Visa Extension Chiang Mai and Visa types

Before we jump off to all the comforts that you can get while living in Chiang Mai, you need to know about the basics of living in this city as a foreigner. Foreigners can easily settle in Chiang Mai and start their own business too. They can get a yearly business visa type Non-Immigrant Visa “B” and Work permit which are valid for one year. How to get them? You can open a new small business, e.g: coffee shop which is very trendy in Thailand and more and more Thais become addicted to the taste of the western hot coffee style, not to mention the amount of tourists that would love to have a coffee in your small niched air-conditioned, internet coffee shop.

Work permit in Thailand

In order to get your Thai Work permit, you will be hire 4 Thai workers, maybe some of them beautiful young Thai ladies, that would attract many customers…
Since the minimum salary in Thailand is 9,000 THB it would not be a big challenge, and your workers would stay motivated as they receive a fair amount of tips directly from your clients.
You will need to renew your Thai Work permit Non-B visa annually, but is not a hassle, and can be done without the need to go out of Thailand.

Applying for Non-Immigrant B Visa in Chiang Mai

The process of 1 year business visa application in Chiang Mai should be easy. Your local lawyer will prepare all the required documents, in order to renew your Thai Work permit together with the Non-Immigrant Visa “B”. These two things must come together, in order to make you a legitimate business owner in Thailand. In terms of cost it is peanuts as comparing to the costs of maintaining a business in a western country. The lawyer’s fee (that is already including the government fees) should not exceed 2000 USD/year.
Your lawyer will provide you with all of the required documents to Chiang Mai Immigration Office and Labor office, and again you should be able to get a 1 year Non-B Visa it without the need to do “visa run” outside Thailand.

Tourist Visa of 60 Days in Thailand

If you decided to just arrive an enjoy the city, then a tourist visa would be your choice. The visa extension of tourist visa 60 days to 90 days (meaning, extension by 30 days maximum) can be easily done in Chiang Mai immigration office. You will need to arrive there in the morning until 12:00, and fill out the request form, hand it to the officer together with your passport and a copy of your last visa. The extension fee is 1,900 THB currently. There is a photocopy store in every immigration office in Thailand.

Applying for 60 Days Tourist Visa for Thailand

The 60 days tourist visa for Thailand is issued in any Thai embassy outside of Thailand. If you are already in Chiang Mai with 30 days visa on arrival, then do not wait for the last day, take 1-2 days spare and leave the country on the 28th/29th day. Do a short trip and go out to a neighboring country nearby, e.g: Laos, Myanmar. There you apply a request of 60 days tourist visa at the Thai embassy. The fee is 1000 THB currently.

thai visa at vientiane thai embassy

Entrance to the Thai Embassy in Vientiane

The Thai embassy in Vientiane

Outside the Thai embassy in Vientiane, Laos, there are many freelancers who offer their “services” in the Thai visa application, refuse politely and go into the embassy premises. There is a qualified approved agency inside, which will help you to fill out your form in a professionally manner for a fee of only 50 THB. Documents duplication is only 2 THB/page. They also offer passport photos shooting (need to attach 2 identical passport photos to the request form). Just do not get yourself into a situation where you need to use their print or fax service inside the Thai embassy in Vientiane, since it is relatively very expensive and not making sense at all: 160 THB per one page !!

thai visa photo scan service

Thai Visa Vientiane – photo/copy/scan service

Please pay attention to the dates of Thai Holidays, since Thailand has many short holiday, which are spread throughout the year. During a Thai holiday the embassies and immigration offices are closed, so is the Thai embassy in Vientiane. Generally all government offices are closed during Thai holidays.

Application for the visa is from 8am to 12pm. Applicants get their passport back in the following working day from 13.30-15.30 hours, then you will be charged 1000 THB in order to receive your passport back, together with the new visa.

Bus from Vientiane to Thailand

After you have got your new visa. The smartest way to get back to anywhere in Thailand is to book a flight ticket from Udon Thani in Thailand, which is located just 1 hour from the Laos-Thailand border. Air-Asia or Thai Lion Air usually offer the cheapest flights to Bangkok. You should book directly on their websites to avoid a broker fees. A direct flight from Udon Thani to Bangkok for example, should cost no more than 1,000 THB.

Now you ask yourself how you get from Vientiane to Udon Thani… There a direct bus from Vientiane Morning Market Bus Station directly to Udon Thani in Thailand. At the afternoon, the bus departures every 1-1.5 hour and the fare is only 100 THB.

morning market bus station vientiane

Vientiane Morning Market Bus Station

This bus stops at the border, where all the passengers get down, pass the border and then get back onto the bus. The process is very effective, since nobody wants to let the others wait… Overall, the journey to Udon Thani, including passing the border should take no more than 3 hours. 30 minutes to the friendship bridge (Laos-Thailand border, from Vientiane to Nong Khai) + 1 hr at the border + 1 hr to Udon Thani (+ 30 minutes extra for any delays).

Anyway we recommend you to book a flight from Udon-Thani after 7pm and don’t take a chance, since your passport might be handed for you pretty late in the afternoon, up until 4pm. Moreover, take into consideration that due to the frequency of bus, you might need to wait for a while in Vientiane Morning Market Bus Station. You can use the schedule below to book flight ticket accordingly. However, this schedule might be changed with the time.

Enjoy your stay in Thailand!

schedule bus vientiane thailand

Bus Vientiane to Udon Thani – schedule

bus from vientiane to thailand

Bus from Vientiane to Udon Thani, Thailand

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