Hi I am at the immigration office in Bangkok looking to extend my family's 30 day visa exemptions. My understanding was that children are not charged for these extensions (my son is 3 years old) we weren't charged last time we did this, but this time the officer is insisting we pay for him as well. Can anyone confirm the situation and, if possible, provide an official government link which confirms the policy?
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The conversation discusses the need for children to pay for a visa extension in Thailand, particularly for a 3-year-old under a 30-day visa exemption. While some users suggest children are not charged, others clarify that all individuals, regardless of age, need to pay the extension fee of 1900 baht. There's also advice about overstaying being a safer option for children as they cannot be fined or banned until they turn 18.
Thanks very much Tod for getting back so quickly, really appreciated. Last time we did this we didn't pay for my son, but perhaps that was a mistake by the officer we dealt with on that day. I'm going to go down the overstay route for him then as it sounds like there will be no negative implications of that (I've just been given the same advice by an official here as well)
Is there a bad connotation though with kids overstaying if you do multiple visa runs? Aren't they stamped for overstay in their visas? Does it "look bad" on the parents to have these stamps in there multiple times?
The only risk in going down the overstay route for kids, is should you want to send them to school in Thailand they may need clean passports and if they will be living in Thailand long-term it makes sense for them to be legal. Otherwise overstay!
I have never heard of any child getting a free 30 day extension to a visa exempt entry stamp at all. I was with some people a few weeks ago who had a 1 year old baby (that had its own passport) and that family got a 30 day extension for it too.
You don't NEED to get an extension on children under 15 because they can't be fined for overstays and they can't be banned for overstaying until they're 18.
I'd say just let them overstay and they'll be fine.
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