How to Extend Your Thai Tourist Visa in Chiang Mai

In addition to border runs and visa runs in neighbouring countries, staying for an extended period of time in Thailand involves regular visits to the local immigration office. Good news, though: compared to applying for a tourist visa in Laos, extending your Thai visa in Chiang Mai is a cakewalk.

Here’s all you need to know to get your own visa extension. This blog post details how it takes place in Chiang Mai, and although the process is likely to be more or less uniform across all immigration offices, be sure to check if your local office has specific requirements.

Thai Visa Extensions Explained

Tourist visas can be extended simply by visiting your local immigration office anywhere in Thailand, filling out a form, and paying a fee. Extending your visa should be done before your visa expires; you can get your visa extended on the last day without any problem.

Thai tourist visas and visa exemptions (what people wrongly call “visas on arrival”) can be extended by 30 days at the Chiang Mai immigration office. Visa exemptions used to be only extensible for 7 days, but this changed in August 2014.

At the time of writing, extending your visa costs 1900 Baht. Overstaying your visa costs 500B per day, which might make it a more compelling financial decision than extending for less than four days; however, it’s my understanding that overstaying your visa can compromise future visa applications.

A Note on Attitude

As with all official matters in Thailand about Thailand Visa, you’re better off dressing in an appropriate manner and behaving yourself while at the immigration office. Showing up in dirty shorts and a Beer Chang t-shirt might complicate matters in ways that are hard to quantify. Not to say that dressing poorly will lead to a denial, but if things get complicated, the way you dress will change the way the officials perceive you.

Likewise, getting angry or impatient with Thai officials will never get you anywhere. Stay polite, smile, and relax; if you stay cool, things have a way of resolving themselves. Just stay patient and polite, and state your point clearly and in a respectful manner.

Mind you, the Chiang Mai immigration office is the nicest bunch of officials I’ve seen in Thailand. They’re generally helpful and patient, and speak good enough English to sort you out.

[Source: http://www.thewayofslowtravel.com/2014/02/08/how-to-extend-your-thai-tourist-visa-in-chiang-mai/]