BREAKING NEWS Tourists to get unlimited 30-day extensions to stay after ‘visa amnesty’ ends

[TonBrow]

2 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

 

They might check.  At least at the main offices they must already know which embassies are giving letters and which aren't, so if you show up with a letter from a country that is not issuing letters, it will be obvious.  They are also not typically giving the extension stamp the same day you apply, so the reason might be to give them time to call and check.

 

I am sure they would also would report you to your home country and you could face serious consequences for falsifying a document in your governments name.  

 

The 1900 baht is nothing compared to the large fine you would be getting after getting caught.

I wasn't saying that just anyone should use the U.S. embassy letter. I was only using that as an example. Of course, it would make no sense to try and use a U.S. embassy letter if you have a German or other country passport. Sorry for not making my post clear on that point.

As for not giving the stamp on the same day, they do that with all visas. The agent you talk to simply collects and verifies that you have all the necessary documents, takes you picture, collects the fee, and sends you on your way. During the course of that day and the next morning all the passports are stamped by some other agent and returned to you the next day.

And, again 

"I'm not advocating that people should present falsified documents to immigration. Just putting this out there for anyone who has already used an embassy letter and is desperate."

Geez. I have to stop posting things on this forum. People get so uptight over every word.

[audaciousnomad]

20 minutes ago, TonBrow said:

"I'm not advocating that people should present falsified documents to immigration. Just putting this out there for anyone who has already used an embassy letter and is desperate."

You mean you're not advocating in a similar fashion to how Trump is not advocating people to "test" the U.S. election security system by sending in two votes for him? ????

Edited September 4, 2020 by audaciousnomad

[Zikomat]

15 hours ago, JacksSmirkingRevenge said:

Apparently the US Embassy issues letters with not much fuss.  But depends on immigration if they'll accept it.  I should think they should.  

They will accept it with a bunch of other requirements fulfilled. No chance the letter only will be enough for them. This is why the amnesty is the only chance for many of us at the moment. The moment the decision making goes back to the Immigration - we are doomed.

[fraggleRock]

1 hour ago, adrianb said:

Not true I have a non immigrant visa and was told unless I have had 400k sitting in the bank for  months I must leave. But I can come straight back and stay in the overpriced ASQ for 14 days. 

So I am being forced to leave after 25 years of being here. Seeing as all the nearby countries are closed, paying 35k for a return flight and then an extra 40-60k for ASQ to get the priviledge of staying for 10 weeks I am leaving. Bye bye and no money will be coming here from me while I am not here.

I’m tired of the immigtation stazi here in Thailand, plus its not ‘all that’ anymore and becoming expensive, so Im not renewing my 1 year type 0 and returning to my home country.... your situation is going to hit alot of folks, I know a few —- you also have to do all the jumping through hoops before you can even checkin to return, to much —— it boggles the mind.

[Zikomat]

8 hours ago, crazykopite said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if many decided to just go for the overstay option after all the maximum fine is 20,000 baht that’s not expensive if your country has got an extremely high Covid death rate such as the USA and I don’t think the IDC is big enough to hold 1,000s of overstay foreigners.

I would be very careful in case you decide to go on overstay after 26 of September. The immigration will definitely start hunting the overstayers as never before. They are money hungry at the moment and getting caught as many overstayers as possible will be their main priority for some time. In places like Pattaya it will be dangerous even to go out for a walk if you are on overstay.

Edited September 4, 2020 by Zikomat

[Benitostacos]

6 minutes ago, Zikomat said:

I would be very careful in case you decide to go on overstay after 26 of September. The immigration will definitely start hunting the overstayers as never before. They are money hungry at the moment and getting caught as many overstayers as possible will be their main priority for some time. In places like Pattaya it will be dangerous even to go out for a walk if you are on overstay.

They'll start hunting 40 days after amnesty ends. That's when the maximum 20k baht overtime fine hits. haha

[david555]

7 hours ago, Oldie said:

This with the 100 Baht was more than 20 years ago. I have no idea how much they charge here in Pattaya now. 

Emergency's and high needs situations have always a higher price in it …..

[lovesthespicy]

16 minutes ago, Benitostacos said:

They'll start hunting 40 days after amnesty ends. That's when the maximum 20k baht overtime fine hits. haha

If the police catch you you're going to a detention center and getting a 5 year ban. That alone is enough to extort much more then 20k out of someone.

[david555]

6 hours ago, userabcd said:

And the the foreigner seeking out the medical certicate by a doctor, of course he has to pay and if a real examination was done, they would certainly pay more.

 

 

 

I could think they would need a detailed certificate from a hospital , as I.O's are not stupid ….(only some are difficult ) ????

A broken leg or arm will not do …., 2 broken leg's ? wel they have wheelchairs ...even at  Suvharnabumi …(and they get boarding priority …????  ), it shall all depends how this game go be played by the foreigners and the I.O.'s

It gone be quit a show when it starts 

[david555]

6 hours ago, wmlc said:

This is only if you are sick. Not everyone qualifies. 

Many are now already getting hypertension and anxiety I guess ????...and "Bangkok hospital chain" & Co. I think is the preferential one to give treatment ……. medical tourism attracting in mind , as the Gov. thought about is born ….????

 

The smartest ones would start reading medical encyclopedia's as they have to learn the symptoms to fake , to convince the doctor , as all are healthy as "The rock"  5555 !

Edited September 4, 2020 by david555

[Mac98]

23 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

The report also states 

 

However, those who are unable to return home due to lack of flights or other circumstances in their home country must present a letter from their home country’s embassy or consulate in Thailand requesting that the foreign be allowed to continue to temporarily stay in the Kingdom, Gen Pornchai added."

 

  So, as long as your Embassy issues you a letter, anyone should be able to stay for an extendable 30 days 

You will likely have to get an updated letter from the embassy every month before returning to immigration. That would be troubling even if you did reside in Bangkok.

[Phillip9]

1 hour ago, Zikomat said:

They will accept it with a bunch of other requirements fulfilled. No chance the letter only will be enough for them.

Several people have already reported that the US embassy letter alone was accepted for an extension.  No other requirements were needed.

[Benitostacos]

5 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

Several people have already reported that the US embassy letter alone was accepted for an extension.  No other requirements were needed.

Do you have a link possibly to a person reporting a successful extension?

[vermin on arrival]

1 hour ago, Zikomat said:

They will accept it with a bunch of other requirements fulfilled. No chance the letter only will be enough for them. This is why the amnesty is the only chance for many of us at the moment. The moment the decision making goes back to the Immigration - we are doomed.

I called 1178 and they said only the embassy letter was needed. No explanation was required. Just bring the letter with the usual documentation for a 30 day extension, embassy letter and 1900 baht.

[Peter Denis]

11 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

Several people have already reported that the US embassy letter alone was accepted for an extension.  No other requirements were needed.

I do not doubt that the US embassy letter was sufficient for US applicants to get the special 30-days extension of stay.

However, I would be very interested to hear whether IOs would accept such special 30-days extension of stay as a 'spring-board' for a subsequent 1-year extension of stay application.

[audaciousnomad]

8 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

I do not doubt that the US embassy letter was sufficient for US applicants to get the special 30-days extension of stay.

However, I would be very interested to hear whether IOs would accept such special 30-days extension of stay as a 'spring-board' for a subsequent 1-year extension of stay application.

There has been one report of someone who was refused all types of extensions(aside from emergency/amnesty) as a result of him securing an "embassy letter" covid extension back in March. I believe it was user @greggraham who reported it.  On that note, be certain that you never intend to switch to any other long-stay visa or extension before you go the "embassy letter" route. It appears to be a one-way road out of the country. (Delayable, but not switchable)

Edited September 4, 2020 by audaciousnomad

[Phillip9]

5 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

There has been one report of someone who was refused all types of extensions(aside from emergency/amnesty) as a result of him securing an "embassy letter" covid extension back in March. I believe it was user @greggraham who reported it.

My language school told me the same thing when I got my ed visa-- anyone who had a special extension with an embassy letter back in march could not convert from a tourist visa to an ed visa.

[louthlincs]

37 minutes ago, Phillip9 said:

Several people have already reported that the US embassy letter alone was accepted for an extension.  No other requirements were needed.

I was at the Muang Thong IO yesterday with a letter from the British Embassy. The immigration officer said no extension application with an official embassy letter has been refused to date. Hope this is reassuring.

[JackThompson]

33 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

There has been one report of someone who was refused all types of extensions(aside from emergency/amnesty) as a result of him securing an "embassy letter" covid extension back in March. I believe it was user @greggraham who reported it.  On that note, be certain that you never intend to switch to any other long-stay visa or extension before you go the "embassy letter" route. It appears to be a one-way road out of the country. (Delayable, but not switchable)

  

3 hours ago, adrianb said:

Not true I have a non immigrant visa and was told unless I have had 400k sitting in the bank for  months I must leave. But I can come straight back and stay in the overpriced ASQ for 14 days. 

So I am being forced to leave after 25 years of being here. Seeing as all the nearby countries are closed, paying 35k for a return flight and then an extra 40-60k for ASQ to get the priviledge of staying for 10 weeks I am leaving. Bye bye and no money will be coming here from me while I am not here.

Also @Phillip9

 

There was another report where the new embassy-letter provided a path to applying for a 1-year - or so they were told by the IO.  We will have to wait for reports of successful longer-term extensions, but those who are "stuck" should try this route.   

 

The Aus-Embassy even said they would issue the letters for purposes of assisting to change to long-term extensions; they are apparently not offering them "unconditionally," like the USA-Embassy.

Edited September 4, 2020 by JackThompson

[JackThompson]

9 hours ago, johng said:

But to be honest they don't want us to stay and also don't need us.

Which "they" do you refer to?  Hi-Sos don't care.  Immigration don't want us, unless there is envelope-money in it.  But many Thais whose businesses are still hanging-on due to our spending would certainly prefer we stay. 

 

9 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

On the other hand, the “Thailand hates us and only want us for our money” brigade will see plenty of justification for their position in this news.

I don't see what is "bad" about the idea that Thailand's immigration policy should be based primarily around our spending foreign-capital into their economy - what is "good" for their citizens / businesses.   Busting illegal-workers is fine.

 

What is "bad," is when the policy is based around handing over envelopes of cash via an agent, instead of supporting local businesses with that money - plus forcing-out many who would have continued spending money here, if not for the corruption-money-driven "crackdowns."

  

6 hours ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

because extending another 6 months was asked too mutt

immigration needs those 1900 baht monthly fees

why don't they come up with another ripp-off ?  1900 x 12 months, paid at once for a 1 year visa

It's not a rip-off, if we are allowed to pay list-price w/receipt - no agent-junk. 

 

Quote

would prefer that to give to crooked AGENTS , which are charging now up to 70.000 baht I read in some posts

Ditto.
 

Edited September 4, 2020 by JackThompson

[audaciousnomad]

24 minutes ago, louthlincs said:

I was at the Muang Thong IO yesterday with a letter from the British Embassy. The immigration officer said no extension application with an official embassy letter has been refused to date. Hope this is reassuring.

So @louthlincs .... is this a report by you that you have successfully extended for additional 30 days beyond 26-Sept, using an embassy letter?

[Wake Up]

On 9/3/2020 at 5:51 AM, keith101 said:

I contacted the Aus Embassy and got a email reply as follows     

Visa Letters:

 

Given how difficult it is to secure a flight to Australia, the Embassy has decided to assist in issuing letters to support people applying to extend their Thai visas. It is not the role of the Australian Government to be saying who should or shouldn’t stay in Thailand, that’s up to Thai Immigration; however, given Thai officials are reluctant to make these decisions without our involvement, we have decided to issue the letters for two categories of Australians:

 

1.      If you are transitioning from a short term tourist visa to a long term visa, Thai Immigration generally want a letter from us to allow you to do so. We are happy to do so as long as you can show us evidence that you’ve applied for a long term visa; or

2.      If you have had flights booked and cancelled, your next flight is after 26 September and you can show us evidence of this, we will also provide you with a letter to support your visa extension.

 

  So any other reason such as the one i was told by my local im office because i am on a ME O Visa valid till 4th January 2021 is not covered .

 

If i am forced to leave Thailand because they closed the borders making it impossible to exit/re-enter and get a 90 day stamp then i will definitely never return , to my wife and home + family and F them all .

You sound like a man extremely frustrated and upset. I get it man. Dealing with governments and bureaucrats can be stressful.???? In the end I hope common sense and empathy happen for you and your family. Makes no sense to make you leave and then be practically barred from returning until an unknown date. ????

[Benitostacos]

2 hours ago, vermin on arrival said:

I called 1178 and they said only the embassy letter was needed. No explanation was required. Just bring the letter with the usual documentation for a 30 day extension, embassy letter and 1900 baht.

Someone posted this from Chonburi Immigration in a FB group, I swear it's like deja-vu from March all over again.

 

[louthlincs]

3 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

So @louthlincs .... is this a report by you that you have successfully extended for additional 30 days beyond 26-Sept, using an embassy letter?

no @audaciousnomad it is not. I have to return to ‘fang pon’ on the 11th, at which point I will then be in a position to confirm or otherwise. this was a report of what the immigration officer told me regarding the success rate of embassy assisted applications to date, which was encouraging but not yet confirmed in my case. 

[vermin on arrival]

2 hours ago, Benitostacos said:

Someone posted this from Chonburi Immigration in a FB group, I swear it's like deja-vu from March all over again.

 

<deleted>. Fore sure 1178 said I did not need that. These guys have their heads up their asses. Well for sure if they are doing that they don't want to give us unlimited 30 day extensions and an amnesty will need to be given.

Edited September 4, 2020 by vermin on arrival

[DrJack54]

Surprises me why threads from Thaivisa news are even posted in this forum. Most are rubbish based on random comments from random official. 

The Phuket hub was most recent joke.

Ignore Thai news. 

 

[GoNavy]

This all so very convoluted. First, if one is too sick to fly how are they going to haul themselves to immigration every 30 day?  Why such emphasis on checking in so frequently.  Similar to a helicopter parent.

 

Then, secondly it is the Thai government itself who have put such restriction on entering and leaving there are none to damn few flights out.  Then the expats who are here have family, marriages various obligations that once out may not be able to reenter.  my understanding that now flights are closed until December to next year.  Talk about a Catch 22.

[DrJack54]

31 minutes ago, GoNavy said:

First, if one is too sick to fly how are they going to haul themselves to immigration every 30 day

They won't need to as this thread along with couple of others pasted from Thaivisa news are rubbish.

Same as rubbish one few days back re Phuket considering hub with few countries.

Laughable. AU was on that list. Currently as of last few days Oz gov has banned departures of Oz citizens till Dec 16. You can apply. Good luck with that. 

Thaivisa news along with the nation news is like playschool.

[Maestro]

On 9/3/2020 at 1:15 PM, jackdd said:

That's what they announced end of July, sounds identical to what they announced now...

 

There is one new thing I see:

Get an embassy letter certifying that your home country is unsafe to live in and you get the 30 day extension of stay for the reason of necessity.

[FlyingThai]

22 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

There is one new thing I see:

Get an embassy letter certifying that your home country is unsafe to live in and you get the 30 day extension of stay for the reason of necessity.

No embassy will issue a letter saying that it's unsafe to live in that respective country. There is absolutely NO WAY such a letter would be authorized the the respective MFA that is responsible to instruct embassies.