Immigration Is Allowing 30 Day Extensions Of Entries (memorandum dated 18/03)

[audaciousnomad]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Yes and Yes

Hi Ubonjoe...thank you for being so responsive amidst the chaos this virus has wreaked.  I hear the optimism in your reply, yet anecdotally we have not yet seen anyone post here that they have successfully secured a 2nd extension, even when they have supplied embassy letters.  Is there someone you know of that has gotten that 2nd 30-day extension smoothly without a hitch?

Thanks.

[Zikomat]

20 minutes ago, nomad2019 said:

Ive allready got 30 days extension untill aprill 11th.

Will i get a further 30 days and is there a cost 1900 baht.

Advise please thanks

It’s a lot of time until 11 of April. Hard to guess what the situation will be by then. 

[bangkokboy888]

SUCCESS: I GOT MY 30 DAY EXTENSION TODAY AFTER BEING REJECTED ON MONDAY DUE TO GENERIC (NO NAME, PASSPORT NUMBER) LETTER FROM US EMBASSY. THANKS TO EVERYONE'S INFORMATION AND SUPPORT ON THIS FORUM. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE EXTENSION PURELY FROM THE INFORMATION ON THIS FORUM. 

 

Recap: 

 

530 AM Wakeup half dead; shower; kiss my gf good bye and she is going back to province today at request of parents. with national emergency coming taking effect tomorrow, i don't know if i will get my extension today and if i leave Thailand if i will see her again this year. 

 

630 AM arrive with lines out he door just to get into the building! worried and shocked. will i even be able to be seen today? 

 

640 AM i get in the building the lines move rather quickly. i am about two hours early. i should be get a relatively good number for the queue right? BOOM 600+ issued to me. there were 636 souls that arrived to the building before 630am

 

740 AM after getting some coffee and food in the basement of CW i go to check what the status of the queue is. I see that the io have taken the crowds to the center of the building and have created long lines. each line represents a hundred people. 400s 500s 600s 700s 800s are lined up orderly spanning the width of the building. i identify my 600s line and look at the numbers to position myself behind 636 (Filipina woman with an Filipino embassy letter in hand)

 

1020 AM I am seen by the same io that denied me on Monday! I try and be polite as possible giving her a 'wai' when i see her. i reference that we met on monday and before i could finish in telling her that monday i was denied because my letter didn't have my name on it. she cuts me off and tells me she don't care, show her my stuff now, she sees to many people to care or remember. i shut the hell up. politely answer her questions 'krub' she says that im missing a document one of the stamps in my passport the stamp in between my first stamp and my denial stamp. my heart sinks. but wait i have a copy!  i tell her "miiii khrub' give her the document. she asks if it was hard to get this letter, i said 'chai krub man yakkk' "yes very hard" adn she tells me some crucial information: if i want to apply for another 30 day extension i need another letter. she checked the letter passport number twice reading the numbers out in thai, looks at me, looks back at the letter. i am on the chopping blocks here. she asks me for 1900 which i put with trembling hands on the desk. she says ok "we will give your passport later" i 'wai' her and she 'wais' me back i presume she noticed that i was trying to be polite. 

 

1028 still in cw waiting for passport back

[BangkokReady]

15 minutes ago, bangkokboy888 said:

SUCCESS: I GOT MY 30 DAY EXTENSION TODAY AFTER BEING REJECTED ON MONDAY DUE TO GENERIC (NO NAME, PASSPORT NUMBER) LETTER FROM US EMBASSY. THANKS TO EVERYONE'S INFORMATION AND SUPPORT ON THIS FORUM. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE EXTENSION PURELY FROM THE INFORMATION ON THIS FORUM. 

A couple of points to clarify:

 

Was the letter a print out of a PDF received by email?

 

Did you have to provide any evidence to your embassy or the IO that you were genuinely "trapped" in Thailand and had had a flight cancelled and could not get another before your visa ran out?

 

Was there any question at all around why you should receive an extension if you could still get a flight home within the validity of your visa?

 

Did it feel like the process was simply a case of "you are in Thailand, there is corona, you can extend" without further questions?

 

Did you feel that politeness and speaking to her in Thai (which you carefully highlight) made any difference or was that more for story telling/rhetorical purposes?

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

(Edited to add more questions.)

Edited March 25, 2020 by BangkokReady

[bangkokboy888]

4 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

A couple of points to clarify:

 

Was the letter a print out of a PDF received by email?

 

Did you have to provide any evidence to your embassy or the IO that you were genuinely "trapped" in Thailand and had had a flight cancelled and could not get another before your visa ran out?

 

Was there any question at all around why you should receive an extension if you could still get a flight home within the validity of your visa?

 

Did it feel like the process was simply a case of "you are in Thailand, there is corona, you can extend" without further questions?

 

Did you feel that politeness and speaking to her in Thai (which you carefully highlight) made any difference or was that more for story telling/rhetorical purposes?

 

Thanks for posting this.

 

(Edited to add more questions.)

my responses are in italics

 

Was the letter a print out of a PDF received by email?

PDF received by email. had my full name and passport number. i printed it in color to make it appear more 'original'

 

Did you have to provide any evidence to your embassy or the IO that you were genuinely "trapped" in Thailand and had had a flight cancelled and could not get another before your visa ran out?

did not provide any evidence that i was trapped to us embassy. no flight cancellation shared. just wrote to them that i was affected by COVID19 and needed a letter with name and passport number to show to thai immigration. no cancellations, visa date expirations shared

 

Was there any question at all around why you should receive an extension if you could still get a flight home within the validity of your visa?

there was no question about why i should receive or merit an extension if i can go home. i think the io are tremendously overworked here since there were 600+ when i arrived at 630am and they opened the doors well before official opening time of 830am. i did not have a discussion with io about flight availability or visa duration. it was a short, curt discussion about if my documents were complete enough to apply for the extension

 

Did it feel like the process was simply a case of "you are in Thailand, there is corona, you can extend" without further questions?

yes basically thats what it felt like. i didn't even show her the letter that @ubonjoe graciously posted since i had been rejected by this vrey same io on monday and at that time i had shown her the letter. she was aware of the letter and she was adamant that she needed a name on the letter (didn't push for passport number of date of birth) but ensure to include these 

 

Did you feel that politeness and speaking to her in Thai (which you carefully highlight) made any difference or was that more for story telling/rhetorical purposes?

lol it is not to tell a nice story! it is to get on her good side and lubricate the interaction a little bit with the other side's native language! not at all for story telling/rhetorical purposes. PURELY self interest and getting to a positive result using anything everything i can. 

[BangkokReady]

5 minutes ago, bangkokboy888 said:

my responses are in italics

 

Was the letter a print out of a PDF received by email?

PDF received by email. had my full name and passport number. i printed it in color to make it appear more 'original'

 

Did you have to provide any evidence to your embassy or the IO that you were genuinely "trapped" in Thailand and had had a flight cancelled and could not get another before your visa ran out?

did not provide any evidence that i was trapped to us embassy. no flight cancellation shared. just wrote to them that i was affected by COVID19 and needed a letter with name and passport number to show to thai immigration. no cancellations, visa date expirations shared

 

Was there any question at all around why you should receive an extension if you could still get a flight home within the validity of your visa?

there was no question about why i should receive or merit an extension if i can go home. i think the io are tremendously overworked here since there were 600+ when i arrived at 630am and they opened the doors well before official opening time of 830am. i did not have a discussion with io about flight availability or visa duration. it was a short, curt discussion about if my documents were complete enough to apply for the extension

 

Did it feel like the process was simply a case of "you are in Thailand, there is corona, you can extend" without further questions?

yes basically thats what it felt like. i didn't even show her the letter that @ubonjoe graciously posted since i had been rejected by this vrey same io on monday and at that time i had shown her the letter. she was aware of the letter and she was adamant that she needed a name on the letter (didn't push for passport number of date of birth) but ensure to include these 

 

Did you feel that politeness and speaking to her in Thai (which you carefully highlight) made any difference or was that more for story telling/rhetorical purposes?

lol it is not to tell a nice story! it is to get on her good side and lubricate the interaction a little bit with the other side's native language! not at all for story telling/rhetorical purposes. PURELY self interest and getting to a positive result using anything everything i can. 

Apart from the queuing, this is indeed wonderful news.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share this information with us.

[bangkokboy888]

13 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

Apart from the queuing, this is indeed wonderful news.

 

Thank you for taking the time to share this information with us.

My pleasure just paying it forward. 
 

I came to this forum on Sunday with no idea about what to do with expiring visa on mar 29

 

now have an extension using the info on this forum. 

[greggraham]

6 minutes ago, bangkokboy888 said:

My pleasure just paying it forward. 
 

I came to this forum on Sunday with no idea about what to do with expiring visa on mar 29

 

now have an extension using the info on this forum. 

????

I assume they +30 from the 29th right, not from today? Or are you waiting to see..

[bangkokboy888]

Just now, greggraham said:

????

I assume they +30 from the 29th right, not from today? Or are you waiting to see..

waiting to see. 

 

they denied me on monday and gave me seven days to apr 5

 

waiting to see what they give me with previous denial and now approval

[vermin on arrival]

I expect 30 days from april 5.

[NanLaew]

On 3/23/2020 at 12:55 AM, vermin on arrival said:

...and that going home was fraught with difficulties since my brother's house was in quarantine and my elderly and infirm parents with whom I live when I am in the States are in complete seclusion so I could not stay with them.

And those are the only two places in the whole continental US where you can stay?

 

If I was the Thai Immigration guy you're dealing with, I wouldn't buy it.

[vermin on arrival]

1 minute ago, NanLaew said:

And those are the only two places in the whole continental US where you can stay?

 

If I was the Thai Immigration guy you're dealing with, I wouldn't buy it.

Well I am glad you aren't the IO. Thanks for the compassion.

Edited March 25, 2020 by vermin on arrival

[NanLaew]

2 minutes ago, vermin on arrival said:

Well I am glad you aren't the IO. Thanks for the compassion.

De nada.

[bbi1]

1 hour ago, bangkokboy888 said:

SUCCESS: I GOT MY 30 DAY EXTENSION TODAY AFTER BEING REJECTED ON MONDAY DUE TO GENERIC (NO NAME, PASSPORT NUMBER) LETTER FROM US EMBASSY. THANKS TO EVERYONE'S INFORMATION AND SUPPORT ON THIS FORUM. I WAS ABLE TO GET THE EXTENSION PURELY FROM THE INFORMATION ON THIS FORUM. 

That's great news. Were you renewing a SETV, METV or visa exempt entry?

[jaffas21]

the uk embassy says they are taking enquiries to extend tourist visas there is  a weblink to send info, but it doesnt mention non b visas mine expires end of april.

 

This thread is to long now ... its hard to see if someone has answered this query already.

 

I was intending originally to pay for a 2 month TV at savanakhet as my gf is here and i was planning to move to vietnam after that

Edited March 25, 2020 by jaffas21

[jackdd]

7 minutes ago, jaffas21 said:

This thread is to long now ... its hard to see if someone has answered this query already.

You should try this thread:

 

[bangkokboy888]

26 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

That's great news. Were you renewing a SETV, METV or visa exempt entry?

Renewing visa exempt entry for a second time (originally ineligible but did so with letter from embassy with my personal info on it. 
 

they gave me until April 22 which I calculate is 30 days from the date of my failed extension attempt 

[Zikomat]

Just now, bangkokboy888 said:

Renewing visa exempt entry for a second time (originally ineligible but did so with letter from embassy with my personal info on it. 
 

they gave me until April 22 which I calculate is 30 days from the date of my failed extension attempt 

You said your previous extension was to expire on 29 of March and they gave you a new extension until 22.04 only? That is 7 days less than 30 days. What happens to these people? Why are they so stingy at these hard times?

[superatoz]

1 hour ago, bangkokboy888 said:

my responses are in italics

 

Was the letter a print out of a PDF received by email?

PDF received by email. had my full name and passport number. i printed it in color to make it appear more 'original'

 

Did you have to provide any evidence to your embassy or the IO that you were genuinely "trapped" in Thailand and had had a flight cancelled and could not get another before your visa ran out?

 

happy for you ... hope i get mine soon too 

[vermin on arrival]

42 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

That's great news. Were you renewing a SETV, METV or visa exempt entry?

He was visa exempt

[BangkokReady]

18 minutes ago, bangkokboy888 said:

they gave me until April 22 which I calculate is 30 days from the date of my failed extension attempt 

So it sounds like they're giving you 30 days from the day you apply.  (Or reapply, in your case.)

[Smooth]

12 hours ago, eppic said:

Thanks a lot. We have a four-year-old boy and were hoping to avoid the chaos.  So it sounds like the child and spouse are required to come in person?

 

May I ask was this a recent experience? I took my son with my on previous occasions for non-O extensions but had no idea we could have had expedited entry (perhaps this is a new thing?)

Yes, was actually on three recent experiences: for my and my son's first visa waiver extension (U.S. cit.), and for my wife's two extensions of her visa on arrival (each with a personalized physical letter issued from her embassy [China]).

[jackdd]

18 minutes ago, Zikomat said:

You said your previous extension was to expire on 29 of March and they gave you a new extension until 22.04 only? That is 7 days less than 30 days. What happens to these people? Why are they so stingy at these hard times?

I guess his permit to stay expired on 22.03., then he went to apply for an extension. His extension request was denied and he got 7 days to leave the country (29.03.)

Now he applied again and this time the extension was granted. The 7 days to leave the country is probably not considered as a regular extension, so the now granted extension starts on the day his previous permit to stay expired, thus allowing him to stay until (22.04.)

 

Same happens in case you were on overstay and apply for an extension, the days which you have been on overstay will not be added. So if somebody with a 10 days overstay applies for an extension, even though he pays 5k THB fine, he will only be allowed to stay 20 more days.

Edited March 25, 2020 by jackdd

[BangkokReady]

17 minutes ago, Zikomat said:

What happens to these people? Why are they so stingy at these hard times?

They hate the fact that they have to do this and want us gone as soon as possible.

[bbi1]

2 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

So it sounds like they're giving you 30 days from the day you apply.  (Or reapply, in your case.)

If it's only 30 days since you re-apply that's terrible news. It should be 30 days from the date of when the original extension expires.

[vermin on arrival]

3 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

So it sounds like they're giving you 30 days from the day you apply.  (Or reapply, in your case.)

Which means one might want to go later but then who knows if they will close IOs and then people must overstay. Don't assume automatic extensions if offices close.

Edited March 25, 2020 by vermin on arrival

[Zikomat]

2 minutes ago, jackdd said:

I guess his permit to stay expired on 22.03., then he went to apply for an extension. His extension request was denied and he got 7 days to leave the country (29.03.)

Now he applied again and this time the extension was granted. The 7 days to leave the country is probably not considered as a regular extension, so the now granted extension starts on the day his previous permit to stay expired, thus allowing him to stay until (22.04.)

 

Same happens in case you were on overstay and apply for an extension, the days which you have been on overstay will not be added. So if somebody with a 10 days overstay applies for an extension, even though he pays 5k THB fine, he will only be allowed to stay 20 more days.

Unfortunately you are wrong. Here is his quote:

 

-they denied me on monday and gave me seven days to apr 5

[BangkokReady]

23 minutes ago, bangkokboy888 said:

they gave me until April 22 which I calculate is 30 days from the date of my failed extension attempt 

Can you please clarify when your visa was originally due to expire, after first extension?

[Zikomat]

6 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

They hate the fact that they have to do this and want us gone as soon as possible.

This is exactly what it feels like. They gave him the minimum they could give starting from the date he first time ASKED them to prolong his extension. Which is an absurd.

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2020 by Zikomat

[jaffas21]

28 minutes ago, jackdd said:

You should try this thread:

 

Not applicable to non holders apparently you need evidence of a cancelled flight which obviously i dont have yet.. this is clearly for tourist visas what if your on a non b and you cant get out