Practical guide
Visa Extension in Chiang Mai
Central Chiangmai's 2nd floor for walk-ins, Airport Road for e-Extension, ฿1,900 either way
In Chiang Mai you can extend a 30-day visa exemption or a 60-day tourist visa by up to 30 days for ฿1,900 at either immigration office, and the easier walk-in is the branch on the 2nd floor of the Central Chiangmai mall, open weekdays from 09:00. Online e-Extension applications are stamped at the main office at 71 Moo 3 Airport Road, and either way you go on a weekday before the date on your entry stamp.
Arriving in Chiang Mai
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The short answer
Walk in to Central Chiangmai's 2nd floor, or to 71 Moo 3 Airport Road, on a weekday morning with your passport and a copy, a TM.7 with one 4×6 cm photo and ฿1,900. You'll sign an overstay acknowledgement form at the counter. Online e-Extension applications are stamped at Airport Road.
- Walk-in
- Central Chiangmai, 2nd floor, Gate 2/1, Mon–Fri from 09:00, or Airport Road from 08:30
- e-Extension stamp
- Chiang Mai Immigration, 71 Moo 3 Airport Road, Suthep
- Fee
- ฿1,900, not refunded if you're refused; online adds a ฿500 service fee
- Extra time
- Up to 30 days, added to the end of your current stamp, once
- Counter time
- About 40 minutes once your documents are complete, per the Immigration Bureau, plus the wait
- Closed
- Weekends, public holidays and 12:00–13:00 daily
- Phone
- 053 201 755
The rules for every extension are on the hub page, and the office page covers directions, hours and the other services.
Where to Extend Your Stay in Chiang Mai
| How you apply | Office | Where | Hours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk in, visa exemption or tourist visa | Central Chiangmai branch | Central Chiangmai mall, 2nd floor, Gate 2/1 by the elevator, SuperSports side, Superhighway | Mon–Fri 09:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:30 | Tourist extensions are first on the branch's service list |
| Walk in, visa exemption or tourist visa | Chiang Mai Immigration, main office | 71 Moo 3, Airport Road, Suthep | Mon–Fri 08:30–12:00 and 13:00–16:30 | Handles every service, so the queue is longer |
| Online through e-Extension | Chiang Mai Immigration, main office | 71 Moo 3, Airport Road, Suthep | As the main office | Bring the approval email and your passport for the stamp |
The branch's floor, gate and services are from Immigration Division 5's notice for its opening on 6 June 2022, read as an archived copy; that notice gave a 17:00 close and the branch's Google listing now shows 16:30. The e-Extension address is from VFS Global's FAQ for the Immigration Bureau. Main office hours are from the Immigration Bureau's service handbook and the office's Google listing.
Central Chiangmai or Airport Road
Both offices extend the 30-day exemption and the 60-day tourist visa. The branch at Central Chiangmai, the mall on the Superhighway that used to be called Central Festival, lists short-term tourism extensions first among its services and doesn't handle retirement or marriage cases, so its line is mostly people like you. One visitor reports being in and out in about 20 minutes, with a copier at the front desk, and another took nearly three hours after arriving at 13:00.
The main office at 71 Moo 3 Airport Road, about 200 meters from the airport, handles every visa type in the province and opens half an hour earlier, at 08:30. Go there if you've applied online, because that's where Chiang Mai's e-Extension approvals are stamped, or if the mall branch is closed for any reason. Directions to both are on my Chiang Mai Immigration page.
Central Chiangmai isn't Central Chiang Mai Airport. The branch is in the Superhighway mall, not the one next to the airport.
Using e-Extension in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is one of the eight provinces on the Immigration Bureau's online e-Extension system, run by VFS Global at thaiextension.vfsevisa.com, and Chiang Mai Immigration's own homepage links to it. Its tourism category takes both the 30-day exemption and the 60-day tourist visa. You upload the TM.7, passport copies, your entry stamp and a 4×6 cm photo, pay ฿1,900 plus a ฿500 service fee by card, and wait one to seven working days for a decision.
The stamp is then collected at the main office, 71 Moo 3 Airport Road, the address VFS gives for Chiang Mai. I couldn't confirm that the mall branch stamps online applications, so plan on Airport Road. You can only apply online with less than 45 days left on your stamp, and the hub's online section has the full process.
Step by Step at the Counter
The Immigration Bureau publishes a handbook for the tourism extension, linked from Chiang Mai Immigration's website, and it sets out the same three steps at every office. It counts about 40 minutes of counter work from the moment your documents are complete. The wait for your number is extra.
1. Hand In Your Documents
Take a queue number, and when you're called, hand over your passport and its copy, the TM.7 with the photo attached, and the overstay acknowledgement form. The officer checks them, records your details in the immigration system with a photo of you, takes the ฿1,900 and gives you a receipt.
2. Consideration
The officer checks that you meet the criteria and can ask for supporting evidence at this point. Visitors to Chiang Mai report being asked for a copy of the TM.30 address notice, which a hotel files for you and a landlord files for a private rental, so have it on your phone if you're not in a hotel.
3. The Stamp
If it's approved, the officer stamps the new permission into your passport, signs it and hands the passport back. Read the new date before you leave the counter.
Complete documents don't guarantee the extension. The officer decides, and the ฿1,900 isn't refunded if you're turned down.
Arriving in Chiang Mai
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What to Bring
A completed TM.7
Fill it in beforehand or take a blank one at the office. My TM.7 guide walks through every field, including the Buddhist Era dates.
One 4×6 cm photo
Glued in the TM.7's photo box. It's larger than a passport photo.
Passport and copies
The Immigration Bureau's handbook asks for the passport and one copy. I'd copy the photo page and the page with your entry stamp, since offices often want both.
The overstay acknowledgement
A short form confirming you understand the overstay penalties. It's on the handbook's document list and the office hands it out.
฿1,900 in cash
Paid at the counter for a walk-in application. Online through e-Extension you pay by card instead.
When to Go
Go on a weekday, before the date on your stamp. The extra days are added to the end of your current permission, so going a week early costs you nothing, and visa services say walk-in offices take applications up to 30 days ahead. Both offices are closed on weekends and public holidays, so if your stamp ends on one, go on the last working day before it.
I'd be at the mall branch for 09:00 or Airport Road for 08:30. One visa service's guide says queue numbers for extensions at Airport Road can run out by 15:00 on busy days. Visitors report that Mondays, Fridays and the day after a holiday closure are the busiest, and Google's busy-times chart for the mall branch peaks on Friday afternoons.
After Your One Extension
A tourist stay is extended once. If you need more time after that, you have to leave Thailand and come back, and from Chiang Mai that usually means Chiang Khong and the bridge into Laos, or a flight out. Land entries on the visa exemption are capped at two a calendar year, so I'd plan the run before the extension ends, not after.
Where to go next.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Visa Extension in Chiang Mai.
At either Chiang Mai Immigration office. The branch on the 2nd floor of Central Chiangmai on the Superhighway handles tourist extensions on weekdays from 09:00, and the main office at 71 Moo 3 Airport Road handles them from 08:30. Online e-Extension applications are stamped at Airport Road.
฿1,900 for up to 30 more days, paid at the counter and not refunded if you're refused. Through e-Extension there's a ฿500 service fee on top.
Yes, once, by up to 30 days, at the officer's discretion. The 30 days are added to the end of your current stamp, so you get the full extension even if you apply early.
Yes, by up to 30 days for ฿1,900 at either office, or online through e-Extension, whose tourism category covers the 60-day tourist visa.
Yes. Central Festival is the old name of Central Chiangmai, and the immigration branch on its 2nd floor lists short-term tourism extensions first among its services. It's open Monday to Friday from 09:00, with lunch from 12:00 to 13:00.
Yes. Chiang Mai is on the e-Extension system at thaiextension.vfsevisa.com. You apply with less than 45 days left on your stamp, wait one to seven working days for a decision, and then go to 71 Moo 3 Airport Road with your passport for the stamp.
Usually the same morning. The Immigration Bureau's handbook counts about 40 minutes at the counter once your documents are complete, and visitors report anything from 20 minutes at the mall branch to around three hours on a busy afternoon.
No. Chiang Mai Immigration's online appointments cover retirement, education, business and volunteer extensions only, and tourists walk in.
Your passport and a copy, a TM.7 with one 4×6 cm photo, the overstay acknowledgement form the office hands out, and ฿1,900. Have a copy of your TM.30 receipt ready if you're in a private rental, since some officers ask for it.
No. Both offices work Monday to Friday only and close on public holidays. If your stamp ends on a weekend, go on the Friday before.
Not as a tourist. The 30-day extension is a one-time addition, and after it you leave Thailand and re-enter for a new stamp. Our visa run from Chiang Mai guide covers the options.
Sources
The offices, rules and steps on this page come from these pages. The Division 5 notice for the mall branch is linked as an archived copy because the live page blocks automated access.
- Chiang Mai Immigration at Central Chiangmai (Visa Section), archived (opens in new tab) · Immigration Division 5, Immigration Bureau. Branch floor, gate, hours and services
- Chiang Mai Provincial Immigration, contact page (opens in new tab) · Chiang Mai Immigration, Immigration Bureau. Main office address and phone
- Public service handbooks (O8), 2.4 In the case of tourism purpose (opens in new tab) · Chiang Mai Immigration, Immigration Bureau. Documents, fee, steps and the 40-minute service time
- Online reservation (opens in new tab) · Chiang Mai Immigration, Immigration Bureau. Appointment categories, none for tourists
- Thailand e-Extension FAQ (opens in new tab) · VFS Global for the Immigration Bureau. Chiang Mai's e-Extension address, fees, the 45-day window
- Central Chiangmai (opens in new tab) · Central Pattana. The mall formerly called CentralFestival Chiangmai
- New Visa Exemption and Visa on Arrival to Thailand (opens in new tab) · Royal Thai Embassy, Washington DC. Extension up to 30 days at the officer's discretion
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Written by
Mac Kiley
I lived in Bangkok for four years and traveled the country from there. The guides are my own opinions, written the way I'd explain them to a friend planning a trip.
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