Cabinet okays 9-month visas for foreigners

[worldfun]

53 minutes ago, Nout said:

Good idea. Start with people already here, and get the married and stranded retirees on the move. Let's get this party started!

OK that's the right spirit I guess - lets get the party started - it can only go downhill from here hahaa - but approved means approved right? come 1st october ????

[alyx]

8 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

1200 tourists a month, but retirees etc are still not allowed to come back? .... 

Elite visa has a lousy quota of like 250 a month or so...

 

 

Absurdity. 

 

1200 tourists a month won't make a difference anyway... 

sorry but you are ill informed : there is not such a thing as a quota. Kindly enquire (as I did before replying)  before stating . Actually this is the second post I read with this false information 

[AndrewMciver]

It's good they are keeping the numbers small. 

 

However, i sense they will open up soon enough. I don't really trust Thai authorities to closely monitor a high number of people in quarantine. I've already witnessed alot of abuses during the process. 

 

The grass always looks greener on the other side, but if the virus rips through Thailand it will be carnage and everything closed down again, with life loss. 

[AndrewMciver]

5 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

There appears to be no mention of the $100k insurance requirement, hopefully that has been dropped.

 

NOT A CHANCE IN HELL this will be dropped. The hospitals in Thailand are making a killing (literally) with this insurance policy.

[Albert Zweistein]

8 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

it's time that your running low on if an alternate visa strategy wasn't developed, hopefully you're covered. Were you in a bad accident? You would of had to have been unconscious for a month to 'get stuck here' for there was plenty of advanced notices on travelling if you had access to the internet...

Oh lord forgive them, they don't know what they are talking about.

[RichardColeman]

10 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

This measure will start from next month, and up to 1,200 tourists per month will be granted this extended visa.

 

My first questions to these fools would be, 'which airlines are preparing to fly in 40 passengers a day ?' 'and is that 1 airline of 40 passengers a day, or 10 airlines of 4 passengers a day ?'

 

These people are complete clowns

 

[hoopsandyoyo]

...even if I own a condo, am I still required to do the 14-day quarantine in a pre-approved hotel?

[samsensam]

3 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

 

My first questions to these fools would be, 'which airlines are preparing to fly in 40 passengers a day ?' 'and is that 1 airline of 40 passengers a day, or 10 airlines of 4 passengers a day ?'

 

These people are complete clowns

 

 

as i've said before, this has nothing to do with opening up thailand to receive tourists, it's all about domestic politics, the government want to be seen to be doing something, even if it's nonsense that will make, at best, the most minutest difference to the decimated tourism sector.

[nkg]

54 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

as i've said before, this has nothing to do with opening up thailand to receive tourists, it's all about domestic politics, the government want to be seen to be doing something, even if it's nonsense that will make, at best, the most minutest difference to the decimated tourism sector.

 

You underestimate how much the Thai government values the foreign currencies that overseas tourists bring. Their $250 billion foreign exchange reserves prop up the Baht - per capita, Thailand has more foreign exchange reserves than China - the equivalent of $40,000 for every Thai citizen.

 

The Bank of Thailand says:

 

Quote

 

"It’s imperative officials take steps now to re-ignite international tourism and begin repairing the devastated economy.

If foreign travellers still cannot visit the country, this will impact Thailand’s economic growth more severely next year. The government should strike a balance between tourism measures and outbreak containment.”

 

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by nkg

[David Bond]

is there a 250 a month quota for elite visa holders? if true, that crazy with the amount of money that was spent to secure that visa, i have the visa but not affix yet, so this is ridiculous to me, Im beginning to look at other options,

Mexico,, Columbia, the Caribbean , i had enough of this back and forth daily nonsense of opening Thailand.

[HerewardtheWake]

I do not recall seeing anything in this announcement about the Long Term Visa about the $100,000 covid19 insurance. Could anybody please comment?

[Grumpy John]

This is a test.  A dip your toe in the water to see what sort of outcome they get.  Let's face it they don't seem to have a clue about solving the problem.  If this works out in a few months they will double the number of visa's.  ????

[watso63]

6 hours ago, Jim P said:

Why would you be on a pension when under 50 unless you have some sort of disability?

 

I started to receive my military pension aged 40 years old. Not rocket science????

[watso63]

3 hours ago, hoopsandyoyo said:

...even if I own a condo, am I still required to do the 14-day quarantine in a pre-approved hotel?

Could you be trusted to stay inside your room/s? Who would bring you food/water, supplies, take out your rubbish etc? Just a thought!

[spermwhale]

What a joke. What type of "tourist" has 14 days to kill on a vacation? That's a pretty common length of vacation to a place like Thailand anyway. And then what "tourist" plans to stay in a place for nine months? The only people that would up for this is those that want to come and work under the table and avoid doing border runs. 

 

[spermwhale]

7 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

Then thats good, you have made your decision. I don't necessarily disagree with you and applaud your willingness to follow your heart.

I did the same in June. I finally pulled up stakes after 17 years and got out. The visa madness, the pollution, the crazy drivers, the Bangkok gridlock, the wicked humidity and red tape got the best of me. That said, I like the Thai people and have always been treated well there. They are great face to face but not behind the wheel. 

I'm so happy I left, even though I moved to Northern California where we now have wildfires and where COVID is untamed. 

[Ganesh108]

7 hours ago, howerde said:

Well Malaysia  has closed its borders til at least 31 Dec  and no short term visitors allowed into Singapore, so Thailand would be ahead of them in letting tourists in, i also believe that all surrounding countries have closed their borders, so perhaps they are all working together to keep tourists out, does that sound crazy?

I'm well aware of current regulation, otherwise no special appeal would be needed, right? People coming from Thailand would be an extremely low, virtually zero risk.

[bkk_mike]

14 hours ago, MadMac said:

And how do they get in? Flights are banned, remember?

EVA and Thai are both flying once a week flights to/from the UK.

But I think to come in, you need to sign up to go into quarantine for two weeks.

(It was restricted to Thai nationals a few months ago, but I believe foreign spouses are allowed now, etc.)

Edited September 16, 2020 by bkk_mike

[Dart12]

All you need is a private jet or chartered plane as a requirement to be allowed in with this Visa for teh test round.

Dang, I only own a helicopter.

[polpott]

1 hour ago, HerewardtheWake said:

I do not recall seeing anything in this announcement about the Long Term Visa about the $100,000 covid19 insurance. Could anybody please comment?

There's nothing in this announcement. 14 day quarantine? $100,000 Covid insurance? Covid test 72 hours before flying? Entry certificate from Thai embassy? Which countries can participate? Nothing is known.

[polpott]

25 minutes ago, Ganesh108 said:

I'm well aware of current regulation, otherwise no special appeal would be needed, right? People coming from Thailand would be an extremely low, virtually zero risk.

So why are they, unlike some countries, required to undergo 14 day quarantine when entering the UK?

[smudger1951]

14 hours ago, MadMac said:

And how do they get in? Flights are banned, remember?

Exactly, and getting everything up and running again is a huge task for every airline and they need bums on seats. This paltry proposal fails totally. 

[Peterw42]

4 hours ago, AndrewMciver said:

 

NOT A CHANCE IN HELL this will be dropped. The hospitals in Thailand are making a killing (literally) with this insurance policy.

How are Hospitials making money from the insurance ?

[Don Chance]

1 hour ago, spermwhale said:

What a joke. What type of "tourist" has 14 days to kill on a vacation? That's a pretty common length of vacation to a place like Thailand anyway. And then what "tourist" plans to stay in a place for nine months? The only people that would up for this is those that want to come and work under the table and avoid doing border runs. 

 

People who are unemployed may want to come to Thailand and wait it until the economy recovers.

[bwpage3]

11 hours ago, Ganesh108 said:

Not entirely true. I know some very rich Indians who often visit to Phuket. Sometimes by private plane. The 1000+ $ / day for a discreetly located posh villa are nothing for them.  But of course they're a tiny minority.

 

11 hours ago, Ganesh108 said:

Not entirely true. I know some very rich Indians who often visit to Phuket. Sometimes by private plane. The 1000+ $ / day for a discreetly located posh villa are nothing for them.  But of course they're a tiny minority.

Read the word Majority.

[JackThompson]

14 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

If you're over 50, you can put 800k in bank account and apply for retirement extensions, provided you keep that in the bank all the time, or at least most of the time.

If you're married, you can put 400k in the bank account and apply for a marriage extension.

...

If you are a parent of a Thai child, you can apply for extension based on that.

...According to the rules, prove 65K/mo for retirement - 40K/mo if Thai family - is fine.  They even provide an example of showing fewer payments for 1st-time applicants.  But actually doing this is something else - with some income-types "disqualified,"  - and in some offices income not allowed at all.

And then there are the "extra requirements" added specific to each office, which include things which are entirely impossible to obtain - like "Your landlord, who lives overseas, needs to go to a Thai amphoe for .." type requests.  Never mind they are coming to your residence to verify you live there.

 

Quote

 ...

If you have a decent job in Thailand, you can apply for extension based on work permit, ...

Except if they change the rules to add "extra requirements" the week before you apply, then deny allowing further applications, due to your company following covid-specific tax rules and/or requiring remote-work (thus, no "pictures in the office") during the outbreak.

 

Skipped the parts on PR or Citizenship - would take too much explaining - but there are 2 threads on those which are worth reading, if anyone is under the false-impression obtaining those is anything remotely "routine."

Edited September 16, 2020 by JackThompson

[Brickbat]

Money printing business is booming. No real cash is being generated. World wide. 

with a deadly Infectious virus and shut borders, what’s the point?

[JackThompson]

14 hours ago, Matzzon said:

Now I do not get it. Many have been stuck for month on visa amnesty. Why should they let them stay longer first. If just a tourist visa on amnesty, they must be out of money now, and in real need to come home and work again for their next holiday. Everything else regarding people on visa extension I agree about.

Why would they be "out of money"?  Are you familiar with the digital-economy?  One does not need to sit in an office in a specific building, between certain hours, to earn money, any more. 

 

14 hours ago, Zikomat said:

At the same time, being over 50 or married to Thai does not guarantee, in any way, that one is useful for the country.

If married, you are useful to someone - likely supporting a Thai family.  Even those retired are spending foreign-sourced capital here. 

But those not meeting those criteria ALSO spend foreign-capital here (or would be homeless), and should be given an simple and legal way to obtain extensions of stay, at a cost not excessive relative to the cost-of-living in Thailand.

[mtls2005]

56 minutes ago, bkk_mike said:

EVA and Thai are both flying once a week flights to/from the UK.

 

In recent months there have been ~ 25 official repatriation flights (per month, from all over), all with excess capacity. 

 

They have the staff and a process at SBIA/BKK to handle repartiation flights.

 

So my guess is that they'll try to steer STV'ers onto exisiting repatriation flights?

[Greenpeiper]

14 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Thailand does have ways for people to stay here long time.

 

If you're over 50, you can put 800k in bank account and apply for retirement extensions, provided you keep that in the bank all the time, or at least most of the time.

If you're married, you can put 400k in the bank account and apply for a marriage extension. If you are working with work permit on top of that, you can also apply for Thai citizenship.

If you are partner of PR holder, you can apply for extension based on PR holder.

If you are a parent of a Thai child, you can apply for extension based on that.

If you have a decent job in Thailand, you can apply for extension based on work permit, and if you hold same job for 2+ years, apply for PR. And if you keep PR for 5 years, you can apply for Thai citizenship.

And there are more of these, but all of them have something in common: they are for people who bring value to the country and are not a burden to it. Like every other country, Thailand doesn't want people that will be a burden on society.

 

I don't understand why people who are willing to spend nothing and do nothing, and are only sitting and waiting, hoping for a miracle, expect Thai government to do something for them, while at the same time they can't find one good word for this government and keep on spitting on forces in power and repeat how stupid they are?

 

Scrap together whatever is required for extension of stay, or stop complaining and accept you just don't belong here. There are flights out of Thailand every day.

I am on a retirement stamp and have been for 6 years.....I went to the Philippines in Feb to help a friend, who has since passed away, I have now been stuck here for 211 days......why can I not return????????????? Everything I own is in BKK, I was supposed to get married in April now I have no idea when I can get home...I already have a valid visa for Thailand that I have paid for and have all the money in the Bank......Why can I not go home???????