If they close

[bangkokspurs]

i do have one question 

due to this virus outbreak and the government is closing all bars restaurants etc, i am sure they will look at closing changwattana and every other IM office due to the amount of foreigners going there.

so my question is how to we renew our retirement visas and any other visa, any one know if any plans have been made...or are we just <deleted> as usual

[ubonjoe]

They will not shutdown immigration offices since the what they do would be considered a essential service. 

Same for  banks and other essential government services.

[DrJack54]

OP, I think you pose a credible question.

Yes as ubonjoe just pointed out, not likely, however this is such a fluid dynamic that anything is possible. Can anyone rule out headline in future..."10 io test positive CW imm". Only a fool would suggest not possible. In fact most likely imho. Given numbers of people there daily.

Thai don't plan ahead. 

To be fair AU (my country) has not announced their plans for the one mill in Oz on temporary visa. However have announced plans to relax rules. Thinking it will be thought through better than Thai.

Worldwide now states closing. Many in USA, NZ has made big changes just now. Several states in AU shut in next few days.

For once I think ubon bit narrow on this. If bkk explode Covid cases  then how can 500+ people attend CW on daily basis.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Let's answer this from a bar girl perspective: You tink too much!

 

Life will go on. There are so many things which could happen or might happen and maybe happen now or later or even later. What's the point of thinking about all these things which we can't change anyhow?

[BritTim]

42 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They will not shutdown immigration offices since the what they do would be considered a essential service. 

Same for  banks and other essential government services.

If multiple officials at Chaengwattana go down with the virus, I think they will have to change the system. Assuming they are terrified of losing control of foreigners here, the logical solution would be multiple offices and an appointment system.

[JackThompson]

2 hours ago, BritTim said:

If multiple officials at Chaengwattana go down with the virus, I think they will have to change the system. Assuming they are terrified of losing control of foreigners here, the logical solution would be multiple offices and an appointment system.

The sane thing would be to have a mail-in system for the documents, then appointments to get the picture / stamp done, showing the original-documents at that time.  IOW, similar to Visa applications at the Thai embassy in Singapore.  

 

Multiple locations for the last step would also be a good idea - could space everyone out at those locations, and more space per-person at the locations themselves, to minimize disease-transmission. 

 

A better question, is why it is not done this way all the time - but now, anyone would be genuinely concerned about going to CW.

 

As to concern about losing control of the foreigners - there are not many new ones coming in, and they can always "deal with us" foreigners "already here" at a later time.

[FarFlungFalang]

3 hours ago, bangkokspurs said:

..or are we just <deleted> as usual

Yes, we are just deleted as usual.

[fforest1]

Close the Immigration offices and let the farangs run wild and free in Thailand?.....You must be joking, they would never in a million years let that happen....

[FarFlungFalang]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

They will not shutdown immigration offices since the what they do would be considered a essential service. 

Same for  banks and other essential government services.

Not so sure about that ubonjoe here's a quote from another TV thread/article.

 

"Government Savings Bank (GSB) will close 15 branches in Bangkok and nearby areas from today (March 23) until April 12 amid the Covid-19 situation, while Government Housing Bank (GHB) will reopen 17 branches from tomorrow."

[ubonjoe]

36 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Not so sure about that ubonjoe here's a quote from another TV thread/article.

 

"Government Savings Bank (GSB) will close 15 branches in Bangkok and nearby areas from today (March 23) until April 12 amid the Covid-19 situation, while Government Housing Bank (GHB) will reopen 17 branches from tomorrow."

If your read the entire story you will find that those closures are related to mall and department store closures in Bangkok only. They are only small branches.

[jacob29]

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

They will not shutdown immigration offices since the what they do would be considered a essential service. 

Same for  banks and other essential government services.

That is probably the case, though there are precedents in neighbouring countries. Philippines has closed offices that usually handle the visa extensions, stating they can be applied for after the quarantine has been lifted.