Daryl Mander and I just left Chaeng Wattana. Both of us got a 27-day extension but only after jumping through quite a few hoops.
Got a very strict officer who had multiple issues with my application:
1. The Malaysian Embassy provided me a letter which cited the Movement Control Order as the reason I should be granted an extension. However the document did not specifically have the term "COVID-19" on it, which she didn't like at all.
IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE THE LETTER YOUR EMBASSY PROVIDES HAS "COVID-19" CLEARLY STATED ON IT.
2. I was on a ED visa, in the process of applying for an elite visa. She wanted proof of education nonetheless.
3. When document verifying 2 was produced, she wanted the ED visa to be cancelled first, before she would grant the emergency extension.
4. Had to contact the visa agent at my school to issue an official letter to cancel the ED visa. That got complicated because my school's currently closed in compliance with the recent restrictions.
5. Finally got the letter to cancel, via email. A printout was required. The photo shops and photocopying services are all still running, so yeah, small mercies.
NOTE: These requirements and decisions seem to be up to the individual officer. Daryl's extension was in the process of being approved when my officer marched over to his and halted proceedings.
He was then told that he had to produce the same document required of me, which his officer didn't even ask him for prior to that!
Had to spend an extra 3 hours here because of the lunch break. Seating is limited here so... yeahhh.
On the bright side, the queues generally moved along quite quickly and efficiently. There was a very fabulously-dressed person ahead of us in the queue, which made for good distraction (glad to see someone's keeping things light-hearted in these trying times ♥️).
Hope this bit of information will be helpful to anyone else in a similar situation. Good luck guys :)
TLDR : Answer Summary
Daryl Mander shares his experience of obtaining a 27-day visa extension in Thailand, highlighting several challenges he faced at Chaeng Wattana. Key issues included needing a letter from the Malaysian Embassy that explicitly mentioned 'COVID-19,' proving education status on an ED visa, and unexpectedly requiring the cancellation of that visa before receiving the extension. He emphasizes the importance of being prepared for various individual officer requirements and offers encouragement to others facing similar situations.
