I'm in Thailand on a Non-Imm 'O' visa which expires on 28/2. I was due to fly to Beijing on 25/2 and then onwards to Brussels on 3/3. However, Hainan (the carrier) have now cancelled the BKK-PEK leg on 25/2. Hainan are being unresponsive so I'm currently in a state of flux. My question is: I'm sure that I read/ heard somewhere that Thai immigration were turning a blind eye to short overstays caused by the impact of the Coronavirus? Does anyone have a link to anything about this (preferably an official link)? I've got my hands full dealing with Hainan at the moment and would rather not have to troop out to Chang Wattana to get an extension for a matter of a few days. Any info/ suggestions gratefully received. Thanks. 

I assume from the info I have seen they are waiving the 500 baht per day overstay fine when a person leaves the country.

I assume to get it waived you would need to show proof your scheduled flight was canceled due the virus outbreak.

I don't think going to Chaeng Wattana immigration would result in any help with it.

2 hours ago, RayC said:

My question is: I'm sure that I read/ heard somewhere that Thai immigration were turning a blind eye to short overstays caused by the impact of the Coronavirus? Does anyone have a link to anything about this (preferably an official link)?

There has been no official announcement.

 

IMO, at best they would only waive any overstay fee. The overstay would still appear on your record. Given the amount of notice you have to make alternative arrangements I doubt they will be sympathetic.

 

2 hours ago, RayC said:

I've got my hands full dealing with Hainan at the moment and would rather not have to troop out to Chang Wattana to get an extension for a matter of a few days. Any info/ suggestions gratefully received. Thanks. 

I suggest you get an extension. If you don't qualify they should give you 7 days to leave the country starting on 1st March.

 

Or you could do a quick border run for a new 90 day stay from the entry visa (if still valid), or get a 30 day visa exempt entry. 

3 minutes ago, elviajero said:

There has been no official announcement.

It has been stated in more than one news article quoting the head of the Immigration Bureau stating the overstays would be waived.

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

It has been stated in more than one news article quoting the head of the Immigration Bureau stating the overstays would be waived.

There has been no official announcement made by immigration in writing.

 

The articles quote an IB spokesperson, not its head.

 

They are only talking of waiving the fine. The overstay will still be on record. Anyone wanting to avoid an overstay should get an extension.

I am of the opinion (nobody can state, for sure, all the consequences) that you, out of an abundance of caution, should avoid the overstay. Waiving of the fine (which would most likely happen) does not mean that immigration officials in the future will necessarily ignore the overstay in other situations. I appreciate that a trip to CW for an extension may be a hassle, but you must be able to fit it in within the next three weeks, surely, even if you are having difficulty with communications with the airline. If you need to urgently contact the airline, this can be done from CW.

OP, sorry for your situation. 

Personally, I don't think you will resolve things quickly with airline. Also there is most likely something in their small print that covers them. Seems for example that folk trying to cancel their cruise ship bookings are not covered even if they have travel insurance.

I would be looking for alternative flight with another carrier. Route avoiding China.

Painful pill but this pandemic will not end any time soon.

 

Without Thai family there is no extension you can get on a non 'O' visa entry, they may give you an extension refused 7 days to leave stamp, would you not be better doing a border bounce and get a fresh 30 day visa exempt entry, or sort out an alternative flight. but you have 3 weeks to sort something out

53 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Waiving of the fine (which would most likely happen) does not mean that immigration officials in the future will necessarily ignore the overstay in other situations.

I doubt that the fine would be waved in his case.

He knows three weeks in advance that his flight will be cancelled, which means plenty of time to get his matters sorted out.

The waving of the fine is most likely for people who's flight got cancelled a day or two before they were supposed to fly.

Thanks to all for the replies. I'll go to Chaeng Wattena and see what they have to say. This is purely a commercial decision by the airline. Hainan are still running all but one of their routes to EU nations. Why? Because to cancel flights unilaterally means that passengers from EU airports can claim up to 600 Euros each compensation plus accommodation costs, etc.  However, it is relatively cheap to cancel non-EU routes. I understand their logic but what pisses me off is the lack of processes and procedures for dealing with passengers like me - many, no doubt, with shorter time horizons - who have been left in the lurch and told to sort out things themselves. Oh well, all sent to try us as my dear old Dad used to say.

As usual everyone is stating their opinion as if it were fact. Surely by now we all know it’s down to the IO whose desk you turn up at and what kind of mood they’re in.

23 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

As usual everyone is stating their opinion as if it were fact.

Actually not a single poster in this topic did this, you might want to pay more attention when reading.

13 hours ago, RayC said:

Thanks to all for the replies. I'll go to Chaeng Wattena and see what they have to say. This is purely a commercial decision by the airline. Hainan are still running all but one of their routes to EU nations. Why? Because to cancel flights unilaterally means that passengers from EU airports can claim up to 600 Euros each compensation plus accommodation costs, etc.  However, it is relatively cheap to cancel non-EU routes. I understand their logic but what pisses me off is the lack of processes and procedures for dealing with passengers like me - many, no doubt, with shorter time horizons - who have been left in the lurch and told to sort out things themselves. Oh well, all sent to try us as my dear old Dad used to say.

Did you get a refund for the cancelled flight?

So you are not overstay now and you have enough time to find a new flight or extend your visa.

Why you are asking this? What is the real reason? What do you do if the immigration ask you when the Hainan Airline canceled your flight and they find out it was 3 weeks ago?

 

I am sure they maybe waive the fine if you got your flight cancelation just some days before. But for sure not if you got it 3 weeks ago.

14 hours ago, RayC said:

Thanks to all for the replies. I'll go to Chaeng Wattena and see what they have to say. This is purely a commercial decision by the airline. Hainan are still running all but one of their routes to EU nations. Why? Because to cancel flights unilaterally means that passengers from EU airports can claim up to 600 Euros each compensation plus accommodation costs, etc.  However, it is relatively cheap to cancel non-EU routes. I understand their logic but what pisses me off is the lack of processes and procedures for dealing with passengers like me - many, no doubt, with shorter time horizons - who have been left in the lurch and told to sort out things themselves. Oh well, all sent to try us as my dear old Dad used to say.

Passenger rights: Virus spread is considered an exceptional circumstance

According to the European Passenger Rights Regulation, passengers receive a compensation of 250, 400 or 600 euros in the event of flight cancellations or flight delays of several hours. The amount of compensation depends on the flight distance, not the duration of the flight delay, for example. A prerequisite for a compensation payment is that the flight was canceled at short notice, i.e. the airline did not notify the flight cancellation a week or two in advance and offered to rebook as quickly as possible. Exceptions to the obligation to pay compensation exist for the airlines only in exceptional circumstances. These exceptional circumstances can also relate to unforeseeable violent storms, political unrest or strikes. The spread of the corona virus in China will also be considered an exceptional circumstance, which the airline could not have avoided if all possible measures had been taken. The spread of viruses and the associated restriction of air traffic to affected cities or countries clearly eludes the power and responsibility of an airline.

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

Actually not a single poster in this topic did this, you might want to pay more attention when reading.

You might want to re read the posts before you start throwing personal insults around 

11 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

You might want to re read the posts before you start throwing personal insults around 

From the previous posts:

"I assume"
"IMO"
"I am of the opinion"
"Personally, I don't think"
"I doubt"
"most likely"
Nobody made it look like a fact, people clearly expressed that it is their personal opinion. I didn't insult you, just pointed out that you should read more careful in the future.

It really depends on how long it will take for you to make other arrangements.

Showing them the cancelled ticket through China may get you a 14 day waiver of fines 

That is what I heard, After 14 days they consider tha the virus you are using as an excuse

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

From the previous posts:

"I assume"
"IMO"
"I am of the opinion"
"Personally, I don't think"
"I doubt"
"most likely"
Nobody made it look like a fact, people clearly expressed that it is their personal opinion. I didn't insult you, just pointed out that you should read more careful in the future.

You want to be right....fine be right, it matters not

23 hours ago, elviajero said:

I suggest you get an extension. If you don't qualify they should give you 7 days to leave the country starting on 1st March

I believe he said his "visa expired" on 28th. Since this is a leap year, at best wouldn't the 7 days begin on 29 February?

 

out of curiosity, since the 7 days to leave the country is not an extension per se, does it begin from the date the current permission ends or from the day your application for another extension is denied?

12 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

out of curiosity, since the 7 days to leave the country is not an extension per se, does it begin from the date the current permission ends or from the day your application for another extension is denied?

I once wondered about that. Like you, it seemed logical to me that the seven days would start when the extension was denied. However, it turns out that the seven days is added to the end of your current permission to stay.

22 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

On 2/6/2020 at 9:34 AM, elviajero said:

I suggest you get an extension. If you don't qualify they should give you 7 days to leave the country starting on 1st March

I believe he said his "visa expired" on 28th. Since this is a leap year, at best wouldn't the 7 days begin on 29 February?

Yes you're right. I was forgetting 2020 is a leap year.

 

22 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

out of curiosity, since the 7 days to leave the country is not an extension per se, does it begin from the date the current permission ends or from the day your application for another extension is denied?

If someone has a genuine application denied, the IB should - under the police order - give 7 days from the end of the current stay.

 

If an applicant doesn't qualify for an extension the IB shouldn't accept the application, and the applicant should leave before the current stay runs out. Fortunately, in most cases, they do take these applications; probably because it's easy extra revenue.

 

However, I've known a couple of cases where the applicant didn't qualify for an extension and the 7 days was granted from the day the applicant applied; thereby only giving the applicant an extra 3/4 days.