Fibonaqi

Just so you know, the gate by the walkway as indicated in the arrow in the photo below, was shut at 11:00AM this morning. There was no one there to open it. Not even a little gap for people to walk through. A few taxis showed up at the same time all wondering how to get in. For future reference, if the gate is shut, you will have to go around, take the access road at the back of the soccer field and the Thunderdome to get to it. Google map is no good on this.

6 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

Are they accepting the embassy letter printed in B/W ?

Yes. I just printed mine in B&W. They were very matter-of-fact today, just got on with processing as many extensions as possible I guess.

9 minutes ago, Dragonboat Ronin said:

In spite of many indicating difficult process my experience getting 30-day extension was very positive. I went with an extension letter + all paperwork done and was actually told i did not need the letter due to not having gotten any extensions yet other than amnesty. About 20 minutes and i was stamped to Oct 26 and told i could return then and use my letter for another 30 days. Along with treating the immigration ladies humbly & respectfully i didn't do anything special. Does this sound accurate and have others had similar experience? Sounds almost too good and i'm wondering if when i return near Oct 26th i'll actually be told i have to leave. 

Which office is that?

Actually there has been several reports of people getting in and out fairly smoothly in 90 minutes of so at MTT in Bangkok, staff working through lunch break. I think it will be OK for tomorrow.

6 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

The IOs instruct you to put "Covid-19" as the reason for requesting an extension. While I was waiting in line, that is what they told every single person from whatever country.

 

Frankly, it makes more sense, as anyone requesting an extension has been here 6 months at least, and probably had a chance to see pretty much everything, so putting 'tourist' would probably get a smirk from the IO.

 

They all know full well why people are asking for extensions. There's no pretense. People prefer to ride out the pandemic in a place where it's largely been beaten back. Plus, the food's good.

I was thinking that the "Reason" must match the actual immigration law categories here:

So "Tourism" matches case 4. I could be wrong. I may get a straight 30 days with no "under consideration". I'm sure the checker person would correct me if I should put "COVID" instead.
https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?p=14714

14 minutes ago, edwardandtubs said:

Obviously if you're looking for a regular extension of a tourist visa or visa exempt you must put tourism as the reason for extension. I think some clueless people have been putting covid and then wondering why they are asked for an embassy letter. Probably all along this regular extension was available in Bangkok if you just use your common sense!

That's what I thought too. Only asking because they ask for the embassy letter which mentions COVID as the reason.

25 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

The extension would be to the 26th of October. It would still start on the 27th.

I think they may be doing the report back date close to the 27th so people can apply for another 30 day extension if prepared for it when they go back,

That makes sense, to preempt and spread out the mad rush come October 26th. That could be the reason.

5 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

Well the first step is complete ???? not sure if I’ll need it but let’s see what happens. Apparently you can get a normal 30 day extension of your tourist visa, but just in case....

???? You would have better luck with the normal 30-day extension in Ubon, none has been reported in BKK. I'd be very happy with a clean Oct 26 stamp without having to make another trip for "Under consideration".

15 minutes ago, Adam219 said:

VE, i have not applied for the (30) day extension before

 

sorry, cant edit original post to add that info, sorry if it creates confusion, but i have until now been led to believe that wether you have an extension left or not, you need the letter

Thanks for the report. I'm on VE and never had to use my one-time 30-day extension. I now have the embassy letter but was planning on trying it without if I didn't get it. Is it better to put "tourism" or "COVID" for the reason in the application, does it affect whether you get the full 30 day extension in one go or not? I wonder.

1 minute ago, Swimfan said:

The harsh reality is that people have actually had 6 months to get their affairs in order and return home. It was made clear at the beginning of the last amnesty what the options would be once it expired. There will be some genuine cases where people are struggling to get flights to certain countries but for the most part, most would have probably been able to return home by now if they tried. Most have stayed on wishful thinking that the amnesty would be extended and are now scrambling to put something together. You cant blame Thailand for that.

No harsh reality for me as there's always a quick exit plan, just optimizing choices. It turned out that last minute arrangements are paying off in my case as I now managed to get an embassy letter which would not have been given a few weeks ago. 

2 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

I will apply now and update any results later. Thanks ????

Wise move! Best of luck!!

20 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

What reasons did you give for applying if i may ask...I may need a letter if they refuse my 30 day extension! Thanks ????

@2530Ubon, no harm sending an email request UK Embassy now like I did yesterday at around this time. You may get it tomorrow and still have Friday to use it if needed.

9 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

What reasons did you give for applying if i may ask...I may need a letter if they refuse my 30 day extension! Thanks ????

Travel plans disrupted due to COVID, situation in California (home): high COVID toll, civil unrests, forest fires. I provided some links and infographic besides copies of passport pages etc. I think if it sounds sincere, reasonable and legit, they would oblige. Good PR for them, no skin off their nose, quick work. It's a standard generic letter with your name and passport details.

On 9/22/2020 at 4:14 PM, Farangs R Us said:

That’s fine, I can understand your skepticism. But in the interests of not discouraging other people in a similar boat, I can only reiterate that what I’m saying is 100% legit.

For the record, I sent my request to UK Embassy by email after 5PM yesterday, after reading Farangs R Us' report, got response with the sought after embassy letter just after 4PM today. They literally responded within the same business day. Kudos to the UK Embassy for this ????. Really appreciate people like Farangs R Us sharing good useful info. Please ignore the trolls.

An update on this: The UK Embassy came through!

11 minutes ago, Bell1234 said:

I got my letter 3 Days sgo after the girst attempt failed i emailed them again and got it.  My reasons totally different to the norm though.. Been a wheelchair user and unable to fly alone the reason i was granted one. Common sense prevailed thankfully.

@Bell1234, what do you mean by "first attempt failed? Did they actually respond and say they wouldn't give you a letter? I got an acknowledgement yesterday that sounds like a "no" to me (last line on short term visa). I'm wondering whether I should re-submit or wait for a response.
 

1 hour ago, phetchy said:

Am I correct in assuming that a flight to Helsinki (from BKK) and a 40 minute stopover before a flight to LHR, would do away with self-isolation in the UK as both countries are currently exempt from compulsory isolation?  As the new list of exempt from quarantine countries list now includes both Singapore and Thailand, I'd checked Kayak/skyscanner etc. looking for an alternative, but the price and layovers in Singapore were too much/long.  

@phetchy, you might want to start a new thread on this for a better response. The last time I look Thailand was on the clean list for some European countries. I would check again from an official source though.

Why did you go to CW AllenCraig? I thought tourist visa extensions are dealt with at Muang Thong Thani. Did you do the online appointment?

This has just been reported - Immigration can't deal with their appointment commitments. Asking people to come back on Monday???
What do you think would happen? Would you even get a queue number if you have booked an afternoon time slot? 
Reports please if you have first hand experience at an immigration office today.

40 minutes ago, BritTim said:

If you have never had a regular 30-day extension of your tourist entry, some immigration offices will grant you one. Where are you located?

I hear BKK won't. Is that right?

1 hour ago, Jackcwba said:

Just saw that David barrow bloke has posted that Phuket immigrsrion are now opening on Saturday to cope with the demand.

 

CW is a complete shiit show today my mate is there at 10AM his ticket number is already #220 and they are only serving number #24.... impossible to deal with that many right? They work slow enough as it is especially before lunch time!

 

 

anyone know if MTT is a complete disaster or it’s less busy because it’s the temporary office and it’s not as bad as the “main” offices like Pattaya and CW and Phuket as they are clearly getting battered

They apparently give out 800 appointments a day from the online booking. I did wonder if they can process 100 per hour. What happens when you are #220 and you don't get served during your allotted time?

52 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

From Sunday you have to leave the country when you don't have a visa. you won't get a chance on Monday this time. Phuket immigration is even open on Saturday. Think it is beyond stupid to leave it that late anyhow.

You are projecting if you were me...but you don't know what you don't know. I am ready and prepared to leave on Saturday if it comes to it and have always had that exit plan. If there is an option to stay for 30 more days, as someone pointed out the UK embassy relenting yesterday, I'm exploring that option because we are enjoying being in Thailand and would not mind 30 more days (the hotel deals are amazing right now, no crowds). I am not counting on it. If the embassy letter doesn't come in time, no big deal. We leave on Saturday, as we have left Thailand many times before. What you may not know if you have been stuck in Thailand for a while is that there is no advantage in booking flights early these days. I have had several flights cancelled in March and had to deal with delayed refunds, disputes and such, very tedious and unfair the way some airlines try to keep your money. No problems with flights and last minute booking to where I want to go AFAIK. So nothing to lose for me to see if the 30 day extension is an option.