BritTim

31 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

Do you think I can get the normal work visa documents from my employer and use an agent to get a non-B and go on to get a work permit?  Or will that involve too many people and is that too direct?  Maybe only something like a non-O is an option with an agent?

Conversion from a tourist entry to a Non B is possible in principle with the correct documentation. However, most immigration offices are blocking that kind of conversion when you have been on the automatic extension. There is a pretty good chance that an agent can overcome the reluctance of the immigration office to process your application ... for a price. It is a grey area with no clear rules as to what is allowed under the automatic extension. The agent will tend to tip the scales in your favour.

With the right documentation from the labour department, you have a small (not great) chance. If all you have is a letter from your employer, your chances are zero. If you can afford it, an agent may be able to help.

2 hours ago, jonga80 said:

They offered me a medical visa 90 days for 18k, I talked with a swedish guy who goes there and he told me it's reliable. They told me it needs 10-14 business days, so if I want to start the 90 days close to the 26th of september I would need to go in the first week of september. I want to be here until the 26th of december, so I need some days of overstay, is that a problem? For example if I get the 90 days the 25th of september, the overstay would be only two days, but if the day of the stamp is the 21th of september, it would be 6 days. In that case, which is the best option? To pay the fine in the airport the day of my flight? To go to an inmigration office before that? Could they investigate me? Ask me for medical documentation?

It is 99% sure there would be no problem. You would have a choice of applying yourself for a further extension in December (denied) and getting seven days to leave the country; or pay the fine at the airport. In the latter case you would have an overstay on your record which may or may not have consequences in the future.

11 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

According to their Facebook page she's been reinstated and is back at her desk today. 

If she had gone down, there was the potential to take some pretty senior officials with her. This seems like a classic example of where it will be announced that the case has been dismissed for lack of evidence. It is just an unfounded rumour that she is involved in corrupt practices with senior immigration officials.

3 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

Considering TE now has a promotion that gives you six months extra validity how exactly does that work when it comes to the visa issued if all they do is attaching a 5 year label into the passport?

 

Are you getting a new 6 month visa 5 years from now?

It is a good question. Simplest would just be to tell immigration at every entry point to treat Thailand Elite visas with an expiry date between the appropriate limits as if it was actually six months later. Another fairly easy alternative is for immigration to amend the current visa (requiring a visit to the immigration office).

23 minutes ago, JTXR said:

Whether or not he has a problem about the stamp, isn't it the case that if he arrives now with a "medical visa" he will be required to spend the 14-day quarantine in a hospital?

He received a medical extension (while already in Thailand). That is very different.

Yes, if someone acquires a visa to enter Thailand for medical treatment, there is a requirement to spend 14 days either in Alternative Hospital Quarantine or Alternative State Quarantine.

29 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

That is totally wrong and that's what makes it so hard for the rest of us. Why bite your tongue if you know full well that you are right? So let's say that the next time you go to immigration to do a 90 day report the officer asks you for 500 Baht you'd gladly say nothing and pay him? As I said earlier.................

There is a difference between losing your temper, and politely (when you are clearly in the right) querying why they are asking for unofficial fees or documents they know you cannot provide. Thais have developed smiling when furious at officials to a fine art, and foreigners can benefit from doing the same.

There are some situations where the services of a good immigration lawyer makes sense, to speed up the process and circumvent bureaucratic hurdles to what is obviously the right outcome. I believe the situation described by the OP is a case in point. This could be expensive, but not necessarily if the lawyer is sympathetic.

EDIT: Ask at your local immigration office is they can recommend a good immigration lawyer that they are comfortable dealing with.

26 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

All neighboring countries have borders closed tighter than Thailand, and it would take a miracle for them to open before sept 26.

Cambodia is a possibility, if you can tolerate the entry requirements. You must get a visa in advance, and need to be careful about the flights you use, as a positive Covid-19 test result from anyone on board means an expensive quarantine for everyone on board.

There is constant confusion (often propagated by immigration themselves) over visas and permissions to stay. A visa is only relevant at the time you are entering Thailand. It determines the length and type of the permission to stay you are granted on entry. After this, the visa is totally irrelevant.

If you were legally in Thailand, with a permission to stay until date of March 26th or later, then you are covered by the special extension to your permission to stay through September 26th.

Whether you will be able to change the type of entry will depend on your immigration office, and instructions from regional headquarters that they operate under. Similarly, you ought to be able to apply for a work permit under your Non Immigrant entry from the Non O visa. However, some labour offices will baulk at approving this.

6 hours ago, Max69xl said:

"use proper (not spoken) Thai."??

Presumably, most important, use the correct pronouns when addressing the examiners, and avoid vulgar terms.

Where are you located?

7 minutes ago, mjakob007 said:

middle and high school students and their parents also qualify, i understand.

Assuming, of course, that the middle and high school students are studying in a formal school (as obviously they should).

6 minutes ago, XB12X said:

Just a quick question. Do you still have to get a re-entry permit with the 5-year Elite Visa? Shame you have to do the 90-Day Report.

During the five-year term of the visa, no re-entry permit is required. If you enter just before expiry of the visa (getting a one-year permission to stay) and subsequently wish to make an overseas trip, you can try to apply for a re-entry permit to keep that extra time (after expiry of the Elite membership) intact. There have been questions raised as to whether this is valid, but it seems mostly to work.

1 hour ago, Max69xl said:

I think a rep from your school is more legit than this shady explanation: "You go there alone or with your agent at a special office."

Most likely "rep from your school" is just a variation on the agent process.

35 minutes ago, hobobo said:

The difference between catching a flu (or in another type of social contact, a dose of STD, for instance) and a potentially fatal virus is not just a part and parcel of living life, at least not in my book. Call me Howard Hughes, but I'd rather be careful than.... stiff?

... New cases, concert, foreign troops, spark virus surge...

Diseases like viral meningitis (more often fatal, by far, than Covid-19 in younger people) have always been a potential risk in close social situations. I will become cautious about Covid-19 as soon as there is any evidence of community transmission. In fact, I expect a higher risk of Covid-19 in the future, even after vaccines become available. For the moment, I think people avoiding discos, specifically because of a tiny risk of Covid-19 infection are just being paranoid. 

1 hour ago, hobobo said:

Well, you really are very brave. If everything you described were true, I would have turned around and walked out without taking a single breath. I suppose I must be a coward...

It is a sign of the times that (with Covid-19 either eliminated or extremely rare in Thailand) behaviour that a year ago would have been seen as normal in a Thai disco is now seen as reckless. There have always been some health risks in close social contact, but people used to see this as just part and parcel of living life. Now, we are all turning into Howard Hughes.

20 hours ago, bluebird729 said:

i have tried it on both my computer (3 different browsers: Firefox, Chrome and even internet explorer) and also on my android phone (chrome). and every time i get a failed link saying:  "This site can’t be reached"

It is more likely an issue with your ISP. Do you have the option of using a VPN (so it routes through a different network)?

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I thought visas were issued to an individual.

I wasn't aware there is a second hand market for them. Learn something new every day!

Some are transferable (for a fee) especially the original lifetime memberships. Most of those issued today are not transferable.

45 minutes ago, Tuvoc said:

I'm still not sure when the 5 years starts. Say you apply and get accepted, but then things change and you can't actually travel to Thailand for say 9 months, what happens ?  Have you lost that time ? It seems that you would. The membership starts on day of approval and issuance of the membership card doesn't it ?

The membership starts a couple of days after you pay, not when the application is approved.

1 hour ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

real coder would make a backup and shadow the website on a subdomain to test it first, before going live with anything

Dead easy just to have a separate IP address for the development site, and use a hosts file entry to point to it. That way, you can be confident that there are no dependencies on the site root domain when moving it to production. Anyway, it has been clear for a long time that they are not professional website developers.

17 hours ago, PrasatKeith said:

Good afternoon all.

 

Just an interesting note. A good friend of mine, in the same position as me, ( a border bouncer) went to Immigration and Kap Cheung, Surin province yesterday as he wanted to know best way to proceed. He was told by the head there, and i quote!! "don't worry!! The government will sort it out so you have no need to worry about visa then" on the 26th

 

So, it really is a case of who the hell knows, when the head honcho say not to worry. it will all be sorted, and no need to do anything.

Officials in Thailand can be very convincing, but I recommend being very careful about taking their advice. It is you, not them, who must bear the consequences if you act on their bad advice. While anything is still possible, I believe those at the top of immigration are overwhelmingly of the opinion that those who entered Thailand for short visits as tourists should be gone. I could be wrong about that, or immigration could be overruled. However, I would be operating on the assumption that Immigration's announcements on tourists having to leave are not just scaremongering, but a reliable indication of planned enforcement.