The United Arab Emirates, Serbia, and Thailand are popular destinations for immigrants. Citizens of other countries are attracted to the UAE by its high living standards and low taxes. Serbia makes it easy to relocate there and it offers an opportunity to live in the center of Europe at a comparatively low cost. Thailand is a popular tourist destination as it offers wonderful weather all around the year and a warm sea. Living in Thailand is also quite inexpensive.
How could you extend your visa if you find yourself in one of these countries and you like it so much that you would like to stay longer? This is the issue that we discuss below. You will see from our discussions that the visa regulations are quite dissimilar in these three countries.
Tourists can extend their guest visas to the UAE without leaving the country
Here comes the latest news: tourists staying in the UAE on guest visas can be relieved because the Emirates have relaxed the requirements once again. Now, guest visa holders do not have to leave the country to extend their visas. They had to do it before.
Tourists who hold guest visas to the UAE can extend them twice for 30 days each time. Consequently, a tourist can stay in the UAE on a guest visa for 120 in total. Not bad at all!
You have to file an application for visa extension before your current visa expires. According to the official website, visa extension will cost you 610 dirhams.
The immigration authorities of Dubai also say that the costs of visa extension may vary if the applicant is present in the UAE. Extending a visa with the help of a tourist agency will cost you between 800 and 1,000 dirhams.
Guest visa holders can extend for thirty days twice them via the tourist agency that has issued the visa initially, via the local immigration authorities’ websites, or in their service centers. To be able to do that, you have to supply your original visa and your passport. Please note that your passport has to be valid for at least 6 more months.
If you apply for a visa extension online, a new visa will be issued within 48 hours. Females below 18 are ineligible to apply for visa extension on their own: they can do it only together with their parents.
The Dubai authorities have also canceled the grace period when holders of expired guest visas had 10 days to leave the country without a fine. A fine of 50 dirhams per day is now going to be levied right after the visa expiration date.
Therefore, you have to file an application for visa extension before it expires by all means. Dubai is the last Emirate to cancel the 10-day grace period: other Emirates did that earlier.
Extending your legal stay in Serbia
It would not be a surprise if you wanted to extend your stay in Serbia after you have spent a week or two in the country. Serbia has a lot to offer: mountain ski resorts, European service standards, world-class medicine, and affordable prices. On top of that, Serbia offers a number of opportunities to stay there for a long time if you are a citizen of another country. If you wish, you could stay there forever! Please check the link if you would like to find out more about the immigration routes to Serbia.
For how long can you legally stay in Serbia as a tourist? The country grants visa-free access to citizens of a great number of countries. Holders of the EU, UK, and US passports can stay in Serbia for 90 days without visas. Citizens of many other countries can stay in Serbia for 30 days without visas.
How can you extend your legal stay in Serbia without a visa? A border run would be a simple solution. Go to another country for a day, then return to Serbia and the countdown will be reset.
You should bear in mind, however, that all foreigners entering Serbia without visas have to register with the police authorities at the address where they are staying. If you are staying at a hotel, its administration will do it for you. If you are staying at a friend’s place, you have to visit the nearest police station yourself.
If you want to study or work in Serbia, you do need a visa. However, getting one is easy. Enrollment in a school or university in Serbia will already make you eligible for a student visa. You can also qualify for a long-term visa if you register a company or even a sole proprietorship in Serbia.
Extending your legal stay in Thailand
Thailand also grants (almost) visa-free access to a great number of nationalities. Many tourists don’t have to apply for visas in advance: visas will be stamped in their passport on arrival. There is also an opportunity to apply for a single-entry or a multiple-entry tourist visa beforehand. For how long can you extend your visa-on-arrival, your single-entry tourist visa, and your multiple-entry tourist visa to Thailand?
Visa on arrival. The validity term of a visa-on-arrival will depend on what country you come from and what season of the year it is. It can be 30 days or 45 days and the visa can be extended for 7 days only.
Single-entry tourist visa. If you acquire a tourist visa before going to Thailand, you can legally stay in the country for 60 days. Afterwards, you can extend the visa for 30 more days. Thus, you can spend 90 days in Thailand on a single-entry tourist visa.
Multiple-entry tourist visa. Foreigners are also eligible to apply for multiple-entry tourist visas to Thailand. If they do, they will be able to legally stay in the country for 90 days within any 180-day period. Both a single-entry and a multiple-entry visa can be extended for extra 7 days when the 90-day period expires.
Documents required for extending the visa
To extend any of the visa types described above, you have to visit an immigration office and submit the following documents:
- Completed TM7 and TM 30 forms that will be handed to you by the immigration officer;
- Passport copies (the page with the photograph and the page with the visa);
- One 4х6 photograph;
- A receipt confirming payment of the state duty (1,900 baht).
The process is simple and it does not take more than an hour in a normal case. You can make a copy of your passport right at the immigration office. Your photo can also be taken there. Besides, you can pay the state duty at the office too but you have to bring cash. After submitting all the documents, you will have to wait for 20 to 30 minutes only and an immigration officer will hand your passport with an extended visa back to you. Enjoy your stay!
