How to expend your visa in Timor-Leste

After spending 7 months working in Timor-Leste, I returned for personal reasons. Upon arrival at Dili International Airport, I obtained a one-month tourist visa by paying 30 dollars. However, I needed to extend my visa to continue my stay.

I conducted some research to find information on how to extend my visa and came across documents on the Timor-Leste Immigration official website. However, I discovered that there were two official websites, and the information I initially found was outdated. With the wrong documents in hand, I visited the immigration office, located in the Ministry of Interior, which can be easily located using Google Maps. The immigration officer informed me about the new policy regarding visa extensions and provided me with the correct documents. These included two pages of a fill-out form and one page of sponsorship requirements.

To extend your tourist visa, 

you need a Timorese individual who can take responsibility for you when it comes to legal matters. This requires obtaining the signature of a local sponsor along with a photocopy of their identity card (as of 6/2023). 

If you don't have any friends or acquaintances in Timor-Leste, this could be challenging. I have heard of some people opting to go to the border to obtain a new visa instead of visiting the immigration office.
If you can secure sponsorship, the next steps become relatively easy. You simply visit the immigration office, submit all the required documents along with your passport, and they will provide you with a form to pay the fee. 

However, note that you cannot pay the fee at the immigration office itself; you need to go to the BNU bank near the Portugal embassy.

The fee for extending your visa by one month is 40 dollars. 
It's important to know that you can only extend your visa for one additional month, allowing you to stay in Timor-Leste for a maximum of 90 days on a tourist visa.

To ensure a smooth process, I recommend visiting the immigration office early in the morning, as you need to submit the receipt from the bank along with a photocopy of it. The immigration office opens at 8:30 am, and visa applications are accepted until 12:00 pm. From 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm, the office is closed for lunch. Right in front of the immigration office, you'll find a photocopy shop that is familiar with the required documents. It's important to make color photocopies, not black and white.

After submitting the necessary receipts, you will receive some of them back. The immigration office informed me to return in 2 weeks to collect my passport. The passport collection hours are from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Please note that these processes can only be carried out on weekdays, and it's essential to check the public holidays in Timor-Leste.

After a week, I returned to the immigration office to collect my passport, but unfortunately, it wasn't ready for pick up yet. It's important to note that passport retrieval is only possible after 10 working days from the date of submission. Consequently, I had to make an additional visit to the office after 16 days. Finally, I obtained a renewed visa allowing me to stay for an additional 30 days.

It's crucial to note that there are penalties for overstaying your visa in Timor-Leste. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to extend your visa before its expiration date. Overstaying can result in fines and potential legal complications. To avoid any issues, make sure to start the visa extension process well in advance to ensure a smooth and timely extension. 

https://www.migracao.gov.tl/zip/html/sub0502.php

Extend your stay after arrival | Immigration Service of Timor-Leste