Staying Longer in Thailand: Extensions, Overstays and Border Runs
An extension is the legal way to stay longer without leaving. Getting it right is easy; getting it wrong, by overstaying even briefly, can follow you for years.
The short version
- Apply at your local immigration office before your permitted stay ends; the usual fee is 1,900 baht.
- Visa-exempt and tourist entries can usually be extended by 30 days.
- Long-stay visas are extended for a year at a time if you meet the rules.
- Overstaying costs 500 baht a day, up to 20,000 baht, and can lead to bans.
- Repeated border runs can get you refused entry.
Extending a visa-free or tourist stay
Most visa-free and tourist entries can be extended by 30 days at an immigration office for 1,900 baht, while your current stay is still valid. Since September 2026 the visa-free stay is 30 days for most Western passports, so an extension takes you to around 60 days at most. Land-border visa-free entries are limited to two a year.
Extending a long-stay visa
Retirement, marriage, work and education stays are extended at immigration, usually for a year (90 days for language students). You prove you still meet the rules, such as money in a Thai bank or a valid work permit, and pay 1,900 baht. Keep your TM30 receipt and 90-day reports to hand.
Border runs and visa runs
Leaving and coming back to start a new stay is legal, but immigration can refuse entry to people whose repeated visa-free entries look like living here. Land-border visa-free entries are capped at two a year. If you plan to stay, get the right visa instead.
If you overstay
There is no grace period. The fine is 500 baht a day up to 20,000 baht, paid when you leave. Surrendering with an overstay under 90 days usually means a fine only; longer overstays bring bans of one to ten years, and anyone caught overstaying faces a ban of at least five years. An extension cannot be granted once your stay has expired.
What overstaying costs
From The Thaiger, updated 26 Aug 2026. Bans run from your departure date.
Extension mistakes
Queues can be long.
There is no grace period.
Entry can be refused.
Bring copies of everything.
Everything on staying longer
Guides from the JLIT library.
Visa hubs
Every visa, duty and guide.
Keep going
Questions newcomers ask
How much does a Thai visa extension cost?
Usually 1,900 baht at an immigration office.
Can I extend a visa-free stay in Thailand?
Usually yes, by up to 30 days at an immigration office, while your current stay is still valid.
What is the fine for overstaying in Thailand?
500 baht a day, up to a maximum of 20,000 baht. Longer overstays, or being caught, can also bring a re-entry ban.
