Don’t leave it to the last minute! Thai Immigration reminds foreigners ahead of amnesty deadline

[rooster59]

Don’t leave it to the last minute! Thai Immigration reminds foreigners ahead of amnesty deadline

 

 

The Immigration Bureau has issued a reminder to foreigners in Thailand ahead of the end of the visa amnesty period.

 

An announcement shared on the Immigration Facebook page on Saturday urges people who need to renew their visas to do so now, rather than wait until 26 September, in order to help reduce overcrowding.

 

Long term expats, such as those who stay in Thailand on a marriage or retirement extension, who have used the amnesty period to delay renewing their extensions of stay are urged to renew as soon as possible. Long term expats should also be completing their 90 day reports as they would do normally. 

 

Immigration offices throughout the country are quiet at the moment and the process of renewing is taking a fraction of the time it normally would. 

 

However, immigration offices may get noticeably busier in the coming weeks in the run up to the 26 September deadline. 

 

Tourists who still remain in Thailand under the visa amnesty need to clarify their status or be prepared to leave the country. 

 

However, earlier this week, Immigration did say that any tourists who are unable to travel due to illness can apply for a 30 day extension at their local immigration office. 

 

In order to do this they must present a medical certificate that proves they are not fit enough to fly.

 

In addition, tourists who are unable to leave Thailand due to a lack of flights or other circumstances related to the COVID-19 situation in their home country can also apply for a 30 day extension. 

 

In order to do this they must obtain a letter from their embassy requesting permission to stay temporarily in Thailand.

 

For everyone else, from 27 September, the usual overstay fines and penalties will be applied.
 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-09-06

 

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[trucking]

Glad they have made this announcement. Hope it has finally filtered down to every immigration office that this is the correct official line and they will stop saying the extension begins on day of application.

[ThailandRyan]

I sure hope this announcement is spread far and wide.  It has been out for quite along time already, so I will unfortunately not feel to bad for those that wait until the final week, and start to squeal "We did not know, or we did not have enough time".  I do feel for those on the Non O ME visa's who were not able to get out and back in every 90 days to keep the Visa active, and I do understand why many with families went this route because of there jobs and such.  I have always wondered why the Non Imm O-A ME Visa and the Non Imm O ME visa were not treated the same with 90 day reporting's and a 1 year stay granted.  Must have been a reason way back when they made the rules.  I know that the O_A I am on is for retirement, and the O is for visiting family, but if over 55 and still working somewhere outside of Thailand the O is best for them.  Should be some continuity, but then I am sure many are under the age and work abroad, in the oil industry, or work as digital nomads.  In reality there should be a way to go to immigration every 90 days on those O visas and extend for another 90 days, instead of every 60 days to get a 30 day extension, and then having to bounce out and then back in.  Maybe it was all about the money.  When I first came here many many years ago I was on a 30 day, which I would fly out and then back in and renew on arrival.  When I married, and because I was under the age and still working in the US I went the Non Imm O ME route, then finally an extension of stay based on the Non Imm O until that was no longer good for me, Then to my current Non Imm O-A ME, which will now be turned into an extension when it expires because I can not fly out and back in to add another year to it.  So many different rules, that staying up to speed can be hard for someone who never takes the time to learn the rules and get the true information from others such as Ubon Joe, Peter Denis and the others. I wish everyone the best in the upcoming days.

[mtls2005]

In Bangkok, which will be busier: CW or MTT?

 

If you could hazard a guess.

 

Yes, I realize each services a different segment. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by mtls2005

[GeorgeCross]

24 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

In reality there should be a way to go to immigration every 90 days on those O visas and extend for another 90 days, instead of every 60 days to get a 30 day extension, and then having to bounce out and then back in

 

while i would absolutely love this to happen i don't see how it could be possible and still keep the current non-o extensions of stay in place. i mean one would need to be a real masochist to go through all the yearly IO <deleted> and keep 400K or 12 months of income slips when you could simply renew locally every 90 days instead!

 

[ThailandRyan]

22 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

while i would absolutely love this to happen i don't see how it could be possible and still keep the current non-o extensions of stay in place. i mean one would need to be a real masochist to go through all the yearly IO <deleted> and keep 400K or 12 months of income slips when you could simply renew locally every 90 days instead!

 

True, I never thought about the extension, actually forgot about it. I was thinking more about those that worked 6 months out of the Country then returned for 6 months.  I always had to go to immigration pay the 1900 baht extend another 30 days, then at the end of those 30 days, do a border cross into Vientiane, shop and then return for another 60 day entry and then at the end of that time I would either fly back to work or extend for another 30 and then leave. 

[Oldie]

Here some additional information. Hope that there is no problem posting this link from the Thai Examiner. 

 

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2020/09/06/visa-amnesty-ends-september-26th-30-day-extensions-focus-long-stay-holders/

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, ThailandRyan said:

so I will unfortunately not feel to bad for those that wait until the final week, and start to squeal "We did not know, or we did not have enough time".

I'm waiting until the final week because I'm expecting the government to announce another extension.

And the government always leaves it until the final week.

[ThailandRyan]

11 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm waiting until the final week because I'm expecting the government to announce another extension.

And the government always leaves it until the final week.

Just love the post as it drips with true Sarcasm.. ????

[Mike Teavee]

24 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm waiting until the final week because I'm expecting the government to announce another extension.

And the government always leaves it until the final week.

You might want to read the article in the post above yours as it sounds like they're doing a number of things to try to accommodate people which strengthens the argument that there won't be a further automatic extension.

 

[BritManToo]

Just now, Mike Teavee said:

You might want to read the article in the post above yours as it sounds like they're doing a number of things to try to accommodate people which strengthens the argument that there won't be a further automatic extension.

 

Still no point in doing anything until the week before.

If there's another extension (2 weeks) my 400k will have been in the bank long enough for me to apply for a year.

If it ends on the 26th, I can only apply for 60 days.

Edited September 6, 2020 by BritManToo

[BestB]

This announcement makes total sense if it was not for the fact that few days prior to deadlines they may change their minds as they did previously and always in the last minute 

[Bender Rodriguez]

wait & see... why oh why would they make it difficult again and not give till march 2021 ?

 

no-one is coming in and they cannot see that people here are still spending money ...

[CorpusChristie]

4 minutes ago, BestB said:

This announcement makes total sense if it was not for the fact that few days prior to deadlines they may change their minds as they did previously and always in the last minute 

They were nt really a change of mind in the previous announcements , it was more like new announcements of how they would proceed . 

[BestB]

2 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

wait & see... why oh why would they make it difficult again and not give till march 2021 ?

 

no-one is coming in and they cannot see that people here are still spending money ...

Do not need to give amnesty , just make easy extensions and make money out of it as well. 

[CorpusChristie]

3 minutes ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

wait & see... why oh why would they make it difficult again and not give till march 2021 ?

 

no-one is coming in and they cannot see that people here are still spending money ...

They can still stay and "spend money" , they will just have to spend money on a visa extension 

[BestB]

Just now, CorpusChristie said:

They can still stay and "spend money" , they will just have to spend money on a visa extension 

No they can not. Those on stamps or tourist visa’s can not get an extension unless unfit to fly or have a letter from embassy 

[Guderian]

I wonder how much the agents are charging now for an "unfit to fly" letter?

[Mike Teavee]

30 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Still no point in doing anything until the week before.

If there's another extension (2 weeks) my 400k will have been in the bank long enough for me to apply for a year.

If it ends on the 26th, I can only apply for 60 days.

Ahhh... that makes perfect sense... 

 

The article hints at their being some leeway on the 12 month financials coming "before 15th September", but I thought you had to apply for these with 2 weeks left on your permission to stay hence the 11th September date being stressed so I'm not sure what good it would do or whether they'll give some leeway on the 2 weeks as well. 

 

It would be a case of TiT if on the 12th September they announce that you don't need to meet the financial requirements to extend your Non-O for 12 months.... But then say that you had to have done it the day before!!! 

 

[CorpusChristie]

13 minutes ago, BestB said:

No they can not. Those on stamps or tourist visa’s can not get an extension unless unfit to fly or have a letter from embassy 

People who came to Thailand as a tourist back in January / February MUST have seen all of Thailand by now .

  What else to do you want to see and where else do you want to go ?

[trucking]

14 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Still no point in doing anything until the week before.

If there's another extension (2 weeks) my 400k will have been in the bank long enough for me to apply for a year.

If it ends on the 26th, I can only apply for 60 days.

 

But if you apply for your 60 days before the 26th , then during that time your 400,000 would have seasoned the 2 months and you can then apply for a 1 year extension later.

 

That approach was confirmed when I visited my local immigration.

[trucking]

14 hours ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

wait & see... why oh why would they make it difficult again and not give till march 2021 ?

 

no-one is coming in and they cannot see that people here are still spending money ...

 

I can't help thinking the simplest solution to deal with people on Non O multis would be to allow people to travel to a border immigration post , stamp them out, then get them to cross the road and stamp them back in. Sorted. No necessity to physically leave the country.

 

This would also help the tourism sector a bit because people would likely travel around and use a local hotel for a night. Unless of course they live very close to a border checkpoint.

 

 

[Kerrie R]

Still no word about non-b visas to either renew, or access a work permit? Or if you wish to apply for marriage visa while living in Thailand. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

True, I never thought about the extension, actually forgot about it. I was thinking more about those that worked 6 months out of the Country then returned for 6 months.  I always had to go to immigration pay the 1900 baht extend another 30 days, then at the end of those 30 days, do a border cross into Vientiane, shop and then return for another 60 day entry and then at the end of that time I would either fly back to work or extend for another 30 and then leave. 

If you pay Thai income taxes, which would be likely 25 to 30% then I don't see why not. 

[CorpusChristie]

5 minutes ago, trucking said:

 

I can't help thinking the simplest solution to deal with people on Non O multis would be to allow people to travel to a border immigration post , stamp them out, then get them to cross the road and stamp them back in. Sorted. No necessity to physically leave the country.

 

This would also help the tourism sector a bit because people would likely travel around and use a local hotel for a night. Unless of course they live very close to a border checkpoint.

 

 

A better solution would bee to allow those people to extend their visas/obtain a new visa at their local immigration office

[trucking]

14 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

A better solution would bee to allow those people to extend their visas/obtain a new visa at their local immigration office

Yep, also good.

 

I think if there were a bona fide civilian government running the country these would be the kind of sensible solutions being put forward.

 

As it is , with a bunch of numpties running the show ......................... say no more.

[andy8017]

I am still waiting for a new passport which I applied for in May ,? they are using Covid & every other excuse under the sun it seems ,but it is obvious the UK civil service Unions are making everything difficult .!

 

[digger70]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Don’t leave it to the last minute! Thai Immigration reminds foreigners ahead of amnesty deadline

Stampede across the Nation. 

 Done my extension last month down here in Hat Yai. 

 At the Desk Outside they said Must make an Appoint Online  and wait for Confirmation of appointment  Online in the Next couple days.

    No Way GF said.      Lucky for us  us we had the Phone number of the Boss , The GF Groveld a bit and got in an Hour later  Same Day.    ????

[khunjeff]

2 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

You might want to read the article in the post above yours as it sounds like they're doing a number of things to try to accommodate people which strengthens the argument that there won't be a further automatic extension.

 

Yes, except that the Cabinet will decide whether to grant an additional extension, not Immigration. A charitable interpretation of what's happening now would be that Immigration wants to be sure everyone has their ducks in order just in case the amnesty isn't extended. The cynical view, though, would be that they're purposely trying to make a lack of further extensions seem like a fait accompli in hopes that the Cabinet will follow along, since it's been evident for a while that Immigration officers don't particularly like the amnesties and would prefer that they disappear.

[Bim Smith]

4 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

I sure hope this announcement is spread far and wide.  It has been out for quite along time already, so I will unfortunately not feel to bad for those that wait until the final week, and start to squeal "We did not know, or we did not have enough time".  I do feel for those on the Non O ME visa's who were not able to get out and back in every 90 days to keep the Visa active, and I do understand why many with families went this route because of there jobs and such.  I have always wondered why the Non Imm O-A ME Visa and the Non Imm O ME visa were not treated the same with 90 day reporting's and a 1 year stay granted.  Must have been a reason way back when they made the rules.  I know that the O_A I am on is for retirement, and the O is for visiting family, but if over 55 and still working somewhere outside of Thailand the O is best for them.  Should be some continuity, but then I am sure many are under the age and work abroad, in the oil industry, or work as digital nomads.  In reality there should be a way to go to immigration every 90 days on those O visas and extend for another 90 days, instead of every 60 days to get a 30 day extension, and then having to bounce out and then back in.  Maybe it was all about the money.  When I first came here many many years ago I was on a 30 day, which I would fly out and then back in and renew on arrival.  When I married, and because I was under the age and still working in the US I went the Non Imm O ME route, then finally an extension of stay based on the Non Imm O until that was no longer good for me, Then to my current Non Imm O-A ME, which will now be turned into an extension when it expires because I can not fly out and back in to add another year to it.  So many different rules, that staying up to speed can be hard for someone who never takes the time to learn the rules and get the true information from others such as Ubon Joe, Peter Denis and the others. I wish everyone the best in the upcoming days.

You can use a Non o for retirement and get a year extension on it if you meet the requirements.