Non-Imm O-A from USA wanting to return

[TimLMT]

I would like to return to Thailand and spend a few months (winter even).  I am currently in the US and my Non-Imm O-A Visa expires Sep 16, 2020.  What is the best way to navigate this idea? is it even possible? Thank you...

[BritTim]

Unless you have a Thai spouse or child, there is no way you can return at this time.

 

EDIT: Actually, if money is no object, you could apply for Thailand Elite membership. There is no indication of how long it would take before you were able to return (there are quotas) and 14-day quarantine would be needed on arrival, but returning is not then totally impossible.

Edited August 22, 2020 by BritTim

[Captain Monday]

Thailand Elite members without PE visas cannot get a Certificate of Entry from a Thai embassy or consulate at this time.Maybe it will be possible later but I would wait to apply. Perhaps by then non imm O-A would be able to get a COE as well. 

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, Captain Monday said:

Thailand Elite members without PE visas cannot get a Certificate of Entry from a Thai embassy or consulate at this time.Maybe it will be possible later but I would wait to apply. Perhaps by then non imm O-A would be able to get a COE as well. 

I would certainly wait to pay before committing myself. However, as far as I know, it costs nothing to initiate the application process. Once immigration approve the membership, which can take some weeks or months, you are then in a position to act quickly should this seem prudent.

[DrJack54]

OP, you won't be coming to Thailand any time soon. 

 

 

[TimLMT]

thanks everyone... not what i wanted to hear though.  how about the ED Visa through one of these language schools? or other creative visa ideas?

[DrJack54]

Just now, TimLMT said:

thanks everyone... not what i wanted to hear though.  how about the ED Visa through one of these language schools? or other creative visa ideas?

It's not the type of visa stopping you from entering Thailand.

It's a thing called covid-19.

 

[TimLMT]

9 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

It's not the type of visa stopping you from entering Thailand.

It's a thing called covid-19.

 

yes, i know the main cause but was my understanding that some visa’s were being allowed, like work visas, perhaps not

[DrJack54]

9 minutes ago, TimLMT said:

yes, i know the main cause but was my understanding that some visa’s were being allowed, like work visas, perhaps not

There is a list of folk that are permitted to enter Thailand with very onerous conditions including 14 day self funded hotel quarantine. 

Some of those on list include PR, work permits, married/family Thai, etc.

There are threads detailing the requirements and even experiences of going through process. 

You wouldn't do it for a holiday.

Some married guys have gone through process for obvious reasons.

Edited August 23, 2020 by DrJack54

[Peter Denis]

@TimLMT > Until the covid-19 situation relaxes - which might take several more months - it would be quite difficult / inconvenient to enter Thailand.

But once the situation has cleared re-applying for a new Non Imm O-A Visa is most probably your best option.

You are probably aware that since October 30, an application for a Non Imm O-A Visa at your home-country's Thai Embassy/Consulate will require evidence of meeting the now mandatory health-insurance requirement.  Many will comment that this requirement 'killed' the Non Imm O-A Visa, as the IO imposed requirements for such insurance are - at first sight - not easy to meet.

However, if you know how it is a fairly easy process to meet that health-insurance requirement.

I did PM you a comprehensive Guideline document on how to comply with this mandatory IO-approved health-insurance requirement.

> To access your PM-messages just click the letter-icon next to your profile when logged-in to the Forum.

Success!

Edited August 23, 2020 by Peter Denis

[ubonjoe]

50 minutes ago, TimLMT said:

thanks everyone... not what i wanted to hear though.  how about the ED Visa through one of these language schools? or other creative visa ideas?

You have to be attending a formal school (university and etc) to apply for a certificate of entry.

List  here on That embassy website in the US of those that can apply is here. https://thaiembdc.org/visas/

[Phillip9]

It’s basically impossible for you to get into Thailand now.  Your only options I see are to marry a Thai or get a company in Thailand to hire you.

Edited August 23, 2020 by Phillip9

[Captain Monday]

3 hours ago, BritTim said:

I would certainly wait to pay before committing myself. However, as far as I know, it costs nothing to initiate the application process. Once immigration approve the membership, which can take some weeks or months, you are then in a position to act quickly should this seem prudent.

After the application is approved the applicant has 3 month to pay.

 

As far as I recall? the 5 year easy access membership began the day payment was received.

The first day I arrived at BKK-Suvarnabhumi airport and the visa was affixed was after that so then there would be losing time on PE visa validity if access is restricted for many more months, should be considered.

[BritTim]

7 hours ago, TimLMT said:

thanks everyone... not what i wanted to hear though.  how about the ED Visa through one of these language schools? or other creative visa ideas?

OK, you are completely determined, and willing to consider any possible loophole, regardless of cost ...

 

In theory, it is possible to get a Certificate of Entry as someone with medical needs. You must contact a major hospital in Thailand, and arrange medical treatment (laser treatment for your eyes, perhaps) that will include 15 days/14 nights of alternative hospital quarantine. You are then free to enjoy Thailand for the rest of your permission to stay (60 or 90 days). Depending on whether you have a visa type MT (tourist entry) or Non Immigrant O visa, it may be possible to extend further. Here are the rules, in principle: http://www.thaiembassy.org/phnompenh/en/services/7962/86349-Foreigners-with-medical-needsmedical-tourists.html.

 

Note that this is a real long shot, as visas for medical treatment are mainly targeted at those from countries neighbouring Thailand or from the Middle East.

[up-country_sinclair]

 

14 hours ago, TimLMT said:

I would like to return to Thailand and spend a few months (winter even).  I am currently in the US and my Non-Imm O-A Visa expires Sep 16, 2020.

Your visa expires in less than a month.

Sorry to say, I just don't see it happening.

 

[Max69xl]

On 8/23/2020 at 4:57 AM, Captain Monday said:

Thailand Elite members without PE visas cannot get a Certificate of Entry from a Thai embassy or consulate at this time.Maybe it will be possible later but I would wait to apply. Perhaps by then non imm O-A would be able to get a COE as well. 

Elite members are in the official list since last week. Non-imm O-A or O are not and probably won't be. But who knows? 

[Pattaya Spotter]

On 8/23/2020 at 3:53 AM, BritTim said:

Unless you have a Thai spouse or child, there is no way you can return at this time.

 

EDIT: Actually, if money is no object, you could apply for Thailand Elite membership. There is no indication of how long it would take before you were able to return (there are quotas) and 14-day quarantine would be needed on arrival, but returning is not then totally impossible.

Even with a Thai spouse it's no guarantee...I know personally a Thai/foreign legally married couple, who were on holiday in California when the borders shut down, who are getting the runaround from the Thai consulate in L.A. to get the paperwork to return to Thailand. At one point, they even said the husband's A-O visa was "cancelled" due to the pandemic and he would have to get a new one to even get the process started.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[Visarghhhh]

I wish they would allow O-A visa holders to re-enter Thailand... some have homes there and unofficial families there (like me) but got stuck outside.  I guess thats the cost of not making the family official!

????

[Huckenfell]

I am presently  stranded in Australia. My O-A expires in October. I have just received a new passport and wish to know if i send my passports to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra, will they transfer the O-A visa to my new passport also the re entry visa which i bought at Suvarnabhumi on my departure.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, Huckenfell said:

I am presently  stranded in Australia. My O-A expires in October. I have just received a new passport and wish to know if i send my passports to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra, will they transfer the O-A visa to my new passport also the re entry visa which i bought at Suvarnabhumi on my departure.

They will not transfer a visa and certainly not a re-entry permit.

You will use both passports to enter the country when you can enter the country. Show your visa and your re-entry permit if valid in the old one and they will stamp you into the country in the new one.

[Peter Denis]

42 minutes ago, Huckenfell said:

I am presently  stranded in Australia. My O-A expires in October. I have just received a new passport and wish to know if i send my passports to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra, will they transfer the O-A visa to my new passport also the re entry visa which i bought at Suvarnabhumi on my departure.

Chances are slim you will be able to return to Thailand by October.

And even if you would be able to do so, normally the thai Embassy in Australia would not handle your application for a new Non Imm O-A Visa as long as the permission to stay granted from your old Non Imm O-A Visa (and kept alive by your re-entry permit) has not expired.

But as that Re-Entry permit is in your old passport, the thai Embassy would not be aware of that if they do not require you to also submit your old passport when applying for a new Non Imm O-A Visa. 

A NEW Non Imm O-A Visa would provide you once again with almost 2 years of IO-hassle free stay in Thailand and thus a better option than returning on your old Non Imm O-A Visa, which is on the brink of expiry.

However, you will be confronted with the Non Imm O-A compliant health-insurance requirement which is now mandatory since Oct 2019 when applying for a new Non Imm O-A Visa.  That health-insurance requirement makes it somewhat more difficult/inconvenient to apply for a new Non Imm O-A Visa, but contrary to the popular ThaiVisa narrative that that health-insurance requirement is 'impossible to achieve' you just need to know how to apply for it. 

>> I did PM you a Guideline document outlining the options you have to meet that mandatory IO-approved health-insurance requirement when applying for the 1-year Non Imm O-A Visa.

To access your PM messages just click the letter-icon next to your profile when logged in to the Forum.

[TimLMT]

Lots of very useful information, thank you everyone...

 

Can I extend my Non Imm O-A from the US?

[ubonjoe]

8 hours ago, TimLMT said:

Can I extend my Non Imm O-A from the US?

A visa cannot be extended. Only a permit to stay from one can be extended at a immigration office here in Thailand.

Your only choice will be to a apply for new OA visa at the embassy in Washington DC or one of the 3 official consulates. At this time you would not be able to apply for one since they are only issuing visas for those that qualify for a certificate of entry.

[Peter Denis]

9 hours ago, TimLMT said:

...

Can I extend my Non Imm O-A from the US?

UbonJoe answered your question in the post above.

Once it becomes possible again to apply for a new Non Imm O-A Visa at the Thai Embassy/Consulate in your home-country, you will also be confronted with the (since Oct 2019) mandatory requirement of an IO-approved health-insurance policy at the moment of application.

I did sent you PM a guideline document on how to meet that health-insurance requirement.  Contrary to the popular narrative on the Forum that it is almost impossible to get, it is in reality  relatively easy if you know how.

>> To access your PM-messages just click the letter-icon when logged-in to the Forum