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

[2530Ubon]

In the UK, daily COVID infected cases are now at 3,330 as of Sunday (source BBC news) with a 7 day average of 3,050 cases. This is a valid reason to apply for a further extension as stated in the Thai immigration guidelines, and evidenced by a recent success story published on this forum;

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1180834-tourists-to-get-unlimited-30-day-extensions-to-stay-after-‘visa-amnesty’-ends/page/18/#comments

On 9/10/2020 at 5:24 PM, Phillip9 said:

There is no requirement that it has to be impossible to get back home, or anything like that.  The only requirement is that your embassy will write you a letter requesting an extension.  

Correct. That is corroborated by the Malaysian person in my post. I asked him, and he said he was not interviewed for his extension. He simply wrote down in the Reason: section of his TM7...."There is a covid outbreak in my country".  That, plus his embassy letter, and 1900baht was enough to get stamped further to 26-Oct.

 

In Malaysia, daily cases are at 47 as of sunday. The highest was 182 cases on the 11th (source Malaysian government covid website). As these numbers are much lower than the UK's, i can't see why immigration would refuse an application from a UK citizen.

 

There are further examples of UK citizens recieving support letters from the British embassy on this forum by stating in their email requests worries about their health RE covid in the UK, and not actually having a residencial address there anymore due to many years in Thailand.

 

Hopefully this post will assist some people who do not have any other reason than not wanting to go back to a COVID filled country, and of course... winter is coming. I'm sure there are a lot of people quite happy to pay for extensions to stay in a relatively safe country, which is probably why the Thai government specified this as a valid reason to extend your visa. Perhaps come armed with proof of funds to support yourself as backup!

[RaduAlex]

You should tell your neighbor to go to immigration ASAP and inquire about options... I picked up my visa today and another farang was told his only option was medical by now. Depending on another amnesty is really pushing it this time.

[Seik]

20 minutes ago, RaduAlex said:

You should tell your neighbor to go to immigration ASAP and inquire about options...

Why is everyone so worried about this random neighbor? Remaining in Thailand is not a matter of life and death for a lot of people.

[Kwaibill]

Applied for my non O based on marriage on a timely manner at Samutprakan. Lots of scurrying about getting documents and 400,000 baht to put in the bank account. 

Told to come back on the fourteenth. Went back today and was told must deposit 100 baht more in bank account, get pass book updates, and more copies.

My wife hoped on a motorbike taxi and did as required only to be told "come back tomorrow".

Any ideas, similar experiences? We live in Samutprakan, but a long way from the IO.

 

[nemo38]

The country I've been trying to get to should have opened their border about now, which would have been really handy. But they pushed opening back until October. 

 

I contacted the UK consulate to see if they will give me a letter. Failing that, I'll go to the UK before the amnesty ends. It will be a PITA to have to sit around in the UK twiddling my thumbs. I wanted to get my business in the region finished, as travel in the future is going to be super expensive and difficult.

 

I very much doubt there will be another extension of the amnesty. But there might be another global lockdown very soon. Israel already announced one. They normally know what is going on before everyone else.

 

I hope that this is considered appropriate for the thread. I think there is a real possibility we will all be stuck where we are.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-israel-becomes-first-country-in-the-world-to-impose-second-national-lockdown-12071369

[at15]

17 hours ago, DaftToPutRealName said:

Most developed nations are providing long term extensions, visa waivers and other "amnesty" periods for those stuck inside the country.

That Thailand cannot even provide a framework as simple as that which Vietnam has, says plenty about its position in said ranking of "developedness".

no, thats the clown show asian nations such as lao, cambodia, myanmar, vietnam. the developed asian nations such as japan, south korea, singapore are all done at this point. thailand likes to pretend they are part of the latter. I am in japan now and about to go home in a couple days. One 90 day extension was granted here...thats it and you had to show proof of a cancelled flight to get it. Thailand has been very generous but no one appreciates the generosity , just gimmie gimmie more more more. Clearly they are trying to move forward as a country and welcome new international tourists in the near future. 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2020 by at15

[DaftToPutRealName]

17 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

Flights out of Thailand and long term visas are available for everyone currently inside Thailand 

That is incorrect.

[DaftToPutRealName]

16 hours ago, patient37 said:

Kind of funny how so many people tend to ignore this, or not do any research.

This will be an interesting two weeks that is for sure ????

Funny how so many people seem to think there are only tourists, elite visa holders and old farts on extensions in the country.

[CorpusChristie]

5 minutes ago, DaftToPutRealName said:

That is incorrect.

No it isnt, there have been flights leaving Thailand continually throughout the pandemic 

[DaftToPutRealName]

1 minute ago, CorpusChristie said:

No it isnt, there have been flights leaving Thailand continually throughout the pandemic 

You said everyone. Australia has limited number of flights and worldwide entries for its citizens. 

Unless you're suggesting that those people should go to Tanzania or whatever little island it is which will take anyone - in which case that's clearly a ridiculous argument.

Regardless, my argument that developed countries are providing easy solutions remains.

[CorpusChristie]

Just now, DaftToPutRealName said:

You said everyone. Australia has limited number of flights and worldwide entries for its citizens. 

Unless you're suggesting that those people should go to Tanzania or whatever little island it is which will take anyone - in which case that's clearly a ridiculous argument.

Regardless, my argument that developed countries are providing easy solutions remains.

I said that there are flights out of Thailand  , I didnt state that all destinations are available .

Everyone in Thailand can get a flight out to somewhere 

[DaftToPutRealName]

3 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

I said that there are flights out of Thailand  , I didnt state that all destinations are available .

Everyone in Thailand can get a flight out to somewhere 

And I'm sure you can appreciate that "a flight to somewhere" is a terrible solution, especially when the inferred argument is "most developed countries are providing a flexible useful solution whilst Thailand is still trying to avoid taking responsibility, even whilst the majority of its citizens overseas enjoy incredibly favorable visa situations".

Easy visa amnesty/extension > "flight to somewhere"

[digger70]

19 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Ever heard of sarcasm? 

Nah , Why ? Is that a Problem?  ????

[Ganesh108]

11 minutes ago, at15 said:

no, thats the clown show asian nations such as lao, cambodia, myanmar, vietnam. the developed asian nations such as japan, south korea, singapore are all done at this point. thailand likes to pretend they are part of the latter. I am in japan now and about to go home in a couple days. One 90 day extension was granted here...thats it and you had to show proof of a cancelled flight to get it. Thailand has been very generous but no one appreciates the generosity , just gimmie gimmie more more more. Clearly they are trying to move forward as a country and welcome new international tourists in the near future. 

 

 

The difference being that Thailand is heavily dependent on international tourism, Japan is not. I guarantee if people get kicked out on 26th, it will create massive negative press abroad, and many of the folks forced to leave will never return. Not to mention if overstayers are dragged off to languish in a Thai jail - a PR disaster of epic proportions.

 

Thailand needs to be as kind as possible to its visitors, and karma will be kind to Thailand.  

 

 

[CorpusChristie]

9 minutes ago, DaftToPutRealName said:

And I'm sure you can appreciate that "a flight to somewhere" is a terrible solution, especially when the inferred argument is "most developed countries are providing a flexible useful solution whilst Thailand is still trying to avoid taking responsibility, even whilst the majority of its citizens overseas enjoy incredibly favorable visa situations".

Easy visa amnesty/extension > "flight to somewhere"

You can get a letter from your Embassy stating as much, then you can get a visa extension 

[DaftToPutRealName]

2 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

You can get a letter from your Embassy stating as much, then you can get a visa extension 

That is correct - which requires a trip to the embassy, a trip to immigration, and then buys you another 30 days for them to come up with the new hamfisted solution.

As stated emphatically by most embassies, it is not their job to tell Thai Immigration who should or should not be staying in the country, nor to give them cues on how to deal with their own immigration policy.

Once again, the Thai approach is not as flexible or well thought out as those solutions being offered through blanket "take no action" amnesties offered in other countries with plenty of notice, nor as simple as similar countries like Vietnam which allow you no-hassle up-front payments.

Now, if you consider hopping through 4 hoops and tapping your ankles together a proper solution, then you've obviously been here for far too long.

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, DaftToPutRealName said:

That is correct - which requires a trip to the embassy, a trip to immigration, and then buys you another 30 days for them to come up with the new hamfisted solution.

As stated emphatically by most embassies, it is not their job to tell Thai Immigration who should or should not be staying in the country, nor to give them cues on how to deal with their own immigration policy.

Once again, the Thai approach is not as flexible or well thought out as those solutions being offered through blanket "take no action" amnesties offered in other countries with plenty of notice, nor as simple as similar countries like Vietnam which allow you no-hassle up-front payments.

Now, if you consider hopping through 4 hoops and tapping your ankles together a proper solution, then you've obviously been here for far too long.

You can apply for the Embassy letters online and they get sent to you by E-mail , so, its just a trip to immigration , which you would normally have to do anyway .

  Normally, you would have to go abroad at some state to get visas, be thankful theres not a requirement now .

  You just seem to want an endless free visa 

[Peter Denis]

14 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

You can get a letter from your Embassy stating as much, then you can get a visa extension 

Maybe it's just me, but I have not yet come across a report of an applicant that used his Embassy issued Letter to get the 'special' extension of stay, and then used that one to apply for a regular long-term Visa/extension.

I agree that the UK Embassy website announcement that they will issue such a Letter when you can provide evidence of being in the process of applying for a long-term Visa/extension, certainly hints that that should be possible.  But there are also the reports from some IOs (e.g. HatYai, SriRacha) where IO made it clear that they will NOT issue any regular extensions anymore once you are on that special Embassy letter supported extension because they consider it a Waiting Room extension until you are able to leave the country.

So any reports from applicants successfully or unsuccessfully doing the above would be very welcome.

Edited September 14, 2020 by Peter Denis

[GeorgeCross]

27 minutes ago, Ganesh108 said:

The difference being that Thailand is heavily dependent on international tourism, Japan is not. I guarantee if people get kicked out on 26th, it will create massive negative press abroad, and many of the folks forced to leave will never return. Not to mention if overstayers are dragged off to languish in a Thai jail - a PR disaster of epic proportions.

 

i guarantee it will not and will all be forgotten about by the next news cycle

 

because no one outside of thailand gives a <deleted> about what happens inside of it

 

[KhunFred]

On 9/13/2020 at 9:16 AM, ezzra said:

Just wondering, how many types of visas this country have? i guess like 2 dozens and even more,

the day that this country will streamline their visas type that will be the day they send home half of the people that work in immigration centers in the country and confusing will be minimized...

I've noticed the same thing. A firm in Pattaya is pushing a one year "volunteer" visa, which they claim can be used just like a retirement visa, except no proof of income needed. Very strange.

[JohnTJ]

On 9/13/2020 at 12:23 PM, 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. 

I got one from the US embassy.  They even have a web form page set up.

 

That having been said, I'm actually preferring to go back home.  This circus is a waste of time for me.

 

[DaftToPutRealName]

29 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

You can apply for the Embassy letters online and they get sent to you by E-mail , so, its just a trip to immigration , which you would normally have to do anyway .

  Normally, you would have to go abroad at some state to get visas, be thankful theres not a requirement now .

  You just seem to want an endless free visa 

No, I have all the proper visas and have always paid for them, including all of the setup, documents and requirements to pay taxes, hire staff, pay for a registered office etc.

That doesn't mean I can't call BS on it, now, does it?

[Sambotte]

47 minutes ago, Ganesh108 said:

The difference being that Thailand is heavily dependent on international tourism, Japan is not. I guarantee if people get kicked out on 26th, it will create massive negative press abroad, and many of the folks forced to leave will never return. Not to mention if overstayers are dragged off to languish in a Thai jail - a PR disaster of epic proportions.

 

Thailand needs to be as kind as possible to its visitors, and karma will be kind to Thailand.  

 

 

Indeed.

Is there any country that has expelled foreigners in this world "crisis" ?

Would look terrible. And remembered for sure.

But again : the late annoncements are to keep the immigration business via agents.

And the obvious point is Thailand lose a ton of money with no tourists, can not open for fear reasons (not arguing here), and foreigners already here are covid free and for most spending good money... Obvious political, image, and business wise : a kind of visa / permission to stay in country with no hassle but high fee should be annonced imo.

[Ganesh108]

42 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

i guarantee it will not and will all be forgotten about by the next news cycle

 

because no one outside of thailand gives a <deleted> about what happens inside of it

 

Not true. I'm connected to media outlets. Travel publications, magazines etc., watch closely what happens in Thailand. Thailand has a lot of die-hard fans who can't wait to get back, and some magazines had Thailand on the cover or big articles about it several times a year. In certain countries it's the most covered Asian destination.

[FarFlungFalang]

1 hour ago, Peter Denis said:

Maybe it's just me, but I have not yet come across a report of an applicant that used his Embassy issued Letter to get the 'special' extension of stay, and then used that one to apply for a regular long-term Visa/extension.

I agree that the UK Embassy website announcement that they will issue such a Letter when you can provide evidence of being in the process of applying for a long-term Visa/extension, certainly hints that that should be possible.  But there are also the reports from some IOs (e.g. HatYai, SriRacha) where IO made it clear that they will NOT issue any regular extensions anymore once you are on that special Embassy letter supported extension because they consider it a Waiting Room extension until you are able to leave the country.

So any reports from applicants successfully or unsuccessfully doing the above would be very welcome.

Hi Peter Denis.My wife got a call from our local IO this afternoon asking that we go in tomorrow as my application for the special 30 day extension has been approved and that I will be able to apply for the one year extension based on marriage with money in the bank method when the 2 months maturation has been achieved.I'll keep you posted about the outcome. 

Edited September 14, 2020 by FarFlungFalang

[elliss]

1 hour ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

 

because no one outside of thailand gives a <deleted> about what happens inside of it

 

 

    Correct .

     However , that said . 

    No one in Thailand , gives a monkey's about , what happens to you ..

[nemo38]

15 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

No it isnt, there have been flights leaving Thailand continually throughout the pandemic 

Not to every country. Some people are still legitimately stranded. I got an email back from an airline today saying they didn't know when flights to their country would restart.

 

I have to go there for business. Instead I will go to the UK before the 26th. 

 

I am pretty sure there won't be an amnesty extension here in Thailand. 

[Ganesh108]

14 minutes ago, nemo38 said:

Not to every country. Some people are still legitimately stranded. I got an email back from an airline today saying they didn't know when flights to their country would restart.

 

I have to go there for business. Instead I will go to the UK before the 26th. 

 

I am pretty sure there won't be an amnesty extension here in Thailand. 

Same situation here. I have business in half a dozen Asian countries, can't go to any.

 

I'm a bit more optimistic about the amnesty, though. 

[nemo38]

2 hours ago, Ganesh108 said:

Same situation here. I have business in half a dozen Asian countries, can't go to any.

 

I'm a bit more optimistic about the amnesty, though. 

It would be fantastic if they did extend the amnesty. It might happen if the rest of the world follows Israel and locks down for a second time (and this happens in time). I felt less optimistic about an extension of the amnesty when they made this announcement that people in some circumstances, medical problems and lack of flights, would be able to get extensions. It seemed to indicate there wouldn't be a blanket amnesty.

 

I came here on a 30 day visa waiver. I got a 30 day extension before the amnesty came in. I believe a second extension requires a letter from my landlord. But I am staying in an apartment owned by a Chinese guy who is back in China. So I guess that will be a problem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

18 hours ago, DaftToPutRealName said:

Once again, the Thai approach is not as flexible or well thought out as those solutions being offered through blanket "take no action" amnesties offered in other countries with plenty of notice, nor as simple as similar countries like Vietnam which allow you no-hassle up-front payments.

That is simply because they don't want long term foreigners here unless you are absolutely essential. 

 

It is very well thought out, for their wants and needs, not yours or ours.

 

The message should be crystal clear yet some people are still not getting it.