I went to Chiang Mai Immigration this afternoon. Here's a record of what happened..
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Background: I got a 60-day tourist visa in Vientiane in December 2019, and a 30-day extension that expired on March 18, 2020. I tried to get into Myanmar on the 18th, but the border had closed. On the 19th, I went to Immigration, paid a one-day overstay fee, and got an emergency extension till the 25th. On the 25th, after receiving a letter from the US Embassy, I got an under-consideration COVID extension till April 14th, which is when I was directed to return.
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After debating whether or not I was covered under the current visa amnesty, I went to Chiang Mai Immigration this afternoon at 1 to see for myself. There were very few people there. I explained that I was there because I was instructed to return on the 14th. I was directed to the COVID area, where I handed my passport to the man sitting behind the table. He explained that yes, I would be stamped for my extra days, but I would also be covered by the amnesty till April 30th. And, on the 30th, I would have to come back to Immigration, with a letter from my Embassy, and all the usual extension forms filled out, and re-apply for a COVID extension. (He handed me copies of the forms as he told me this.) I asked if I would have to do this if the amnesty was extended to the end of May. He said he didn’t know, but to come back and check if indeed the amnesty was extended. He then handed off my passport to a guy who had come out of the processing booth, and he told me to come back at 5 to pick it up. But the guy who took my passport took a look at it and said, “No, you can wait,” and the guy behind the table said, “Ah, you’re lucky today. Sometimes you have to come back at the end of the day.” I didn’t ask what made me so lucky, or why it was normal for the under-consideration stamp to take so long (it was about 1:15). Five minutes later, the guy from the processing booth came out with my passport. He explained that I had been stamped through till April 17th (3 days from now, but 30 days after the original expiration of my tourist visa + extension), and that I would be covered from the 17th to the 30th by the April amnesty; but (again) that I had to come back in and reapply for the COVID extension at the end of the month. I didn’t think to ask if that extension would be counted from the end of April (which would be until the end of May), or the end of my current stamp (which would be until May 17th). I guess I’ll find out in a couple of weeks.
TLDR : Answer Summary
The user shares their experience navigating the Chiang Mai Immigration for a tourist visa extension during the COVID-19 pandemic. They detail receiving both a short extension and information about the COVID amnesty, highlighting the need to return for reapplication while awaiting potential further extensions.
