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How to Extend a Thailand Tourist Visa: Step-by-Step (2026)

16 August 2026 · Sawasdee Visas

Tourist visas and visa-exempt entries can both be extended once for 30 days. It's a simple process with two traps: the timing (before your stamp expires) and the paperwork (Bangkok offices want your TM30 in order). Here's exactly how it works.

The basics

A tourist visa (or visa-exempt entry) can be extended once at any immigration office for 30 days. The government fee is ฿1,900. You must apply before your current stamp expires — extensions are never granted after the fact.

What you need

Your passport with the entry stamp
The TM30 on file (your landlord or you — Bangkok offices check this first)
The extension form (TM.7) and a passport photo
฿1,900 in cash for the government fee

The two ways to do it

Yourself: queue at immigration, usually 2–4 hours in Bangkok on busy days, everything above in hand.
Through an agent: we file for you for ฿3,500 total — most cases mean no queue at all, same day. See our extensions page.

The traps we see every week

Applying late — if your stamp expires first, you're overstaying (฿500/day) and the extension window is gone.
No TM30 — the single most common reason an extension gets bounced in Bangkok.
Assuming you can chain extensions — one 30-day extension per entry, and since November 2025 extensions are capped at 2 per calendar year.

The bigger picture

An extension buys you a month, not a life. If you're in Thailand longer than 90 days, the honest advice is a proper visa — DTV, retirement or work permit — before you stack stamps into a pattern immigration punishes.