Phillip9

13 hours ago, Craigf said:

If I travel from the USA to Phuket in July, as there is no quarantine, does anyone know if after 1 to 2 weeks you can leave Phuket to visit other parts of Thailand?

Nobody knows yet.  They probably won't even make a decision until late June.  Maybe they won't even open in July.  It's all just guesswork at this point.

On 3/27/2021 at 2:22 PM, Hanaguma said:

The news said that places like Phuket may go to a quarantine free state in July, if you can prove covid vaccination.

Even if they go quarantine free, they will almost certainly still require a standard nasal and throat swab pcr test on arrival for the foreseeable future.  So if you really don't want a nasal swab, best not to plan on coming to Thailand any time soon.

On 3/19/2021 at 10:44 PM, BillyBobzTeeth said:

So my question to you guys is.

Why isn't Thailand on this list?

Thailand (and many other ASEAN countries) are on the list.  The problem is how you filtered the list for only fully open countries. 

Thailand

Partially Reopen For Select Tourists

Thailand is beginning to cautiously reopen for tourism and start a long recovery process for its tourism sector. Only select tourists are allowed at this time under strict entry requirements, including a 14-day quarantine. 

Thailand has plans to shorten the 14 day quarantine to 7 days for vaccinated travelers.

See more information on Thailand reopening to tourism

1 minute ago, Peter Denis said:

And it would cost you 1.900 THB to get the 7-days stamp (you can get that one for not being able to meet extension requirements), and with that stamp you can leave the country without being on overstay

I forgot to mention the officer also said that no such 7 day stamp existed for a denied visa request.   I asked about it multiple times and she said we definitely could not get 7 days to leave the country.

11 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

Just go and see an agent. It may cost you a little but they will sort it out for you.

Thanks, but its not worth the hassle to me.  I'm not someone who really wants to stay long term in Thailand.   I just got stuck here due to covid.  I will take it as a sign that its time to move on.

4 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

So what will you do?

As soon as I can,  I will be on a jet plane headed to the Maldives.

I got my covid extension denied in Hua Hin today.  The officer was adamant that an embassy letter is required.  She offered to handle it as a special case for an extra 5000 baht.   When I refused, she threatened  to detain me since my extension expires today.

 I highly recommend anyone avoid that place.

9 hours ago, Thai Visa Member 999999 said:

SA cases have plummeted. They're now down to ~870 cases and ~100 deaths per day.

But the AstraZeneca vaccine Thailand plans to use has been shown to be completely useless against the SA virus variant.  SA has already stopped using that vaccine entirely.  Thats the reason for the 14 day quarantine.

Almost impossible a significant amount will be available until June or later.  Western countries have already bought up the entire worlds supply of high quality vaccines until then.

Certainly readily available before year end.  Production capacity will greatly increase in the next few months, and if you look at just the vaccines that have been approved in the US or Europe, more than 6 billion doses will be produced by year end.

27 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

When applying for the covid-19 extension a TM-30 has to be filed with the address where you are staying.  It does not need to be done on-line, although that is obviously the easiest way to notify the local Imm Office.  But with Immigration extranet down, there is no other option than doing it in person at your local IO, when you go there for your extension application.

Thanks,  

We will try to file TM30 ourselves.

So I guess every hotel in the country is currently ignoring the requirement to notify immigration a foreigner is staying there.  Seems bizarre.

9 minutes ago, jvjv said:

Today I went to the immigration office in Jomtien, Pattaya. They took all the forms (tm7, covid extension, etc and gave a form that I take notice of all the overstay rules that I had to sign too). And of course I paid the 1900 baht, and now my application is under consideration.

Did they ask you for a TM30?  I thought that is required for the covid extension but the system is not working.  

If I get my covid extension denied, can I request a 7 day extension to give me time to leave the country?  I seem to remember reading that long ago.  I am expecting at this point to be denied because I won't be able to produce a TM30 since the online reporting system is not working.

10 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

He should have notified the local Imm Office by filing a TM-30 (in person or by using the website) that you - a foreigner - is staying at the condo he owns, and he should have done that within 24 hours of you arriving there.

Registering the premises on the IO TM-30 website can take between 5 minutes and 5 workdays for approval, and it is only then that on-line TM-30 notifications can be done.  Taking the above in mind, combined with the fact that the Immigration Extranet is currently down, your landlord will not be able to do it by tomorrow.

If you are applying from an original VisaExempt entry or a 60-day Tourist Visa, you do not need a dedicated address (like long-term stayers need to apply for an extension).  So you could simply use a Hotel/guesthouse for 1 night, and ask them to provide you with the copy of the TM-30 notification they need to do, and with that TM-30 notification you can then apply for the covid-19 extension.  But also that solution might prove impossible at the moment with the IO TM-30 website down.  

So there are two options:

- you bringing the required documents for the TM-30 application in person (a signed front/back copy of the owner of the premisses, a signed copy of the tambien baan (house-book) and your rental contract.  Maybe your landlord would be willing to accompagny you tomorrow when you go apply for the covid-extension, as it is expected that he would have done that earlier

- you getting a receipt from the Hotel/guesthouse where you checked in, that contains their co-ordinates (this as an alternative for the currently unavailable IO TM-30 website that they would normally use to register foreigners)

Success and let us know how it went!

Thanks so much for the detailed info.  Correct that we do not have a dedicated permanent address.  We just checked into a new condo yesterday, so we are trying to do the TM30 on time.

On 2/24/2021 at 5:45 PM, ubonjoe said:

The TM30 report and 90 day report sites have been down for about a week now. Immigration extranet is down and nothing on it is working.

You only need to do a TM30 report now if you change your registered address that immigration has on file.

I need to apply for a covid extension tomorrow.  The owner of the condo where I am staying cannot complete the TM30 online because the system is down.  What should I do?

14 hours ago, SiamAndy said:

I just read an article on Bloomberg that references the Bangkok Post mentioning that the quarantine will be reduced to 3 days next month for foreigners  visiting the top 5 tourist destinations in Thailand. No mention of the other requirements so it seems they will still be required.

Quarantine isn't being reduced.  Starting next month, at some hotels, you will be able to leave your hotel room after 3 days.  You will be able to go to some of the public areas of your hotel.  But you will still not be able to leave the hotel property for 2 weeks. 

17 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

So what's your situation. Same as OP, refused covid extension?

Can't understand why. It's not as though the situation regarding covid has changed. Borders still closed last time I looked. 

 

We have ED visas that we can't extend.  The ED visas complicate our situation because our current extension needs to be cancelled before we can apply for the covid extension.  That can only be done in the province where the visas were issued and we are currently far from there.  We tried to find an agent to help with that.  The agents said the could get us a volunteer visa, but told us they couldn't do much to help us with the covid extension except fill out the paperwork and get us an appointment with immigration.   We haven't applied for the covid extension yet.

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

As I understand it agent can also assist you with covid extension.

We asked a few of agents about doing the covid extension, and we found the services they were offering pretty worthless.  For a fee of 3000 baht they offered to help us with the documents required and make an appointment for us at immigration, and thats about it.   We would still need to go to immigration ourselves. 

Has anyone gotten a covid extension in Hua Hin?  I'm curious if they give an under consideration stamp there or if they give the full extension the same day you apply.

Thanks

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Immigration does not cancel visas. After finishing at the school you extension of stay based upon attending school. That will need to be done on the same day you apply for a 60 day covid 19 extension.

If you were able to apply for a work permit with your non-ed visa entry it you could then apply for a extension based upon working.

What if I want to continue attending a language school, but can't extend my ed visa because I have been in the country for one year?  I would like to get a covid extension.  Do I need to stop studying and cancel my current extension to get the covid extension?

2 hours ago, Jumbo1968 said:

3) if a direct flight from Heathrow are Thais exempt from a Covid and Fit to Fly Certificate irrespective of what airline we travel with ?

Always double check with your airline before flying during these covid times.  Some airlines require a covid test to fly anywhere with them even if the destination country does not require it.  

On 2/13/2021 at 5:13 PM, DoneTravelling said:

Actually that is wrong. It may be correct for most international flights but not for domestic flights world wide.

Actually in the philippines you usually need a covid test even for domestic flights.  Its still very difficult to travel between provinces there.  The rules are complicated and convoluted and depend on where you are going to.  Here is the list of requirements if you want to take a domestic flight to cebu.  

https://www.philippineairlines.com/en/ph/home/covid-19/TravelingWithinThePH/Cebu

6 hours ago, fangless said:

Friend of mine has just arrived in CM after Quarantine in BKK who entered this time on a VOA. (Southern Ireland Passport) He wants to stay longer time and wonders if ED visa (legal) is available in CM.

He doesn't want to go and ask IM directly in case it flags him up and stops/blocks other options.

 

Any advice for him please.

 

Yes, its possible, but expensive.  Figure about 40-50k baht all in for the visa, extensions + online classes for one year.  You arrange this through the schools.  Search schools in chiang mai and contact them directly.  Many are advertising this on their facebook pages.  Don't bother asking immigration, the school will handle all the details.  

A simpler, cheaper option would to just use the 2 month covid extensions as long as they continue them.

22 hours ago, Ohyesuare said:

Is there a certain amount of weeks you need to do this before the extension of stay expires since they do the under consideration thing now? My extension of stay ends FEB 25 and that is one year I will be in the country and I want to switch it to a COVID extension. Thanks.

You only need to apply before your current permission of stay expires.  When you are under consideration you get an extension of your permission of stay until the day you are supposed to report back to immigration.

6 hours ago, kevin612 said:

Ubonjoe, I have the similar situation. My last day of university is March 5th, but ED visa expires on April 30th. Do I apply immediate with COVID extension or wait two weeks prior my ED expires? Thank you 

I think the covid extension gives you 60 days from the day you apply, so its better to wait if you can.  If you do it on march 5th you will only get until about May 3rd.  But I'm not sure if thats possible because apparently you will need to cancel your current extension with a letter from your school.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

I assume you have a extension based upon attending school not a 90 day entry from a non-ed visa.

You need to cancel the extension with a letter from the school stating the last day you will attending school and you would apply for 60 day covid 19 extension as soon as that is done.

Would the cancellation need to be done at the same immigration office where you got the extension, or can it be done anywhere?