The Secret Entrance

It's that time again; time for the soul-crushing task that is extending my visa. But this time, I have a plan. After years of learning the ropes, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, and this time, I was determined to be in and out of IT Square as quickly as I could.

In the past when I had a work visa, I had to go to the huge government building, Chaengwatthana Complex. I also spent a lot of time there during COVID for my emergency visa extensions. I'm in the process of finalizing my marriage visa, which will make life here so much easier, but for the time being I'm just in the country on a tourist exemption stamp. I entered on a 60-day stamp when I returned from Taipei and can extend it for an additional 30 days.

This morning, I woke up early (5:00 am) and took a taxi to IT Square, a fairly deserted old shopping center that for some reason is also the location for Immigration's "K Counter", which handles ASEAN laborers from neighboring countries as well as visa-exempt tourist extensions.

After a cup of hot coffee at Food Land, a 24-hour grocery store on site which also has a small restaurant and cafe, the sun was just starting to rise. The immigration office opens at 8:30, and the doors to the mall open at 8, but I've learned a few secrets.

Old pros know that you can climb the stairs in the parking garage to the 4th floor and get inside the mall before it actually opens. This is how the staff get inside early. I followed a little group up the stairs and in the open doors to the dark mall.

It sounds sketchy, but it's really not. It's totally allowed to enter this way. There are signs and everything, it's just not super heavily advertised.

While the other tourists were milling about outside and waiting around for the front doors to open, I was lined up in front of the Immigration office and ready to go at 7:00, a full hour earlier than most everyone else.

I had all of my paperwork in order and was queue ticket number 2! I paid the 1900-baht fee and received my passport back within ten minutes! I was home by 9:30! In the past, I have spent the entire day at Immigration, not getting home until 4 or 5 pm. This way, I still had the whole day ahead of me. Sure, I had to wake up early, but it's worth it not to waste a day just sitting around and standing in line.

I've got to do my next, and hopefully final, visa run next month. It's always nice to get away on a little trip, but I'm also looking forward to not having to worry so much about my visas going forward.