WhateverDude

36 minutes ago, JeffGroves said:

similar but I will be going on the 28th

 

I suspect things will be pretty much back to normal there on the 28th. Because they won't be dealing with the letter/extension people like me for at least another two weeks or so after that.

57 minutes ago, hanuman2 said:

@WhateverDudeI will go to the same office tomorrow. Was it crowded? Trying to get 60 days extension on a non-o.

Get there before they open at 8:30, get in good position in line. We got there about 8:15 and it was pretty much perfect. The queue got MOBBED by 9-9:30. We were out of there by 11, and that was only because they made us do two copy runs that added at least 45 minutes to the total time.

1 minute ago, allencraig said:

A little off topic, but can anyone living in bkk go to Samut Prakan immigration office? It would so much easier for me transportation-wise.

No, you have to be living somewhere in Samut Prakan province to be handled there.

We went to Samut Prakan (Pak Nam) immigration today. We both got "under consideration" stamps that say to come back on October 14th for the "final" extension stamp. I asked if I can come back sooner, and they said to only come back on the 14th unless there is another official announcement.

So all told, my current "extension" is good for just shy of 3 weeks. For good measure, I will likely be going back with a new embassy letter for October, just to stay "officially" covered somewhat.

13 minutes ago, FlyingThai said:

I just showed this post to my friend who works at ACS here in Bangkok. I'm not gonna repeat what he said about you because it'd breach forum rules. Stop drinking dude!

Sure you did. ????

Funny how you mention your ACS-insider friend now, yet before all you can do was cite the embassy's announcements. Funny dat indeed. Which incidentally, you also got wrong.

And yet, you double down now with even more stupidity. Bravo.

So tell me, does your "friend" deny that the USA is a teeming COVID hot zone too?

Enlighten us, oh drunk one.
 

12 minutes ago, checkered flag said:

I don't know about your information. The US embassy has for months telling Americans to book flights and go home for months. Read their announcements.

You're right, you don't know. I've been talking with ACS at the embassy on almost a weekly basis over the past 3 months. You've been reading their "announcements".

They were sticking to that tune until about the middle/end of August. That's when they finally figured out that telling Americans to fly back to the US in its hot zone state was essentially a stupid idea. They figured out that it would come back to haunt them later.

Why do you think that they finally started issuing letters again? Rest assured that it was because of people like me who had been bugging them about it for months.

What else don't you know?

2 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

Have you been in contact with your embassy since March trying to get a repatriation flight?

 

At this point there shouldn't be a single legitimate individual "stuck" in Thailand as repatriation efforts have been going on for half a year now. All that remain do so because they didn't take action.

Why would I or anyone else in their right mind want to repatriate to a country that's a hot zone? My embassy issued me and other Americans letters because they came to the realization that for us to try to repatriate now would be just plain STUPID.

And there you go again with that hilariously stupid farang bs. Making positively idiotic judgement calls on things that you know absolutely NOTHING about.

I've been trying to effectively leave Thailand to get to any place that can be deemed "safe" to arrive and without having to go through any unnecessary quarantine or any other bs for months now. Hasn't panned out. Again, I'm not going to take any unnecessary risks just because I would like to go somewhere else.

And what the HELL are you talking about regarding "repatriation efforts going on for half a year now"? Are you drunk or something? ????

Most of the developed world was in LOCKDOWN for at least 3-4 months starting in March. Europe only started reopening in early June and by most accounts it has been a dismal failure. Most of the US reopened way too soon in most of the country, thus causing a massive spike in cases/deaths with no end in sight. Any repatriation efforts going on at that time were a joke at best.

So yeah... just stop. You're making an idiot of yourself out here.
 

I sent the embassy a rather scathing email last month. Several others that I talked to who are essentially "stuck" here like we are did the same thing. I'm sure that collective effort had a lot to do with them having to change their tune.

1 minute ago, solomon david said:

i am an irish citizen(born in belfast)and will a letter be issued by the irish embassy in bangkok if returning to ireland is particularly hazardous given the rather uncertain  and potentialy dangerous covid situation in the reublic of ireland both now and for the forseeable future

I am sure i could approach the thai immigration office as sept 26th approaches but a letter from your embassy leading to a free of charge 30 visa sounds better

It won't be free of charge, you'll still have to pay the standard 1900 baht fee.

I spoke with an immigration lawyer a couple of days ago. She said that based on what she has been told by the immigration authorities, extension by embassy letter would not deter application for a non-O visa. That is, if the process is started within 14 days of the extension stamp's expiration date. She said she has confirmed this and would let me know if she found out anything different, FWIW.

52 minutes ago, Millcx said:

Embassies don’t do letters anymore .. They already messed that one up on the expat cull

US embassy is issuing them again. We got ours last week.

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/cdc-did-not-admit-only-6-of-recorded-deaths-from-covid-19/

 

On 8/28/2020 at 8:13 AM, ubonjoe said:

Yes you can but some offices might say no.

That's what Samut Prakan's immigration is saying. So, do we have any options to try to get the 30-day VE extension we still haven't used? We are talking to them about the extension that we would get with a letter from the US embassy for an extension, but that's it.

Thanks for any guidance on this!

33 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Conflicting information on their website;

 

 We will not issue visa extension letters for U.S. citizens who wish to stay in Thailand beyond September 26.  After that date, normal thirty-day extensions may be available for individuals who can demonstrate compelling reasons for not being able to depart Thailand.  Those decisions will be made by Royal Thai Immigration officers on a case-by-case basis.

https://th.usembassy.gov/covid-19-faq/

They clearly have not updated their website. I too received the email from the embassy, and this is what it says regarding obtaining an embassy letter for the purpose of a 30-day extension:

"If You Do Not Wish to Change to a Long-Term Visa Type from a Short-Term Visa and You Have No Extenuating Health Concerns – You should make plans to leave Thailand before the September 26 deadline or risk being in violation of Thai immigration law.  If you wish you request a letter from the U.S. Embassy to accompany your application for a 30-day extension past the September 26 deadline, please click on this link to complete this form to request a letter.  Please note the Royal Thai government is under no obligation to extend short-term visas and may end the practice at any time.  If your request is denied or you do not wish to change to an appropriate long-term visa category, you should begin making plans to depart Thailand as soon as possible.  Please contact the U.S. Embassy if you need financial assistance to depart Thailand. "

5 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

A fixer agent would make the 400K requirement go away, fee quoted by an applicant making use of their service was 25K (with no need for the 400K nor seasoning of it).

> I did PM you the co-ordinates of that agent.

To access your PM messages just click the letter-icon next to your profile when logged-in to the Forum

Hi! Can you PM me this agent's info too? Thanks!

16 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

Maybe this image answers the question. They could only be referring to extending short-term visas, couldn't they?

Whoa, where did you find this? So does this mean that people can make an appointment to apply for a 30-day extension if they haven't yet gotten the first 30-day extension? The way it's written is quite confusing. If this is an available option, it would help a lot of people at least buy themselves some time.

4 minutes ago, rumak said:

first time on a forum ?

Nope. Been on forums for decades now, long before they went mainstream.

Nonetheless, the level of ignorance I see on them still never ceases to amaze me.  

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Flights to the US are available. Still have a booked flight with Korean Air, through Seoul to San Francisco for the end of October. I can cancel free of charge.  My earlier flights were never canceled, just the location of arrival changed and the route.  Up to me to accept or cancel them, which I did myself.

Why would anyone in their right mind fly back to their native country where the majority of states are hot zones with over 1000 deaths per day, if they don't have to go back? Exposing people to unnecessary risk during a pandemic crisis is really not the way to go.

Some of us are here because there is simply nowhere else safe to go from here. We have been here since March. Not by choice, but by necessity.

7 hours ago, mr mr said:

nobody is stranded in thailand. 

I love how some people think that they can make judgement calls on the situations of other people.

Hilarious.

27 minutes ago, BritTim said:

That is a key reason why the OP is looking for recommendations. It is very difficult to evaluate an immigration lawyer just based on what you can find easily online.

Nailed it.

42 minutes ago, orchidlady said:

The page says "The application must be submit more than 15 days before visa expiration and, in case of overstaying in Thailand, application could not be submitted."

 

Do they consider being on amnesty to September 26 the same as before visa expires (so ok to submit up to say September 10? Assuming no prior overstays otherwise anyone on amnesty would not meet the criteria.

As far as we're being told by at least some people, it's not an amnesty, but an automatic extension of the visa. So technically, her visa is still in force. But there is a lot of confusion on the matter and some of the schools she has interviewed with seem to think otherwise. This is one of the reasons that she wants to talk to a decent lawyer who can clarify this all out for her.

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You might want to ask the schools to check with immigration in Bangkok now. I think they are accepting the applications now.

They added this to the main page of their website. https://www.immigration.go.th/en/

It goes to the page that lists all categories of non immigrant visa  applications.

 

Thanks for the quick response! ????

Hey peeps, longtime lurker, first-time poster here. I'm actually posting for my companion who's looking for some help. Here's her message:

"Hey all, I'm looking for a reputable and affordable lawyer who is able to give sound advice about transferring my tourist visa to a non-B visa. I'm a certified teacher who's lost out on a few legitimate job offers from international schools in Bangkok. They tell me there is nothing they can do with an expired tourist visa/tourist visa on amnesty/auto-extension, and so I need someone who understands the current situation and can provide definitive legal advice concerning my options. Thanks in advance for any help!"

Feel free to PM me with any tips or referrals, I'll pass them on to her.

Thanks!