March 23, 2020
5 years ago
The latest from Phuket-
"On Friday, Phuket Immigration confirmed to *The Phuket News* that by order from Bangkok all tourists can extend their stay by simply presenting themselves at the Immigration office, filing an application and paying B1,900.
However, all foreigners staying on any other kind of visa, which includes Non-Immigrant O visas issued to foreigners married to a Thai and supporting a Thai family as well as Business visas, must obtain a letter from their respective embassy in order to be granted an extension to stay."
[members only]
Note this is not talking about yearly non-immigrant extensions, where you need to meet financial requirements. If you meet them everything proceeds as normal. This is about people with multiple entry non-immigrant visa that need to leave and return to Thailand every 90 days. I believe this is very common in many parts of the south, you have many people who have been here for years on these visas.
EDIT: the first paragraph here is most likely incorrect. It appears Phuket Immigration is NOT doing second extensions on tourist visas without the embassy letter. However more countries, including the US will now issue a personalized letter.
TLDR : Answer Summary
Recently, Phuket Immigration announced that tourists can extend their stay by submitting an application and paying a fee of B1,900. However, for those on Non-Immigrant O visas or other types of visas, a letter from their respective embassy is required to secure an extension. There has been some confusion regarding these regulations, with several reports stating that tourists applying for a second extension have been denied without the required letter, despite initial claims by immigration officials. Experiences shared in the comments suggest variability in how strictly these rules are enforced.
