Is it normal to receive a 12-month extension on a Non O-A visa upon re-entry after expiration?

Non O-A Visa Visa Renewal Re-entry Permit Thailand Immigration Expat Visa Rules Health Insurance Requirements Visa Expiration Issues

Mar 23, 2023

2 years ago

Graham ********

ORIGINAL POSTER

A point of interest.........

My initial Non O-A Longstay (retirement) visa expired on 27 February this year. Just prior to that I did a border run to the Thai-Laos border with a renewed health insurance certificate.

End result = additional 364 days with an end date of 20 February 2024.

Returned to Australia last week for a 1 week stay. On Tuesday 21 March I came back to Thailand on a re-entry permit = all good.

The Immigration Officer stamped me in for another 12 months (until 20 March 2024) without knowing when my renewed health insurance expires (expires on 31 March 2024 but that information is not in the passport).

QUESTION - is the new stamped in date valid and is it normal to get another 12 months when you come in on a re-entry permit on an already expired Non O-A visa? 

If it is, what is stopping me from leaving Thailand prior the revised stamped in date (eg March 2024) and getting another 12 months upon my return?

Food for thought or have I missed something or did the Immigration Officer make a mistake?

Grahaml

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user received a curious situation regarding their Non O-A Longstay visa, which expired, but upon returning to Thailand with a re-entry permit, they were given an additional 12 months, raising questions about the validity of this stamp and the normal procedures. Several comments suggest that this might be an error by the Immigration Officer, as typically, one should not get more than the remaining duration of the initial visa. It's advised to check with immigration to confirm if the stamp is valid and rectify any potential mistakes.

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Ellie *******

With Non-OA, you should not be able to be stamped in for any longer than 365 days after the visa validation. This means, until 26 Feb 2024 latest if the visa was valid until 27 Feb 2023. You may need to go back to your entry point to get the stamp corrected.

Officers would make mistakes. But it's your responsibility, not the officers', to keep your stamp legit.

2 years ago

Ellie *******

A re-entry permit would not give you additional days. You should be stamped until the same date everytime you enter on re-entry permit. In your case, You would not be stamped for any later than 20 Feb 2024.

2 years ago

Reply to

Ellie *******

Ryan ********

There should be a "valid until" date (or something like that) on your re-entry permit. That is the date that your entry stamps expire whenever you use the permit to re-enter the country (I am assuming it is a multiple entry permit).

If the valid until date is February 20th, that does mean the officer made an error when they stamped you in. If that's the case, I'm not sure what you should do about that. Being Thailand, if there is a problem, you will be blamed.

2 years ago

James ********

As I read your Post...

You were entitled to the one year stamp when you did your border bounce before the OA visa expired.

BUT I think the Thai Immigration Officer made a mistake in granting you a One year stamp when you recently entered Thailand after the first year of the OA visa had passed.

Suggest that you go to your local Thai Immigration office and ask them... IF it's an error, They will correct the ending date.

And as you recently did, remember to have a re-entry permit when you enter Thailand with your current extension.

I am surprised that the Thai Immigration Officer apparently made this error as he should have seen the re-entry permit in your passport

Did the Thai Immigration Officer mark the re-entry permit as USED ?

2 years ago

Reply to

James ********

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Will I receive a one-year extension on my Non-OA visa if I enter Thailand before its expiration?

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