oldcpu

I tried the online 9 days ago, and obtained the noted error in this thread.  I attempted with both Firefox and Chrome in GNU/Linux. 

In my case I had re-entered Thailand on 29-Feb (on a type-OA visa) and the 90-day would be in a day or two from now (and about 11 to 12 days from my re-entering Thailand). 

I attempted the on-line more out of curiousity if it would be easy to get working for me, as the need to do 90-day reporting at present has been deferred due to the pandemic.  I have never attempted the online 90-day before.  I quadruple (actually more than that) checked all my entry information, so I am fairly certain there were no errors made in my data entry.

I happen to live within 10-minutes of the immigration in Phuket, and my wife and I had an errand to run today that would take us right by the Immigration office.  So I prepared all my 90-day reporting paperwork in advance, and we stopped by Phuket immigration this morning, and I completed my 90-day report, being in and out in less than 10minutes, with my next 90-day report nominally by 24-August-2020 (assuming no further pandemic 'extensions' to the 90-day).  There was a big sign in Phuket immigration noting 90-day reports are not needed to be done at present time (ie deferred).  In case any one curious I posted more detail in the Phuket subform area in the Phuket Immigration thread.

I did my 90-day reporting in Phuket Immigration earlier today.  I had all my paperwork prepared in advance (completed TM47, copy TM30, copy TM6, copy passport picture page, copy OA-Visa in passport, copy permission to stay stamp in passport). 

I was in/out of Phuket immigration in less than 10 minutes.

Some details in case anyone curious: .... I arrived at about 09:15am.  There were 2 other non-Thai present, one sitting at a counter with an Immigration Officer (IO) and the other using hand sanitizer to clean his hands prior to departing.   Everyone in immigration was wearing masks.

There was no one sitting by the two tables where the Phuket Immigration Volunteers normally sit, and all chairs in the indoor (and outdoor) waiting areas were empty.  No one waiting.

There is a big sign noting 90-day reporting is not needed to be done at present time.

I politely stood by the entrance to the IO area and after less than a minute of standing, an IO walked up to me and asked what i wanted.  I replied that I was hoping to do my 90-day report.

The IO instructed me to follow him, and he went to a counter, checked all my paper work, entered some items into his computer, printed out the paper that records my reporting and states the date for my next report (24-August-2020). 

And all was complete in less than 10 minutes.

I note it was not necessary to go in to immigration to do the 90-day report at present with the COVID-19 90-day reporting 'extension' (apologies for inaccurate wording).  I previously attempted to do so online, but since this would be my 1st 90-day report since having a new TM-6 (re-entering Thailand on 29-Feb-2020) I speculate that might be the reason for the online 90-day report not working.

Also, Phuket immigration is about a 10-minute car drive from where I live in Phuket.  My wife and I had to drive past immigration this morning to do another errand, so this was on my way and an easy, less than 10-minute stop.

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

The signs say no mask required when exercising, but stay 2m from other people.

 

We don't jog thou ... only a fast walk, and I don't think that is considered by many as an exercise that is mask exempt.

I am an "early" riser, and prior to COVID-19 pandemic, my Thai wife and I typically would exercise by a 60-minute walk up/down the beach (06:30am to 07:30am).  When the authorities closed the beach, we shifted to a similar duration walk on the side of the road (we live in sort of a countryside area of Phuket).  There were very few people on the road at that time, and I would carry my mask, and when anyone came else walking came within 10-meters, I would put the mask on.  I venture only about 50% of the people were wearing masks - so by my putting a mask on when someone else exercising approached, I think I was closer to following the rules.

However we had some people complain we weren't following the rules, so in the end we have stopped doing our morning walks. 

Instead we found a 30-minute somewhat strenuous work out video on Youtube, that we do every morning from 06:30am to 7:00am inside of our condominium unit.  Fortunately we have a very large living area in our condo, so there is lots of room for us to do the work out.  Then after the workout video ends, we switch running shoes from our indoor shoes to outdoor running shoes, and run up/down our condominium complex outdoor stairs (6 flights) a half dozen times.   Hopefully I don't get a heart attack from the stairs.  ????

We still get our exercise, and since we don't leave our condominium/residence complex, I think we are closer to abiding by the mask rules - and now no one is complaining.

Still, I look forward to the time when the Beaches are open and we can do our exercise walking up/down the beach without a mask, and not have someone complain.

On 4/26/2020 at 8:39 PM, Tasmania Terror said:

I noticed your answer to PumpkinEater and saw that you had some specific and comprehensive guidelines for converting an O-A to an O Visa.  I need to do just that for a retirement extension that ends on July 10th.  I've been here almost 18 years on this annual extension and never realized that was an O-A rather than an O until just recently when I obtained a new passport and went to the Immigration office to have the old visa placed in the new passport.   No one had ever mentioned IO-approved insurance at any of the extensions, including last year. 

Note that it may be possible, if you are married with a Thai spouse, to change the basis of your (Type-OA visa) 1-year extension to a one year extension based on "Marriage" instead of the past based on "Retirement".  In this case, you won't have to leave the country and return (on a new Visa).  The financial requirements will be different (less) than that for an extension based on retirement.  However from what I have read there will be a lot more paper work required to prove you are married / still-married if applying for an Extension based on "Marriage".  One important aspect, is in the case of the 1-year extension based on "Marriage", there is no health insurance proof requirement.  

Of course if you are not married with a Thai spouse, or if you prefer not to apply for a 1-year extension based on marriage, then Peter Denis has been very helpful with the Type-O retirement visa approach details (which requires one on a Type-OA to leave Thailand and then return to Thailand (possibly on Tourist exempt or Tourist visa), and then after returning to Thailand immediately apply for the Type-O visa, followed later by applying for the 1-year extension based on retirement). 

Fortunately the current amnesty to 31-July takes the pressure off here wrt timing / planning this.

24 minutes ago, Metropolitian said:

Again the tourist could has a travel insurance that covers the theft.

And it is not wise to leave such amount of cash open in the hotel.

 

If you compare the Channel-7 news and ThePhuketNews . com articles you will read there are differences wrt the 2nd case. 

Channel 7 says the 12-April theft was of a tourist and took place in a hotel. ThePhuketNews says the 12-April theft reported by a Thai woman and it took place in a condominium (not a hotel).  Further in the 2nd case passports were stolen - where I suspect that far worse than the amount in cash taken.   I am not aware of any travel insurance that covers stolen Passports. 

And if it was a tourist (as opposed to a Thai woman) in the 12-April case,  now would be a very ugly time to have one's Passport(s) (with a Thai permission to stay inside) stolen. 

I think the news posted is not 100% accurate in one of those two news sources.

If I were to only use the information in those two articles, I have little sympathy for the thief, and more for the Tourist(s) (?) who were in their hotel/condominiums, and had an illegal break and entry.  Further, likely the Phuket Curfew was broken (if this took place at night) and I have not read that the thief is being charged for breaking the curfew. 

Not being charged for curfew breaking suggests to me that the local authorities may be trying to cut the thief some slack - but one would need to know exact time of crimes to be certain.

36 minutes ago, PJPom said:

I suppose it is irrelevant as many have pointed out that he has form for criminal activity but I remember from school many,many years ago the question in religious lesson, a man stole to feed his starving children, did he commit a sin ?... just a thought...

... what does the school many many years ago say about stealing to spend money on gambling like the thief did (according to https://www.thephuketnews.com/ao-yon-burglar-arrested-75723.php ) ?

The PhuketNews on this breakin and the thief :

https://www.thephuketnews.com/ao-yon-burglar-arrested-75723.php

I wonder if he had a gun with him when he broke in to those places ?  And was the story (about where he spent the money) for sympathy a lie ... when maybe instead it went for drugs?  I speculate there could be lies to try to reduce any punishment. ... Although with Thai prisons pretty crowded, maybe he will get off with parole ?

Imagine one being in Thailand in COVID-19 global shutdown (almost) and having your passport and money stolen.  It would not be a pleasant situation to be in, unless you had other 'backup' means of support.

4 hours ago, Tarukhtah said:

As mentioned I also believe there will be a game changer. All "experts" claim a vaccination will be widely available within a year from now. It means, within a year virtually every one will be able to go and get vaccinated. I guess this definitely will improve somewhat situation.

The other game changer is that when the pandemy will be a bit controlled, the stocks of masks, disinfectant gels, respirators, i.e. all the healthcare equipment can be dramatically improved so also countries will be less scared of an outbreak. Also because probably the protocols will be refined.

However, I do not see any of those game changers happening within one year from now. And one year without income and ideas on what to live on is really long, long enough to shut down everything.

I confess to being skeptical wrt there being a vaccination, even in the next couple of years.   Already there are reports in the news of people who had COVID-19, were cured, and are now believed to have caught it again.  Of course this requires confirmation, but it is a concern as it brings into question as to whether a vaccination can be effective. If that is indeed the case, it may make it much more difficult for a developed vaccination to be truly effective and could take longer than any of the 'experts' hope for.

Hence possibly the best hope is for (1) countries to manage their COVID-19 to having no new cases (which will take time), (2) global development of a very rapid and highly reliable means for testing if one is infected and/or determine if one had COVID-19 in the past and/or if one is now a COVID-19 carrier, (3) highly effective medicine developed to treat symptoms and prevent deaths,  and (4) better means to manage COVID-19 cases, such as you suggest (better isolation facilities, better supplies of masks (with more accepted balanced use), more gels, respirators, etc ... )).

Like you, I don't believe all of that will happen any time soon.  Hence I speculate this could be managed by the methods I suggested in my earlier post, and I while I think there may be a partial re-opening of Phuket this year ...  I believe any return to tourism in Phuket may very well be limited in numbers for a while (compared to the past).

To speculate on the future is always problematic.

Wrt Phuket's future outlook, imagine a scenario where Phuket COVID-19 cases are eliminated.

What does that mean for Phuket?   I suspect within 2 weeks of no new COVID-19 cases in Phuket, the beaches, swimming pools, hotels and restaurants will be allowed to open, although likely many will not yet open.  Some may take this opportunity to upgrade their hotels/restaurants. Some may close permanently.

Masks?  After a few weeks of no COVID-19, I suspect there may for some TBD time be a requirement to wear masks, as there will be a fear new tourists will bring the virus back.

At what time will tourists be allowed into Thailand and specifically into Phuket?

Consider "if" Phuket is clean of COVID-19 but there are still many cases elsewhere in the world.   What will Phuket do?

I speculate it may divide countries into two, and possibly 3 categories:

(1) people coming from countries that have shown no new COVID-19 cases for 2 to 3 weeks can come into Thailand and no quarantine required

(2) people coming from some other countries with no new COVID-19 cases but don't yet meet the 2 to 3 week criteria, will be required to self quarantine for 2 weeks when entering Thailand

(3) people from all other countries with active COVID-19 cases not allowed entry to Thailand.

The above is speculative and obviously could be assessed/considered massively differently. Speculation is speculation.

That speculation thou, suggests to me that there will be a slow restart for tourism.  

Another speculation:  A possible 'game changer' would be a drug that 99% (or better) cures all symptoms.  If such a game changer came, then things could ramp up sooner.

Countries that have shown no new to minimal new COVID-19 cases are likely to be the 1st tourists to Thailand.  

How does one put a timeline to the above ?  With the risk of new infections causing a new wave to the pandemic, its difficult to predict a restart date - other than to speculate it could be slow restart - a lot dependent not only only Phuket, on Thailand, but also on the remainder of the world.

Return to Europe or not to Europe?  

My view is this varies dependent on the person and their circumstances.   Some (what I think are) obvious aspect to consider are:

(1) Health Insurance? - Having good health coverage either in Thailand or your home country is mandatory.  Which has better hospitals and in which do you have better coverage?   If one has good health insurance, then the Thailand private hospitals are nominally fairly good.  In my case, my Health Insurance is excellent, so Thailand is a good choice.

(2) Visa and permission to stay in Thailand? - yes Thailand is extending the permission to stay, but it is doing such piecemeal, and if one does not have a long term permission to stay associated with their Visa, then this will be a constant irritant and uncertainty with staying in Thailand.  Does one want that?  In my case, my permission to stay is until Feb-2021, so Thailand is currently a good choice.

(3) Accommodation in Thailand and accommodation in one's home country?  Which is better and more comfortable?  In my case, I could not afford accommodation in my home country that would match what I have in Thailand.  So Thailand is a good choice.

(4) Family/friends? - Where is ones closest family/friend connections? In Thailand or in one's home country?   In my case, my wife is Thai, so Thailand is a good choice.

(5) Safety?  - Which place is safer, Thailand or one's home country?   In my case, both are about the same.

(6) COVID-19 restrictions?  Which place is more comfortable given the restrictions?  In my case, both are about the same.

Clearly for me, its Thailand.  But if I did not have (1) excellent health insurance, nor (2) a good permission to stay, nor (3) good accommodations, nor (4) family/friends in Thailand .... If I did not have those, I would have headed back home weeks ago.

.

4 hours ago, mitostone said:

I see, that sound like a better idea. However do you know what do i need in order to extend this permit? 

The Phuket volunteer site, whose link I gave previous for long stay extension, has this for a 60-day family extension on the permission to stay:

http://piv-phuket.com/short-stay-extenions/60-day-family-extension/

2 hours ago, oldcpu said:

Recently the government in Phuket has announced that a small number of hotels will stay open where tourists can check in to those hotels.   I don't have a good link for this

I found a arguably "better" link/reference source for the open Hotels in Phuket allowed to stay open: 

https://thephuketnews.com/governor-exempts-five-hotels-to-receive-new-guests-75601.php

Recently the government in Phuket has announced that a small number of hotels will stay open where tourists can check in to those hotels.   I don't have a good link for this although I note that Richard Barrow has mentioned the hotel names on his facebook page (and I copy from that page)

     * Dara Hotel in Wichit (฿1,000)
     * The Throne in Sire (฿1,000)
     * The Tide Beachfront in Sire (฿1,000)
     * Patong Bay Hill in Kathu (฿650)
     * Naiyang Beach Hotel in Thalang (฿650-800)

I was curious, and I did find "Dara Hotel" and the "Tide Beachfront" on the web but I could not find the Throne.  I did not try to locate the others.  

i do note (having talked to some) that people who have condos/villas that are normally for rent for one month, might be a bit reluctant to rent such now, given the current government requirement for hotels to close.  Condos/villas are not hotels, but one can never be certain in these times how requirements will be interpreted.

Best of luck in your efforts.

Phuket immigration has volunteers, who work in the immigration office, to help the immigration process for foreigners.  They also have a web site, with information including the specific requirements that the Phuket immigration office typically asks for. 

I note this from their web site:  

http://piv-phuket.com/long-stay-extensions/marriage-m/

I have yet to go for a long stay extension based on marriage myself (my time to do so for the first time is in February 2021), so I can't say that I have been through any of the above.  I do note Phuket typically ask for pictures with one in the picture :

* Picture of husband and wife (with children if applicable) in front of the house clearly showing house number.
* Picture of husband and wife (with children if applicable) inside the house.

and that could create a problem for you?

I've been most impressed with the Bangkok based Canadian Consular service support during this COVID-19 pandemic and I have received a number of emails from them - trying to be helpful wrt repatriation flights. 

Also, back in December last year, before all this CoVID-19 started in Thailand, the Canadian Consular service was helpful in certifying my marriage certificate to my Thai wife (we were married in Canada back in year 2001), where I needed that certification by them, so to register my marriage here in Thailand (where that was needed so to go for an Extension on my "permission to stay" in Thailand based on marriage, where my original Visa is a type-OA).  

The Canadian Consular service was a small piece of that process that I had to go through, and they did not let me down.

My perspective is "kudos to them" for their hard work.

21 hours ago, moon0205 said:

Looks like a change to marriage is 

Good luck on this.  I hope it works out.  Sticking with a Type-OA Visa and going for an extension on my 'permission to stay' in Thailand based on marriage is also the approach I plan to go for.  Fortunately my permission to stay is until 27-Feb-2021, so I have lots of time before I need to go for an extension.

On 4/1/2020 at 1:18 PM, Morning Person said:

I have been asking people on various forums if anyone has extended their O-A Visa based upon marriage for the last 6 months and, I have had no replies.

....

Can anyone respond with some encouragement concerning Thai Medical Insurance, needed, yes or no based upon marriage extension. My concern is that I am too old (72) to obtain required Insurance.

Further to the above, I fear that there may be an inconsistent approach applied by different Immigration Offices.  For example, I note this on the Phuket Immigration volunteer site, which notes if one is married to a Thai, then the health insurance is not required  http://piv-phuket.com/long-stay-extensions/retirement/  where it states in the 'longstay retirement section (I have retyped it) :

Medical Insurance:

If the retirement extension is based on a original Non-OA visa (Issued at the Thai Embassy in your home country) then a medical insurance has to be shown and included in the extension based on retirement.

Please use the following link https://longstay.tgia.org to get more information about the required health insurance and the accepted health insurance companies.

If the retirement extension is based on a (single entry) Non-O visa or from a conversion from Non-B or a extension based on marriage etc then the health insurance is NOT required for the extension based retirement application.

where I highlighted in bold the salient entry for extension based on marriage being an exception to the Type-OA requirement for health insurance. Mind you this is the Phuket immigration office policy according to the support volunteers.

Health Insurance

wrt health insurance, I believe it is possible to get such at age-72.  Peter Denis has made some posts pointing this out.  LMG Insurance offers insurance with an entry age up to age-75, and then coverage up to age-100 (as long as one registers before age-76).  Lowest cost ~11,400 for someone your age (from what I have read) for mostly worthless insurance, and if one pays more one can get insurance that is actually worth something.  Of course if one already has good international health insurance then one in the age 70-to-75 age group can consider the LG ~11,400 thai-baht 'worthless' option if one is not married to a Thai person.  https://www.lmginsurance.co.th/en/Products/Pages/Universal-Longstayvisa.aspx

On 4/1/2020 at 1:18 PM, Morning Person said:

I have been asking people on various forums if anyone has extended their O-A Visa based upon marriage for the last 6 months and, I have had no replies.

There are some posts ... but they are difficult to dig out.   For example post#5 in this thread by user tango sierra:  

I recall reading a small number of other success stories as well, but it would take time to dig them out.  I did not book mark them (I found the above doing a google search via the following search criteria:  " "type oa" "marriage" site:https://forum.thaivisa.com/  "

7 hours ago, JimGant said:

What about for us old farts 75 and up? Got a link? (sorry for being so lazy)

I note this link:  https://www.lmginsurance.co.th/en/Products/Pages/Universal-Longstayvisa.aspx  (and there may be better links) which unfortunately states, as Peter Denis noted it is for "Entry age up to 75 years old and Renewability to age 100 years".     Peter's post#6 above lists approaches to follow.

23 hours ago, mosan said:

So what you're saying is that you are already into your second year on your Non Immigrant O-A so you needed the re-entry permit to keep it alive to finish up before having to apply for a regular extension of stay - Yes?

Pretty much true/accurate. My non-immigrant type-OA valid until (ie 2nd year) starts 27-March-2020.  I had planned to be out of Thailand on that date (ie mid-March to mid-April-2020).  Consequently I obtained a single re-entry permit to allow me back in to Thailand in mid April-2020,  using my passport's current "permission to stay" in Thailand (which is until February-2021).  However I no longer plan to leave Thailand for mid-March-to-mid-April-2020.

As you note, and more specific for my case, in February-2021 I plan to apply for my 1st extension (based on marriage) on my permission to stay (where the permission to stay is based on a Type-OA visa) .

On 3/2/2020 at 1:15 PM, oldcpu said:

As I noted in my quote, I went to Thai immigration in Phuket today and successfully obtained a Single Re-Entry permit on my "Permission to Stay" (from my Type-OA Visa).  I needed the "Re-entry permit" as I will be outside Thailand when my Type-OA valid until date comes and goes.

As it turns out, I did not need this re-entry.  

I was to leave Thailand for New Zealand on Tuesday for one month of traveling in New Zealand, but yesterday the New Zealand PM announced anyone arriving in New Zealand is to go into a 14-day self quarantine.  That self quarantine would totally disrupt my travel plans (car rental, hotels, tours ... ) , so my wife and I cancelled our visit to New Zealand.

We will now stay in Thailand.

If Corona Virus situation in Europe, sorts itself by August, we may head to Germany in mid-August, so maybe my single re-entry permit is not totally wasted.

.

On 3/11/2020 at 3:06 PM, fittobethaied said:

This is your best alternative for an onward ticket:

 

https://onward-flight.com/

I note that service gets "mixed" reviews:   https://www.trustpilot.com/review/onward.flights

.

46 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

 

1 hour ago, gajah said:

My understanding is that you can have insurance that is not on the list.  It has to be comparable in terms of benefits, and evidence of this must be provided. 

... As that FiC refers to thai legislation with which most insurers are not familiar, it is not easy to get that document signed and filled-in correctly.

Further to this, I have Insurance with Cigna.  Out of curiosity, I requested they fill in the Thai form, and they 100% refused to complete the Thai government insurance form.

This is despite a couple of requests by myself to them to complete the forum. They repeatedly claimed they did not understand the Thailand requirements (despite my providing additional clarification documents/translations of the Thai government insurance requirements). 

So my assessment is you will not be able to use your Cigna insurance (as proof of insurance) if the Thai form needs to be completed as part of a Type-OA visa application.  I don't know thou, if all Thai consulates abroad will require that form to be completed. 

Still, I think as it stands today (IMHO), if you are not married to a Thai national, you are possibly better off to keep your Cigna insurance (if its good insurance like my Cigna insurance is very good), and instead go for a Type-O visa, either abroad (if possible) or after entering Thailand on a Visa exempt or on a Tourist visa.  Others (such as Peter Denis) know the details of this Type-O Visa process and can (and have) provided excellent advice.

5 minutes ago, Mr Smithy said:

There are no Thai line only IO's

That is good to know.

My previous experience (in Phuket):  Back in May-2019 when I came into Thailand for the 1st time on my Type-OA Visa, where I was with my Thai wife and we went to the line that specifically was stated for Thai passports, the IO (to me) appeared confused (even though he knew I was with my Thai wife).  He sent me to a side office where I waited for 10-minutes and then had my passport stamped for a 1-year permission to stay (until May-2020) by another IO (in that office).  I had the definite impression that IO (manning the booth in the line specifically marked for Thai citizens) did not know how to handle a Type-OA foreign visa.  Maybe he was a trainee?

.