31st July Anmesty - extended until September?

[bbi1]

According to the thread below, there won't be any international flights to and from Thailand until September. Surely this must mean that the current amnesty will be extended to at least September, if not longer. Thoughts? Has anyone else heard word of the amnesty being extended?

 

 

 

 

[Caldera]

The amnesty hasn't been extended yet. It might or might not happen.

 

[ubonjoe]

Flights not arriving does not mean there will be no flights out of the country. There are some available now.

I think it will depend upon the border crossing being open more so than flights out of the country.

No mention at all of it being extended at this time. Maybe after July 15th or 20th something will be announced.

[bbi1]

11 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Flights not arriving does not mean there will be no flights out of the country. There are some available now.

I think it will depend upon the border crossing being open more so than flights out of the country.

No mention at all of it being extended at this time. Maybe after July 15th or 20th something will be announced.

That article said international flights out of the country won't be happening until September. The only ones out now would be a few repatriation flights. Border crossings won't help foreigners who have their visa expired or extension of stay expired because they won't be let into Thailand anyway once they leave via a border. They have previously said tourists are the last on the list to be let back into Thailand.

 

"Thailand Civil Aviation Authority (CAAT) has said it will be September before international flights to and from the country resume."

Edited June 21, 2020 by bbi1

[anchadian]

There are still flights departing from Thailand.

 

Contact your embassy in Thailand for updated list of flights.

 

I doubt the amnesty will be extended.

[Scouse123]

That thread was an airline announcement related to the aviation industry. It was based on a meeting of airlines and their assumptions.

 

It was not a government announcement. There is supposedly one from the government this Tuesday.

 

I stand corrected by anybody with better knowledge but I do not think they class those on long extensions such as retirement, as tourists?

 

I think and hope border crossings will possibly now be on the radar for things next on the list for discussion bearing in mind very low rates of infection with Thailand,  Laos, and Vietnam. All these would come under bilateral agreements.

 

If the borders open under a bilateral agreement,  of course, they will allow people back into Thailand. That is the whole point of it.

 

In the meantime, everybody has to wait and see what the next announcement will say.

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Scouse123

[ubonjoe]

35 minutes ago, bbi1 said:

hat article said international flights out of the country won't be happening until September. The only ones out now would be a few repatriation flights. Border crossings won't help foreigners who have their visa expired or extension of stay expired because they won't be let into Thailand anyway once they leave via a border. They have previously said tourists are the last on the list to be let back into Thailand.

It is not only repatriation flights into the country that people can board at this time.

There are flights transiting through that are allowed to board passengers There are even some that are flying in empty to pick up passengers.

A little bit of false info stating no flights out of the country in that article.

[time2093]

I'm one not to complain if they keep extending it till fall. I been saving at least 3 passport pages so far that will be full with Lao visa stickers by now.

[Scouse123]

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

That article said international flights out of the country won't be happening until September. The only ones out now would be a few repatriation flights. Border crossings won't help foreigners who have their visa expired or extension of stay expired because they won't be let into Thailand anyway once they leave via a border. They have previously said tourists are the last on the list to be let back into Thailand.

 

"Thailand Civil Aviation Authority (CAAT) has said it will be September before international flights to and from the country resume."

 

 

If a bilateral agreement comes into play with Laos or Cambodia, people will be able to go across these borders and return with visas. If the agreement was only ' one way ' it wouldn't be bilateral, would it?

 

Also, as stated before, CAAT does not represent the government, it represents the airline industry. They are, like the rest of us, basing their statements on ' assumptions '

 

I think we are all fed up, and some are at the end of their tether with all the confusing press releases and misinformation,and cheesed off as well, with inaccurate statements by junior ministers in government looking for five minutes of fame.

 

One thing you can be confident on, there will be an awful lot of lobbying going on at high levels to get the borders open and get trade and cash flowing again.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Scouse123

[mtls2005]

I think Qatar Airways will be providing daily service BKK-DOH as of 1 July (or sooner). QR 837 flew today. 

 

Qatar has announced quite a few services opening up as of 1 July, including six (more: already flying to ORD and DFW) cities in the U.S. (not all are dailies).

 

https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/19/06/2020/Qatar-Airways-resumes-flights-to-US-from-today

 

 

There are other options going east.

 

So pretty easy to leave.

 

 

[BritTim]

25 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

I think Qatar Airways will be providing daily service BKK-DOH as of 1 July (or sooner). QR 837 flew today. 

 

Qatar has announced quite a few services opening up as of 1 July, including six (more: already flying to ORD and DFW) cities in the U.S. (not all are dailies).

 

https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/19/06/2020/Qatar-Airways-resumes-flights-to-US-from-today

 

 

There are other options going east.

 

So pretty easy to leave.

When deciding to leave via Qatar, bear in mind that Qatar, relative to population, has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world. Qatar, with a population of less than three million has slightly more confirmed cases than China (though many fewer fatalities).

[Caldera]

I've been checking outbound flights ever since this coronavirus situation kicked off. It has never been a problem to fly OUT from Thailand. In principle, that is.

 

Depending on your destination and whether or not you need to transit somewhere, the availability and cost of flights ranges from "good" to "almost impossible". In my particular case, I've always had the option to fly home relatively cheap.

 

For this reason and considering that visiting a local immigration office no longer poses a risk, I could imagine that the amnesty will end and that they'll go back to issuing special extensions for those who are still genuinely stuck, with supporting documentation from the applicant's embassy. Just like everyone else at this point, I'm just speculating obviously.

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by Caldera

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

When deciding to leave via Qatar, bear in mind that Qatar, relative to population, has the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world.

 

Yeah, this could be why you can only transit at Hamad? I didn't mean to imply that one should fly to Qatar and stay in that country.

 

 

[Guderian]

On 6/21/2020 at 8:17 AM, bbi1 said:

there won't be any international flights to and from Thailand until September

There has been a limited number of flights arriving and departing that can take passengers out of Thailand ever since the crisis began. EVA are flying BR67 back to LHR once a week, and from there you can connect to most places. Air France and Lufthansa have also been flying regularly. It's not the flights that are banned per se, it's incoming passengers that aren't allowed. As Western economies start to open up in the coming months, I expect that many companies will be asking their staff to return to work, including those supposedly "stranded" in Thailand. The companies that don't will mostly be zombies anyway, and their staff should start looking for a new job. If a significant number of working-age people with jobs in the West are still left twiddling their thumbs here in September, then there's probably a lot more to worry about (for everybody) than a visa extension.

[Matzzon]

On 6/21/2020 at 4:13 AM, Scouse123 said:

That thread was an airline announcement related to the aviation industry. It was based on a meeting of airlines and their assumptions.

 

It was not a government announcement. There is supposedly one from the government this Tuesday.

 

I stand corrected by anybody with better knowledge but I do not think they class those on long extensions such as retirement, as tourists?

 

I think and hope border crossings will possibly now be on the radar for things next on the list for discussion bearing in mind very low rates of infection with Thailand,  Laos, and Vietnam. All these would come under bilateral agreements.

 

If the borders open under a bilateral agreement,  of course, they will allow people back into Thailand. That is the whole point of it.

 

In the meantime, everybody has to wait and see what the next announcement will say.

 

 

 

A very good post based on factual information. However, the people on long term extensions have nothing to do with any amnesty. They just do their yearly extensions anyway.

[Tchooptip]

"there won't be any international flights to and from Thailand until September"

 A friend of mine did book a flight to Paris with Thai airways for July the 30th, this flight was cancelled about two weeks ago and he lost the money because no refund
He was abble to book another flight with Air France for today Monday 22 and this one is not cancelled so tonight he will be in Paris! 

[Denim]

It seems very likely that as the July 31st deadline gets nearer, immigration will be obliged to come decision as to what they intend to do next.

 

If they have any sense they will want to avoid any last minute panics by those expats still here besieging their local immigration office.

 

Taking this into consideration they might decide to extend the amnesty until mid September with the caveat that those whose visas or entry permits have expired are either to report to immigration before the cut of date for an official extension or leave the country by air for their home country. If land borders are still closed a bounce might not be an option.

[Jaxxper]

There have been flights out of Thailand for most of the lockdown and still are. I guess it depends on how bad you need to leave and whether you will get entry to a destination country if not your own.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

A very good post based on factual information. However, the people on long term extensions have nothing to do with any amnesty. They just do their yearly extensions anyway.

Oh yes they do, people on Retirement or Marriage extensions do not have to do the 90 day reports, at the moment before

the 31st July.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, Tchooptip said:

"there won't be any international flights to and from Thailand until September"

 A friend of mine did book a flight to Paris with Thai airways for July the 30th, this flight was cancelled about two weeks ago and he lost the money because no refund
He was abble to book another flight with Air France for today Monday 22 and this one is not cancelled so tonight he will be in Paris! 

If it was Thai Airways that cancelled the flight, why did he not get a refund? So if my flight with Emirates on Sept is cancelled by them and not me, I will not get a refund? Or at least get my booking changed to a future flight.

[Matzzon]

18 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Oh yes they do, people on Retirement or Marriage extensions do not have to do the 90 day reports, at the moment before

the 31st July.

Did you by any chance understand that we were talking about the yearly extensions for retirement and marriage as well as being a parent of a Thai child? They are not included in the amnesty if you wish to extend them for another year. If you let those go in to the visa amnesty cycle they will not be possible to extend when the amnesty ends, and they will have to start the visa and extension procedure once again.

The waiver of the 90 day report is not to be seen as included in the visa amnesty. This is a separate waiver out of the reason that the immigration offices do not want more visits than absolutely needed.

 

I hope that was clear enough. So, the answer is: NO they don´t! ???? 

[Matzzon]

17 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

If it was Thai Airways that cancelled the flight, why did he not get a refund? So if my flight with Emirates on Sept is cancelled by them and not me, I will not get a refund? Or at least get my booking changed to a future flight.

You know, it might have something to do with that Thai Airways are seeking for reconstruction under the bankruptcy laws all over the world and Emirates are not. I will let you continue to spin on an elaboration on that fact all by yourself. ???? 

[bkk6060]

31 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

If it was Thai Airways that cancelled the flight, why did he not get a refund? So if my flight with Emirates on Sept is cancelled by them and not me, I will not get a refund? Or at least get my booking changed to a future flight.

Geez, maybe call the airlines and ask..

[Nong Khai Man]

23 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

Yeah, this could be why you can only transit at Hamad? I didn't mean to imply that one should fly to Qatar and stay in that country.

Who Would WANT To Anyway......Errrr, NO Thanks.....

[NoshowJones]

4 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Geez, maybe call the airlines and ask..

I don't think I should need to call the airline, Even in Thailand, I cannot see how if an airline cancels your flight, they won't give you a refund, or even have the flight changed.

[bkk6060]

8 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

I don't think I should need to call the airline, Even in Thailand, I cannot see how if an airline cancels your flight, they won't give you a refund, or even have the flight changed.

I agree,  but who knows you think you will find the correct answer on here?

 

Just sayin,  each airline is different some are saying up to 6 months to get refunds others only give miles for future bookings.

 

Seems to me in some cases they are keeping peoples money to continue running their operations.  Boarder line Ponzi scheme.

 

Hopefully, you will not be canceled.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by bkk6060

[CaptainCarrot]

11 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

I don't think I should need to call the airline, Even in Thailand, I cannot see how if an airline cancels your flight, they won't give you a refund, or even have the flight changed.

Many airlines are trying that on. Cancel the transaction with your credit card company and they have to refund.

[baansgr]

On 6/21/2020 at 9:13 AM, Scouse123 said:

That thread was an airline announcement related to the aviation industry. It was based on a meeting of airlines and their assumptions.

 

It was not a government announcement. There is supposedly one from the government this Tuesday.

 

I stand corrected by anybody with better knowledge but I do not think they class those on long extensions such as retirement, as tourists?

 

I think and hope border crossings will possibly now be on the radar for things next on the list for discussion bearing in mind very low rates of infection with Thailand,  Laos, and Vietnam. All these would come under bilateral agreements.

 

If the borders open under a bilateral agreement,  of course, they will allow people back into Thailand. That is the whole point of it.

 

In the meantime, everybody has to wait and see what the next announcement will say.

 

 

 

Retirement extensions are processed at local immigration office...no need to fly or cross any border

[Max69xl]

On 6/21/2020 at 8:41 AM, bbi1 said:

That article said international flights out of the country won't be happening until September. The only ones out now would be a few repatriation flights. Border crossings won't help foreigners who have their visa expired or extension of stay expired because they won't be let into Thailand anyway once they leave via a border. They have previously said tourists are the last on the list to be let back into Thailand.

 

"Thailand Civil Aviation Authority (CAAT) has said it will be September before international flights to and from the country resume."

The article I read in The Nation was about Thai airlines and they won't start flying out of the country until September because of no tourists. They won't fly almost empty. 

[RocketDog]

On 6/21/2020 at 9:13 AM, Scouse123 said:

That thread was an airline announcement related to the aviation industry. It was based on a meeting of airlines and their assumptions.

 

It was not a government announcement. There is supposedly one from the government this Tuesday.

 

I stand corrected by anybody with better knowledge but I do not think they class those on long extensions such as retirement, as tourists?

 

I think and hope border crossings will possibly now be on the radar for things next on the list for discussion bearing in mind very low rates of infection with Thailand,  Laos, and Vietnam. All these would come under bilateral agreements.

 

If the borders open under a bilateral agreement,  of course, they will allow people back into Thailand. That is the whole point of it.

 

In the meantime, everybody has to wait and see what the next announcement will say.

 

 

 

The question is still open as to allowing nationals versus tourists/long-stay would be allowed back in with/without quarantine from other bubble countries. 

 

Correct? Any info on that?