Thailand extends foreigners' visas for a second time as coronavirus cases slow

[CartagenaWarlock]

It is very simple.

1. If you're on a TV (SE, ME) or visa exemption or you already have a 30-day extension of SE/ME/Exemption entry and the permitted to stay date in on/after March 26, you're good till July 31.

2. All other cases, please go to your IO office and get it clarified. IO offices are like ghost towns now. It will be easy and quick.

[NoshowJones]

5 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

90 Day reporting was suspended across the board a couple of weeks ago and I believe, as the new order is an extension of the old one, there isn't any requirement for 90 Day reports until the end of July (at least).

I'm due to report on the 24th June.

[johnny1966]

Non O multi entry marriage, permission to stay until April 14th 2020. If a border run was done say, 15th July, (presuming borders are open), or a 60 day extension done on the same date, when would the 90 or 60 days be counted from? April 14th or 15th July?

[Tanoshi]

1 minute ago, possum1931 said:

I'm due to report on the 24th June.

What was due, is no longer due.

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, johnny1966 said:

Non O multi entry marriage, permission to stay until April 14th 2020. If a border run was done say, 15th July, (presuming borders are open), or a 60 day extension done on the same date, when would the 90 or 60 days be counted from? April 14th or 15th July?

You can stay until July 31st.

If they later announce this as the last day of amnesty, use your 60 day extension then, unless your Non O is still valid and you prefer a border run for the 90 days.

[KhonkaenExpat]

[NoshowJones]

19 hours ago, Seismic said:

Well Richard Barrow confirms it and I trust him. "Just a small update about the extension of the visa amnesty. I just read the minutes of the cabinet meeting and the date it has been extended to is 31 July & not 30 July as mentioned by Reuters. Also, it is for ALL visa categories as before AND includes 90 day reporting"

The only person I would trust about anything to do with Thai immigration is Ubon Joe.

[johnny1966]

6 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

You can stay until July 31st.

If they later announce this as the last day of amnesty, use your 60 day extension then, unless your Non O is still valid and you prefer a border run for the 90 days.

Thanks Tanoshi, so it would be counted starting from the day I reenter/apply.

[Tanoshi]

5 minutes ago, johnny1966 said:

Thanks Tanoshi, so it would be counted starting from the day I reenter/apply.

Yes.

[Jajazazajaja]

Non B multi entry, entry stamp until 7 June, Visa good til December 

 

asked here and on another forum if I can stay until July 31st and been told Yes, maybe and definitely not

 

is there a visa agent anyone can recommend, who I can consult? 

[Peter Denis]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

They would not be on a overstay. The rules do appear to say if the extension expires you are covered under the order since the only way to stay longer would be to leave the country.

But as I wrote I am not sure a person could apply for another extension without starting all over again. It is intended to be for those that cannot do their extensions.

Hi UJ,

I thought that during the amnesty period, the consequence of not extending your 1-year extension of stay when your permission to stay was due to expire, were twofold:

1 - being on over-stay (but fine possibly waived);

2 - not being able anymore to apply for the 1-year extension of stay as the window for doing so had expired, and thus having to exit Thailand and re-apply from scratch again.

= = = = =

But you are saying that 1 (being on over-stay)  is not correct, because your only way of regularizing that situation is to leave the country, and hence you would be covered by the amnesty.

So that means that the only consequence of not extending your 1-year extension of stay when your permission to stay was due to expire, would be that you would have to leave the country and start from scratch again.

>>> That would actually mean Good News for those that had no intention of extending their present 1-year extension (e.g. if you wanted to convert from an O-A Visa to an O - retirement Visa).  They would just have to let their present permission to stay expire, and once the amnesty is over, simply exit the country which would allow them to start over again from scratch (which was their intention all along).

Is that indeed correct, or would there be some 'hidden' consequences from doing so?

[INANIMATECARBONROD]

54 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Provided your previous permission of stay from your last entry ended later than 26th March, then you can now stay until July 31st.

If you haven't already applied for a 60 day extension, you can apply for that when the amnesty end date is announced.

My original last day allowed in Thailand (as per my visa) is in June. I've been here since last year. Based on what you wrote, I think I should be good. 

 

Thanks for your help

[PST]

From the Phuket News 

 

However, he did confirm the automatic visa extension does apply to all visa types.

Asked specifically whether the extension apply to one-year visas, he said, “Yes, the extension applies to all visa types.”

 

Surely if your one year extension/permission to stay is due between now and July 31st, you would just go and do it on the date you need too?, what would be the point in waiting?.

[bkkguy1970]

I just got off the phone from the Immigration Hotline 1178. 

 

I said that I originally had a Non-Imm O visa and have been doing annual retirement extensions for the last 10 years and my most recent 12 month permission to stay is about to expire and I asked am I covered by the amnesty announcement

 

the response was a clear yes - the annual retirement extensions are covered by the amnesty announcement - automatic extension of permission to stay to 31 July, no fine, no overstay, procedure for next extension to be announced close to July 31

 

 

[jackdd]

6 minutes ago, bkkguy1970 said:

I just got off the phone from the Immigration Hotline 1178. 

 

I said that I originally had a Non-Imm O visa and have been doing annual retirement extensions for the last 10 years and my most recent 12 month permission to stay is about to expire and I asked am I covered by the amnesty announcement

 

the response was a clear yes - the annual retirement extensions are covered by the amnesty announcement - automatic extension of permission to stay to 31 July, no fine, no overstay, procedure for next extension to be announced close to July 31

 

 

 

@Peter Denis Why don't you tell him that the information he got was wrong and that he will be on overstay if he doesn't apply for an extension?

 

[ubonjoe]

36 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

But you are saying that 1 (being on over-stay)  is not correct, because your only way of regularizing that situation is to leave the country, and hence you would be covered by the amnesty.

So that means that the only consequence of not extending your 1-year extension of stay when your permission to stay was due to expire, would be that you would have to leave the country and start from scratch again.

>>> That would actually mean Good News for those that had no intention of extending their present 1-year extension (e.g. if you wanted to convert from an O-A Visa to an O - retirement Visa).  They would just have to let their present permission to stay expire, and once the amnesty is over, simply exit the country which would allow them to start over again from scratch (which was their intention all along).

If they were unable to do their extension they would be under the ministerial order. No overstay.

It it same for all types of long stay extensions (one year or 90 days). For an example a person on 90 day extensions of a 90 day entry from a non-ed visa would have to go out of the country to get a new non-ed visa after they reached the total stay of one year allowed. There is a member that has that problem who is now staying under the ministerial order.

There are several people working as teachers that cannot do their extension due to their contract not being renewed that are stuck here.

It also works for people that do want to apply for an extension again such as those you mentioned.

 

36 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Is that indeed correct, or would there be some 'hidden' consequences from doing so?

None that I can think of.

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, bkkguy1970 said:

the response was a clear yes - the annual retirement extensions are covered by the amnesty announcement - automatic extension of permission to stay to 31 July, no fine, no overstay, procedure for next extension to be announced close to July 31

 

Personally I would not suggest skipping an extension based upon that info unless you had a valid reason for not being able to do it.

[Jajazazajaja]

1 hour ago, Jajazazajaja said:

Non B multi entry, entry stamp until 7 June, Visa good til December 

 

asked here and on another forum if I can stay until July 31st and been told Yes, maybe and definitely not

 

is there a visa agent anyone can recommend, who I can consult? 

spoke to 1178

 

said “yes, no problem, you can stay until 31st July”

 

”for multi entry B?”

 

”yes for sure”

[fondue zoo]

My 60 day extension expired on the 19th April, so fingers crossed I'm golden until July 31st.

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, fondue zoo said:

My 60 day extension expired on the 19th April, so fingers crossed I'm golden until July 31st.

Yes you are good until July 31st.

[Dooles]

Hi Ubon Joe, you have probably answered this already. My non o visa marriage expired in February. I left thailand a couple days before to get an extra three months. My stamp ends on April 24. Do I need to go to immigration to get a 60 day extension or am I okay until july 31? Thanks

[JimGant]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Personally I would not suggest skipping an extension based upon that info unless you had a valid reason for not being able to do it.

Probably the best advice of this thread. If the covid19 restrictions don't preclude you from getting your bank statements, etal, in order to proceed with what otherwise would be a normal extension of stay, why wouldn't you do it? Immigration won't be as big a madhouse (as it certainly will be after the amnesty is lifted and the backfill surges forward), and, hey, you've got to do this anyway, so why wait?

Sure, they're going to have to cut some slack for being late, like, hey I got quarantined after returning home to my Province. Police roadblock or forgot to put money in the bank -- hmmmm?

Anyhow, I believe Immigration will be fair, on the most part, for overstays. But why push the envelope if you don't have to?

[ubonjoe]

24 minutes ago, Dooles said:

Hi Ubon Joe, you have probably answered this already. My non o visa marriage expired in February. I left thailand a couple days before to get an extra three months. My stamp ends on April 24. Do I need to go to immigration to get a 60 day extension or am I okay until july 31? Thanks

You can stay until July 31st. No need to go to immigration for anything.

[capo 5]

Hi Ubon Joe i am a UK citizen and entered Thailand on 13th of Feb on a visa exempt until 13th March .After this i extended it to the 12th of April.However after the emergency decree was announced i applied for a covid extension with a letter from my embassy.This in turn was converted to a permission of stay until the 2nd May.My question is ,is this covered under the proposed visa amnesty or will i have to return to immigration before the 2nd of May?.I'm sorry if you have answered this before.Thanks in advance capo 5.

[bkkguy1970]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Personally I would not suggest skipping an extension based upon that info unless you had a valid reason for not being able to do it.

what do you expect the problem will be if I don't do the extension and wait till July 31?

 

I am sure according to Immigration official rules there is no "valid" reason for me not to be able to do the extension but as a 65 yo diabetic with high blood pressure and coronary artery disease I am what local and international government and health authorities class as a "high risk" group that should be protecting themselves and avoiding contact as much as possible so I am keeping my trips out limited to minimum supermarket visits at time where they are not crowded and my preference is not to spend most of a day at CW Immigration in crowded conditions where social distancing is not well respected

 

the most commonly handed out advice here is "contact Immigration" to be sure of your actual case - I have contacted Immigration, and even without mentioning my health concerns their response was no need to do the extension, yet you still have your doubts - why? what am I missing? or do you think the advise from Immigration just wrong?

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

24 minutes ago, capo 5 said:

Hi Ubon Joe i am a UK citizen and entered Thailand on 13th of Feb on a visa exempt until 13th March .After this i extended it to the 12th of April.However after the emergency decree was announced i applied for a covid extension with a letter from my embassy.This in turn was converted to a permission of stay until the 2nd May.My question is ,is this covered under the proposed visa amnesty or will i have to return to immigration before the 2nd of May?.I'm sorry if you have answered this before.

The dates you have written makes me think you do not have a extension of stay stamp. You have a under consideration stamp with May 2nd to report back to immigration on it. If correct you have to go back to immigration to get a extension of stay stamp.

After you get the extension stamp you can stay until July 31st. If you had extension stamp it should of been dated May 12th.

[ubonjoe]

7 minutes ago, bkkguy1970 said:

the most commonly handed out advice here is "contact Immigration" to be sure of your actual case - I have contacted Immigration, and even without mentioning my health concerns their response was no need to do the extension, yet you still have your doubts - why? what am I missing? or do you think the advise from Immigration just wrong?

 

My concern is that immigration will not consider the exemption as a extension of a current extension which would mean you no longer have a non immigrant visa entry needed to apply for your extension.

You could designate somebody to do your extension for you. You would only need a letter from your doctor verifying your medical conditionas and statement you should not do the extension yourself.

[capo 5]

Sorry Ubon Joe i should of said i applied for the covid extension on the 3rd April and went to immigration yedterday (should have been  18th but is was a Saturday and also at that time they had not not received confirmation to give me the extension of stay).So i phoned and they told me to come in yesterday and gave me the extension of stay stamp till the 2nd May.It says on the stamp i have to leave the country before the 2nd May.

[stament]

10 hours ago, couchpotato said:

Well my marriage extension is due in the beginning of May, and I am going to renew it as per normal.

With 11 pages of posts already on this subject, it is clear that nobody is 100% sure of who or what is covered over the next 3 months, so better to be safe than sorry.

Back to the couch for another 2 weeks then.

[capo 5]

2Sorry Ubon Joe i should of said i applied for the covid extension on the 3rd April and went to immigration yedterday (should have been  18th but is was a Saturday and also at that time they had not not received confirmation to give me the extension of stay).So i phoned and they told me to come in yesterday and gave me the extension of stay stamp till the 2nd May.It says on the stamp i have to leave the country before the 2nd May.