Thailand STV visa extension and final extension follow up;
As anyone who has entered Thailand with a “special tourist visa” before July 1st knows it is hard to find clear information on extensions and what to do with the program ending.
The following is my experience with Thai immigration today but it is important to know that some immigration officers may interpret these rules differently.
My issues was that my first visa extension would bring me until October 30th.
The last date in which you will be able to extend an STV visa is September 30th.
I wanted to apply for a second extension which would bring me to January 27th and complete my 270 day visa.
It has been said that you can only apply for a visa extension two weeks before the end of your first 90 days or before your second extension.
Today when I was granted my first 90 day extension, Thai immigration confirmed that even though I would still have 1 month left on my first extension, as long as I applied for my second extension before September 30th, I could then add 90 days onto the ending date of my first extension. This would bring my final visa date to January 28th 2022
I also learned that I will need to go to the immigration office to check in every 90 days even if I have applied and was granted an extension a few weeks or days before.
I was able to get my extension with only putting a deposit down on my hotel. This was different as when I first got my STV visa it was required that I would have to pay in full my entire 90 days prior to applying or have a lease contract.
Along with this I needed to show my current booking on the date I was applying for my STV extension. It has been stated that your hotel will need to submit a Tm30 form to do this but again in my case I just showed them a copy of my current booking of where I’m staying at the moment and it was sufficient.
The last major hurdle was that I needed to have insurance for the remainder of my trip. In my case I bought it until the ending date of my second visa extension period to be safe.
If anyone wants to add further information or clarify anything that I have stated please do as again it’s hard to find clear information.
This was my experience with the immigration office that I went to but again im sure it is possible for other offices to interpret the rules differently.
The extension process was much easier then I originally thought.
TLDR : Answer Summary
The post outlines the author's experience extending their Special Tourist Visa (STV) in Thailand, highlighting important details such as applying for extensions before specific deadlines, the need to check in with immigration every 90 days, required documentation including hotel reservations and insurance, and variations in immigration officer interpretations. The author emphasizes the confusion surrounding the extension process but ultimately found it easier than expected.
