HexTree

That appears to be the requirements for a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (METV). The site does actually ask for those for Single Entry Tourist Visa, and doesn't let you proceed until you upload something. I ran into that too.

Aircon avoids me having a stuffy nose, because fan tends to move dust about.

Just try at another office. Until all the offices in the country are asking for it (which doesn't appear to be the case yet) you have options.

As I understand it, people on volunteer visas have been having issues getting COVID extensions nationwide, it's not necessarily a problem specific to KP. I suggested KP because OP, like me, is on a tourist visa, not a volunteer visa.

I think around 1-2 weeks? I saw people who were coming longer in advance getting turned away, but I don't know where the cut-off is. Should note also that in KP you must have the TM30 receipt of notification with you; either the paper receipt or a screenshot of the online TM30 entry given by your landlord.

Yes, I didn't say you have to fly directly to the island, you can just fly to Samui and take the boat from there, which is fast and straightforward. As for why not Samui, because Samui is more busy usually, and the staff there are quite confrontational (the short haired lady who does the initial document check likes to argue a lot). I don't see much reason to pick Samui over Phangan personally. Don't see how any of that was bad advice, if you wanted the office that was just absolutely fastest to get to then clearly the answer is neither Samui nor Phangan, but your local office. Do you have a link to the report of problems? The only problems I normally saw at Phangan were with people trying to apply too long before their expiration, or wanting the 60 days when they hadn't done the 30 day regular extension first.

Don't know about recent weeks, but from my numerous experiences, Koh Phangan was always spot on. Extensions granted no questions asked, no long queues, no 'under consideration' stamps. If I were to have difficulty elsewhere I would happily fly there and back just to do the extension.

Is there any reason to assume they didn't try CPR? The article doesn't exactly mention.

I'm above resorting to lying and trickery, I would quite happily walk and give some other establishment my business. Taking the test isn't an issue, it's the principle of being asked for it.

This has always been the case. They don't actually 'watch' it, that would take man-hours, but their AI does. A few years back I got a file flagged for copyright or something, and immediately had my Google account suspended (that means all accounts - Youtube, Gmail, Drive), and they refused to look into the case or tell me what the problem was. Had to get a mate who worked at Google to pull some strings and get it looked over and revoked, as it was apparently a false positive.

It has been straightforward so far, but it varies between offices, and nobody can say for sure whether things will change in terms of strictness towards the end of the month. Your best move really is to go 1-2 weeks before your expiration, get your extension, and then you'll have peace of mind to book your airbnb.

The COVID extension deadline is tomorrow. They pretty much have to go today, tomorrow will be worse.

Better Nate than never.

You can just go to the right-hand side. I queued for hours with my own 'under consideration' stamp, only to be told to go back out and head to that desk.

Can confirm that today (and indeed every other time in the past I've been here), Koh Phangan office was super straightforward. Everyone received their extensions, no questions asked (even if you've been extending for almost 2 years). Same day processing, no 'under consideration' stamps, no requests for flight tickets. And the office is not very busy either. Pretty sure if you just show up at a hotel, book 1 night, and ask them to do the TM30 immediately upon checkin, you can get the extension the same day. In the case of Phangan, you have to actually print out a screenshot of the TM30 web entry and bring it with you.