BritTim

36 minutes ago, OJAS said:

Highly ironical for China to be included in any "selected" list, I think, given that they are fairly and squarely to blame for inflicting the COVID-19 virus on this great planet of ours.

It is likely but not certain that Covid-19 originated in China (probably not in Wuhan: the market there was just where it first got a strong hold). New virus infections appear around the world periodically, and can happen almost anywhere. China is a higher risk than many other countries because of their trade in wildlife, and early mistakes were made by them in their early Wuhan Covid-19 response. However, China has brought Covid-19 under control within their own country, doing much better than most of the rest of the world. Personally, I would feel safe (as far as Covid-19 infection is concerned) visiting China (which is not true of the US, South America, India and the Middle East). I would not accept economic damage to my own country just to punish China for being where a new virus first became established.

1. If you are currently outside Thailand, there are no prior visa requirements.
2. No significant extra costs, with the exception at the current time of those resulting from enhanced border controls (especially quarantine, Covid-19 tests and Covid-19 insurance)
3. No.
4. At the current time, you would be required to have $100,000 of Covid-19 insurance when entering. The duration of this insurance is unclear, but you can probably meet the requirement with inexpensive travel insurance.
5. It is valid for five to six years (you may be able to get an extra year with a border bounce towards the end of the five years).
6. If you do not exit Thailand at all during a 12-month period, you need to request a one-year extension from immigration on payment of 1,900 baht. This is very easy.
7. Yes.
8. The visa in the old passport remains valid, and you can simply use both passports for travel, and when requesting extensions.
9. If entering on a Thailand Elite visa, you get an initial one-year permission to stay, and any previous visas and extensions become irrelevant.

13 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

There are world class experts working on this vaccine.

 

Rest assured they know what they are doing.

I agree entirely, and those who are not motivated by commercial or political considerations are all warning that, at best, we can expect a properly tested vaccine early next year.

It would be hugely beneficial to a certain candidate if a vaccine was certified before the November election, and I expect political pressure on the FDA to do so. The FDA was induced to approve hydroxychloroquine for treatment of Covid-19 under political pressure (before later withdrawing approval) but they will be well aware of the consequences of premature certification of a Covid-19 vaccine.

7 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

There are already in human testing phase. Perhaps reading up instead of speculating?

Of course, I know about vaccine trials, including some at level 3. How long do you think it takes to know that a vaccine provides a decent degree of immunity over an extended period? Did you know that antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 among those previously infected seem to start to fade within 30 days of recovery, and may reach levels no longer protecting against reinfection after as little as two to three months? Does that have implications for vaccine candidates? (Maybe.) How long do you think it takes to be reasonably confident that a vaccine has no deleterious health impacts? There is a limit to the speed at which vaccine testing (and the testing of new treatments for that matter) can be carried out. Just knowing that you can inject a vaccine and get antibodies, and/or T cell changes, consistent with immunity without someone immediately dropping dead is a very long way from a proven effective and safe vaccine. 

1 hour ago, bwpage3 said:

Phizer was reporting in US news vaccine may be available in October 2020. US ordered 100,000,000 doses.

I will be astounded if the FDA (even under intense political pressure) would agree to certify a vaccine before it was proven safe and effective. There might be a black market in unproven vaccines by October, but people would be crazy to use them. Just maybe, the FDA might be ready to certify vaccines starting around January. Very speculative.

1 hour ago, Buri utd said:

Do I qualify to come back to Thailand, i was married 27 years to a Thai, although she died last year, i still have the marriage certificate. 

Assuming you have no Thai children, the fact that you were once married to a Thai does not help you, sorry.

Just now, CygnusX1 said:

For travel without 2 weeks hotel quarantine, I’d guess an absolute minimum of 18 months. That assumes that at least one of the leading vaccine candidates proves to be highly effective, and is manufactured at the scale of the WW2 Manhattan project. Everyone would have to show evidence of vaccination, similar to the certificate for yellow fever vaccination required for travel to South America.

I think we need to wait to see how many countries can achieve sustained cessation of community transmission or, at least, the ability to rapidly eliminate any outbreaks that occur. If a substantial number of countries (including Thailand) can achieve this, I believe there are strong economic reasons, and limited public health risks, in developing travel bubbles between those countries. Note that neither long term immunity to SARS-CoV-2 from a previous infection nor a fully effective vaccine are anything like a certainty. Worst case, even Covid-19 free countries may eventually be faced with an unenviable choice. Either they must adapt their economies to a new reality of severely limited international travel (including virtually zero international tourism) or they must reverse course and accept the deaths of thousands of their citizens. I sincerely hope it does not come to that.

3 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

Or...it may get extended yet again.  Anything is possible right now, given the uncertainty of the virus situation. There was some speculation that part of the impetus for simply extending it once again for 2 months was the concern caused by the Egyptian in Rayong.  Of course, it turned out to be a non-issue...but things like that do influence policy.

Nothing is certain, but I consider the September 26th date to be significant. This is exactly six months from the date you needed to be legally in Thailand to be protected under the original amnesty. Immigration did not carry the day on all their arguments. However, I think there was some support for the notion that "six months is long enough for almost all foreigners to arrange to leave if they cannot satisfy the requirements for a long term extension". Come September, there will still be some in government who see things differently, but I personally expect this to be the last time Thailand will allow people to easily stay without a standard extension.

10 hours ago, Max69xl said:

How many people can't go back to their home countries at the moment? Not many. In late September there won't be any problem at all imo. 

It may still be tricky for some, especially if they do not begin planning their return to home country in good time. Look at it the other way around: Thai nationals returning to Thailand. Certainly, it is possible. However, it will not happen if leaving it until a week or so before a deadline to leave from your current location.

It is an open question how immigration will react to people turning up on September 25 saying they cannot get back to their home countries leaving by the next day. They might get a sympathetic hearing at some offices, but I suspect a hard line without an agent's help in most cases.

9 minutes ago, jackdd said:

I guess if you show up alone with just your documents they would tell you some arbitrary reason why they can't do it.

Nah. They would just say "cannot", giving no reason.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

In Thai here: https://www.thaigov.go.th/news/contents/details/33560

Google translate of the the title.

"5. Subject: Draft notification of the Ministry of Interior regarding granting certain aliens to stay in the Kingdom in special cases (issue ..) 
                   The Cabinet has approved as proposed by the Royal Thai Police as follows: 
                   1. The Immigration Bureau will issue an announcement Specify the period of time for foreigners to proceed according to the Immigration Act 2522 as well as other related laws by September 26, 2020. "

 

It is an extension of the extension done on April 23rd of the ministerial notice approved on April 7th.

No changes I can see.

Let's see how immigration ends up framing this. My own expectation is that you have until September 26th to request a regular extension (that will run from the end of you current official permission to stay, but might be July 31st) or to leave the country. I believe special extensions to stay past September 26th will be very difficult to get. It is going to be a real mess because I think there are many here who cannot get regular long term extensions, but will simply refuse to go. Agents (for a price) will be able to help many of them, but they will be busy. Expect senior immigration officials to be riding around in brand new Mercedes.

1 hour ago, acenase said:

Don't be surprised if they extend the Amnesty again in September, too.

Unless they open the borders to allow tourists to re-enter after going to bordering countries.

 

I just can't see them kicking out all foreigners if they aren't allowed to leave to a Thai Embassy and re-apply for a new Visa to return and be here legally.  That's what the Amnesty is for, because no one can go anywhere and come back.

The amnesty was a result of people finding it difficult to leave. It had nothing to do with Thailand's conditions for allowing people to enter Thailand. There are legitimate economic arguments for encouraging most foreigners currently in Thailand to stay. However, Immigration (that has a lot of influence on immigration policy) does not seem to be placing much emphasis on helping the wider economy. I will be surprised if there is a further general grace period past September. You will need a better justification for a further non standard extension than "if I leave, it will be difficult for me to come back".

1 hour ago, audaciousnomad said:

3000 Baht for 90-day ED visa ???  Where does one go to get one of these? ????

That is the cost just for the (official) 1,900 baht extension. It does not include the original visa, nor the cost of the education course itself.

I would suggest using a well connected legal firm who can arrange the Non B visa and work permit without leaving Thailand. Assuming your salary is reasonably high (over 50,000 baht per month) it should be possible, and will cost less than leaving and reentering with all the requirements around quarantine and insurance.

Financial proof is money in the bank or proof of income or  a combination. Easiest is to keep 800,000 baht in a bank account in Thailand. In theory, you can use some of this money for part of the year, but just leaving it intact is simplest and avoids potential errors with serious consequences. Alternatively, depending on nationality, it may be possible to get an embassy letter confirming income averaging over 65,000 baht per month. This is also a good option for the necessary financial proof. Using income without an embassy letter is messy, and I would not recommend it.

At the moment, your friend will be unable to enter Thailand, and (in my opinion) this will likely be the case until some time next year. When he can enter, just entering as a tourist initially may be simplest. He then needs to open a Thai bank account (much more difficult than in the past, but doable with persistence) and transfer the 800,000 baht into the account (ensuring it shows up as an overseas transfer). He can then apply for a Non Immigrant visa, immediately used (without leaving Thailand) which gives him an initial 90-day stay. Thereafter, he just applies for on-year extensions which is currently usually straightforward. Health insurance is not currently required.

The above is subject to change without notice.

A different approach, possibly appropriate for those who do not mind hits to their net worth, is to use the Thailand Elite program. This makes staying in Thailand very easy, with protection against immigration changes suddenly creating problems in the future. However, it comes at a cost.

If your friend currently has good health insurance that can be used while he is in Thailand, he should keep it. Getting a new health insurance policy in Thailand up to about age 75 is theoretically possible, but extremely poor value for money. 

8 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Amnesty is just a common term that has been used and people seem to understand. "Automatic extension" is better.

I agree. The term ought to be either "automatic extension" or "grace period", depending on what the actual meaning is.

7 minutes ago, acenase said:

The Amnesty is good to have until borders to Laos or Malaysia open up before September 26 so that way they can go to the Thai Embassy and apply for another tourist visa to re-enter Thailand with.  If the Amnesty ends and the borders are shut, then there is no where else to go.

If you are a stateless person, there are organisations you can contact who may be able to help.

No restrictions on departing flights. Almost all the incoming international flights needed to do so without passengers. They are only allowed to carry passengers if designated repatriation flights.

4 hours ago, Eibot said:

They simply can't keep the borders closed for that long due to financial reason.

I heard that argument for why the borders would open in May, June, July and August. There are economic costs to tight border control, but Thailand has decided it is unwilling to kill tens of thousands of its citizens to protect tourism related businesses. Other countries within the region have made similar decisions. You believe they will have a sudden change of heart. I do not.

Eventually, I do see travel bubbles allowing free movement between Covid-19 free countries based on bilateral agreements. It is just possible these might begin to appear by September, but that is optimistic, and I would not make any plans based on such an assumption.

42 minutes ago, vermin on arrival said:

It said the people who are headed home can leave until Sept. 26 and don't need to contact immigration. How is that not an automatic extension until Sept 26 for them?

I agree. On the dangerous assumption that the eventual policy will resemble what is described, if you leave before September 26th, there is no need for an extension.

What happens with those who do not wish (or are unable) to leave by September 26th is less clear. The most reasonable interpretation is that those in Thailand on September 27th without a valid permission to stay will be deemed to have been on overstay since August 1st (or possibly even from the expiry of their last regular permission to stay, though that would be harsh). I am very unsure what happens to people who do not apply in July or early August for extensions, but try for them in September.

If the above is the eventual plan, those not applying for extensions better be pretty sure they will have left Thailand by September 26th.

29 minutes ago, zzzzz said:

Valid reasons for long extensions
1. Married to a thai or have thai kids
2. Retired, over 50 years old
3. Working with WP
4. Attending verified school and applying for an ed visa

 

Expect lots of schools will be doing good business.  ????

... plus, of course, The Thailand Elite program for those who really want to stay a long time.

5 hours ago, RedCardinal said:

You can be stranded if this is your home and you've no way to renew your visa...

Immigration believes that those whose home is in Thailand should be on long term extensions of stay. It is true that there have been ways of staying that use visas and border runs (perfectly legitimately) in ways they were not designed for. However, you need to be realistic and recognise that immigration does not consider those in Thailand in short term permissions to stay as being Thai residents. I am nearly sure that immigration will not be providing you with an amnesty just because you cannot meet the requirements for an extension of stay. I am sympathetic to the situation some find themselves in but, really, you need to see the Thai point of view.