zugzug123

8 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

Yes we need to wait and see but the wording says entering with a Non-O, ED, VOA etc.. and upon expiry, you cannot use a covid extension. The OP entered on an ED so his denial of a covid extension is no big surprise.

don't forget it says upon expiry of the initial 90 days, ie people who have not been able to get their full extension yet. So it might only apply for those people.

2 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

A volunteer visa is Non-Immigrant.  Non-Immigrant visa holders can no longer apply for covid extension.

Proof? So far nothing conclusive has been reported.

The first 90 report for an IO must be done in person. After that you can do online if you have done one in person already in the same IO you apply online for. Also it has to be I believe 15 days i. advance. 

20 minutes ago, KiiGiam said:

I am very confused about what a "COVID extension" is.  I was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 on my would be exit SARS-CoV-2 test.  As per my Thailand Pass, my visa was expiring on the next day because that was my planned travel date.

 

My hotel kicked me out to a piece of <deleted> Thai "hospitel" as soon as a bed opened on Day 3 of my isolation.  It was a miserable experience.  My original hotel told me that 1) I could no longer use an agency (or a friend) to extend my visa because rules had changed requiring showing up face to face. 2) That I would "probably" have to pay 500 baht a day for each day of my overstay.

 

At the airport they said, yep, 5,000 THB please.  I said, isn't there some exception?  I can show you the paperwork that I was diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection the day before my visa expired.  They said very clearly that the COVID visa exension ended 31 December 2021... please pay.

 

Can someone explain what this extension actually was for and how people are still getting extended?  Was it meant for people who were infected and had to overstay their visa or is it just a random extension because there is COVID?  Did it end on 31 December or not?  I am completely miffed.   Thanks. 

Maybe next time don't listen to visa advice from hotel staff. Covid Extension is for everybody who can't go back to their homecountry due to the pandemic.

5 minutes ago, david555 said:

Strange that all you described i never ever met that behavior in Jomtien immigration ....., with the proper non o visa i got the ret. ext. first time with the combination methode , second year and 7 following ones  with the 800K on Th. bank , with the needed doc. and bank letter and updated bankbook , never had  any problem and never used an agent or brown enveloppe , or be pushed to the use of an agent . It only costed me the official 1900 baht to them .....

 

Most of all those complainers about begrudgingly I.O.'s are mostly just not meeting the needed or not having the proper documentation and just blaming it on the man or woman behind the desk !

Please check the forum topic ???? We are talking about the covid extension. 

2 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

If you say so ???? Very easy to just not extend it at all if they want people out. 

Politics. 

5 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

I'll leave the tinfoil hat on, I like how it looks, thanks. Explain the reasoning behind waiting for the very last day to announce extensions then instead of a week, month etc.. in advance? What was the reason for announcing the first paid covid extensions a few days after the original amnesty deadline when tons of people who couldn't/didn't want to get Education/Volunteer visas had to leave the country?

 

You're ignorant if you think people at the very top who make the regulations don't know what their subordinates are doing. They can see the agents rolling up with 50+ passports in their hand of people who haven't set foot in an immigration office in years. They choose to allow it and look the other way.

 

Also, the grunts still have the discretion to make things more difficult for people and many seem to follow their own personal policies rather than the regulations/law. 

They wait for the last minute to get people out, and not make them comfortable here. 

35 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

Sure they can. Making it more difficult, more of a hassle, leaving it until the very last day to announce extensions pushes more people towards using agents and they get their cut. I've read tons of stories of people who come in, have all the paperwork,  do everything they are supposed to and the IO still tries to find ways to deny them or very begrudgingly gives them the stamp they deserve for just the 1900 baht or even just straight up asks them for more money on the spot.

please take off your tinfoil hat. the IOs who work with agents are grunts that want to make something extra on the side next to their crappy salaries. They are not the same people who sit in meetings and make the regulations. 

also, if an IO sends you away and you decide to use an agent, it is almost guaranteed that it will not be the same IO who will get a cut off the agent's fees.

point is, the government wants to weed out all the long term stayers and send them on a "real visa". Again, this is nothing new as the extensions have been becoming harder to get recently. Thankfully, agents are still an option for now, so if you absolutely must get a covid extension, this might be an option for you. 

I know some people think they are supporting an entire nation with their visa fees ???? But let's get real, the government wants long term covid extension holders out. 

35 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

Why would they get tired of the only reason many of them still have a job? Plus all the backhander deals many of them do with agents. I bet they love to see hordes of tourists/walking ATMs showing up each time.

can't get paid if you have to send them back for embassy letters/return flights/etc. 

Otherwise, why enforce stricter extension regulations in the first place? Other visa options are clearly documented and easier to process. 

3 minutes ago, Caldera said:

I don't know better, and personally, I'm not anti Covid extensions - for anyone and everyone who wishes to ride out the pandemic in Thailand.

 

All I'm saying is that it remains to be seen, as there's still considerable confusion with regards to yesterday's order. It's conceivable that an agent can still obtain Covid extensions for those on non-immigrant visas from tomorrow on, but that doesn't look like a sure bet to me. @ThaiVisaCentre already commented that it won't be possible, so even different agents might have different takes on this for the time being. 

Let's see what they say from today on going forward, now that the 25 January deadline has passed ????

39 minutes ago, Caldera said:

That's a non-immigrant visa as well, so if they enforce the new rules as per yesterday's order, it will not be possible to obtain Covid extensions any longer.

 

You mentioned that your agent told you otherwise, and that might well be true, but at this point I'd caution that they might not know for sure either.

And you know better? ????

All I see is a bunch of fear mongering here and on facebook. All the anti covid visa people coming out of the bushes.

It has been known for months now that immigration was getting stricter with the requirements for the CEs, no surprise there, just use an agent if you really want one or go through the test&go hassle of obtaining a "real visa". There will always be options. 

They probably got tired of the hordes of tourists that show up every time at immigration to get their extensions. 

33 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Non O what.... marriage, retirement? 

hey hey now, I'm a young bachelor, I arrived on ED. 

Just asked my agent and they told me they can still do 60 day covid extensions for me (arrived and currently on non-imm)

5 minutes ago, sateuk said:

I normally make the non o visa because of being married, now I'm on covoid extensions, I assume we will be ok to continue on covoid extension untill the borders open and we can obtain another non o visa , always baffles me why we have to border hop every 90 days though instead of going to Thai immigration and paying them every 90 days, Thailand must lose out on lots of extra income not doing that

This is not what I'm seeing on facebook though ????

The doomsayers say it's over for non-imm holders.. hope we will get something more concrete soon. 

25 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

If I had to take a guess, they are trying to "reset" the covid extensions so that those who prior to pandemic were consistently requalifying properly for their Non-Immigrant visas (O, A, Retirement, etc.) will go back to to doing that.  Ostensibly this will make it so by the time they end the covid program, there will be not too many people still on it aside from tourists who would eventually have planned to exit the country anyway.

I am curious to see if people on ED and volunteer visas for whom an extension is not possible will still be able to obtain the covid extensions.

24 minutes ago, Almudena said:

After the scare that Richard Barrow in Thailand caused a few years ago regarding visiting immigration offices that turned out to be complete tosh, I wouldn't believe anything that bloke says and writes anymore.  I have a non-B (work contract finished) and have no problems with the covid extensions and still stay in non-B status (in case of future employment).  On my last extension there were others in the office who couldn't extend the non immigrant  visa and were offered covid extensions instead.  I guess that's the beauty of my local IO that they care that our foreign funds is spent locally.

 

The change in rules for non-imm covid extensions was just announced today... so whatever was, was in the past. I am still waiting on clarification how we non-imm holders who are on covid extensions will fare going forward.

what about people on volunteer visas? Can they still continue getting the covid extensions?

please look at the date of this topic... most of the info given here is already outdated. 

hello, I see people here are waiting for land borders to open so they can do a "border run". Can somebody please explain to me what this? I imagine it would be to go out of Thailand and get a visa on arrival stamp? Rinse repeat every 30 days? If so, are the IOs at the land border okay with that? And how many border runs can you do back to back? I assume it is cheaper than to apply for a 60 tourist visa in a neighboring country? Sorry if I totally missed the point of what a border run is. 

33 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

I hope he reports back his experience. 

So often there is advice given and we never know what worked and didn't.

Maybe a silly story to lighten thread up.

So when I tried to open FD account I actually had 600k baht with me. I went to Sukhumvit Asoke area. Big branch Bangkok Bank. They would not assist without the residence certificate etc. BTW I had one year lease. 

 

I will report back. I will be visiting a couple branches from the different banks around in my area. I need a Thai bank account now to make a non-o. I will bring my wife with our rental agreement which is on her name and my TM30. We have been living in the same condo for 2 years. I will also make sure to point out I have been in Thailand for 3 years without leaving the country, and that I plan to get a marriage visa and stay for at least another year, and for that I need a Thai bank account with 400k in it to show to immigration.

If this story is not enough in the 6 or so branches around here then I don't know ????

1 minute ago, Greenwich Boy said:

No, not really. I am on a tourist visa and Bangkok Bank wanted me to either buy insurance or produce a certificate of residency. It was on a laminated card so not made up on the spot. As I already had insurance I opted to get a certificate of residency.

How did you go about obtaining the certificate of residency?

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

See the requirements here. https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Save-And-Invest/Save/Savings-Account

No need for a work permit. Get a letter from your embassy confirming your address and that will be accepted since it will have their stamp on it.

Confirming my address in Thailand? So I show them my TM30? Because the condo rental agreement is on my partner's name. 

6 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

At all banks

Clearly not.