The Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau has two public offices: the main office at 71 Moo 3 Airport Road, next to the airport (open weekdays from 8:30 a.m.), and a branch office on the second floor of the Central Chiangmai shopping mall on the superhighway (open weekdays from 9:00 a.m.). Both offices are closed at midday and on public holidays and can be reached by phone at +86 53 201 755. At the mall branch, you can apply for a tourist extension, a 90-day notification, or a re-entry permit. The Airport Road branch handles electronic extension stamps, extensions due to retirement or marriage, form TM.30, and all other related matters.
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The short answer
For tourist visa extensions, 90-day reports, or re-entry permits, please go to the second floor of the Central Chiangmai office. All other matters, including electronic extension stamps, extensions for retirees and spouses, and TM.30 forms, can be handled at 71 Moo 3 Airport Road. Both offices are open Monday through Friday, closed at midday and on public holidays.
Would you like to extend your tourist stamp by 30 days? There is a separate step-by-step guide for this.
The two offices of the Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau and their respective tasks
The address, phone number, and email address of the main office are taken from the Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau website. Information regarding the floor, entrance, and services offered at the branch in the shopping mall comes from the announcement by Immigration Department 5 concerning the branch's opening on June 6, 2022. This announcement stated a closing time of 5:00 PM, but the branch's Google listing currently shows 4:30 PM. The main office's opening hours are taken from the Immigration Bureau's service manuals and its Google listing.
The main office is located on Flughafenstrasse (Airport Street).
Most people who refer to the Chiang Mai Immigration Office are referring to the provincial office located at Moo 3 No. 71 on Sanam Bin (Airport) Road in Suthep. According to its website, it is about 200 meters from the airport. It has been located at this address since 1984 and offers all provincial services, from 30-day extensions for tourists and extensions for retirees and spouses to residence permits and the TM.30 form for landlords.
It opens Monday to Friday at 8:30 a.m., closes for lunch from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., and closes at 4:30 p.m. According to a visa service guide, waiting numbers are issued starting at 8:30 a.m., but on busy days, these can be gone by 3:00 p.m. for visa extensions. Therefore, I would recommend arriving before it opens.
Directions to Flughafenstraße
The office is located on Airport Road between the airport and the Central Chiang Mai Airport shopping mall, which older guidebooks also refer to as Airport Plaza. From the Old City, it's a short ride southwest by Grab or taxi. Alternatively, you can take a red songthaew (shared taxi) if you negotiate the price before starting your journey. It's just a few minutes' drive from the airport terminal.
Inside and how the queue works
Those arriving without an appointment take a number and wait until their number is called. According to the immigration authority's handbook for tourist visas, processing at the counter takes approximately 40 minutes once all documents are complete. An officer checks the documents, photographs them, the applicant pays, and receives a receipt. The passport is then stamped and returned. The waiting time until your number is called can vary.
The office offers a priority channel until 2026 for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and anyone requiring special assistance. These individuals will be given priority when applying for extensions. Please inquire at reception to find out if this applies to you.
The Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau's Facebook page (facebook.com/immchiangmai) posts closures and changes to both offices. Check there on the morning of your visit.
The Central Chiang Mai branch (formerly the Central Festival)
The branch in the Central Chiangmai shopping center opened on June 6, 2022, on the second floor, next to entrance 2/1 and the elevator on the SuperSports side. Central Chiangmai is the large shopping center on the Chiang Mai–Lampang expressway in Fa Ham, formerly known as Central Festival. So, if a guidebook directs you to Central Festival, it refers to the same place. It is not the shopping center at the airport, which is called Central Chiang Mai Airport.
The services offered are limited and cover most visitors' needs: extensions for tourists, re-entry permits, and 90-day reporting requirements, as well as extensions for teachers and students, accompanying family members, and former Thai citizens. Stamps are also transferred to new passports. The office opens at 9:00 AM on weekdays, has a lunch break from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, and closes at 4:30 PM, according to its Google listing.
Visitor reports describe the route as quieter than Airport Road. One visitor reported a tourist trip that took about 20 minutes, while another said it took almost three hours after arriving at 1 p.m. According to Google Maps, the route is least busy at 9 a.m. and reaches its peak on Friday afternoons.
Arrival in Central Chiang Mai
The shopping center is located on the highway northeast of the old town and is accessible from almost anywhere in the city by taxi or Grab. It has a large parking lot. According to Visa Services, the shops in the mall open at 10:00 AM, after the Visa branch, and a line forms at the entrance even before 9:00 AM.
The 30-day tourist extension
Both offices extend visa exemption stamps or tourist visas once for up to 30 days for a fee of 1,900 baht, at the officer's discretion. The branch in the shopping mall is easier to reach. Online applications submitted via e-Extension are stamped at the Airport Road office, the address provided by VFS Global for Chiang Mai. Therefore, plan your visit to the main office if you are applying online.
On my Chiang Mai extension page you will find the documents, the steps at the counter and the best time to travel.
The 90-Day Report (TM.47)
Anyone permitted to stay in the country for more than 90 days must report their address every 90 days using form TM.47. This report can be submitted 15 days before and up to 7 days after the due date. Failure to report late will result in a personal inspection and a fine of 2,000 baht, according to the Immigration Department's guidelines. Tourists exempt from this reporting requirement and granted an extension of stay will never reach the 90-day limit and therefore do not need to report.
In Chiang Mai, you can register at either office. According to visitor reports, the branch in the shopping mall is faster. The manual also allows you to have someone else register you (except in cases of delay). You can submit your registration by registered mail with return receipt, including signed copies of your passport pages and a stamped, self-addressed envelope, starting 15 days before the due date, or online. The Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau website links to the bureau's online TM.47 system and offers a downloadable TM.47 form.
Please bring your passport, the completed form TM.47, and your most recent receipt from the last 90 days. There are no fees, and according to the manual, the processing time at the counter is four minutes.
Re-entry permits
A re-entry permit extends your residence permit or long-term residence permit during your departure and re-entry into Thailand. It costs 1,000 baht for a single re-entry and 3,800 baht for multiple re-entries. The fee is non-refundable if the application is rejected. You will need form TM.8, a passport photo (4 x 6 cm), and your passport. According to the manual, the entire process takes approximately 40 minutes.
Both offices in Chiang Mai issue re-entry permits, and the branch in the shopping mall lists them in its brief service list. I would obtain a permit in the city before the flight date rather than hoping to find a counter at the airport.
The best-rated hotels in Chiang Mai
Here is my ranking of the 10 best hotels in Chiang Mai. Each button will take you directly to the hotel's page on Booking.com, where you can enter your travel dates.
TM.30 Address notification
The TM.30 form must be submitted to the Immigration Bureau by anyone hosting a foreign national within 24 hours of their arrival. Hotels handle this submission. For rented houses, apartments, or apartments, the owner or landlord is responsible. The form can be submitted in person at Airport Road, by mail, or online through the Immigration Bureau's TM.30 system. According to the Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau, the old system was replaced by the new one on September 15, 2023, and all property owners must re-register.
Extensions often go more smoothly with a copy of your TM.30 receipt. So, if you're renting privately, ask your host for one before your trip. According to some guidebooks, the TM.30 must be entered into the TDAC. The TDAC is the entry card you fill out before your flight; the TM.30 is a separate notification from your host.
Retirement, marriage, education and DTV extensions
Extensions due to retirement or marriage are not processed at the mall branch; please contact the airport branch for these. Extensions for educational purposes for teachers and students, as well as for accompanying family members, are processed at both branches. According to the visa service, DTV visa holders can apply for the 180-day extension at the mall branch. See my guide to visa requirements for specific visa regulations.
Online appointment booking
The Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau website offers an online reservation page for the main office. Extensions are offered for retirees, students, business travelers, and volunteers, each in 90-minute time slots. Tourists are not eligible. Tourists can appear without a reservation. A separate booking portal, linked from the bureau's homepage, is exclusively for migrant workers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
Opening hours, public holidays and best time to travel
Both offices are open Monday through Friday only. The Airport Road office opens at 8:30 a.m., and the branch in the shopping center at 9:00 a.m. Both have a lunch break from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and close at 4:30 p.m. The Immigration Bureau handbooks state that all services are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., including the lunch break, but note that individual office hours may vary.
Both offices are closed on Thai public holidays and on substitute days if a holiday falls on a weekend. On long weekends, they are closed for up to six consecutive days. The Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau publishes all closures on its website and Facebook page.
Visitors report that Mondays, Fridays, and the first working day after a public holiday are the busiest days. I would recommend going during opening hours from Tuesday to Thursday and never scheduling an appointment for the last working day before a long weekend.
What to bring, service by service
Tourist expansion
Passport and a copy of the photo page, a TM.7 form with a 4x6 cm photo, the official confirmation of overstaying the visa, and 1,900 baht. My TM.7 guide goes through each section with me.
90-day report
Passport, completed form TM.47 and, if available, your receipts from the last 90 days. No fee.
Re-entry permit
Passport, a TM.8 form with a 4×6 cm photo and 1,000 Baht for single entry or 3,800 Baht for multiple entries.
TM.30 personal
The owner brings form TM.30 as well as signed copies of the passport photo page, the last entry stamp and the visa page of the guest.
Outdated information you should ignore
Older guidebooks and forum posts refer to an immigration desk in the Promenada shopping mall. However, this desk is closed, and the branch has been located in the Central Chiangmai shopping mall since June 2022. If a site refers to the branch as Central Festival, it is the same shopping mall under its old name.
The opening hours for Airport Road are listed as 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. However, the handbooks and the agency directory state 8:30 a.m. Pages written before September 15, 2026, describe the extension of the 60-day visa waiver; the waiver is now 30 days, and the extension still totals 30 days. Reports of a drive-through window for 90-day applications at Airport Road date from 2020 to 2022, and I could find no current information about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions about the Chiang Mai Immigration Office.
The main office is located at 71 Moo 3, Airport Road (Sanam Bin Road), Suthep, Mueang Chiang Mai 50200, approximately 200 meters from the airport. The branch is located on the 2nd floor of Central Chiangmai on the Chiang Mai–Lampang expressway, at exit 2/1 on the SuperSports side.
The Airport Road branch is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Chiang Mai city center branch is open Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Both branches are closed on weekends and public holidays.
Only on weekdays that are not Thai public holidays or substitute holidays. Both offices close simultaneously, and the Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau publishes all closing times on its Facebook page and website. Therefore, please check there before your trip.
No. Neither office is open on Saturdays or Sundays.
It's the same shopping center. The branch is located on the second floor of Central Chiangmai on the Superhighway, which was formerly known as Central Festival. It is not located in Central Chiang Mai Airport, the old Airport Plaza.
Yes, for a tourist extension. Short-term tourist extensions have priority at this branch. Extensions due to retirement or marriage are handled through the Airport Road branch, as are online extensions (e-extensions).
You can submit your notification in person at one of our branches, online, or by registered mail. For in-person submission, you will need your passport, form TM.47, and your most recent receipt. There are no fees. Please submit your notification between 15 days before and 7 days after the due date, as a late fee of 2,000 Baht will be charged.
Yes, at the main office, but only for the areas of retirement, education, business, and volunteering. There is no tourist category, so tourists can simply walk in.
Reports from 2020 to 2022 mention a drive-through counter on Airport Road, but I couldn't find any current information about it from the Chiang Mai Immigration Bureau. Therefore, register either in person or online.
Instead, plan your visit to the immigration office. Airport security is a separate office for arrivals and departures, not an extension of the main office. The main office is located about 200 meters from the airport anyway.
Chiang Rai has its own provincial immigration office, and the immigration office handbooks state that one should apply to the office responsible for the region in which one is staying.
The telephone number for both offices is 053 201 755. The Immigration Office call center can be reached at 1178, and the office's email address is [email protected].
Sources
The offices, opening hours, and rules listed here are from these pages. The announcement from Department 5 for the branch in the shopping center is linked as an archived copy.
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