Koh Tao Immigration Office, Visa & Police Guide
Stay legal, stay safe.
Where to extend your visa on Koh Tao, the new 2026 Thailand visa rules, and how to reach the police and Tourist Police.
Stay legal, stay safe.
Where to extend your visa on Koh Tao, the new 2026 Thailand visa rules, and how to reach the police and Tourist Police.
Useful numbers
Tap a number to call it. Checked in November 2026.
Visa extensions, 90-day reports, re-entry permits. Mon to Fri, office hours.
Call → Koh Tao Police Station+66 77 456 098Open 24 hours, in Chalok Baan Kao.
Call → Tourist Police1155Free 24/7 hotline in English and other languages: theft, scams, lost documents, disputes.
Call → Police emergency191Crime in progress or immediate danger.
Call → Marine Police1196Emergencies and incidents at sea.
Call →Koh Tao Immigration Office
Koh Tao has its own immigration office, a unit of Surat Thani Immigration. You'll find it on the 2nd floor of the District Office building in Chalok Baan Kao, in the south of the island, a few minutes from the police station. Before it opened, everyone had to take the ferry to Koh Samui: today most visitors can do everything here.
Tips: dress neatly, with shoulders and knees covered; go in the morning; and don't wait for your last day, in case the office is closed or needs another document.
Thailand visa rules 2026
Thailand changed its visa-free rules on 15 September 2026: the 60-day visa exemption ended and most nationalities now get 30 days.
For tourism, for citizens of 60 countries and territories, including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, Singapore and most EU countries. Can be extended once by up to 30 days on Koh Tao, for a fee paid in cash.
Citizens of Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru keep 90 days visa-free under agreements with Thailand. Other agreements give 30 or 14 days to some nationalities.
Apply online before you travel on Thailand's official e-Visa website. It can be extended once by up to 30 days at immigration, for up to 90 days in total.
15 days visa-free for Mauritius and Seychelles. Visa on arrival is now only for Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia.
A multiple-entry visa for remote workers and people taking longer courses in Thailand, with stays of up to 180 days per entry. Apply online through the official e-Visa system.
Every foreign visitor must fill in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card online, within 3 days before arriving, at tdac.immigration.go.th. Avoid look-alike sites that charge a fee.
Living on Koh Tao
TM30 (address registration). Every hotel, guesthouse and landlord must report foreign guests to immigration, usually within 24 hours. Hotels do it automatically; if you rent a room or house privately, ask your landlord for the TM30 receipt and keep a copy: immigration asks for it for extensions and reports.
90-day report (TM.47). If you stay in Thailand for more than 90 days in a row on a long-stay visa or extension, you must report your address every 90 days. It's free, can be done from 15 days before to 7 days after the due date, and after the first report in person it can usually be done online. Late reports are fined.
Re-entry permit. Leaving Thailand cancels an extension or a single-entry visa unless you get a re-entry permit first, available for a single re-entry or for multiple re-entries, for a fee.
Police & Tourist Police
The Koh Tao Police Station moved in 2019 from Mae Haad to Chalok Baan Kao, in the south of the island, close to the District Office, the immigration office and Koh Tao Rescue. It is open 24 hours, you don't need an appointment, and officers speak basic English.
The Tourist Police are a special branch of the Royal Thai Police that helps visitors. Their national hotline 1155 is free, open 24/7 and answered in English and other languages. It's the best first call for theft, scams, lost passports, problems with a rental or a business, and translation when you deal with the local police.
Tourist Police officers work with the Koh Tao police on the island, especially in the high season and around events. If you can't explain a problem in Thai, call 1155 and they can speak to the officers or the other person for you.
Thai drug laws are strict and police do carry out checks on the island, including around parties. Keep your documents safe, use your accommodation's safe for your passport, and save the numbers on this page in your phone. For medical emergencies, rescue and the dive chamber, see Koh Tao emergency numbers.
Quick answers
Yes. Koh Tao has its own unit of Surat Thani Immigration, on the 2nd floor of the District Office building in Chalok Baan Kao. It handles tourist visa extensions, 90-day reports and re-entry permits, so most visitors don't need to travel to Koh Samui. Call +66 77 456 947 before going for anything complicated.
Since 15 September 2026, citizens of 60 countries and territories, including the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia, India and most of the EU, get 30 days visa-free for tourism, down from 60 days. Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru keep 90 days under bilateral agreements. Check your nationality on the official Thai e-Visa website before you travel.
Yes. At the Koh Tao Immigration Office you can apply once to extend a 30-day visa exemption or a 60-day tourist visa by up to 30 more days. An extension fee is charged, paid in cash, and the extension is at the officer's discretion. Apply a few days before your permission to stay ends.
Your passport, a completed TM.7 form, one recent 4 x 6 cm photo, copies of your passport photo page, entry stamp and arrival record, the TM30 address receipt from your accommodation, and the extension fee in cash. Dress neatly, with shoulders and knees covered.
Overstaying is fined for every day over, up to a maximum, paid at immigration or when you leave. Longer overstays, or being caught overstaying, can lead to detention, deportation and a ban from re-entering Thailand for one year or more. Extend or leave on time.
Koh Tao Police Station is in Chalok Baan Kao, in the south of the island, near the District Office and Koh Tao Rescue. It is open 24 hours: +66 77 456 098. For help in English, call the Tourist Police on 1155.
1155, free from any phone, 24 hours a day. Operators speak English and other languages and can connect you with officers on Koh Tao for theft, scams, lost passports or disputes.
No. A visa exemption or tourist visa does not allow any work in Thailand, paid or unpaid, including teaching diving or working in a bar. You need a Non-Immigrant visa and a work permit arranged by your employer.
Checked in November 2026 against announcements from the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Thai Immigration Bureau. Visa rules, fees and opening hours change: this is general information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the immigration office, the official Thai e-Visa website or your embassy before you travel.