Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing whether or not annual extensions of stay here in Thailand are on the decline. What are we talking about? 

Well visa applications can be made at Embassies and Consulates abroad but if you want to maintain status here in Thailand in the long term you have to extend your status here in the country. That's not necessarily a foregone conclusion. Thai Immigration can be somewhat, well their discretion can be stringently applied, let me put it like that. This can result in a number of issues associated with extension. So to put it simply, any expat here in Thailand, going in for your Visa Extension is something akin maybe to going to the dentist's office; I mean it's not your favourite thing in the world to do. That said, it's just sort of a necessity. 

That being said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Foreigners and Thai law: changing Pattaya scenario. Quoting directly: "The number of annual extensions of stay here in Thailand based on Retirement or Marriage has fallen by around half since around the turn of the century."

Yeah, interesting there. I don't know where that's coming from; I don't know what's driving those lower numbers. Now here very recently we have seen changes to the Visa Exemption scheme which is resulting in the less of a need to extend by 30-day extensions here in Thailand. Meanwhile, we are also seeing the introduction of things like the Long-term Residence Visa, so-called, the LTR, as well as the creation of the Destination Thailand Visa. Now as I have discussed in other videos, Immigration has not commented as of the time of this video on the DTV itself, so it remains to be seen how those extensions are going to work, but it could be the case that we see fewer extensions of stay issued in the forthcoming days and weeks here in the Kingdom of Thailand.