Don’t risk an overstay: Foreigners in Thailand urged to renew ‘visas’ BEFORE 26 Sept

[PEE TEE]

Quite a few are going for the student visa from what i hear is expensive 

[Mike Teavee]

1 minute ago, PEE TEE said:

Quite a few are going for the student visa from what i hear is expensive 

I believe it's too late to go for an ED or Volunteer Visa now, at best you'll be paying a hefty 20K+ premium on top of the normal rates to have it expedited 

[cardinalblue]

38 minutes ago, Makoshark said:

Yes you MUST report before sept 26. I’m here on retirement visa.   

 

Why take a chance?  Get off your ass and go to immigration 

 

 

He is NOT part of the amnesty program...he is on a valid retirement visa with an expiration date in October as are thousands of others like me with a Jan ‘21 expiration date...

 

your post is either ignorant or just intentionally trying to cause confusion  with wrong information...

 

some others have answered him correctly...

 

 

[PEE TEE]

5 minutes ago, jaffas21 said:

you can't get another extension without a letter from your embassy for which you need a fairly good excuse like your sick and can't fly. 

yes that's right,i have a few friends over 60s on non o long stay . they are trying very hard to change over to retirement visas i have not heard that any of them have succeeded yet 

[holy cow cm]

What is so hard to understand. Business is back as usual is what they are saying.

[PEE TEE]

3 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

He is NOT part of the amnesty program...he is on a valid retirement visa with an expiration date in October as are thousands of others like me with a Jan ‘21 expiration date...

 

your post is either ignorant or just intentionally trying to cause confusion  with wrong information...

 

some others have answered him correctly...

 

 

well said . if you have retirement visa and you are within the expiry date you do not come under the amnesty  i cant why this is not understood 

[audaciousnomad]

The Cabinet will discuss the various proposals on this Tuesday. Especially the one with the 90-day visa(extendable twice up to 270-days).  This was proposed for new arrivals, but who knows...maybe they will offer it to those already here. I'm sitting tight until at least Wednesday.  Whatever comes out of that meeting is likely to be the directive moving forward since 26-Sept would be right around the corner.

[PEE TEE]

10 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

I believe it's too late to go for an ED or Volunteer Visa now, at best you'll be paying a hefty 20K+ premium on top of the normal rates to have it expedited 

i do believe they are going through with lawyers even more expensive but wish them good luck this was at the beginning of the month 

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed.

 

Some troll posts and replies have been removed. 

[khunjeff]

15 minutes ago, jaffas21 said:

you can't get another extension without a letter from your embassy for which you need a fairly good excuse like your sick and can't fly. 

That depends on the country. Some require extensive documentation, others just issue them automatically with no reason needed.

[blackcab]

42 minutes ago, 2530Ubon said:

Whilst there are some available flights to the UK, they are not reliable as many of them get cancelled.

 

EVA has been continuously running one direct Bangkok-London flight each week departing every Sunday. These flights have been 100 per cent reliable and none of these flights have been cancelled.

 

The flight departed today with seats available. The flight on Sunday 20th has seats available. The flight on Sunday 27th has seats available.

 

20,900 baht for a one-way ticket.

[brianp0803]

Why is it no longer possible to get a volunteer visa without volunteering or an educational visa without going for education?

Obviously, both of these are based on bribing officials to ignore the qualifications and rules. 
But there may be a limit on how many of these types of visas can be gotten with bribes before the officials doing them get caught.

[shavedPotter]

My friend who has a non-B visa and does not meet all the requirements for renewal in county but can renew it at the embassy in her country was turned away. They said to her just wait as they may extend the date again. Seeing that round trip fights are not available there is no need to explain her anxiety.

[JusticeGB]

There are always inconsistencies between different Immigration Offices and even within a particular Immigration Office. For people who don't have simple Visas like Work Permits or Retirement Visas it's probably best to use an agent to jump the hurdles for you.

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, misterphil said:

Tried to extend on Friday and was told I will lose days if I extend now. I emphasised that it should start 27th September but the IMO was adamant  and they put this stamp in my passport. 
 

 

Go back to them with a printout or photo of the immigration notice and ask them nicely to stop making up their own rules and to do their job properly.

[Zikomat]

1 hour ago, misterphil said:

Tried to extend on Friday and was told I will lose days if I extend now. I emphasised that it should start 27th September but the IMO was adamant  and they put this stamp in my passport. 
 

 

Which means the Immigration has no idea about what will happen after 26 of September. I got exactly the same stamp back in April. One week later the amnesty was declared.

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by Zikomat

[Mavideol]

4 hours ago, Airalee said:

As usual...clear as mud.  So my previous extension based on retirement that is stamped until Oct 27 means nothing and I need to get to immigration by the 26th of September?

nothing to worry

Edited September 13, 2020 by Mavideol

[Bangkok Barry]

49 minutes ago, jaffas21 said:

I also think the thai  government have made it clear this time its the end

This is one of the reasons for all these daily 'what if' posts. The government has said no such thing. All just groundless, pointless and often misleading statements that just confuse everyone.

[shackleton]

Some people on here need to read the amnesty was mainly for Tourists 

Who now need to sort out a new visa  or a letter from their Embassy as to reason why they  cannot leave no flight ect  or a medical certificate to support their stay

Its not that hard

[Bangkok Barry]

30 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

The Cabinet will discuss the various proposals on this Tuesday. Especially the one with the 90-day visa(extendable twice up to 270-days).  This was proposed for new arrivals, but who knows...maybe they will offer it to those already here. I'm sitting tight until at least Wednesday.  Whatever comes out of that meeting is likely to be the directive moving forward since 26-Sept would be right around the corner.

Exactly!!! Just wait until the government speaks. Too many people on this site appear to suffer from deep insecurity and get into a flap. And many of those have paid for extensions weeks or months before they needed to, even spending many thousands on agents. I agree that, if they are planning/talking about offering those new visas to tourists, then it is logical that similar is given to those in the country with family or business. I can't imagine tourists being treated better than residents on long-term visas.

[spiekerjozef]

1 hour ago, Guderian said:

My new English neighbour renting the house opposite is under the amnesty. I asked him if he'd got a new visa yet (his plan was to get a volunteer visa) but he said no, he was waiting to see what happens. He's expecting the government to extend the amnesty again, I guess. As I understand it, he's left it too late now to get a volunteer visa, he's in his forties and reasonably fit so I doubt he'd get a medical visa, and there are flights back to the UK every week so he can't get a letter from the embassy to say that he can't return. I wonder what his plan is now?

Plan? time to leave.

[Bangkok Barry]

4 minutes ago, shackleton said:

Some people on here need to read the amnesty was mainly for Tourists 

No it wasn't. It was aimed at anyone who could not leave (people now can), and perhaps more importantly could not return (most still cannot without satisfying a list of (I think) 10 rules.

 

And anyway, I still cannot understand why the government wants to set the number of tourists spending money to zero after the 26th.

[DaftToPutRealName]

10 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Too many people on this site appear to suffer from deep insecurity and get into a flap. 

I think it's perfectly acceptable for people to be worried about a government with a track record of last minute updates yet strict immigration policies and very serious overstay fines and penalties.

Not to mention the lack of solutions for anyone not on a tourist or retirement visa - given there are plenty of other classes of visas all with different types of requirements, most of which require you to be outside of the country.

Those people with houses, cars, families and businesses yet no clear knowledge of what's going to happen to their life in a couple of weeks are surely justified in their worry...

[CorpusChristie]

34 minutes ago, JusticeGB said:

There are always inconsistencies between different Immigration Offices and even within a particular Immigration Office. For people who don't have simple Visas like Work Permits or Retirement Visas it's probably best to use an agent to jump the hurdles for you.

They take at least 15 days to process the application , if you applied now , the visa wouldnt be available until after September 26 th, meaning you would be on overstay and so they will not process the application 

[notmyself]

48 minutes ago, jaffas21 said:

you can't get another extension without a letter from your embassy for which you need a fairly good excuse like your sick and can't fly. 

 

Get a 'cannot fly' chit from a hospital so need for an embassy to be involved.

 

In local news a fella I know went to immigration (Samui) during the week and got the unused 30 day extension on his TR visa with no issue. SETV visa. 

[Peter Denis]

1 hour ago, crazykopite said:

My friend who has an OA went to the IO last month to do 90 day report they looked at his passport and handed it back to him saying call us on 17 September as we expect to know what’s happening by then his yearly OA expires on that day it appears the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing I expect more announcements in the coming days

...

Tell your friend NOT to follow that crazy Immigration suggestion to wait till 17 September when his Non Imm O-A Visa expires, to call them.

There is no reason for him to break the normal annual extension routine for his Non Imm O-A Visa.  It's possible that his IO will issue his new 1-year extension of stay starting 27 Sept and ending 26 Sept 2021.  But that is by no means sure, and it's well possible that his regular extension date of 17 Sept will be kept.

Important Note: Is he aware that when applying for the 1-year extension of his Non Imm O-A Visa for reason of retirement, that he needs to meet the now mandatory thai IO-approved health-insurance requirement?  If not, it is cutting it very close but he might still be able to get such insurance just in time before expiry of his 17 Sept permission to stay.  PM me for details in how to still meet that insurance requirement with only 4 working days left before expiry date of his Non Imm O-A Visa permission to stay.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, Airalee said:

As usual...clear as mud.  So my previous extension based on retirement that is stamped until Oct 27 means nothing and I need to get to immigration by the 26th of September?

On a retirement visa you do your normal 90 report on the date that is on the slip which is attached to your passport,  either at the IO or online.... if you have not been doing your 90 reports as normal go to the office and get one.

CLEAR ?

[CorpusChristie]

33 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Exactly!!! Just wait until the government speaks. Too many people on this site appear to suffer from deep insecurity and get into a flap. 

Its OK for you , all you have to do is to go to immigration and get a 60 day extension .

Other people cannot do that , you can understand their concern .

You are not the one facing either leaving Thailand or going on overstay by the 26 th .

You have a Trump* card , others dont 

(*Nothing to do with Donald)

[Psimbo]

54 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Go back to them with a printout or photo of the immigration notice and ask them nicely to stop making up their own rules and to do their job properly.

its an Extension of Stay (frequently referred to as a Retirement PERMIT) Nothing to do with VISAS.

[Peter Denis]

38 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

...

I agree that, if they are planning/talking about offering those new visas to tourists, then it is logical that similar is given to those in the country with family or business. I can't imagine tourists being treated better than residents on long-term visas.

The problem is that Immigration CANNOT issue Visa (the only exception being the 90-day Non Imm O Visa when having entered on a Visa Exempt or Tourist Visa entry).

Visa can only be applied for at a Thai Embassy / Consulate abroad or when entering the country (Visa on Arrival).