Thailand visa question & answer: Renewing annual visas

Dear editor,

I have a question about extending annual visas.

If I get a visa from the Thai Embassy in the Netherlands, among other things, then this is for 2 months, I understand.

Do you have to report to the immigration service immediately upon arrival in Thailand or only after 90 days?

Do you have to submit an income statement or is this only with an extension of 1 year?

Finally, you must submit a signed income statement by the Dutch embassy to the immigration service every year?

Thanks for answering.

John

Dear John,

Upon arrival at the airport, you will have to go through immigration like anyone entering Thailand, but they won't ask for proof of income (of course they can always ask if you have sufficient funds, but I've never known).

You will only have to show your income statement when you apply for your extension.

I also think you are confusing some visas, so I'll try to clarify them first. You should then check which visa you have, because it is not entirely clear to me.

Non-Immigrant “O” Single entry. (60 euros)
Has a validity period of 3 months (You have three months to enter Thailand once). Upon entry, you will receive a 90-day residence permit.
You can extend this visa for a maximum period of one year. You can repeat this annually afterwards. You can submit the application for this at the immigration office of your place of residence. You can start this 30 days before the end of your stay, ie after 60 days of stay you can submit your application (some immigration offices sometimes accept it earlier - 45 days before the end date - but you have to check locally).

In any case, you must initiate your renewal application before the end of the 90-day stay period. It makes no sense to postpone the application until the last week or even the last day, because an extension is always following the last period of stay/extension. You don't lose days by requesting it early.
You can find which forms you need in the Dossier Visa on this blog. You will then have to submit the forms and supporting documents mentioned there every year in order to obtain an extension, ie also your Income Statement if you use this as proof of sufficient resources.

https://www.thailandblog.nl/wp-content/uploads/TB-2014-12-27-Dossier-Visum-Thailand-volledige-versie.pdf (pagina 22)

Non-Immigrant “O” Multiple entry (140 Euro)
It has a validity period of 1 year. Upon entry you will be given a maximum stay of 90 days.
You will then have to make a “visa run” (border run) before the end of those 90 days in order to obtain a new stay period of 90 days.
No problem because the visa has a multiple entry. You can enter and leave Thailand as much as you want within the validity period of this visa. With every entry you will receive another 90 days stay. If you calculate it a bit, you can stay in Thailand for almost 15 months with this visa. Make the last “visa run” (or border run) just before the end of the validity period of one year to get the last 90 days. You can also extend this visa for a maximum period of one year and you can repeat this every year.

However, to obtain an extension on the basis of this visa, you will first have to use up the validity period of your visa “O”, which means that you can only apply for the extension after a minimum of one year. You can of course always try to go earlier, but you will probably be sent back.
Submission of the application can then start 30 days (or possibly 45 days) before the end of the last period of stay. The application procedure for an extension is the same and can be found in the Dossier visa.

Non-Immigrant “OA” (140 Euro)
This visa has a multiple entry and is valid for 1 year. Upon entry you will be granted a residence period of 1 year. The fact that you immediately get a year, instead of 90 days as with an “O”, is due to the addition of the letter “A” in “OA”.

The “A” means “Approved”, and means for immigration that a stay of 1 year can be allowed on entry, because the necessary proofs for a year's stay have been delivered to the embassy, ​​and you are in order with everything. Of course, immigration at the border always retains the final decision.

Since this visa also automatically has a Multiple entry, you can enter and leave Thailand as much as you want within the validity period of the visa. With every entry you will receive a residence period of one year. If you calculate it a bit, you can stay in Thailand for almost 2 years with this visa. Just as with the previous visa, quickly make a “visa run” (or border run, if you like) before the end of the validity period of the visa in order to obtain a residence period of one year again.
Please note – if you leave Thailand and want to re-enter after the validity period, you must request a re-entry in advance if you want to keep the last obtained end date of your stay.

You can also extend this visa, but just like with an “O” Multiple entry, you will first have to use up your “OA” visa completely. This means that you can only apply for an extension after a minimum of one year.

You can also only start submitting the application here 30 days (or possibly 45 days) before the end of the last period of stay.
As with the others, the application procedure for extension is the same and can be found in the Dossier visa.

Whichever visa you have, it is best to visit immigration in good time and ask them when you can start the application for an extension.
Usually this will be 30 (or 45) days before the end of the last period of stay/renewal.
You can also get a list there with the necessary documents and evidence that you must submit. Ask for that list when you visit because some immigration offices may want to see extra proof or signatures.

Now you just need to check what kind of visa you have. You can find this on the visa sticker under “Category”, and whether it is a Single or Multiple entry can be found under “No or Entry”.

Just one more thing – If you intend to stay in Thailand for more than 90 days continuously, you must report to immigration. You will therefore have to do this every subsequent 90 days of uninterrupted residence. You can find out when and how to do this in the Visa Dossier (page 28).

Regards,

RonnyLatPhrao

Disclaimer: The advice is based on existing regulations. The editors accept no responsibility if this is deviated from in practice.