Re-Entry to Thailand - A beaurocratic nightmare

[stuandjulie]

1 hour ago, Jen65 said:

my HOME country is Thailand and has been for 10years !!!   There would not be any record of me living there now !!!  That would be pointless and impossible .

Yes, The O-A visa applied for in ones home country BEFORE coming to live in Thailand is quite appropriate such that the Thai authorities then know if anyone wanting to enter the country has a criminal record .    I don't see how the logic of applying for that now in the country one lived in before residing in Thailand , especially after 10 years living here !!! 

 

Anyway , if you read the requirement , it says it can be from your country of "residence"  ie here !!! 

I am afraid Thailand is not your Home Country no matter how you regard it.

 

[impulse]

1 hour ago, Jen65 said:

Well, the Thai Embassy / Consul in Lisbon have said they can issue me a new O-A visa and have already sent them copy of my Passport and current visa / re-entry permit !!!   Check the email from them which I posted here 

 

Keep in mind that the visa is just one in a list of items you'll need to actually board a flight- some of which will be required to get the O-A visa. 

 

Like health insurance (not sure with an O-A?), $100K of Covid insurance, a COE, confirmed lodging for 15 nights in an ASQ, and a plane ticket on an authorized flight.

 

Best of luck...  Post back with your results.  Your experience may be helpful to others in the same situation- needing to leave Thailand and wanting to return pretty quickly.

 

[crazykopite]

15 hours ago, baansgr said:

Are they not allowing property owners or those with long term rental contracts entry? Sure I read that a few days ago.

Yes but you have to show 3 million baht in a Thai bank and the equivalent of 500,000 baht in a bank in your own country so I can’t see many condo owners returning the whole thing is an absolute Shambles .my wife has been stuck in the UK since the pandemic she had a retirement visa and a re entry but could not get back into Thailand .

[UncleMhee]

Jen65, I see to date you don't seem to have been informed of the health insurance component of new OA visas which came into effect on 31 October 2019. Note: This insurance is totally separate to the Covid insurance and must be purchased from: https://longstay.tgia.org/

LMG is the best value with 200,000 baht deductible considering it's basically a throw away just to meet immigration requirements. Good luck.....

[Jen65]

6 hours ago, UncleMhee said:

Jen65, I see to date you don't seem to have been informed of the health insurance component of new OA visas which came into effect on 31 October 2019. Note: This insurance is totally separate to the Covid insurance and must be purchased from: https://longstay.tgia.org/

LMG is the best value with 200,000 baht deductible considering it's basically a throw away just to meet immigration requirements. Good luck.....

Thanks for that , but I already maintain the required Medical Insurance Policy with Pacific Cross - which complies with requirement for application of )-A visa .   

 

Here is the latest update.   I would not advise anyone to believe what Chonburi Immigration tell you about returning to Thailand as a Retiree with extension of stay .

Quote! 

Dear  <redacted>,

 

Please note that there are a number of holders of re-entry permit of Non-Immigrant O Retirement who were denied entry to

the Kingdom upon their arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

 

We have been informed of the clear instruction from Bangkok that we can only issue the certificate of entry to the holders of Non-Immigrant O-A 

and O-X Long Stay Visa  or the holders of re-entry permit of these types of Visa.  

 

Non-Immigrant O-A and O-X Long Stay Visa can only issued by the Thai Embassies and Consulates worldwide.

 

The Royal Embassy in Lisbon needs to clarify with the  Immigration Office in Chonburi in this regard.

 

Kind regards,

 

<redacted>

 

Consular Section

Royal Thai Embassy 

Rua de Alcolena 12, Restelo 

1400-005 

Lisboa, Portugal 

 

Quote!

Dear <redacted>,

 

I have just talked to an immigration official at the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok and was confirmed that 

only the holders of Non Immigration O-A and O-X visa or re-entry permits of these O-A and O-X types

will be allowed to enter Thailand. The Embassy cannot issue the certificate of entry by assuming that both 

Non O Retirement and Non OA are the same types of visa. 

 

I would not mind calling the Chonburi Immigration Office early in the morning. Please give me the contact details.

 

Kind regards,

 

<redacted>

 

Consular Section

Royal Thai Embassy 

Rua de Alcolena 12, Restelo 

1400-005 

Lisboa, Portugal 

[HashBrownHarry]

15 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

There is a virtual certainty that if you fly out you will not be retuning 3 weeks later, possibly up to 3 months. 

 

The CoE alone takes a couple of weeks, that is if the embassy will accept your application, getting on a repatriation flight is also difficult, that is all subject to your getting an ASQ booking that will probably require a non refundable payment, probably of the full cost. All of that is dependant on not getting infected on your trip.
 

So unless you are significantly wealthy, are backed by a very large multi national or have high political connections you plan is unlikely to be successful.
 

You should do everything in your power to avoid the trip.

CoE only takes a couple of days once you have flight booking and hotel booking ( and visa ).

 

I know several people ( Thais and expats ) that have used various embassies over the world, all the same.

 

It does not take weeks to get CoE, this is incorrect.

[Peter Denis]

12 hours ago, Jen65 said:

Thai Consul in Lisbon has offered to give me new O-A visa ( I have posted copy of their email on here) but the business of having to have my existing visa / extension cancelled is another matter !!!  No mention of that by anybody !  I just paid 1000 baht for a re-entry stamp and looks like that was for nothing !

Unfortunately, the Re-Entry Permit you bought to keep the permission to stay from your Non Imm O retirement extension is not only useless but it might even be a burden.

1 - It is useless because when not married to a Thai national, the COE will currently not be provided when applying with a permission to stay based on a Non Imm O Visa.

2 - It MIGHT even be a burden, because some Embassies/Consulates do not allow you to apply for a Non Imm O-A Visa (or any other Visa) when the permission to stay of your current Non Imm O Visa is still valid.  Leaving Thailand without a Re-Entry Permit would void the current permission to stay, but the Re-Entry Permit now 'protects' that permission to stay. 

Hopefully the LIssabon Embassy is willing to provide you with the Non Imm O-A Visa even with that protected and still valid permission to stay.

3 - In order to apply for the Non Imm O-A Visa at the Lissabon Embassy you need to be a portuguese citizen or resident.  Non Imm O-A Visa are only issued in your home-country or country of permanent residence (your passport will be tell-tale of your nationality).

[treetops]

13 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

As the CAAT has not lifted the ban on regular passenger flights to Thailand the need for a designated “repatriation” flight is there.

That is incorrect - there are now at least 12 airlines with permission to bring in passengers on commercial flights providing they supply the COE etc.  Not all are doing so last I looked, but Emirates for example have been doing it since around the beginning of last month.  There are reports on here of their successful use.

 

From the Thai Royal Consulate in Dubai's website:

[Marvo]

The OP seems to be obsessing about an O visa.

I thought the only way to get into Thailand at the moment was if you're married to a Thai, or possess a work permit.

Nothing to do with what category visa you possess.

Anybody know different?

[Peter Denis]

16 minutes ago, Marvo said:

The OP seems to be obsessing about an O visa.

I thought the only way to get into Thailand at the moment was if you're married to a Thai, or possess a work permit.

Nothing to do with what category visa you possess.

Anybody know different?

No need to be married to a thai national > when you meet the requirements you can apply for the COE when on a Non Imm O-A, Non Imm O-X or STV

[Pib]

The OP simply needs to comply with the requirements to get a Non OA visa with police clearance from his home country (not Thailand)....and then once he gets a new Non OA he can start the COE process. 

 

But as already mentioned by others his reentry permit may be a major obstacle as the Lisbon Thai Embassy may reject his Non-OA application since he still has a valid Non O visa which was kept alive when he departed Thailand due to having a reentry permit.

 

The OP needs to confirm with the Lisbon embassy that they will issue a Non OA since he will still have a valid Non O visa.   If they will not, it seems he will need to get his reentry permit cancelled so when he does depart Thailand without a reentry permit that will kill/cancel his Non O.

 

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

But as already mentioned by others his reentry permit may be a major obstacle as the Lisbon Thai Embassy may reject his Non-OA application since he still has a valid Non O visa which was kept alive when he departed Thailand due to having a reentry permit.

IMO that would only be an excuse not to issue the OA visa. There is no rule about issuing a visa when a person has a re-entry permit for a extension of stay (it is not a valid non-o visa) since it is not a visa of any kind.

[Peterphuket]

13 hours ago, stuandjulie said:

I am afraid Thailand is not your Home Country no matter how you regard it.

 

Yes indeed, when you can say it is my "home country" even you'll live here for 50 years, if you not born here or don't have a Thai passport, it is NOT your home country.

[Burma Bill]

19 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Thai bureaucracy is world class,

Yes indeed, and, after 20 years in Thailand, the main reason for leaving and continuing my retirement in neighboring Cambodia.

[Thingamabob]

Best not to leave Thailand if you can possibly avoid doing so. If your journey is a necessity I fear it may be several months before you are able to return.

[jomtienisgood]

19 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The police clearance has to be done in your home country to apply for a OA visa. You are not a legal resident of Thailand.

Correct, only for PR application you need Criminal record from home country and Th. ( SID )

[Pattaya Spotter]

If you leave Thailand, you won't be back for months (if you're lucky). Leave at your own peril. 

[LivinLOS]

17 hours ago, Jen65 said:

my HOME country is Thailand and has been for 10years !!!   There would not be any record of me living there now !!!  That would be pointless and impossible .

Yes, The O-A visa applied for in ones home country BEFORE coming to live in Thailand is quite appropriate such that the Thai authorities then know if anyone wanting to enter the country has a criminal record .    I don't see how the logic of applying for that now in the country one lived in before residing in Thailand , especially after 10 years living here !!! 

 

Anyway , if you read the requirement , it says it can be from your country of "residence"  ie here !!! 

non immigrant is not residence, especially in Thai mindset, your merely a visitor, like most of us. 

[DrTuner]

32 minutes ago, LivinLOS said:

non immigrant is not residence, especially in Thai mindset, your merely a visitor, like most of us. 

Sort of highlights the problems. Thais allow you to be present while hanging on a loose noose, whereas the country of your origin considers you a lost cause. The possibility to chainlink temporary permissions to stay is creating problems.

 

Even the "6" in the pink ID says it: illegals and other temps.

[Kinnock]

20 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The police clearance has to be done in your home country to apply for a OA visa. You are not a legal resident of Thailand.

Yes.  Had to do this to set up a business - different reason but same process- there's a simple website form to get it done in UK.  But I also had to do it in Thailand and went to the Police HQ in Chidlom, they took fingerprints and passport copy, then sent confirmation that I was not a criminal mastermind a week later.  Smooth and simple process.

 

BUT ..... I used an agent to set it up.  They need some incentive to do it, or you will get sent in endless circles.  A Falang just turning up and expecting people to do their job is not going to work.

[Max69xl]

Just now, Kinnock said:

Yes.  Had to do this to set up a business - different reason but same process- there's a simple website form to get it done in UK.  But I also had to do it in Thailand and went to the Police HQ in Chidlom, they took fingerprints and passport copy, then sent confirmation that I was not a criminal mastermind a week later.  Smooth and simple process.

 

BUT ..... I used an agent to set it up.  They need some incentive to do it, or you will get sent in endless circles.  A Falang just turning up and expecting people to do their job is not going to work.

There are loads of people who have done it without an agent. 

[KhaoYai]

21 hours ago, Max69xl said:

There are several airlines flying from Europe to BKK at the moment,and she is not actually a repat. Several ASQ-hotels are ok with changing the check-in date free of charge. I don't know how you define "significantly wealthy", but you don't have to pick the most expensive hotel and airline

That may be so but a COE still has to be obtained, you can't just book a flight and an ASQ hotel and travel. Some embassies take several weeks to process a COE.

[ubonjoe]

25 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

That may be so but a COE still has to be obtained, you can't just book a flight and an ASQ hotel and travel. Some embassies take several weeks to process a COE.

It depends upon the availability of flights now. The delays before were for getting a repatriation flight reservation.

Now the are a few airlines that are allowed to board passengers to here with a certificate of entry and etc.

[malthebluff]

You do the police check from your own country just fill the form in on line and pay they will email you back with results think the company is called acro 

[Maestro]

I removed some off-topic posts and topics with wrong information and the replies to them.

 

The OP is applying for a non-O/A visa in Portugal. Please stop posting the requirements of Thai embassies in other countries.

[LivinLOS]

6 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Sort of highlights the problems. Thais allow you to be present while hanging on a loose noose, whereas the country of your origin considers you a lost cause. The possibility to chainlink temporary permissions to stay is creating problems.

 

Even the "6" in the pink ID says it: illegals and other temps.

Yes the inability for people to comply with a clear system of naturalization, one that only accepts people working in Thailand and doesnt even allow people to voluntarily declare tax for years, to get on the ladder fundamentally unfair. 

We offer Thais the ability to naturalize in our countries, often very easily and swiftly, with all the economic advantages, pensions, etc that this brings and none of which really exist to Thailand, all it would do is allow people rights of equal treatment yet even that is considered too generous. 

[Hoppyone]

On 10/14/2020 at 4:57 PM, Starmocihc said:

If you exit, most likely you're not getting back in without proof of marriage and the ensuing process. 

If I was you I’d be staying put,unless you happy about going through the nightmare that will be in front of you

[Andrew Dwyer]

While this might seem a little late I don’t believe it has been clarified .

Is the OP Portuguese or a resident of Portugal ??@Jen65 .

[Jen65]

3 hours ago, malthebluff said:

You do the police check from your own country just fill the form in on line and pay they will email you back with results think the company is called acro 

yes, someone gratefully advised this before you ACROS .   I have all the information compiled and just about to send it .   Pay 95pds and get it in 4 working days !! All done on the internet - brilliant !

[Jen65]

Still not sure about what to do with my current Re-Entry permit ????  Do I get it cancelled ?? ( Last chance tomorrow at Chonburi Immigration unless I can cancel it at airport ?)

Then I have to get a new O-A visa for certain to be able to come back .    If I waited outside for a while ( maybe not so long !) the Government may decide to let O visa holders /retirees back in ???  It would be great if Thai Visa rallies around the many of us in same situation and puts pressure to bear on the relevant authorities .  At the end of the day it is the Government that instructs the Immigration on what they can and can't do !!!