taxin

Been in Thailand for 17 years and can honestly say I’ve never met anyone who entered the country on a SETV, only visa exempts and Non immigrant visas.

Can anyone advise the latest on car ferry’s direct from Donsak to Koh Phangan, is it still possible or do I have to go via Samui ?

The Seatran ferry website seems to be offline..

3 hours ago, spacex said:

"Under the current ‘visa amnesty’, which is set to expire this Saturday (Sept 26), the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok has announced "No matter when you came to extend your visa, the permission date of all visa types will start counting from September 27, 2020.” 

 

The above is a blatant lie.

I can also confirm this is a lie, my extension which I received from Phuket started the day I applied, not the 27th Sept.

5 hours ago, bwpage3 said:

Who in their right mind would pay and go through all that when Thailand still has 50% of the businesses shuttered in tourist locations?

 

 

 

A lot more than 1,200 per month, 1,200 per day would still not be enough. But of course the Thailand bashers will always say otherwise.

Quote: “All the visa agent would do was mumble about Covid-19 and border closures making the issuance of visas impossible.”

Watch this space, next will be all those foreigners who have bought “visas” from agents in Pattaya. Can you imagine the protests outside the immigration office in 2 weeks from now, foreigners on overstay demanding why they still don’t have their visas yet ?
 

This is going to be fun. Hahaha !!

3 hours ago, Venom said:

Seems the only way in is by air as the Phangna model requires a 14 day quarantine (each way) to pass!

 

This is completely false, Thais from Bangkok are free to pass through Phangna. I also travelled to Phangna over the weekend from Phuket.

But you are right in saying flying is the only option as the drive is too far. Bangkok Thais love their cars too much and any long weekend would surely involve taking the car, this is why Hua Hin & Pattaya are busy. How often do we see the images of tall backs of cars boarding the Ko Chang ferries ?

The lack of Thais visiting Phuket is NOT due to rip offs, I have never met a Thai in Bangkok who has said they would not like to go, the lack of interest is due to locality, it’s simply too far to drive.

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Still no point in doing anything until the week before.

If there's another extension (2 weeks) my 400k will have been in the bank long enough for me to apply for a year.

If it ends on the 26th, I can only apply for 60 days.

And as I have been notified by immigration you can only get one 60 day extension, so if you don’t have 400K 2nd time round you are have to leave with no other option available for you.

On 9/3/2020 at 7:20 PM, CorpusChristie said:

I wouldn't be surprised if the I.O "encourage" people to use agencies when applying for the extensions 

I can confirm 100% this is the case, it happened to me on my recent visit to immigration. My wife who has processed my visa applications and one year extensions for the past 16 years was told to go to an agent, this was despite the IO recognising my wife and knowing full well she has never used an agent in 16 years.

The immigration officers don’t want you applying directly, they only get 1,900 baht and I would guess the officer will see none of this, they would however get more than this from an agent.

1 hour ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

because extending another 6 months was asked too mutt

 

immigration needs those 1900 baht monthly fees

 

why don't they come up with another ripp-off ?  1900 x 12 months, paid at once for a 1 year visa

 

would prefer that to give to crooked AGENTS , which are charging now up to 70.000 baht I read in some posts

Because the crooked agents are sharing half of the 70K with the immigration, much more lucrative than charging 1,900 each time.

What about the Non O visa holders who cannot do a border run and also do not qualify financially for an extension of stay, but need to remain in the country so they can raise their children ?

Will they be given any flexibility ?

54 minutes ago, Satcommlee said:

Your agent has an insider in Bangkok Bank that will help him produce the fraudulent paperwork you require to get your fraudulent visa.

My feeling is the same however, this agent openly advertises this in a document which they send out to people at the 1st point of contact. Not saying this makes it legitimate of course.

4 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

You expect Bangkok in October or November to be allowing people within 1km of their 'quarantine' hotel? That's potentially interaction with a hell of a lot of people in Bangkok. Unless the government makes a huge u-turn on their priorities and approach, it ain't gonna happen. 

Yes but only if there are no cases in Phuket during the first few weeks of them allowing visitors in.
 

I completely agree with you about the potential danger to the Bangkok population by relaxing on quarantine, it is too much of a risk. 
 

Phuket on the other hand is a different fish, the place is completely deserted, so if they do open up in October and close again in November due to an outbreak, it’s really no big deal.
 

All the “stranded” tourists have left, the majority of the Thai work force have left due to lack of jobs, the only remaining Thais are the starving ones praying for the island to open up. Pretty much the opposite of the Bangkok Thais who would be 99% against it.
 

This is why the ASQ in BKK and what they plan to do Phuket are completely different, they are simply using a deserted island in the south to test the water, as it’s a much safer and less risky option than doing it in BKK.

3 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

Bangkok ASQ must be mentioned as this is directly comparable, the process of paperwork, testing and quarantine is almost identical. What makes you think otherwise?

 

Why do you think such restrictions in Phuket will be so loosely enforced when they're being so strictly enforced in Bangkok? You seem to think there will be no testing, no quarantine and people will roam at their free will...? 

 

And you said come October, ASQ will be finished? What will happen from October then in Bangkok, Phuket or wherever else do you think? 

Very simple, ASQ in Bangkok was set up for the select few, returning Thais, expats with work permits, etc. What we will (or hope to) see in Phuket will be the first step in allowing tourists in, completely different.
 

ASQ in Bangkok you cannot leave your room, in Phuket they are talking about allowing the visitor to roam around within 1km, so how can they be identical ? What they are proposing in Phuket is not quarantine, it’s testing and observation.

What I expect in Bangkok come October will be similar to what they plan to do in Phuket, which is a more relaxed version of what they are doing now. Maybe I’m wrong to say October as they need to trial Phuket first, November certainly.

The Thai authorities are renowned for setting such rules only to realise later they were never really thought out properly. Such as the fiasco on the BTS in BKK where strict social distancing was put in place, only to see hoards of commuters rammed into the carriages like packed sardines. What did the authorities do ? They simply turned a blind eye to it. Same will happen in Phuket.

42 minutes ago, Aussie Col said:

People will not come back in any great numbers even long stay one's if they have to stay 2 weeks in a hotel at their own expense many miles from where they want to be.

At this point they have not indicated the visitor will need to stay in a hotel miles away from where they want to be, so I would not jump to any conclusions on this yet.

In my opinion, if I was a returning long term visitor (which is what this is aimed at) I would not be worried in the slightest about these conditions, they will not be enforced.
 

The government is play acting by announcing all these conditions, it is just to show the Thai people they intend do everything in their powers to “protect” them from the outsiders coming in.

21 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

It hasn’t been confirmed that people can roam 1 kilometre from their hotel and I very much doubt they will be.

There are not enough hotels equipped to be ASQ Hotels and certainly not enough medical staff either in Phuket.

You could do a survey in Pattaya and I am 100% convinced they would welcome tourists back as it relies on tourism where as Bangkok doesn’t.

I also doubt they will be allowed to roam 1km from their hotel, they will be allowed to roam much further than this.

Far too many posts referring to the ASQ program in Bangkok, this (if it actually goes ahead) will not be the same. By October the ASQ program will be no more.
 

The government are merely using Phuket as a gateway for allowing long stay visitors back in to the country. Think about it, if the government did a survey asking Bangkok residents if they were happy about allowing long term tourists into Bangkok, with all of them being allowed to roam within 1km of their hotels, how many would agree to this ? I Would say more than 90% would vote against it.
 

On the other hand do the same survey with Phuket residents, where the vast majority of the islands population rely on tourism to survive and you will get a different response, more than 90% would vote in favour. 

4 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

Maybe small/medium sized hotels will be successful then. But I imagine there will be more to it than that, such as how much of a backhander the hotel can give to the authorities to be adde to the ASQ list. I'm try to not be cynical but this is Thailand and we all know how it works. 

 

The key thing for me isn't the hotels, nor particularly the visa. It's who will be allowed and the logistics of flying there if no commercial flights are allowed. If all flights are chartered, who will organise all of this... 

The successful hotels will be the ones that are owned by influential people, not so much from back handers.

As for charter flights this is absolute rubbish, won’t happen, there will be commercial flights. For example Air Asia and Jet Star are already advertising flights from Singapore to Phuket in October. Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Emirates, all advertising flights from Europe to Phuket. Australia maybe not.
 

I personally do not think it will matter where you are traveling from in terms of Covid cases in the country you are departing from. As far as the Thai authorities are concerned you will be tested and quarantined, then tested again, so if you have the virus they will quickly deal with it.

3 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

I suppose any hotel could apply to be a quarantine hotel, but the hundreds of smaller 20 odd room hotels all around Patong are unlikely to be accepted. Where would staff stay onsite for starters? It'll be the bigger more luxury (and expensive) hotels that will be successful. 

 

I really don't think it'll be relaxed, have you seen reports of peoples experiences arriving into Suvarnabhumi recently, and their ASQ hotel experiences? They're not even allowed to open their hotel room door to take in their mandatory room service meal until they get a call telling them to do so. And time spent out of the room (only after the first test comes back negative) is time limited and must be booked. Phuket I expect are planning for something similar. It's Thailand, the home of military control. 

I know many hotels that house their staff with some still accommodating them now, particularly the smaller/medium size ones.
 

Actually the larger 5 star resorts don’t normally house their staff, some have staff quarters but generally they house there staff in outside accommodation and bus them in, you regularly see these buses around the island with the hotels name on the side.

Yes I’m aware of the stories of ASQ in BKK however, this is current, things may well be different come October. Remember less than 3 months ago you could not even enter Phuket, even Thais could not enter, everyone saying it will be next year before tourists will be allowed in, now in August they are announcing plans to allow visitors in October.
 

In my opinion these restrictions won’t be enforced, not moving within 1km radius of the hotel, staff not being allowed out, etc. I would not be surprised if there was not a 2nd test, maybe not even a first test. Maybe they will enforce all this in October yes, come November it will all be forgotten.

25 minutes ago, leicesterguyuk said:

There is no official confirmation yet, it's still in the planning phase. But all reporting media sources have said it'll be 2 weeks in an approved quarantine hotel. Hotel staff won't even be able to return home so of course a 'returning long term expat' can't self isolate at home, or choose any random hotel. It will be a military operation (quite literally). 

 

It'll be similar to Bangkok and the ASQ programme there with a little more freedom of movement I assume, that's how the plan reads anyway. 

Ok so if media sources are correct and they must stay in an approved quarantine hotel, what is to stop any hotel applying to be a quarantine hotel ? At this point the authorities have not stipulated it comes under the same ASQ program as in Bangkok, so we should not jump to conclusions just yet.

Yes self isolating at home with the wife might be stretching it a bit, but I also believe this will all be a lot more relaxed than people are making out, certainly won’t be a military operation.

40 minutes ago, treetops said:

It is quarantine organised by the government, not by yourself, and not self isolation.  The hotel list is on the quarantine site under local state quarantine.

 

www.hsscovid.com.

 

Thanks. Can you provide a link to any reputable source that confirms this ?

Myself and many more business owners in Phuket are seeking clarification on this, so it’s quite important.

As usual this thread has turned into another “Thailand is a joke” topic with 99% of comments bashing the Thai government, with no real factual information. Any further news and clarification on the subject will be welcomed by many.

21 hours ago, treetops said:

I expect you'll be able to choose from the list which currently is woefully small.

 

Ok, on what grounds do you expect this ? I did not see anything in the announcement stating the visitor may only stay in certain approved hotels ?

So my question again, can a returning long term expat quarantine in a house that he/his wife owns ? Can a repeat long term tourist choose to stay in his favourite hotel 5 mins walk from Bangla road ?

I can see this being the biggest hurdle to overcome for anyone wishing to visit, and not the flights, testing etc.

Will the visitor be able to choose their hotel to quarantine, or will it be only certain hotels they can stay ?