Part 3/3—
DTV Extension SUCCESS at Old Town Phuket for myself and my wife (Remote Worker / Digital Nomad)
First, a Note (for the 100th time)—— there's literally no need to tell me "it would've been easier if you would've just boarded an airplane." Busy family of 5 with three young kids— it would've been more expensive, more chaotic, and potentially more risky in our case. PLUS— I care about other people having access to this process. I'm happy to do it for science so people can have a little more clarity.
if you're somehow disgruntled about my doing this extension in this way, then why are you even in the group?
Timeline—
1st Day— Went to Immigration at Old Town Phuket. See previous posts about what I brought. Went through two or three rounds of varying degrees of checks. The Immigration officer was actually very kind, and let us know we needed: a *bank statement* for the *current* month. We also needed a *more recent* remote work authorization letter than the one I originally applied for the DTV with (Even though it's my own company— me authorizing myself).
2nd Day— Waited for my bank to auto-generate a bank statement for Feb-March (brought Jan-Feb, too). Wrote myself a new auth letter. Brought it all in. Waited my turn (very quick), the officer remembered us, quckly flipped through the documents and asked: "These are the new ones, right?" (he remembered us). Took our passports, docs, and money (1900THB each) gave us a little slip of paper telling us to pick up our passports on Friday (submitted on Monday).
3rd Day — Brough paper straight to Desk 5, they brought our passports out with a receipt and an extension stamp. Did our second 90-day check-in on the spot.
Tips / Takeaways :
- We were a primary holder + 1 follower. We have a shared bank account that has at 500,000 THB in it, but not much more than that. Our statements did not show that amount going below 500k at any point. There didn't seem to be concern about needing 500k per person.
- We kept all of our documents in order from the time we initially applied for the visa in Jakarta, Indonesia. This made it very easy to apply for an extension. All I had to change were the bank statements and authorization letter.
- Applying for an extension in Phuket took longer than applying for the visa in Jakarta. We submitted the application on Monday, picked up Friday (submitted on Monday, picked up Wednesday in Jakarta).
- The officers and staff, while they didn't talk much (likely because they're very busy), were very helpful and kind. Any anxiety and pressure I felt was put on myself, and never came from the staff or officers.
10/10 would do it again (but can't)
TLDR : Answer Summary
The post outlines a detailed experience of successfully extending a Digital Nomad Visa (DTV) in Old Town Phuket for a family of five. It describes a three-day process involving the submission of required documents, including a current bank statement and a more recent remote work authorization letter. The author shares practical tips, emphasizes the importance of document preparation, and asserts that the immigration process can be manageable with the correct documentation. Several comments from readers provide further inquiries and suggestions related to the visa extension process, while the author encourages community sharing to help others navigate similar situations.
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