Another Week, Another Visa Change for Tourists in Thailand

Over the past week Thailand has rolled out yet another visa change, and it’s more bad news for anyone doing long stays. The days of stacking 30-day extensions are over. Immigration has now introduced a 7-day extension for anyone who has already extended within the same year. It’s a rough shift and honestly just another hit to the already dropping tourist numbers in the so-called Land of the Free.

What Does this Mean for You?

The rules are simple now. First extension gives you 30 days. Second one gives you 7 within the same 12 month period. The fee is 1,900 baht and it has to be paid in cash. But don’t think you’ll walk out spending only that. I ended up paying around 2,150 baht today once you include the photos, the copies of my passport, the rental contract, the owner’s ID and, a 10-baht pen they made me buy. It sounds petty but when you’re travelling long term, these little add-ons pile up fast.

I also spent five hours there today. One big unorganised mess. So I’m going to run you through exactly what happened and how you can avoid half of the queues with a few simple steps.

Extending My Visa Today, 17th November 2025

Here in Chonburi the immigration office opened at 08:30 and I genuinely tried to be first in line. I got there early, only to see the queue already spilling into the street. Clearly not early enough. I didn’t let it rattle me too much, but I get irritated in crowds fast and it didn’t take long before the eye-rolling began.

I’m not here to chew your ear off. I want to give you something useful so you don’t waste half your day like I did. Immigration is brilliant at making you redo things without any explanation. There’s a big sign telling you what documents you need, so you naturally bring exactly that. What they don’t tell you is how many copies of your passport you need. They don’t tell you about the extra forms. They don’t tell you that you need a passport photo. All of this gets dumped on you at their “documentation checkpoint.” You’ll stand in the same queue two or three times doing tasks you could have done in one go if they simply told you upfront.

Before you queue, make sure you have:

• TM30
• Passport
• 2-3 copies od your passport
• Passport photo (6x4)
• A PEN!!!!!!!
• Rental agreement
• Landlords ID
• Copy of the house papers

You can also check out Thailand's Official Immigration Website but trust me, follow my advice.

The most important part: when you get to the desk, ask for the “Application of Extension” form straight away. If you don’t, you’ll queue again just to get it.

Once you pass the first station, you go to the second station. Even if you already have everything, they’ll send you straight back to the first station again for that extra form. Every queue is around 45 minutes, so if you can avoid even one repeat queue, you’re winning. Fill out both forms, then get back in line and they’ll finally send you inside to process the actual visa.

The next part is semi-chill. Sit down, wait your turn, and listen closely when they call names. If they hold up your passport and you miss it, they won’t call it again. You’ll end up awkwardly pushing in front of people later asking why you’re still sitting there two hours in.

Hopefully, you're in and out within 2.5 hours. It sounds simple, it sounds like it's problem free but trust me, it's not. but overall, you get an additional 30 days here, which is epic. So if it's bothering you, or you feel like losing your temper, remember what the next 30 days have in store...

I wish you the best of luck!