(CTN News) – An online visa extension system has been introduced by Phuket, one of the most visited places in Thailand, to expedite visas for foreigners.
Pol Lt Gen Itthiphon Itthisanronnachai, the commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, has announced that foreign nationals staying in Phuket under any of the twelve specified visa types can now submit an online application to extend their visa, according to VisaGuide.World.
To improve the operations of the Immigration Bureau and provide a seamless experience for tourists over the upcoming New Year holidays, this action is in line with Lt Gen Itthiphon’s overall aim.
Improving the efficiency and accessibility of the immigration procedure is the primary objective of this approach. The government has made Phuket, the top tourist destination in the southern region, a top priority.
Measures to ease travel, like removing visa requirements for visitors from China and India, have been put in place, and the numbers from these visitors prove that the strategy is paying off.
With an astounding 3,600 arrivals per day on average in December, Phuket Airport had the greatest flood of Russian tourists.
Next in line with 1,500, 780, and 720 visitors per day, respectively, were visitors from China, the UK, and India. It is anticipated that the airport would receive a total of 350,000 tourists this month.
E-Extension, a brand new online method for extending visas, streamlines the application procedure for 12 different types of visas.
According to the Phuket News, tourists can now renew their visas digitally by submitting paperwork and making appointments online. Then, they can actually obtain a stamp in the mail.
Several of Thailand’s most populated cities, including Bangkok’s Immigration Bureau 1 and the immigration offices in Chonburi, Chiang Mai, and Phuket, are now offering the E-Extension Visa Service.
There has been no formal announcement on the Phuket Immigration website regarding the E-Extension service for foreigners.
Local immigration officers and Lt. Gen. Itthiphon will meet to review concerns, hear opinions, and brainstorm solutions. In November of last year, the E-Extension service was trialed out for foreigners living in Bangkok.
It is a collaboration with VFS GLOBAL, the official partner of the UK government for receiving passport applications from nationals of the UK.
According to EFE, Thailand’s tourist numbers have reached over 24.5 million so far in 2023, and they are expected to return to levels seen before the pandemic.
Tourist visits to the Asian country are significantly lower than the record of 40 million tourists, which was established in 2019, even though this number meets the government’s aim for the year.