Visa overstayers will not be fined?

[anchadian]

Richard Barrow in Thailand  

 

@RichardBarrow

·

 

According to this story in Khaosod, the Immigration Bureau will no longer fine foreigners who have overstayed due to the #COVID19 pandemic.Hopefully more details soon.

 

https://www.khaosod.co.th/breaking-news/news_3835225 - Thai language.

[steve187]

lets hope so

[ubonjoe]

They said that back in January and it did not happen.

They may wave a few days of overstay due to people having problems to apply for the extensions.

I think there will be bigger news coming out this week that has already been proposed.

[jackdd]

Right now this is only something some guy on a press conference said and your local immigration office will probably still fine you.

I doubt that this will make it into any real police order, but i will let them surprise me ????

[ThailandRyan]

24 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

They said that back in January and it did not happen.

They may wave a few days of overstay due to people having problems to apply for the extensions.

I think there will be bigger news coming out this week that has already been proposed.

You wonder if any of those that were fined have any chance of recouping there fines....

[fishtank]

Why should they stop overstay fines?

I don't get it.

There are facilities to obtain extensions.

[Puchaiyank]

If it is a good logical win-win step in the right direction...probably not going to happen...

 

If it penalizes people and burdens them unnecessarily...this will make it into new immigration policy...

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, fishtank said:

Why should they stop overstay fines?

I don't get it.

There are facilities to obtain extensions.

Because going to, applying-for, and returning-from the Immigration Office spreads COVID. 

 

But, to your point, waiving "fines" is not the best way to go about it.  The solution is to simply say, "No overstay exists until ... (date the current shut-down ends - which may be extended later).  Everyone's permitted-stay shall now be valid until at least that date.

 

Edit: I would add "apply online," but we see how well the 5K Baht website worked - and other examples.  Maybe if they hired the Agoda team to do it.

[OJAS]

25 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Everyone's permitted-stay shall now be valid until at least that date.

Can well envisage the possibility of a blanket permission being given to tourists so as to reduce numbers at immigration offices.

 

But a blanket permission covering non-immigrants as well? Fat chance of the Immigration Bureau ever agreeing to this, I fear. We'll probably still need to toddle down to our local immigration offices clutching reams of paper for our next retirement/marriage/etc extension application 30/45 days before our current permission to stay expires - on the assumption that our offices would then, in the Bureau's eyes, be so devoid of punters as to make 2-metre "social distancing" a doddle!????

[fforest1]

20 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

The solution is to simply say, "No overstay exists until ... (date the current shut-down ends - which may be extended later).  Everyone's permitted-stay shall now be valid until at least that date.

 

 

You more than anyone should know immigration has been hard at work squeezing all the visas for a least a decade now.......Even the recent somewhat helpful allowing a 2nd 30 day extension requires a whole lot of hoop jumping....

So I would welcome but be very amazed if they allowed overstays with no fine...

[mike787]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

They said that back in January and it did not happen.

They may wave a few days of overstay due to people having problems to apply for the extensions.

I think there will be bigger news coming out this week that has already been proposed.

Ujoe is right...but hopefully they will cut slack.

[Tropicalevo]

2 hours ago, fishtank said:

Why should they stop overstay fines?

I don't get it.

There are facilities to obtain extensions.

Simple. but yours is a naive answer.

Friends of mine want an extension on 4/4. They cannot get home.

But....... they need a letter from their embassy.

Immigration will not give them an extension without the letter.

They applied four days ago.

Still no letter.

If they are overstay - not their fault. They are following everyone's rules.

[evadgib]

2 hours ago, fishtank said:

Why should they stop overstay fines?

I don't get it.

There are facilities to obtain extensions.

UK in the other direction has announced a blanket extn to ALL FOREIGNERS IN UK until 31 May when they'll look at the situation again...

[Big Joke]

Why should we waive overstay. All you foreigners will sit back no effort to stay legal. If your embassy can not get you the letter in a time it is not Thai immigration problem.

[teatime101]

Because of the increased risk associated with crowded conditions and extremely long waiting times for visa processing.

[moose7117]

4 hours ago, Big Joke said:

Why should we waive overstay. All you foreigners will sit back no effort to stay legal. If your embassy can not get you the letter in a time it is not Thai immigration problem.

 

because some embassies, Australian , won't issue the letters.

[Kalasin Jo]

It would be great to offer some amnesty until this thing is over. I just got a 60 day extension to my current permission to stay which expires 10 April and was granted on my now expired non O multiple entry based on marriage to a thai. I paid the usual fee for this. Here in the sticks my Immigration Office is small and of course was crowded. Every other chair was taped off but that meant people standing around as the waited. 

 

I've heard something more appropriate to the situation is in the pipeline but meanwhile people must still attend in person.

 

If staff started getting sick then they would have to close these and all government offices to the public. What then?

[Max69xl]

22 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

You wonder if any of those that were fined have any chance of recouping there fines....

An overstay refund? In your dreams. 

[jacob29]

7 hours ago, Big Joke said:

Why should we waive overstay. All you foreigners will sit back no effort to stay legal. If your embassy can not get you the letter in a time it is not Thai immigration problem.

As this situation is without precedent, so a bit of flexibility is warranted. Not necessarily making it free, but some options would be nice that don't include embassy letters that are impossible to get for some.

[Maestro]

The Immigration Memorandum 0029.161/W 916 dated 18 March 2020 was issued explicitly for the purpose of enabling foreigners to get extensions of stay so that they may remain in Thailand without having to go on overstay if they are unable to get transportation out of the country before the expiration of their current permission to stay.

 

[anchadian]

Paperwork, paperwork and more paperwork, not forgetting possible infection at a crowded immigration center.

 

Although this doesn't affect me at all, I feel sorry for those that have to visit immigration.  Surely online is the answer.

[JAS21]

On 3/29/2020 at 8:19 PM, ubonjoe said:

They said that back in January and it did not happen.

They may wave a few days of overstay due to people having problems to apply for the extensions.

I think there will be bigger news coming out this week that has already been proposed.

I'm not bothered about any fine ...I have to do my annual extension at Nonthaburi within the next four weeks ...overstay is my worry. I have been settled here for 13 years and wish to stay for the last few of my life..

[Maestro]

2 hours ago, jacob29 said:

As this situation is without precedent, so a bit of flexibility is warranted. Not necessarily making it free, but some options would be nice that don't include embassy letters that are impossible to get for some.

 

Immigration has already submitted a proposal to the cabinet for more flexibility, but a waver of overstay fines is not included.

 

 

[Maestro]

What, I wonder, will it take for immigration to propose to the cabinet also to permit all applications for extensions of stay by mail until the Covid-19 pandemic is over. If not for the protection of the foreigners, they should do it to protect the immigration officials from contamination with SARS-CoV-2. 

[TigerandDog]

Tell this to Chiang Mai Immigration. Despite the announcement in January that overstayers would not be fined, if the overstay was due to Coronavirus, CM are still fining overstayers 500 baht per day.

[audaciousnomad]

21 hours ago, Maestro said:

What, I wonder, will it take for immigration to propose to the cabinet also to permit all applications for extensions of stay by mail until the Covid-19 pandemic is over. If not for the protection of the foreigners, they should do it to protect the immigration officials from contamination with SARS-CoV-2. 

No guts no glory must be their motto. What's a handful of folks catching the covid when we're raking in the dough!?!

 

[DrJack54]

On 3/30/2020 at 4:32 PM, moose7117 said:

 

because some embassies, Australian , won't issue the letters.

That's because Au embassy is an absolute joke. Worst of the lot. They do not do residence certificate. They do not do stat Dec. (USA call affidavit). They do stuff all. Don't worry they will issue soon as soon as NZ does. Same way they copied the 14 isolation few days after NZ.

I can list more. 

BTW I'm oz. 

[samisaurus]

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

That's because Au embassy is an absolute joke. Worst of the lot. They do not do residence certificate. They do not do stat Dec. (USA call affidavit). They do stuff all.

I can list more. 

BTW I'm oz. 

I take your Oz embassy and raise you the Canadian embassy...... in times like this, to stamp an affidavit, they're wanting proof of residency and other <deleted>. U fill it out, wait 3hrs in embassy then they give U back your passport and tell you you'll get an email later today or tomorrow. Only for it to not come. Canada eh!! 

[sapson]

Proposal submitted.

 

Well lets hope the cabinet are a little less constipated in passing this motion, time is of the essence.

[DrJack54]

6 minutes ago, samisaurus said:

I take your Oz embassy and raise you the Canadian embassy...... in times like this, to stamp an affidavit, they're wanting proof of residency and other <deleted>. U fill it out, wait 3hrs in embassy then they give U back your passport and tell you you'll get an email later today or tomorrow. Only for it to not come. Canada eh!! 

Ha. My first every trip to Canada. Was your independence day. Celebration in huge park. Was drinking with Canadian family in closed off area. Their kids couldn't come in because of alcohol restrictions. 

I thought au was stuffed up joint. You guys raise the bar.

Back to topic. Are Canadian folk able to obtain the golden letter for 30 day extension?