So you have been living in Thailand for a year or more and now it’s time to request an ‘Extension of Stay’ based on your Non-Immigrant O-A visa for another year. This blog post details the process that I went through at the Immigration Office in Hua Hin in February 2025. The process in other provinces and / or at later dates may vary from what I have included below so it’s always best to check with your local Immigration Office before submitting your application, including making sure that you use the latest versions of the various forms mentioned in this post. This blog post is also specific to my personal circumstances so if yours are different it is best to take this into account when submitting your own application.
I first visited the Immigration Office to understand what documentation I should prepare. The lady at the Customer Services Center on the ground floor, always very helpful, gave me the attached document, the ‘Document of Requirements’, so that I could go away and arrange the paperwork.
I will first document below the requirements based on the form above and then explain what other documents I attached in support of my application.
BASED ON THE LIST FROM IMMIGRATION
1) The TM.7 Application Form
You will need to complete the TM.7 Application Form, i.e. the ‘Application for Extension of Temporary Stay in the Kingdom’. The form that I used is shown below. The application fee of THB 1,900 will be paid towards the end of the process, for which you should receive a blue receipt as shown below.
You are also required to provide two passport photos. I suggest, based on ChatGPT research, that you have the photos with a white background, without shadows or patterns. They should be of high quality, in color, and not blurry. The face should be fully visible, looking directly at the camera. There should be no obstructions in front of the face. You should maintain a neutral expression, with both eyes open and mouth closed, and no smiling or exaggerated facial expressions. Apparently, there are no strict requirements for clothing, but it’s best to wear something modest and presentable.
Even though I attached two passport photos, only one was attached to the TM.7 Application Form and the other one was returned to me. However, it’s best to have two photos available just in case the additional one is required.
2) Copy of Passport
Take a color copy of your passport, i.e. the page with your photo and passport details.
You should also attach a color copy of your original Non-Immigrant O-A visa that you would have obtained from your home country or the country from which you applied for your original visa. I received my original visa in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates as detailed on my blog post called Thailand’s O-A Visa Application Process from the UAE.
I also attached color copies of all my entry stamps into Thailand as well as the visa stamped into my passport when I first applied for multiple entries into Thailand.
I also prepared a full color copy of ALL the pages in my passport but those were NOT required. All that was required was the color copies of my passport, previous visas and my entry stamps in Thailand.
3) Updated Bank Book and Copy of Bank Book
Before you go to the Immigration Office, make sure you visit your bank to have your Bank Book updated by the teller or the ATM. I visited Bangkok Bank at BluPort and asked the teller to update my Bank Book, something that I had not done since I opened the account more than one year previously. The bank just updated the book with the transactions from the previous two months and that was fine.
The bank balance should be over THB 800,000 at the time that the application is made. Ideally the bank balance should match the Certificate of Balance obtained from your bank in the next step below.
4) Proof of Financial Statement
What you will need to do is ask your bank for a letter for Immigration confirming the balance in your account, the ‘Certificate of Balance’, a sample of which, downloaded from the Internet, is shown below.
I went to Bangkok Bank at BluPort and asked the teller to issue me with this letter. The process took about 10 minutes, for which I was charged a fee of 100 baht, which I had to pay in cash rather than it being deducted from my account balance.
What I attached as well was a Statement of Account on my Bangkok Bank account for the FULL 12 months prior to the date of my application. I printed this document myself using the Bangkok Bank banking app. I requested the statement using the Bangkok Bank app which was then e-mailed to me, after which I just printed it from the e-mail. I did not go to the trouble of requesting the Statement of Account from Bangkok Bank directly as that, according to the teller, would have taken one week to prepare. I also did not have the Statement of Account stamped by Bangkok Bank and this was accepted by the Immigration Office.
I made sure that the final balance as shown on the 12-month statement matched 1) the Certificate of Balance received from Bangkok Bank and 2) the balance as shown in the Bank Book discussed earlier. What I suggest you do for a few days before you submit your application, while getting the documents prepared, is pay for everything in cash. That way you can ensure consistency between all the balances in the documents prepared for Immigration, thereby avoiding questions as to why balances do not match.
In addition to the Statement of Account for 12 months, I also attached a Statement of Account for TWO months prior to the date of my application. However, the Immigration Officer returned the two-month Statement of Account to me when he stated that the 12-month Statement of Account was better for my application. I suspect, however, as stated in the Document of Requirements, that the two-month Statement of Account will be sufficient for your application process.
I was informed by Customer Services at Immigration that the Certificate of Balance issued by the bank is valid for seven days but I was informed by a different Immigration Officer that the certificate is valid for four working days so it’s better to apply for this letter as the final stage of the process before submitting your application.
5) Copy of House Registration or Rental Housing Contract, Residence Map
Since I own my condo at Black Mountain, I was able to attach a copy of my Title Deeds from Black Mountain showing ownership of the condo. I also prepared a copy of the Purchase Agreement for my condo but that was NOT required by Immigration.
However, I was asked for both the ORIGINAL ‘Blue Book’ for my condo as well as a colored copy. Unfortunately, at the time of my application, I did not have the Blue Book yet from Black Mountain but this was not pursued further by the Immigration Officer. For next year’s application I now have both the original Blue Book and I will take a colored copy to attach to my application.
For information, ChatGPT says the following about the ‘Blue Book’ in Thailand:
Regarding the residence map, I have heard that Immigration sometimes asks for a hand-drawn map to the location of a property. I was not asked to provide such a drawing as it’s my guess that Black Mountain is well known and is easy to find. If your home is not easy to find or is not in a major development perhaps you will be asked to provide a map to your home. I suspect this requirement is at the discretion of the Immigration Officer.
For people who do not own their residence in Thailand, I suggest, but I cannot be sure, that you take a copy of your lease agreement. Also make sure that your landlord has registered your TM30 with Immigration. ChatGPT says the following as it relates to the TM30 form.
Being the owner of the condo, I submit to Immigration an updated TM30 every time I travel outside of Black Mountain, whether locally or internationally. I registered a profile on the TM30.io website, registered my property with Immigration and uploaded a copy of my passport. Each time I submit the TM30 to Immigration I just hit the ‘Submit Again’ button on the TM30.io website.
6) Medical Insurance
The main difference between the Non-Immigrant O-A visa and the Non-Immigrant O visa is that under the O-A visa you are required to have medical insurance with a Thai medical insurance provider. My medical policy is with CIGNA which is NOT recognized by Thai Immigration. As such, my application documents were rejected immediately by the lady at the Customer Services section of Hua Hin Immigration. I was informed that I should apply for a medical insurance policy with a locally-based Thai company on the list of approved medical insurance providers. I was provided with a list of approved medical insurance providers by Hua Hin Immigration. The same list can be found online as the list of insurance companies approved for the Non-Immigrant O-A visa.
Since my CIGNA policy was NOT approved, I had to scramble and apply for a medical insurance policy using the above-mentioned website. I selected Axa since 1) I used them for my car insurance while in the United Arab Emirates, and 2) the online application process was easy and the policy was generated within 15 minutes of the application being submitted. Start your application with Axa by considering the Axa Easy Care Health Insurance for Visa O-A, O-X and LTR.
My cost was THB 7,110 for a policy that I will not use since I have international medical coverage with CIGNA but in order to meet Immigration requirements I had to incur the cost. I applied for the policy around midday and returned to Immigration on the same afternoon. Unfortunately, this is where my only problem arose. Because I received the policy only two hours earlier, and printed a color copy thereof for Immigration, the policy details had not yet been synchronized to the Immigration system. As such, my application was rejected. I called Axa right away and was informed that it could take between three to four days before the policy was reflected at Immigration. I then ran the risk that my bank’s Certificate of Balance would be out of date.
However, when I returned to Immigration the next day, a Friday, I was lucky that the policy was now reflected in the Immigration system and my application could proceed.
What I suggest for you: make sure that you apply for your medical insurance policy at least two working days before you apply for your Certificate of Balance from the bank, otherwise you risk having the same problem that I experienced.
Klook.comOTHER DOCUMENTS TO SUPPORT MY APPLICATION
7) The TM.8 Application Form
If you wish to have multiple entries into Thailand you will need to complete the TM.8 Application Form, i.e. the ‘Application for Re-Entry Permit to Return into the Kingdom’. The form that I used is shown below. The application fee of THB 3,800 will be paid towards the end of the process, for which you should receive a blue receipt as shown. If you do not apply for multiple entries visa during this process, you could always return to the Immigration Office if you subsequently decide that this is what you need.
One thing to keep in mind is that you should attach the same set of copies to the TM.8 form as you did for the TM.7 form as it relates to passport copies, visa copies and entry stamp copies, i.e. make a second set of these documents to attach to the TM.8 application form. You will also need two passport photos although, as detailed earlier, just one photo was attached the application form while the other one was returned to me.
8) The Latest 90-day Report to Immigration
The Immigration Officer inspected the 90-day report that was attached in the back of my passport. Make sure that you also have your latest 90-day report available for inspection.
I trust that this blog post will make it easier for you to apply for an ‘Extension of Stay’ in Thailand as you continue to enjoy your retirement in the Land of Smiles. Now that you have received your Extension of Stay, how about considering other things to do in Hua Hin?
Booking.comOur other posts on Thailand may be found here.
(Visited February 2025)