Koh Lanta has no immigration office of its own — every long-stay resident's 90-day report, annual extension, TM30 and re-entry permit routes through Krabi Provincial Immigration on the mainland. Here's how to handle it, and how to avoid the crossing where you can.
For anyone living on Koh Lanta on a long-stay visa — retirement, marriage, the DTV, the LTR, work or family — immigration admin is a recurring part of life, and the island's biggest practical wrinkle is that there is no local office to walk into. Koh Lanta falls under Krabi province, so every 90-day report, annual extension of stay, TM30 address notification, re-entry permit and certificate of residence is handled by Krabi Provincial Immigration in Krabi Town, reached by the Ban Hua Hin car ferry and the Koh Lanta Noi–Yai bridge. This guide covers what routes to Krabi, how to use the postal and online options to avoid the crossing where possible, what to bring when you do go, and how to stay clear of overstay.
Unlike Phuket, Koh Samui or Koh Phangan, Koh Lanta has no immigration sub-office of its own. Every long-stay errand — 90-day reporting, extensions of stay, TM30, re-entry permits, certificates of residence — is handled by Krabi Provincial Immigration on the mainland, in Krabi Town. That single fact shapes how residents here plan their visa admin: either make the crossing in person, or use the postal and online options that spare you the trip.
From Saladan or the west-coast beaches, reaching Krabi Provincial Immigration means the same road-and-ferry (or Ban Hua Hin car-ferry / Koh Lanta Noi–Yai bridge) route used for the airport transfer — budget 1.5–2.5 hours each way door to door, more in high season when ferry queues build. Most residents treat an in-person immigration errand as a half-day trip: cross to the mainland, handle the paperwork in Krabi Town, then head back. It is one of the clearest downsides of island life on Lanta, and one reason so many residents lean on postal and online reporting instead.
If you hold a long-stay extension (retirement, marriage, DTV, LTR, education or work), you must report your current address every 90 days. For Koh Lanta residents this is filed with Krabi Provincial Immigration, and there are four routes: in person in Krabi Town, by registered post sent 7–15 days before the due date, online via the immigration website or app (available in a window around the due date), or through an agent. Given the crossing, postal and online reporting are especially popular among Lanta residents — mastering one of them saves a return trip to the mainland every three months. Keep the receipt slip; the next due date is printed on it, and leaving and re-entering Thailand resets the clock.
The renewable one-year extension of stay — for retirement, marriage, work or family — is processed at Krabi Provincial Immigration for anyone whose registered address is on Koh Lanta (the island falls under Krabi province). Bring your financial evidence (seasoned bank balance or income for retirement/marriage cases), TM30 receipt, passport, photos and the completed TM7 form. Because this is a full in-person appointment — sometimes two visits — most Lanta residents plan it as a proper trip to Krabi Town rather than trying to rush it around a ferry timetable, and start well before their permission to stay expires in case a second visit is required.
The 'house master' — your landlord, condo owner or resort — must notify immigration that a foreigner is staying at their address, normally within 24 hours of moving in or returning from abroad. On Koh Lanta this filing still routes to Krabi Provincial Immigration. The TM30 receipt is one of the most important documents you'll hold here: it's usually required before a 90-day report, an extension or a certificate of residence will be processed. Confirm your landlord or the property's management has filed it, and keep your own copy — a missing TM30 is the most common reason a Lanta resident's immigration errand gets bounced once they've made the crossing.
A one-year extension of stay is cancelled the moment you leave Thailand unless you first buy a re-entry permit — single or multiple-entry. Koh Lanta residents can arrange this in advance at Krabi Provincial Immigration (worth bundling with any other in-person errand) or at Krabi International Airport (KBV) before departure. Anyone on a retirement, marriage or other annual extension who plans to fly out of Krabi — even for a short regional trip — needs this first, or the extension is forfeited and the process has to start over.
Bring your passport, TM30 receipt, and photocopies of your passport photo page, visa/extension stamp and signed departure card, whatever the errand. Extensions add financial evidence, photos and the relevant form; certificates of residence add proof of address such as a lease. Requirements vary and are periodically tightened, so confirm Krabi Immigration's current checklist before you make the crossing — losing your place in the queue to chase a photocopier is a wholly avoidable way to waste a half-day trip from Lanta.
Given the crossing, more Koh Lanta residents than average use a visa agent for anything beyond a simple 90-day report — a reputable agent can prepare paperwork, file TM30, handle a postal 90-day report on your behalf, or manage an extension application with a single well-timed trip to Krabi rather than several. It isn't required for routine reporting, but for annual extensions in particular, many long-stayers here find the cost worth avoiding a wasted mainland trip. Choose an established agent, not the cheapest option.
Krabi Provincial Immigration issues certificates of residence — needed for a Thai driving licence, buying a vehicle, or opening some bank accounts — for a small fee, typically same-day to a few days. Request it a little ahead of when you need it, and bundle the trip with any other immigration errand rather than making two separate crossings from Koh Lanta.
Overstay is fined 500 baht per day up to a 20,000 baht cap, and longer overstays can trigger a re-entry ban. Watch your passport's permitted-to-stay stamp, not the visa validity date, and start any extension well before it expires — a second Krabi visit may be needed. Buy a re-entry permit before any trip that involves leaving Thailand. On an island where a same-day fix means a multi-hour crossing, treating immigration dates as hard deadlines is the difference between a routine errand and a real headache.
No. Koh Lanta has no immigration sub-office of its own. All immigration matters for island residents — 90-day reporting, extensions of stay, TM30, re-entry permits and certificates of residence — are handled by Krabi Provincial Immigration in Krabi Town on the mainland.
The 90-day report can be filed by registered post sent 7–15 days before the due date, or online via the immigration website or app in the window around the due date — both spare you the road-and-ferry (or bridge) trip to Krabi Town. Many Lanta residents use one of these routes for routine reporting and save an in-person Krabi trip for annual extensions or anything more complex.
Budget roughly 1.5–2.5 hours each way door to door via the Ban Hua Hin car ferry and the Koh Lanta Noi–Yai bridge, more in high season when ferry queues build. Most residents treat an in-person immigration errand as a half-day trip.
Yes — the TM30 address notification, which a landlord or resort must file with immigration when a foreigner stays at their address, applies on Koh Lanta the same as anywhere else in Thailand, and routes to Krabi Provincial Immigration. The TM30 receipt is usually required before a 90-day report, extension or certificate of residence can be processed, so confirm your landlord has filed it and keep a copy.
Yes, but it requires an in-person appointment at Krabi Provincial Immigration since Koh Lanta residents fall under that province. Bring your financial evidence, TM30 receipt, passport, photos and the TM7 form, and start the process well before your current permission to stay expires in case a second visit is needed.
Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.
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Hero photo by Artem Krapivin on Pexels. General information only, not legal or immigration advice; Thai immigration requirements, fees, office locations and procedures change and differ by office — confirm current details with Krabi Provincial Immigration and official sources.