Phuket Visa and Lawyer Services: Extensions, DTV and Overstay

The visas and lawyers in Phuket section lists the island's immigration lawyers and visa specialists: retirement, family and business visas, work permits, company setup and bank accounts. Prices start at 5,000 THB for a tax ID (TIN) and go up to 220,000 THB for a full BOI application, and any service is reserved with a 1,000 THB deposit.

The big change this autumn: from 15 September 2026 Thailand cut its visa-exempt stay from 60 to 30 days. Citizens of about 60 countries, including the UK, the US, EU states and Australia, now get 30 days on arrival, and Russian passport holders get the same 30 days under a separate 2005 bilateral agreement. If you entered before that date, the stamp you received stays valid as issued.

Visa-exempt entries through land checkpoints are capped at two per calendar year, resetting on 1 January; citizens of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei are exempt. Every arrival, by air or land, also needs the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card, filed at tdac.immigration.go.th no earlier than three days before you cross. Copycat sites charge for the same form, so check the address.

Thai immigration rules shift several times a year, so treat every figure here as a starting point and confirm your own case with a lawyer before you book flights or commit to a long stay, especially with children, a business or a property purchase involved.

A visa-exempt stamp can be extended once, by 30 days, without leaving the country. The government fee is 1,900 THB, and you apply in person at the immigration office in Phuket Town before your current permission runs out. The officer decides and there is no automatic right to an extension, which is why a complete, tidy document set matters.

Bring your passport, a completed TM.7 form, one 4x6 cm photo, signed copies of your photo page, entry stamp and TDAC, and a TM.30 receipt. The TM.30 is the address notification that hotels file automatically and that condo or villa owners must submit within 24 hours of your check-in. A missing TM.30 is the most common reason applications get handed back, so ask your landlord for it early.

The office works on weekdays, pauses at lunch and may stop accepting fee payments by mid-afternoon. In high season arrive at opening time, as the queue can take hours. A routine Thailand visa extension in Phuket is something most people file themselves; an agent is worth paying only if you cannot spare the day or your case has a complication, such as a past overstay, a new passport or an unusual stamp.

The Destination Thailand Visa, or DTV visa, is a five-year multiple-entry permit allowing up to 180 days per entry. Inside Thailand each entry can be extended once by another 180 days for 1,900 THB, which adds up to almost a year without leaving. The consular fee is around 10,000 THB and varies by embassy.

It covers three groups: remote workers and freelancers paid by employers or clients outside Thailand; Thai Soft Power participants, such as Muay Thai or Thai cooking students, medical patients, seminar and cultural event attendees; and spouses and children under 20 of a holder. You need at least 500,000 THB or the equivalent in savings, and many embassies want to see the money held for three months. Working for a Thai company on this status is not allowed.

Applications go through the e-Visa system from outside Thailand only. From 31 August 2026 the process tightened: you apply at the embassy responsible for your country of citizenship or permanent residence, and some consulates now also ask for a police certificate. Anyone staying more than 90 days in a row must file a 90-day address report on form TM.47.

A retirement Non-O is open to people aged 50 or over with 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account or a proven monthly income of at least 65,000 THB. In the catalog it costs 12,000 THB for 3 months, 35,000 THB for 12 months, or 80,000 THB for a 15-month package that includes opening a bank account. The Non-O-A version, issued abroad, requires health insurance covering the whole stay.

A dependent Non-O for family members costs 10,000 THB for 3 months and 15,000 THB for a year. Marriage-based visas need proof that the marriage is genuine: the certificate, photos together and sometimes a check at your home address. This is where document packs get sent back most often, and a lawyer's support saves weeks.

A 3-month Non-B business visa is 15,000 THB, its extension 30,000 THB, and a work permit 20,000 THB for one year or 30,000 THB for two. The lawyer collects the employer's paperwork, tracks deadlines and files everything, so immigration has no reason to reject the case over a mistyped date or an unsigned copy. All these packages are listed at the providers' own prices.

Under the Foreign Business Act, foreigners may hold no more than 49% of a Thai company in most activities. Registering such a company costs from 50,000 THB in the catalog, or 60,000 THB for a 100% foreign-owned structure. Full ownership is possible through BOI promotion (eligibility check 25,000 THB, application 220,000 THB), a Foreign Business Certificate (25,000 THB), or the US-Thai Treaty of Amity, which applies only to Americans (20,000 THB).

After registration come smaller but mandatory steps: a TIN (5,000 THB), social security registration (10,000 THB), VAT once turnover passes 1.8 million THB a year (10,000 THB), a corporate bank account (10,000 THB), a capital increase (20,000 THB) or a change of directors (10,000 THB). A good lawyer in Phuket will tell you upfront which of these your setup actually needs and which can wait.

Buying property in Phuket is its own topic. A foreigner cannot own land outright but can own a condo unit if the building's 49% foreign quota is not used up, and the purchase money must arrive from abroad with a bank confirmation, otherwise the unit cannot be registered in your name. Have the lawyer check the title, history and contract before any deposit leaves your account.

The overstay fine is 500 THB per day, capped at 20,000 THB, a ceiling reached after 40 days. A short overstay is paid at passport control on departure, at the airport or a land border, but the violation stays on record and can prompt questions the next time you arrive.

If you surrender voluntarily, the ban depends on the length: more than 90 days means a 1-year ban, more than a year 3 years, more than three years 5 years, more than five years 10 years. If police catch you first, it gets harsher: a 5-year ban for overstays under a year and 10 years beyond that, plus time in an immigration detention centre awaiting deportation.

Your arrival day counts as day one. Read the date on the stamp rather than your ticket, set a reminder a week before it expires and leave a two or three day buffer for queues or a delayed flight. If a long overstay has already happened, show your passport to a lawyer before you buy a ticket out.

To stay beyond 30 days there are three legal routes. First, a 30-day extension at immigration for 1,900 THB. Second, a visa border run to Malaysia for 4,000 THB, which gets you a fresh 30-day stamp, keeping the two-land-entries-a-year cap in mind. Third, a long-stay visa if you plan to spend three months or more in Thailand.

Officers increasingly read same-day exits and returns as a sign of living on visa exemptions, and repeat visitors may be asked for an onward ticket, an address and proof of funds. A chain of border runs is a poor plan for a whole winter; one DTV or retirement Non-O costs less in time and nerves.

A visa agent helps when the job is paperwork: assembling a Non-O pack, translating and certifying documents, drafting employer letters. A trustworthy agent or lawyer never promises the result, because immigration always decides, and never keeps your passport for a couple of days without a signed receipt.

Pick a service in the catalog and press "Book a Consultation". The 1,000 THB deposit is paid online with a Russian bank card through Robokassa or in crypto. A manager then messages you on Telegram or WhatsApp, typically within 15 minutes during the day, and arranges the meeting with the lawyer.

The first consultation is free: the lawyer reviews your passport, stamps and plans, then names the timeline and final price. Decline at the meeting and the deposit is refunded in full; go ahead and it is deducted from the fee. The rest is paid directly to the provider, in cash or by card, at the provider's own price with no platform markup. If online payment fails, leave your name and phone number and a manager will book it manually.

Warning signs: full prepayment before filing, with no contract or receipt; a "100% guaranteed" visa; an offer to get you a stamp without you crossing the border. Such a stamp is forged, and using it leads to criminal charges and deportation. Also watch for paid clones of the TDAC site that charge for a free form.

Travellers make their own mistakes too: counting 30 days from the ticket date, forgetting the TM.30, or picking up side work as a photographer, instructor or property agent on a tourist status. Working without a permit, even one cash job, ends in a fine and removal, and the DTV only allows remote work for clients abroad.

Check the stamp date and work out your last permitted day. Copy your passport, stamp and TDAC and sign each copy. Bring a 4x6 cm photo and 1,900 THB in cash. Get the TM.30 receipt from your hotel or landlord. For a long-stay visa, prepare a bank statement and health insurance if required. If your case has even one complication, Phuket visa and lawyer services on phuketb2c.com let you book a consultation in a couple of messages.