Visa Thailand Q&A: 'Enter before' please explain this

Dear editors,

I obtained a double entry visa on September 15 in Laos and only entered Thailand on October 1 with my first entry. At immigration I got a 30 day extension until December 30th. Only the visa says 'enter before December 14'. My question is what exactly is meant by this, is that the date that I must have made my 2nd entry or is that also possible between December 14 and December 30?

Yours faithfully,

Roel

Dear Roel,

Validity of the visa and length of stay. There are more people who are mistaken or for whom it is not very clear.

The Visa Dossier says exactly what “Validity Period” and “Stay Duration” means, but I will give it a brief summary. The validity period of the visa is the period within which the visa must be activated. Until when you can enter Thailand with that Visa, so to speak. This period is expressed in an end date (Enter before …), and is determined by the Thai embassy or consulate.

The length of stay allowed is the number of days you are allowed to stay in Thailand from the date of entry. The expiry date is stated in the arrival stamp, and is assigned by the immigration officer, according to the type of visa you have.
When an extension of the length of stay is granted by Immigration, you will get a new stamp in your passport with a text stating, among other things, that the stay in Thailand was allowed until …..(date). That new date then determines until when you can stay in Thailand with that extension.

The date stated at ENTER BEFORE on your visa is very important, because this is the end date of the validity of your visa. This means that you must have activated all the entries for that visa BEFORE that date. Unused entries are invalid from that date.
In your case it says December 14 ie December 13 is your last chance (remember enter BEFORE). If you go afterwards, between December 14 and December 30, depending on whether you go by land or via the airport, you will receive a maximum of 15 or 30 days Visa Exemption, but not 60 days because your visa expired on December 14.

The fact that you have been granted an extension until December 30 only means that this extension allows you to stay in Thailand until December 30.
This does not extend the validity date of your visa, only your current length of stay.

So remember – at the latest on December 13 (not December 14 because enter BEFORE) or your 2nd entry will expire.

Regards

RonnyLatPhrao

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