Thailand closes borders to foreigners

[Vigilante]

36 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

Let's see if the next move is to purge the foreigners already in the country. Nothing to do with the virus but such a sweet opportunity. Got your Plan B/C/D ready?

What kind of 'purge'?

I can think of many..

[alyx]

1 minute ago, bhakta said:

I am 70 and able to walk about 60 KM every week minimum in the sun. They are nuts if they think I must stay in the house all the time.  All these things seem surreal and totally insane to me. Who has thought them up? At the corner the little restaurant is allowed to be open, but the little laundry shop next to it that employs one woman is not allowed to open, and the little hair salon next to that which has two hair stylists cannot open, but the 7/11 next to that is packed with people, and there is no social distancing in that little 7/11! And from what I understand supposedly 4 people have died of this virus in all of Thailand and a few hundred are apparently testing positive, but 70 million lives disrupted, hotels forced to close, everything related to tourism DEAD... Really it all makes sense, doesn't it?

To be honest I do not think that this is aimed at fit people but they had to draw a line and they chose 70 which in a way does not make sense either because most of the 70 + Thai population I know stay home anyway

This being said I do second every remark you made

And thanks for stating the 60 km because it just made me realise that it is also what I am also doing but I usually say  8 km a day ( 60 is more impressive:) ) 

Keep it up ( I am not far behind you )

[Mung]

27 minutes ago, NightSky said:

What about foreigners who live in thailand with their family and are retired or whom live off investments but who do not work so therefore will not have a work permit..

 

 

denied! Such people do not meet the 6 exceptions 

[Mac98]

Let's say this works. Back to fun and games. Open borders. In come a few people from around the globe with C-V. Here we go again. It all depends on finding a vaccine and distributing a few billion doses.

[hugocnx]

4 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

Everything OK Thailand. Sure.

 

And god help us all in the coming days.

It might as well be God who gave us the virus. Rely on no help from above.

[Andartecca]

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

Im not speak about Thai people 

I speak about immigration about police. Tuk tuk and taxi scammers 

 

Everybody look at you like atm 

 

People are looking to live in country that have 

Democracy

If you have problem here no one can help you even your wife

2 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

 

Well for me Thailand has a lot more going for it than if I were to go back to the UK. My Thai wife and family are here, and no I don't get drunk or chase ladies. Depending on where you live Thailand can be expensive especially in the big cities and tourist places. Out here in rural Thailand it is not that expensive, but then again I live with my Thai family in my wife's house, eat either Thai food or western food that I make myself.

 

Having lived in Thailand on and off since 1993 and fulltime since 2000 I have seen very few racists and most of those were farangs bashing Thais.

 

I wish you luck in traveling back to your own country and I do hope that you keep the last bit for as long as you live. 

 

quote from your post "Never come back thailand".

 

Your words and not mine.

 

[fusion58]

32 minutes ago, alyx said:

But...you can do that at Chaeng Wattana or am I mistaken?

Yes, you can.

[Titan1962]

I don’t understand why so many people are talking <deleted> on here.

I personally think he is doing the right thing, stopping all foreigners coming into the country. It’s not the time to be taking a holiday. No different to most other European countries. I also think it’s normal to allow your citizens to return home if they meet the requirements. They have sorted the situation out for tourists stuck here and unable to get home. They are giving 30 day extensions to people that needed to do border runs for whatever reason. 
As for people living here legally on retirement or marriage visas, nothing was mentioned. I think he should have gone a bit further and shut down the whole show for 4 weeks. Except for essential services,bring in the military to enforce it if needed.
I have lived here for 5 years and never had an issue with any Thai person treating me badly or disrespecting me. I have never had an issue with immigration or the police. During these times of uncertainty and confusion people say and do things out of frustration. This is the first time this has happened in our lifetimes and there are no rule books to follow. People are doing the best they can with what they have under these circumstances. Things might change in the future and I might have to rethink my options. But until then just go with the flow or leave.

[daveAustin]

4 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

Eldery people must stay home ..

okay, okay...

But at which age are we old ?

 

I'm 71 old and when I cycle with my MTBike, a lot of young 40 year olds find it hard to follow me ..

Fair play, ole mate, that's good going...

 

 

... but you're still old. ????

[elliss]

4 hours ago, Chazar said:

yeah sucking in all those diesel fumes, shocking

 

 We Buddhists , have no fear of death. We are elevated too a better life .

 May all you lights , be green...

 

 

[thurien]

4 hours ago, Tayaout said:

In some article I read they say less than 5 years and over 70 must stay home. 

 

Som Nam na

"older than 70: strongly advised to stay home"

[DrTuner]

50 minutes ago, alyx said:

But...you can do that at Chaeng Wattana or am I mistaken?

Yes in case of elite you can extend inland at immigration office until the end of the visa. It ends either when your passport expires or your thai elite membership expires. It's essentially a pre-paid multi year visa. 

 

I got it until 2024, but am not confident at all that situation in Thailand will remain such that they'll honor that date. If not the virus, then the ensuing political mayhem due to the upcoming recession. 

 

There's no mention of the PE (elite) visa having any exceptions to be allowed entry now so so much for "elite".

[shavedPotter]

Well I guess this will quickly weed out the I don't need to setup a legal company group. I see that as very positive from a western standards point of view particularly so if you are seeking professional services like a counselor or therapist.

[hugocnx]

4 minutes ago, thurien said:

"older than 70: strongly advised to stay home"

Why? You don't like the competition of viral older people?

[WhereIsMyRyeBread]

Wait, if the border is closed and non-immi O visa holders can neither leave , nor come back , nor extend the visa due to lack of 400k in the bank - then what does the red tape do?

Self implode?

[JUAinBKK]

"DPM Wissanu - the country isn't "closed" for Thais wising to return but for foreigner the country is closed."  Who let this guy release this garbage?

[CharlieH]

Several Off topic and inflammatory Troll remarks/responses removed.

 

This topic is NOT ABOUT TRUMP !! can we please not have this person injected into almost every topic. Thank you.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, DrTuner said:

Let's see if the next move is to purge the foreigners already in the country. Nothing to do with the virus but such a sweet opportunity. Got your Plan B/C/D ready?

What is the point of making such an unfounded, negative and defeatist post?

[Vigilante]

12 minutes ago, JUAinBKK said:

"DPM Wissanu - the country isn't "closed" for Thais wising to return but for foreigner the country is closed."  Who let this guy release this garbage?

He means incoming foreigners, I assume.

You can still get out of dodge but impossible (I believe) to find a flight

[riclag]

3 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

Very wise choice. I am glad to see Thailand taking correct measures. 

Fingers crossed ! Propagandize  Hygiene ! Hygiene!

[DrTuner]

3 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

What is the point of making such an unfounded, negative and defeatist post?

A reminder to keep alert.

[Vigilante]

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

What is the point of making such an unfounded, negative and defeatist post?

What is the point of NOT making one?

 

[NanLaew]

21 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

There's no mention of the PE (elite) visa having any exceptions to be allowed entry now so so much for "elite".

Was there any mention of any preferred immigration status when you signed up? I mean beyond being picked up by cart at the jetway and access to some mediocre golf courses?

 

In the end, it's still just an expensive non-immigrant visa that doesn't even support a work permit.

[bkkatl]

1 hour ago, tomazbodner said:

Maybe they do, and will correct that immediately. NO foreigners allowed in, including those with valid WP. See, fixed it.

**New restrictions taking effect at midnight include the closing of all border crossings except for Thai nationals, diplomats and their families, and foreigners with work permits or other official documents allowing them to work in Thailand.**

 

It seems to me if you have a work permit you can come return.

 

Not sure why you are saying no foreigners will be allowed in even with valid work permits

 

[DrTuner]

4 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Was there any mention of any preferred immigration status when you signed up? I mean beyond being picked up by cart at the jetway and access to some mediocre golf courses?

 

In the end, it's still just an expensive non-immigrant visa that doesn't even support a work permit.

Only the mention of a dedicated immigration line. At swampy they sometimes use the diplomatic line. It's not even a non-immigrant visa, no 5y driving license possible. Basically a super-tourismo GT thing. 

[WhereIsMyRyeBread]

39 minutes ago, thurien said:

older than 70: strongly advised to stay home"

I'm told many of the policy makers behind that advise met the criteria themselves! 

[BangkokReady]

1 hour ago, bhakta said:

I am 70 and able to walk about 60 KM every week minimum in the sun. They are nuts if they think I must stay in the house all the time.

They aren't actually thinking about you in particular.  If you look at the average Thai 70 year old, they're pretty decrepit.  And there isn't the man-power to administer some kind of fitness test to everyone over the age of 70.  Also, as others have stated, your ability to walk a long distance does not automatically mean that your immune system is not the same as any other 70 year olds.

 

1 hour ago, bhakta said:

All these things seem surreal and totally insane to me. Who has thought them up? At the corner the little restaurant is allowed to be open, but the little laundry shop next to it that employs one woman is not allowed to open, and the little hair salon next to that which has two hair stylists cannot open, but the 7/11 next to that is packed with people, and there is no social distancing in that little 7/11!

Basically, they would have closed the food places as well but people still need to eat.  It's not that they think 7/11 is safe and launderettes are not.  They're both unsafe, but one needs to be kept open so people can eat.

 

Also, they couldn't possibly check every place of business in the whole country to see if it looks safe or dangerous.  Some launderettes would be OK, some would not, so close them all to stop the spread of the virus.

 

1 hour ago, bhakta said:

And from what I understand supposedly 4 people have died of this virus in all of Thailand and a few hundred are apparently testing positive, but 70 million lives disrupted, hotels forced to close, everything related to tourism DEAD... Really it all makes sense, doesn't it?

Yes it does, because if they do not do this and stop the spread then it will be 70 million lives disrupted by getting the virus.  Some would recover, some would die and some could receive semi-permanent damage to their lungs.

 

So just everyone be careful and avoid going out as much as you can for a few weeks and hopefully it will be stopped sooner rather than later.

[Miami007]

5 hours ago, domgaf said:

Has there been any mention of rules about leaving the country?

At this time most countries will restrict entry from non-citizens son, if they have not done so already.  Only option will then be to go home. 

And better move fast before airlines stop flying passengers completely

[nightfox]

36 minutes ago, WhereIsMyRyeBread said:

Wait, if the border is closed and non-immi O visa holders can neither leave , nor come back , nor extend the visa due to lack of 400k in the bank - then what does the red tape do?

Self implode?

I'm in the same boat and if that day ever comes then I'm afraid I will have to look at going the dreaded visa agent rout regarding the 400k for the extension which is the reason why I got a Non O was to avoid going that path as it doesn't look like there are any options left. Maybe a further 30 day embassy letter extension after the 60 day extension to visit you Thai wife or child is possible if things don't improve?....Only time will tell.

[NotThatGuy]

5 hours ago, Puchaiyank said:

What is a girl...or ladyboy to do?

 

Servicing tourists has been many Thais occupation for most of their adult lives.

 

What now?  What to do?

The more important question is what will you do? If all the bars close and the lads and ladies go home and all of sudden you realize you are a foreigner in a foreign land where you are a persona non grata... what now? What to do?

Edited March 25, 2020 by NotThatGuy