countries, except Thailand, I visited with a visa go back quite a few years (listed in reverse chronological order): If I am reading these visas correctly, the visa for one out of five countries, for the Republic of China, informed me for how many days I was allowed to stay in the country from the date of arrival. When you find the time, not now but when your daughter has recovered from her illness and you have sorted out your overstay, you may want to reciprocate and post your visas for the last five countries, other than Thailand, to which you travelled with a visa, for comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlewei Posted January 19, 2014 Author Share Posted January 19, 2014 Paz - Thank you so much, I really appreciate your kindness. The remarks that certain people did not like were not even anything truly against Thailand. I love this country. That's why I'm here. Way more than China. I could name many things about Thailand that I love more compared to China and even my home country the US. All people complain at least a little about the country they live in or stay in long term, expat or local. This website really boggles my mind. Its called Thaivisa.com It should be a place for people to get help on their visas. Not insult people who are confused about their visas. I've helped alot of people in forums before. Never have I insulted anyone for not understanding something that they were asking for help on in the first place. But thank you again Paz for being lovely, empathetic and spreading positive energy instead. Even though there are some really nice people here on this forum, I think I'll have to stop coming to this website for information, I don't like the "flies". No need for that extra stress when people are nicer on other websites. Maestro- Yes, as you can see China does have the length of time written on there. And the visa looks very different now than in 1996. The last date to enter on a Chinese visa is actually just that. Its not the expiry date or the date you need to leave. Its only the last date to enter and the expiry date is X days after you entered. If my understanding is correct now on the Thai visa, the last date to enter is ALSO the expiry date (but it doesn't say expiry date), which is not clear in comparison. Sorry, but I have way more important things to do than copy my passport pages for you. I have my hands full with a sick child and need to take her to the doctor. But honestly, I do think this website has a lot of mean spirited people who are spreading negativity for the fun of it and just waiting to pounce on people to criticize. And I think it was important for me to say that. And maybe you didn't intend it that way, but certainly Sceptic11 did. Thank you for not escalating anything further and just providing more information on your point of view. I appreciate that. Sceptic11- You are claiming you do not want an argument, but you went out of your way to insult me and say that I don't know anything about the immigration laws of my own country. I know a lot of general things about the immigration laws in the US, but how would I know exactly what kind of stamp a foreigner gets at the port of entry, when I'm not a foreigner there? Was I supposed to stand in line with the foreigners the last time I entered the US, just to see what kind of stamp they get instead of standing in line with the citizens where I was supposed to be? Was I supposed to try and get a visa for my home country (which is impossible by the way) just so I could tell YOU what is written on the visa exactly? You might want to think about your comment and how it had no place in this discussion. Why don't you admit that you are trying to start a argument for no good reason because talking about the US has no relevance in this discussion, its just a attempt to insult me and my home country while I'm staying up to take care of a sick child. Its very mean spirited. And I never directed anything negative towards you, but you decided to jump in and escalate things to the point of insulting my home country which I never even claimed to be any better than Thailand anyway. Thanks again to all that replied to me for anything that was helpful. Immigiration was no problem at all. Just an overstay fine and an extension allowed. No one even blinked when I told them. I think its super common that people get confused just like me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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