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ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawThailand Immigration LawWhat Is the Process of Extending a Thai Special Tourist Visa In-Country?

What Is the Process of Extending a Thai Special Tourist Visa In-Country?

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Special Tourist Visas and we are discussing the process of extending status in a Special Tourist Visa.

For those who are unaware, Special Tourist Visa is a rather recent invention. It does not operate like a normal Thai Visa or like any Thai Visa that we have dealt with to date. It is very unique and it has its own attributes and we are going to get into one aspect of those attributes in this video. I am making other videos contemporaneously with this one to discuss other attributes and restrictions compared to other types of Thai Visas.

Long story short, in total one can get nine months’ worth of status out of a Special Tourist Visa but as noted on the Thai Embassy in Washington DC's website under Special Tourist Visa category, the following should be kept in mind: "STV, that is Special Tourist Visa, is valid for 3 months from the date of issuance. Travelers must enter Thailand within the said 3 month period." Now for those who are unaware, that is the sticker date of the Visa. So there is a Visa sticker; it is applied in your passport; it has an expiration date. That is the time, that is the window in which you have to use the Visa okay? That is the first thing to know. “They will be allowed to stay in Thailand for a period of up to 90 days counting from the date of entry. STV may be extended twice while the visitor is in Thailand for a period of up to 90 days per each extension”. So not unlike those who come to Thailand on a Non-Immigrant Visa, like a Business Visa or an O Visa or Retirement Visa who extend in one year increments, folks who come into Thailand on a Special Tourist Visa will need to go to the relevant Thai Immigration office in your area in which you are staying and gain an extension of status for 90 day intervals up to two times. So at the end of this you end up with a total of 9 months status or 270 days of lawful status here in the Kingdom of Thailand.