Hey quick question.  I’m an American in Thailand currently on visa exempt.  My stamp to leave Thailand is dated March 18th.  I have a flight out tomorrow (today) however with the situation in the USA I’m honestly hesitant to go back to the United States at this time and risk traveling internationally.  I saw that there is a Wavier for overstay penalties currently, what are the stipulations for waiver over overstay currently?  Is it only applying to foreigners who are stranded here due to canceled flights and left no other choice? Or would my situation qualify as well?  I understand that I can get a 30 day extension, however I’d be worried that in 30 days from now the situation has worsened and I would not be able to get a flight out and be in danger of overstaying. I should note that I’m not out spreading any illnesses throughout Thailand, my wife and I have been self isolated and have only went out a handful of times for necessities. Advice?

ask your Immigration officer today!!

 

As above you need to make the effort to talk with immigration ASAP, they are a lot more human than the majority of posters would like you to believe, get thirty days extension, if the situation changes they will change their rules and regs to suit, you are going to have to be fluid and just go with the flow!

I share your assessment that the Covid-19 situation may be a lot worse in 30 days and probably still worse in 60 days. My advice is to take the flight you booked for today. There is no waver of overstay penalty.

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

I share your assessmeny that the Covid-19 situation may be a lot worse in 30 days and probably still worse in 60 days. My advice is to take the flight you booked for today. There is no waver of overstay penalty.

There is no Wavier? Did they end it? The Bangkok Post article dated the 27 Jan says that foreigners affected by corona Virus will receive a Wavier of overstay penalty.

 

<Edit by Maestro: deleted link to a web page of a news publications that does not allow ThaiVisa members to post such links>

Edited March 17, 20206 yr by Maestro
As per edit note.

33 minutes ago, Maestro said:

I share your assessment that the Covid-19 situation may be a lot worse in 30 days and probably still worse in 60 days. My advice is to take the flight you booked for today. There is no waver of overstay penalty.

The virus is here to stay. It will eventually affect everyone and herd immunity will be reached.

I think it maybe a worse situation in the USA then Thailand. There are more hospitals in Thailand per capita. I believe.

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

I share your assessment that the Covid-19 situation may be a lot worse in 30 days and probably still worse in 60 days. My advice is to take the flight you booked for today. There is no waver of overstay penalty.

But hospitals in all countries won't be able to cope. For example yesterday Bergamo (Lombardy region) has run out of intensive care beds.    

 

I would rather do my best to avoid catching it, the journey back is risky

Edited March 17, 20206 yr by scubascuba3

9 hours ago, Bchef82 said:

There is no Wavier? Did they end it? The Bangkok Post article dated the 27 Jan says that foreigners affected by corona Virus will receive a Wavier of overstay penalty.

 

If that is what a news article said, then the journalist or the person from whom the journalist received the information got it wrong.

 

The fact is that a clause a Police Order about extensions of stay allows the immigration offices to grant, upon application by a foreigner, a 30-day extension of stay "in case of necessity" so that the foreigner will not have to go on overstay. The fee for the extension is THB 1,900.

 

This clause is now being applied if, for example, a foreignor's flight out of Thailand is cancelled or delayed by the Covid-19 situation and he does not qualify for an extension under another clause and cannot make an alternative travel arrangement for departure prior to his current permission to stay.

 

Do not dream about not paying overstay fines.

Immigration might be more lenient regarding criminal prosecution if you have a valid excuse, same as they did during 2012 flooding, but certainly not waiving fines.

10 hours ago, Maestro said:

 

If that is what a news article said, then the journalist or the person from whom the journalist received the information got it wrong.

 

The fact is that a clause a Police Order about extensions of stay allows the immigration offices to grant, upon application by a foreigner, a 30-day extension of stay "in case of necessity" so that the foreigner will not have to go on overstay. The fee for the extension is THB 1,900.

 

This clause is now being applied if, for example, a foreignor's flight out of Thailand is cancelled or delayed by the Covid-19 situation and he does not qualify for an extension under another clause and cannot make an alternative travel arrangement for departure prior to his current permission to stay.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone, really much appreciated. As always the helpful community at ThaiVisa is there to answer my questions. I appreciate all your input. My wife and I are currently on our way to ol’ Suvarnabuhmi Airport right now, and will be making the journey back to the States. Wish we could stay, but rest assured we will be back sooner than later. Wish us luck, as I also wish all of you a safe upcoming few months while this whole craziness continues to shake out. Stay healthy everyone. ????

Good decision.

If you turn down flying home with a confirmed ticket that you do not board on

why should Thai Immigration help ?

5 minutes ago, natway09 said:

If you turn down flying home with a confirmed ticket that you do not board on

why should Thai Immigration help ?

 

Good point.

 

The extension under clause 2.28 of the extension rules is not intended simply for the asking, it is reserved for cases of unavoidable necessity when no other type of extension is applicable.

 

The first hurdle is the application for the embassy letter and I suggest that convincing proof of necessity be enclosed already with this application, and later with the application for extension at the immigration office together with the embassy letter.

1 hour ago, Bchef82 said:

Thanks for the advice everyone, really much appreciated. As always the helpful community at ThaiVisa is there to answer my questions. I appreciate all your input. My wife and I are currently on our way to ol’ Suvarnabuhmi Airport right now, and will be making the journey back to the States. Wish we could stay, but rest assured we will be back sooner than later. Wish us luck, as I also wish all of you a safe upcoming few months while this whole craziness continues to shake out. Stay healthy everyone. ????

Best  of luck! And consider a couple of temperature checks plus questions as some "extra time" you'll need. 

21 hours ago, Don Chance said:

The virus is here to stay. It will eventually affect everyone and herd immunity will be reached.

I think it maybe a worse situation in the USA then Thailand. There are more hospitals in Thailand per capita. I believe.

Yes, there are more hospitals. They won't be free. Better be where you have insurance cover. 

45 minutes ago, Letseng said:

Yes, there are more hospitals. They won't be free. Better be where you have insurance cover. 

I'm Toronto, there will be no hospital beds in 1 week.  At least in Thailand i believe there is better chance with a private hospital.

1 hour ago, Don Chance said:

I'm Toronto, there will be no hospital beds in 1 week.  At least in Thailand i believe there is better chance with a private hospital.

 

Consider the possibility that these beds in private hospitals may go to the highest bidders, ie to the patients with the highest insurance cover.

On 3/18/2020 at 3:20 AM, Maestro said:

I share your assessment that the Covid-19 situation may be a lot worse in 30 days and probably still worse in 60 days. My advice is to take the flight you booked for today. There is no waver of overstay penalty.

I think it's totally unpredictable but my hunch is that the worst will occur within the next 30 days, with improvements to be seen by 60 days from now. Already, China is slowly getting back to normal. I take my cues from the almost simultaneous shutdowns in the region and globally, which are occurring now for the next 2-4 weeks. This means a gradual improvement can be anticipated after mid-April in some regions, but it's too unpredictable to say now. I would advise sticking it out for at least a month but preferably 2 if possible.

On 3/19/2020 at 1:28 AM, Letseng said:

Yes, there are more hospitals. They won't be free. Better be where you have insurance cover. 

Better be where the general population is serious about social distancing. Thailand isn't great on that count, but you could do worse. You couldn't pay me to visit the US right now. You would get better peace of mind in South Korea, as you know both the government and population are treating the issue with the level of respect it deserves.

 

On 3/19/2020 at 3:53 AM, Maestro said:

Consider the possibility that these beds in private hospitals may go to the highest bidders, ie to the patients with the highest insurance cover.

That sounds probable, but the alternative is beds going to patients with highest chances of survival, like in Italy. What you care about, is whether the spread is limited (thus not overwhelming the hospitals), and that's up to the government policies and how compliant the population is. I read in Italy you had people cramming into coffee shops still, after the lockdown. In Thailand, I'm not sure they're taking it seriously enough, but the level of caution seems to be far higher than the US.

On 3/19/2020 at 12:29 PM, drbeach said:

I think it's totally unpredictable but my hunch is that the worst will occur within the next 30 days, with improvements to be seen by 60 days from now. Already, China is slowly getting back to normal. I take my cues from the almost simultaneous shutdowns in the region and globally, which are occurring now for the next 2-4 weeks. This means a gradual improvement can be anticipated after mid-April in some regions, but it's too unpredictable to say now. I would advise sticking it out for at least a month but preferably 2 if possible.

The Wildcard in all of this is Songkran. It's a big deal for Thais to go home to their provinces and reunite with their families, whom they sometimes might only see a few times a year due to work commitments in Bangkok. So, it's a big ask to say...no, don't go see mom, dad, granny, gramps, no matter what. Family here is the center of one's life, even AFTER marriage. That may be to Thailand's detriment as it does not bode well for social distancing objectives.

7 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

The Wildcard in all of this is Songkran. It's a big deal for Thais to go home to their provinces and reunite with their families, whom they sometimes might only see a few times a year due to work commitments in Bangkok. So, it's a big ask to say...no, don't go see mom, dad, granny, gramps, no matter what. Family here is the center of one's life, even AFTER marriage. That may be to Thailand's detriment as it does not bode well for social distancing objectives.

Absolutely agree. Chinese New Year was a big cause of the initial spread in China.

 

One of the effective control measures is preventing people from leaving infected areas. That was used with great effect in China, albeit not immediately. Unfortunately, the main infected area in Thailand is Bangkok, and preventing all travel in and out of the capital would be extremely difficult to enforce.

17 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

So, it's a big ask to say...no, don't go see mom, dad, granny, gramps, no matter what.

of  course  by  seeing  them "this  time"  means  they  could  sign  their  death warrant and  never  see  them  again..................probably  too  long  term  thinking  for them  though

"Better be where the general population is serious about social distancing."

 

If you're looking for a nearby bolthole, consider Hong Kong. I'd say it's the best city in the region to based at the moment, maybe even in the world.

 

The people and the Government are taking the crisis and social distancing very seriously. Of course that makes the place somewhat grim, but that's the trade-off.

 

The big downside is you'll have to undergo 14 days of quarantine after arrival at home/hotel, strictly monitored with a wrist band tied to an app on your phone. You won't be able to even step outside your door.

 

But most nationalities will get a 90-day stay on arrival, so you won't have to fret about Immigration. And if the situation really really heads south in the next three months, the Immigration Department has a reputation for being reasonable.

 

Traditionally, Hong Kong is an expensive place to stay, but with last year's protests and this year's virus, hotel rates are very reasonable.

HK? lol

What could possibly go wrong in one of the most densely packed city/regions on Earth that relies on all its food imports on the mainland and until recently in the grip of political turmoil?

As a farang (I assume) you might also have to deal with rising xenophobia.

HK would be the last place on Earth I would go..ok throw China into the mix too.

 

Edited March 21, 20206 yr by Vigilante

"that relies on all its food imports on the mainland . . . ."

 

Just wrong as a matter of basic fact. In recent years, for example, about 80 percent of Hong Kong's rice -- the basic staple -- has come from Thailand and Vietnam. The Mainland has supplied less than 8 percent.

 

https://www.tid.gov.hk/english/import_export/nontextiles/nt_rice/monthly_rice.html

32 minutes ago, Vigilante said:

As a farang (I assume) you might also have to deal with rising xenophobi

What examples of xenophobia are you thinking of exactly (and what is supposed to be driving it)?

In Hong Kong in recent years there's been some discrimination against Mainlanders, and there's long been some discrimination towards people from the Subcontinent. But for Westerners it's a welcoming environment.

 

Mainland China may be trending differently, I don't know.

3 hours ago, Vigilante said:

HK? lol

What could possibly go wrong in one of the most densely packed city/regions on Earth that relies on all its food imports on the mainland and until recently in the grip of political turmoil?

As a farang (I assume) you might also have to deal with rising xenophobia.

HK would be the last place on Earth I would go..ok throw China into the mix too.

Personally, I would be willing to put up with a bit of xenophobia to be somewhere that will not infect me with Covid-19. Right now, China is the safest place to be. It is the only country with zero local transmission of the virus, and the ability to allow people to arrive from other countries without risk to the local population. I would be more worried about the expense of living, say, in Shanghai than the local population looking at me funny.

Hong Kong and Mainland China have distinct immigration systems, and while I don't know whether the Mainland has started to restrict issuance of tourist visas, I wouldn't be surprised if it has. Also, Shanghai, like Hong Kong, is imposing a 14-day quarantine, and I've seen reports the cost including food runs about RMB10,000 (about US$1,400). Finally, getting into malls and shops in Shanghai increasingly requires showing your status as "green" on a tracking app that raises a "red" flag if you've been near an infected place. Foreigners may have trouble using this app and find themselves banned from many places in the city. I've also heard that a dwindling number of hotels will accept foreigners.

 

Calls are growing louder in Hong Kong to follow the lead of Singapore and other countries and bar non-residents from entry. So the HK option may soon be off the table.