Just to confirm --
(1) even though I got our SETVs for the entire family by myself, in order to do 30 day extension at Chiang Mai immigration, the entire family needs to go, correct?
(1a) My understanding is that the 30 day SETV extension is a short wait at immigration - so short that I could take the kids in at 3:30 on a Friday and potentially still be seen that afternoon?
(2) regarding overstays for children, after the expiry of our SETV, we have a few trips planned where we'll return on exemption stamps and, if we decide to stay longer, will look at an ED visa. Am I reading correctly here that many people let their children overstay, and I would neither need to ensure that we all left for runs to get new exemption stamps nor would I need to worry about finding an ED visa that would also process O visas for the kids? I'd obviously rather do it proper, but if I could justify a few kid-free vacations to get fresh stamps, I'd rather do that :p
Thanks!
TLDR : Answer Summary
To obtain a 30-day extension for a Single Entry Tourist Visa (SETV) in Chiang Mai, the entire family must attend immigration together. The process is typically quick, often completed in under 90 minutes, but wait times can vary. Regarding overstays, while children under 15 are not fined and those under 18 are not banned, they still require valid visas or stamps. It's important to ensure compliance to avoid any complications, although some families do choose to manage their stays with exemptions or by leaving the country periodically.
