Can I obtain an extension on my tourist visa in Thailand after being denied initially by the immigration officer?

Thai Tourist Visa Visa Extension Samui Immigration Immigration Process Non-O Visa Working Permit ED Visa Expat Advice

Jul 21, 2023

a year ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

First of all I would like to thank all moderators of this group, especially Tod Daniels, for their incredible work providing such professional and reliable advice for free to the community. You guys are simply amazing 🙏🙏🙏

I am looking for some confirmation on my side.

I am a French citizen, 43y old, not married to a Thai wife nor having a Thai kid.

I am staying in Samui, where I bought a house 1y ago, with my Hong Kong wife and our daughter.

I stayed almost 1y with an ED visa (with a border bounce at Malaysia border (Satun) at the beginning to save some time).

I am currently otw to get a working permit for my (future) business and I just got a Tourist visa in Phnom Penh to stay 3 more months in the meantime.

My tourist visa is valid until 13th October. I got it stamped yesterday at Bangkok airport immigration for 60 days (until 17 Sept).

I understand I can claim an extension at the Samui Immigration office to stay in Thailand until the last day of my visa (13th Oct) which is equivalent to 26 days extension (due to the few days to "process" the visa at Phnom Penh, since they use the application date at the starting day of the visa...)

My understanding of the situation is getting challenged. Can you please let me know if I miss anything?

Thank you so much again 🙏

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user is seeking confirmation regarding their ability to extend their tourist visa in Thailand after facing initial skepticism from an immigration officer about their tourist status. They have transitioned from an ED visa to a tourist visa and are currently dealing with visa-related complexities as they plan to obtain a work permit. The response clarifies the rules surrounding tourist visa validity and extensions, with emphasis on the process at the local immigration office.

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Jerome *********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thank you so much, it is very clear.

Btw immigration officer has been quite suspicious asking many questions about my situation in Thailand and checking my very basic level of Thai (since I have been staying with an ED visa). At the end he told me "you are not a tourist, I cannot stamp your visa", I had to explain very calmly since I am not working I can only be a tourist, and showing my mandatory return ticket to get my visa in Phnom Penh finally convinced him to stamp my visa...

No harm done, just 5 or 10min at the immigration counter much more stressful than usual. 🙏

a year ago

Ellie *******

Single Entry Tourist Visa is valid for three months only to enter Thailand on it and be stamped for 60 days. Once you entered Thailand (i.e. used), the visa sticker has nothing to do with your stay. You can apply for 30 days tourism extension at the local immigration office and this 30 days has to be added to your entry stamp. If they give you less than 30 days, you can ask the officer to correct an extension stamp to be 30 days from the last date on your entry stamp.

a year ago

Reply to

Ellie *******

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