Ranong Immigration (ตรวจคนเข้าเมืองจังหวัดระนอง) does two jobs. Its office in Bang Rin handles extensions, 90-day reports, re-entry permits and TM30 for foreigners living in Ranong province, Koh Phayam included. Its checkpoints at the Ranong piers control the boat crossing to Kawthaung (Koh Song) in Myanmar, which for years was one of the best-known visa-run routes in the south. That second role is why most people search for this office, and it is where you need to be careful. The checkpoints are operating, but we found no official statement that foreign tourists can currently cross for a visa run, and the rules for coming back in have changed. Details below.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Official name | ตรวจคนเข้าเมืองจังหวัดระนอง (Ranong Provincial Immigration), under Immigration Division 6 |
| Address | 71/10 Moo 5, Tambon Bang Rin, Amphoe Mueang Ranong, Ranong 85000 |
| Phone | 077-826-938 |
| Fax | 077-826-939 |
| [email protected] | |
| facebook.com/ranongimmigration (the office's own Q&A channel) | |
| Office hours | Monday-Friday, 08:30-16:30 |
| Closed | Saturdays, Sundays and Thai public holidays |
| Queue booking | Online calendar for "Ranong Immigration" on the Immigration Bureau's Division 6 appointment page |
| Extension of a visa-exempt stay | Once, up to 30 days (7 days for some nationalities), 1,900 THB |
| Re-entry permit | 1,000 THB single, 3,800 THB multiple (Immigration Bureau fee list, read 27 Sep 2026) |
The contact details are from the office's own contact page, which is marked as current on 17 July 2026. The office hours are from the Immigration Bureau's list of unit hours.
The Office and Its Checkpoints
The Immigration Bureau lists the office and three checkpoints for Ranong:
| Unit | Role | Hours (Immigration Bureau) |
|---|---|---|
| Ranong Immigration office, Bang Rin | Extensions, 90-day reports, re-entry permits, TM30 | Mon-Fri 08:30-16:30 |
| Pak Nam Ranong checkpoint (จุดตรวจบริเวณปากน้ำระนอง) | Boats and travellers at the Pak Nam waterfront | Daily 06:30-24:00 |
| Saphan Pla pier checkpoint (ท่าเรือสะพานปลา) | Passenger boats | Daily 06:30-24:00 |
| Andaman Co. pier checkpoint (ท่าเทียบเรือของบริษัทอันดามันจำกัด) | Passenger and tour boats | Daily 06:30-24:00 |
The office's own news posts from 2026 also mention a checkpoint at the customs pier (จุดตรวจท่าเทียบเรือศุลกากร) on the Ranong-Koh Song crossing. Koh Song is the Thai name for Kawthaung. A deputy commander of Immigration Division 6 inspected it on 21 May 2026 and found it operating normally.
What those posts show about who uses the crossing: officers at the Pak Nam checkpoint screened between 210 and 297 Myanmar nationals for trafficking risk on each day they reported in April to June 2026; officers at the Andaman and customs piers check dive and tour boats heading to islands on the Myanmar side, 234 tourists on one day in May 2026; and staff at the Saphan Pla pier help travellers file the digital arrival card (TDAC).
Visa Runs to Kawthaung: Check Before You Go
We could not confirm, from the office or from any other official source, that foreign tourists can currently cross to Kawthaung and come straight back on a visa run. Our Myanmar visa run guide found no current, reliable report either way as of September 2026. Before you travel:
- Call Ranong Immigration on 077-826-938, or message its Facebook page, and ask whether foreign tourists are being stamped out for a same-day return.
- Myanmar sets its own entry rules on the Kawthaung side. Nothing on the Thai office's site covers them.
- Count your entries. Since 15 September 2026, entries on the visa exemption through land borders are limited to two per calendar year (Malaysian, Bruneian, Indonesian and Singaporean nationals excepted). Ranong is a boat crossing, not a road; assume it counts toward the cap unless the checkpoint tells you otherwise.
- Expect the entry checks. On return you get a 30-day exemption stay at most, and the officer can ask for 20,000 THB per person (40,000 THB per family) and an onward ticket.
- No DTV runs. Since 31 August 2026 the DTV must be applied for in your country of nationality or permanent residence, so a trip across the border can no longer be used to get one.
If the crossing isn't an option, the alternatives are Malaysia via Hat Yai (Malaysia visa run) or a flight out. The Thai-Cambodian land border has been closed since July 2025. For a longer stay, an extension at the office is usually simpler: see below.
Services at the Office
Extension of a visa-exempt or tourist stay
The Immigration Bureau's published documents:
- Form TM.7, filed by you in person
- Copies of your passport photo page, visa (if any) and latest entry stamp
- One photo, 4 x 6 cm, taken within the last six months
- 1,900 THB fee
Nationals of Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal, Togo, Nigeria and Uganda get no more than 7 days under the Bureau's criteria. Everyone else can get up to 30 days. See visa exemption extension.
Retirement and marriage extensions
National criteria, fee 1,900 THB. Retirement: age 50 or over, and either 65,000 THB a month in income, or 800,000 THB in a Thai bank held for two months before applying and three months after approval (then not below 400,000 THB), or a combination totalling 800,000 THB. Marriage to a Thai national: average income of 40,000 THB a month, or 400,000 THB in a Thai bank held for the previous two months. The office's April 2026 report records long-stay extensions for a Myanmar woman married to a Thai man and a Malaysian man married to a Thai woman. See the retirement extension guide.
90-day report (TM.47)
Free, and busy: the office recorded 619 90-day reports in its 29 April 2026 service summary. File from 15 days before to 7 days after the due date; late reports mean going in person and paying 2,000 THB, or 5,000 THB if you're caught. The first report can't be made online. After that, use tm47.immigration.go.th. See the 90-day reporting guide.
Re-entry permit and TM30
Re-entry permit: 1,000 THB single, 3,800 THB multiple; leaving without one cancels an extension (re-entry permit guide). TM30: your landlord or guesthouse reports your address, online at tm30.immigration.go.th (TM30 guide).
Do You Need a Visa?
Since 15 September 2026, nationals of 60 countries and territories, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, most of Europe and India, get a 30-day visa exemption for tourism, replacing the 60-day scheme. The Ranong office posted the official summary of the new rules on its website. Seychelles and Mauritius get 15 days; Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia are the only nationalities still on Visa on Arrival. Myanmar passport holders have a bilateral 14-day exemption that applies at airports only, so it does not cover arrival by boat at Ranong. Details: visa exemption and our 30-day exemption explainer.
For longer stays you need a visa, usually applied for at thaievisa.go.th before you travel: the DTV for remote workers, a Non-Immigrant O for retirees. The visa finder will narrow it down.
Practical Notes
- Koh Phayam and Koh Chang (Ranong) are in Ranong province. Residents file at the Bang Rin office.
- Book online through the Division 6 appointment page, which has a calendar for Ranong Immigration.
- Online extension portal. The office website links the Bureau's e-Extension system at thaiextension.vfsevisa.com, run by VFS Global. Check whether your extension type is covered.
- Neighbouring offices: Phang Nga Immigration to the south, and Surat Thani Immigration to the east.
- Overstayed? Read overstay penalties before you go to a checkpoint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Ranong immigration office?
At 71/10 Moo 5, Tambon Bang Rin, Amphoe Mueang Ranong, Ranong 85000. Phone 077-826-938, fax 077-826-939.
What are Ranong immigration's opening hours?
The office is open Monday to Friday, 08:30-16:30, and closed on weekends and public holidays. The pier checkpoints (Pak Nam, Saphan Pla and Andaman Co.) are listed as open daily 06:30-24:00.
Can I still do a visa run from Ranong to Kawthaung?
We could not confirm it. The checkpoints are open and busy, but no official source we found says foreign tourists can currently make a same-day return run. Call 077-826-938 before you travel, and remember the two-per-year cap on exempt land-border entries.
Does a Ranong boat crossing count toward the two land-border entries a year?
The rule covers entries through land border checkpoints. Ranong's crossing is by boat, and no official source we found says how it is treated. Ask the checkpoint, and plan as if it counts.
Can I extend my visa exemption in Ranong?
Yes, once, by up to 30 days, for 1,900 THB with form TM.7 and one photo, at the Bang Rin office. Nationals on the Bureau's 7-day list, including India, get 7 days.
I live on Koh Phayam. Where do I report?
At Ranong Immigration in Bang Rin. After your first 90-day report you can file online at tm47.immigration.go.th.
Sources
- Ranong Immigration, contact page (address, phone, fax, email, Facebook; marked current 17 Jul 2026; read 27 Sep 2026): https://ranong.imm.police.go.th/contact
- Ranong Immigration, website and 2026 news posts (checkpoint work at Pak Nam, Saphan Pla, Andaman and customs piers; Ranong-Koh Song inspection, 21 May 2026): https://ranong.imm.police.go.th/
- Ranong Immigration, service summary 29 Apr 2026 (extensions, 619 90-day reports): https://ranong.imm.police.go.th/archives/5904
- Ranong Immigration, summary of the 2026 visa exemption and VOA rules effective 15 Sep 2026: https://ranong.imm.police.go.th/archives/8863
- Immigration Bureau, office hours of each immigration unit (Ranong office and three checkpoints): https://www.immigration.go.th/?avada_faq=office-hours-of-each-immigration-division-immigration-check-points-and-immigrationcheck-point-of-border-malaysia-myanmar-laos-and-cambodia
- Immigration Bureau, online appointment (Division 6; Ranong Immigration calendar): https://www.immigration.go.th/?page_id=19960
- Immigration Bureau, extension criteria (tourism 7-day list, retirement, marriage): https://www.immigration.go.th/?p=14695
- Immigration Bureau, fees (read 27 Sep 2026): https://www.immigration.go.th/?page_id=1401
- Immigration Bureau, 90-day notification: https://www.immigration.go.th/?page_id=1648
- TAT Newsroom, new 30-day and 15-day exemption rules from 15 September 2026: https://www.tatnews.org/2026/09/thailand-introduces-new-30-day-and-15-day-visa-exemption-rules-from-15-september/
