Phuket is one of the top tourist destinations in Thailand. It is also a popular destination among the Indian tourists. Now, according to the latest news, Phuket has made the visa process easier for foreign nationals by introducing an online Visa extension system.
According to the latest news from the Immigration Bureau, it is now possible to apply for a visa extension online for foreigners living in Phuket based on any of the 12 visa types. According to the reports, Pol Lt Gen Pol Itthiphon Ithitonnachai, Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said that the online visa extension system is now available.
One of the main objectives of this initiative is to make the immigration process more efficient and easy for tourists to access during the New Year holidays in Thailand. This is part of the larger objective of the Immigration Bureau led by the Commander-in-Chief of Thailand, Lieutenant General ITthiphon, to make the Immigration Bureau more efficient and accessible.
Kodagu is home to some of the most famous tourist spots in the country such as Abbi falls, madikeri rajaseet, cauvery nisarga dhama, dubare elephant camp, irpu falls and many more. According to the reports, Kodagu is seeing a huge influx of tourists with more than 1 lakh visitors on the weekends and around 30,000 on the weekdays. There are a lot of homestays and about 1,000 holiday centres in the area all of which offer exciting activities especially during the end-of-year festivals. This also makes it easy to find accommodation that suits your budget.
Phuket Airport received an average of 3,600 visitors from Russia in December, followed by China, the UK, and India with an average of 1,547, 780 and 720 visitors respectively.
The inflow of tourists through the airport in December is expected to reach 350,000 people.
The new online visa extension is called ‘E-extension’ and it aims to make the visa extension process easier for the 12 visa categories.
Visitors can submit their documents and schedule their appointments online and get a physical stamp for visa extension.
Immigration Bureau 1 in Bangkok as well as Immigration Offices in populated areas such as Chonburi Chiang Mai and Phuket are currently providing E-Extension services. However, the details of E-Extension for Foreigners in Phuket have not yet been made public on Phuket immigration website.
Itthiphon said that he would meet local immigration officials to sort out any problems, get feedback, and think about what needs to be done.
Other reports say that Thailand is close to returning to pre-covid levels of tourism in 2023, with an estimated 24,5 million visitors. Although the government’s target for the year was met, the figure is still lower than the record-breaking 40 million visitors in 2019.