BritTim

4 hours ago, JackedUpAndgoodToGo said:

I dont need an extension. My visa is only 4 months old (its valid for one year---one year multiple entry marriage visa). I need a reentry stamp (its a multiple entry Visa and I need a reentry stamp every 3 months). They are saying they will not give it to me even if the borders dont open after July 31st (the stamp) and that the only solution is getting a tourist visa for an additional 2000 BAHT.

Your visa is not a permission to stay. The visa only allows you to enter Thailand subject to other restrictions in force at the time of entry. You may feel that it is unfair that you are unable just exit and reenter to avoid the need for an extension of your permission to stay but that is the current reality, and may be true for many more months. Thailand already provides a mechanism for extending your permission to stay based on marriage. You may not like the conditions for the extension, but Thailand is not going to suspend those conditions just because you want them to.

3 hours ago, JackedUpAndgoodToGo said:

I just sent my wife to immigration today. I have a marriage non-o multiple entry. Like many here I need to leave and come back. Immigration stated that the current plan is that on July 31st all persons' with non-o ME visa's will have to --change their visa-- to a tourist or compassionate visa (whatever that is called---to visit their respective wives)  for 60 days and pay an additional 2,000 baht for that visa. The explanation given was that even if Thailand opens its borders, other countries may not, so land borders would be uncertain.  

Have you considered applying for a one-year extension of your permission to stay based on your Thai wife?

3 minutes ago, sunfruitdan said:

Ok, will we be charged overstay or not?

I doubt you will be charged for overstay. Technically, you do not qualify for the amnesty until July 31st as you do not have a valid permission to stay. However, the immigration office told you you did not need the confirmed permission to stay, and late stamps for confirmation of extensions under consideration almost never result in overstay. Was your previous permission to stay expiring on or after March 26th? If so, maybe the easy solution is for immigration to cancel your application for the 30-day extension. One way or another, there should be a solution.

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They were not in the country after March 26th.

They must of entered on a repatriation flight so that might be whey they were stamped in as a special case.

I appreciate that. However, the entry and exit using a reentry permit is supposed to create a situation where the period outside Thailand has no relevance. The arrival back in Thailand before expiry of the grace period gives her the opportunity to apply for the desired extension of stay. I am actually surprised that Thai immigration made this analysis as it shows a degree of logic for which they are not usually renowned.

58 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Not sure the arrival stamp is really valid since the admitted until date is before the arrival date.

 

It certainly does not mean the extension is still valid. No sure what a immigration office will say if the person goes in to do something.

I disagree with your analysis. Those legally in Thailand with a permission to stay expiring on or after 26 March qualify for the amnesty. While (as I have said before) I believe this is a grace period until 31st July, not an actual extension of the permission to stay, I do not see a permission to stay until 16 April as a problem. The reentry permit is supposed to have the effect that your exit and reentry has no impact on the expiry of your permission to stay The important point is the expiry date of the permission to stay, not the date on which entry to Thailand was made (whether years before or after the expiry of the permission to stay)..

That said, I make no predictions on whether some or all immigration offices will accept a late application for a one year extension to the permission to stay (until 16 April 2021) as I believe was intended.

53 minutes ago, Maestro said:

A marriage extension according to the quoted text in the OP.

I was basing my assumption that it was a retirement extension based on Non-RE on the entry stamp. However, on reflection, the 'RE' might be "reentry" rather than "retirement".

3 hours ago, blusky2 said:

I'm not looking to break the law. But if there's a visa that would allow me to live in Thailand for 3-6 months, I would like to take advantage of it.

The only law you would be breaking is the Thai labour laws. As a digital nomad, what you would be doing is not technically legal. However, there is ample evidence that immigration (i) know it is going on; (ii) know that there is no practical way for you to legally be a digital nomad in Thailand; and (iii) tolerate your technical breach of the labour laws.

Sometimes, illegal acts are both safe and moral. This is one of those occasions.

Until Canada is Covid-19 free, your chances of being able to satisfy your ambition is poor.

Very just, and quite surprising.

Although the returnee was on a retirement extension, presumably the return must have been granted on compassionate grounds (woman returning to be with her Thai child, perhaps).

It does provide evidence for something I have believed from the beginning: the amnesty until July 31st is a grace period. You can apply for extensions to permissions to stay that expired after March 26th any time up until July 31st, but the extension will run from the expiry date of your permission to stay. We will see if immigration offices (in general) agree with the interpretation of the officials at the airport. 

It is unclear what will happen when people request standard extensions after the regular end of their permission to stay. While there is no question (in my opinion) that you can stay until July 31, there are two ways this right to stay can be interpreted:

1. You are being provided an automatic extension of your permission to stay, and can apply for a standard extension at any time up until July 31st which (if granted) will run from the date of application.
2. You are being given a grace period that runs until July 31st to either leave the country, or apply for a regular extension. Logically, if this is purely a grace period that allows you to apply for an extension late, the extension would run from the end of your regular permission to stay.

Under this second interpretation, applying for short term extensions of stay would be pointless as the extension would expire prior to the end of the grace period. Only longer extensions (typically one-year) would make sense.

The consensus view appears to be that the first interpretation (you are being given an automatic extension, not simply a grace period) is the correct one. My own view is that the second is more logical.

1 hour ago, OJAS said:

Although not an issue in the OP's case, hasn't the TM28 form in any event now to all intents and purposes been superseded by the TM27 form as a result of a Police Regulation issued in February?

 

https://www.immigration.go.th/read?content_id=5e468147cf638702b11f9cb9

I usually have pretty good reading comprehension, but that Police Order is expressed about as confusingly as I think possible. It seems that almost all of us here on long term extensions are governed by Section 2.1 of the revised order, and otherwise only subject to the 90-day reports which remains basically unchanged. I cannot remember seeing that TM27 form before. It is far from clear whether you meet the requirements of Section 2.1 using the TM27, TM28 or TM30 form. I suspect it is immigration office dependant, because the immigration officers probably have as much difficulty understanding that Police Order as we do.

You could try contacting the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, and explaining the situation. You being given permission to join one of the repatriation flights is a real long shot, and it is almost certain that you would face a period of mandatory quarantine on arrival. There are many people in your situation, or similar, including those wanting to join Thai nationals who are gravely ill.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

They want a TM30 form instead of a TM28 or both.

You will need proof of residence. In most cases that would be rental agreement and signed copies of the owners hourse book and ID card.

@ubonjoe  I thought it used to be true that most offices would not issue a further extension or reentry permit, to those on a long term extension issued elsewhere, without a TM28 being done first. Is it definite that this is no longer the case (or, perhaps, that it was never true, and I was simply suffering from a delusion)?

1 hour ago, johnmell said:

Hopefully when neighbour countries borders are open, they can distinguish between people with foreign passports who havent travelled from Europe, etc. If international flights are still banned in those countries and Thailand, it would be impossible to come from there.

While optimistic to think this might occur as early as July/August, there is a possible circumstance that might make crossing one or more land borders relatively painless. Should, say, Thailand and Laos have similar border controls, this might allow a bubble between the two countries where regular controls on entry are waived in favour of more liberal ones. I do not think immigration at land crossings are likely to be asked to verify the travel history of each arrival to see if they should be allowed to enter. Either travelling from the origin country to Thailand will be considered "safe" so far as Covid-19 is concerned, or default conditions (probably onerous) will be enforced.

3 hours ago, johnch99 said:

Thai airways are cancelling all flights for July so I would guess it is a good bet they are going to extend the closure of the airports

That is one possible inference. More likely, in my view, they anticipate that the limitations on those allowed to enter Thailand will ensure that there would be few passengers for any flights that they were to schedule. Some airlines will consider it worthwhile to have long haul flights that stop in Thailand on their way to other, more attractive, destinations (depending on any conditions imposed on those only transferring in Thai airports). I can well believe that there would be few possible profitable routes for Thai Airways whose flights would invariably originate or terminate in Thailand.

3 hours ago, drbeach said:

Well, for starters, the UK said it will review the quarantine after 3 weeks. I have no idea why they are only introducing it this late...

The logic is that the UK has belatedly decided on a virus elimination strategy. They are trying to introduce a proper testing and contact tracing system (like that used in countries like New Zealand) for the first time. Virus elimination is not feasible without strong controls at the border. It remains to be seen whether the UK will be capable of the rapid testing and rapid contact tracing in a sustained effort over two months that is needed. The UK has several times changed its strategy already, and I have no difficulty imagining them abandoning the latest virus elimination strategy when they discover that it is hard.

5 hours ago, jonga80 said:

Ok, so we will see in july. In Europe they are opening borders, countries like Italy, France or Spain which had thousands and thousands covid19 cases. I know Asia is very different, but in some countries I don't see any reason to continue with high travel restrictions. Vietnam should be one of the first opening borders because they contained very well the virus. 

Countries like Vietnam, that have eliminated the virus within their own borders, have a strong motivation to maintain strong border controls so their virus free status is maintained. In countries with uncontrolled community virus transmission, allowing a few infected foreigners into the country really does not matter. It is not going to meaningfully worsen an already bad situation.

9 hours ago, mserror said:

They would not give me a ME based on marriage in February. Gave me an SE and told me to apply for an extension in Thailand. Not what I wanted, a wasted trip for me.

Were you able to provide financial proof to the tune of 400,000 baht? It has been true for a long time that Penang would only issue Non O visas when the application included financial proof.

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Not true, it's almost always the woman.

She either leaves herself, or makes life so unbearable the man is forced to go.

Do you believe that is true in marriages in the West also? Or, are Western men who marry Thai women in some way different from Western men who marry Western women?

2 hours ago, cubism001 said:

The CAAT page still says no flights in until June 30th.  Has anyone heard any different?  Please provide a link so I can study the situation to get back in.  Thanks.

The latest situation is that those who can provide a strong justification for being allowed to return should contact the Thai embassy. Possibly, you might be authorised to take a repatriation flight along with Thai nationals. If your return is allowed, you will be subject to mandatory quarantine for 14 days. The embassy will inform you of other requirements.

If you hope to jump on a flight, expecting to enter Thailand visa exempt, I suspect you will have a long wait. 

4 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

4 hours ago, BritTim said:

Very likely, some offices are going to have their own more or less irrational interpretation of the rules.

Stop talk riddles. Does OP need exit post amnesty. Hopefully will be extended.

If not he needs exit Thailand

I am not being deliberately obtuse. No one can predict with certainty what is going to happen in Thailand after July 31st. I specifically restricted my comments to those able to apply for long term extensions (and stressed that, even there, some offices might deviate from what is expected). As for whether people will be able to travel to nearby countries, get fresh multiple entry Non O visas, and return (with or without quarantine) I have absolutely no idea. 

If you only took on students located outside Thailand, you would be operating as a digital nomad. While not strictly legal, this is tolerated and (unless policies change) you can do this safely without a work permit. However, as soon as a single student is inside Thailand, you are no longer viewed as a digital nomad, and being without a work permit in such a situation would be risky. As @ubonjoe has written, you must have a Thai employer before you can get a work permit.