Foreigners stranded in Thailand due to COVID-19 can now stay until end of July

[starky]

17 hours ago, Konini said:

There are 39,000 Australians stranded abroad who want to return but haven't been able to yet, and just under 10,000 of those have been classified by the government as 'vunerable'  (I think that's code for either very ill or without money).  Around 40,000 have been able to return so far and not everybody has been on the list for the full year; people have had to wait until employment contracts or leases have finished because they are being enforced in many countries.  But some have been genuinely trying to get back for a year;  I know two, one who got back in January and one still trying from Thailand, I've lost count of the number of flights he's been bumped from - 7 that I know of and 2 of those not until he'd flown from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and turned up at the check-in desk at the airport before being given the good news.

 

Those numbers do not include people like us who are happy enough to sit it out wherever in the world we may be.  The 39,000 still on the list are people who have contacted the government to tell them they want to go home and are having difficulties doing so.  They really are stranded, and it's down to lack of organisation and will by the federal government.

 

14 days of compulsory quarantine in hotels since March last year and not enough spots in those hotels means airlines have strict limits on how many passengers they can take to Australia each week.  The airlines of course prioritise business class passengers because they aren't making enough money flying in with a handful of passengers due to the quotas in place.  The price of a one way flight London to Australia was $18,000 a couple of weeks ago, the more you pay the more chance you have of not being bumped from your flight, simply being business class doesn't mean you won't get bumped, just that you have less of a chance of being bumped and if you have mum, dad and a couple of kids who have been living abroad for an employment contract that's a fair sized deposit on buying a house (no discounts from the airlines for kids of course) just to get home.  Not many can afford that price, and the government aren't helping with repatriation flights because there is no room in quarantine.  Late last year it was widely reported that people were flying from BKK, KUL and SIN to Dubai and Qatar because they had a better chance of getting onto a flight to Australia (more connections to Aus from the middle east than from Asia).  Taking a six or seven hour flight in the wrong direction just to have a better chance.

 

I can see this from both sides.  I can't wait to get a flight back to UK so we can go and see our parents, and we can literally go out and buy a ticket today and go tomorrow as long as we were prepared to cop the quarantine coming back to Thailand, so no, we're not stranded (or wouldn't be if we wanted to get back) - what's the problem?  However, we migrated to Australia in the 1980s and that's where our business/income/legal affairs are.  While we really could do with going back as we do every year to take care of things, we've got very little chance of getting onto a flight even if we were prepared to pay the extortionate prices.  If our families were in Australia rather than UK and we wanted to get back, then yes, we would be stranded. 

 

We were in Melbourne last March and got back to Thailand a few days before the borders closed.  We knew it was coming and had the choice to stay there; we made the decision to come back and wait it out here because this is where we live now. 

 

Don't know if the Kiwi's have limits on numbers flying in, but getting a flight to Australia certainly isn't as easy as getting one to EU or US.  I really feel for those people who are genuinely stranded.  Their lives are totally upended and in some cases people are living on savings or the goodwill of family and friends to exist day to day.

No there is 39k Australians overseas that don't want to pony up for airfares, sit in quarantine for 2 weeks, pony up for quarantine or a combination of all 3. The vast majority do not want to do quarantine. I personally have travelled to and from Thailand to Australia twice in the last 6 months also been to Malaysia done a tonne of quarantine but never had one flight cancelled nor have I been bumped or had any other difficulties regarding travel. So I take the idea that all these people are legitimately "stranded" with a rather large grain of salt. Particularly in regards to SEA.  Cheers.

Edited March 31, 2021 by starky

[starky]

20 hours ago, dogfish180 said:

Nobody is "Stranded". Plenty of flights in and out of Thailand. I live in Thailand and work overseas. Have been flying out to work and back over the past 2 years (given with ASQ). These people are staying by choice, because they don't want to go home. Thai immigration are letting them because it's convenient.

100% mate I've been doing the same. Most people for some reason can't deal with sitting with their own company for 2 weeks apparently.  Mostly alcoholics and smokers I guess.

[Fex Bluse]

2 hours ago, starky said:

Yes letting people extend their visas instead of deporting them for overstay which they are well in their rights to do and then allowing those extensions to roll over multiple times allowing people to stay here legally and officially.  Terribly small minded.

Sigh. Many countries had long ago indefinitely paused any sort of scheduled visa process, acknowledging that the world is in chaos. 

 

Your comment demonstrates your lack of travel and living outside Thailand. 

 

Compassionate countries are not forcing law abiding guests to worry every few months over where they will go as the world plunges into wave after wave of the pandemic. 

[Wongkitlo]

3 hours ago, starky said:

No there is 39k Australians overseas that don't want to pony up for airfares, sit in quarantine for 2 weeks, pony up for quarantine or a combination of all 3. The vast majority do not want to do quarantine. I personally have travelled to and from Thailand to Australia twice in the last 6 months also been to Malaysia done a tonne of quarantine but never had one flight cancelled nor have I been bumped or had any other difficulties regarding travel. So I take the idea that all these people are legitimately "stranded" with a rather large grain of salt. Particularly in regards to SEA.  Cheers.

You are assuming that everyone has the money. It must be nice for you to gloat that you can afford to travel at whim and do not need to care about money. I have a friend who is very wealthy and boasts about his wealth all the time. He is one of the unhappiest people I know.

[starky]

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

Sigh. Many countries had long ago indefinitely paused any sort of scheduled visa process, acknowledging that the world is in chaos. 

 

Your comment demonstrates your lack of travel and living outside Thailand. 

 

Compassionate countries are not forcing law abiding guests to worry every few months over where they will go as the world plunges into wave after wave of the pandemic. 

Sigh ...been in and out of Thailand 2 times in the last 6 months also made a trip to Malaysia.  So sigh dont assume to know about my travel in and out of Thailand. I think reviewing visas every few months is a reasonable idea and really countries should be forced to repatriate their own citizens. Why should Thailand be responsible for the failings of other countries poor covid response.

 Would you just like a forever visa so you can stay in Thailand indefinitely so wherever your home country is ready to let you return home. Sigh.

  I have no problem with people waiting it out in Thailand far from it. So realistically you would rather enjoy living high on the hog with no oversight in Thailand whilst wherever you come from is consumed in wave after wave of covid right?

[aboctok]

17 hours ago, Konini said:

Try to book a flight to Australia.  If you can afford it - I saw a one way ticket for $11,000 earlier this year. 

 

But wait; there's more!  There is a quota system with limited spots in compulsory 14 day hotel quarantine, only a couple of thousand people a week are being accepted.  39,000 stranded.  Really stranded.  Official government figures, so it's probably more.  39,000 people have registered with the government to say they want to go home but can't.  Can't get a flight because airlines can only take a couple of thousand people a week.  This will all change now because there's currently a cluster in Queensland and anyone crossing state borders from there will have to go into quarantine hotels, meaning people who are booked to fly in from overseas will be bumped because the quota for airlines will go down to compensate for the Queenslanders travelling interstate.

 

Not everywhere is Kansas.  Anyone can jump on a plane and go to their home country unless they are Australian, don't think any other country in the world is doing it so strictly.  These people really are stranded.  Retirees, probably not, but how many working people - engineers, educators, scientists, health professionals etc were living and working abroad, some with families accompanying them, all caught out and unable to get home because the government is not  organised enough to have sufficient quarantine places available for those wanting to go home. 

 

There are 39,000 people officially stranded.  If their employment contract finished in whatever country they are in, they will be out of work and not earning any money - overseas governments are not giving welfare benefits to non-citizens (Australia isn't either, there are some heartbreaking stories from people trying to survive) but at least their work visas have been extended IF they are able to find work.  All countries are extending their visas to stay, but I don't think many are extending working visas. 

 

I really don't know how those people are coping.

 

 

Lol, I advise less vast writing, and more close reading.

[starky]

19 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

You are assuming that everyone has the money. It must be nice for you to gloat that you can afford to travel at whim and do not need to care about money. I have a friend who is very wealthy and boasts about his wealth all the time. He is one of the unhappiest people I know.

How am I gloating if you want to stay in Thailand fine but don't say it's because your "stranded" . Just call it for what it is. It's cheaper for you to stay here than return to your home country. Flights multiple times a week Bangkok to Brisbane and other places on the East Coast. Perth is another matter but you certainly get to Australia from Thailand. 

Edited April 1, 2021 by starky

[starky]

17 hours ago, Konini said:

Try to book a flight to Australia.  If you can afford it - I saw a one way ticket for $11,000 earlier this year. 

 

But wait; there's more!  There is a quota system with limited spots in compulsory 14 day hotel quarantine, only a couple of thousand people a week are being accepted.  39,000 stranded.  Really stranded.  Official government figures, so it's probably more.  39,000 people have registered with the government to say they want to go home but can't.  Can't get a flight because airlines can only take a couple of thousand people a week.  This will all change now because there's currently a cluster in Queensland and anyone crossing state borders from there will have to go into quarantine hotels, meaning people who are booked to fly in from overseas will be bumped because the quota for airlines will go down to compensate for the Queenslanders travelling interstate.

 

Not everywhere is Kansas.  Anyone can jump on a plane and go to their home country unless they are Australian, don't think any other country in the world is doing it so strictly.  These people really are stranded.  Retirees, probably not, but how many working people - engineers, educators, scientists, health professionals etc were living and working abroad, some with families accompanying them, all caught out and unable to get home because the government is not  organised enough to have sufficient quarantine places available for those wanting to go home. 

 

There are 39,000 people officially stranded.  If their employment contract finished in whatever country they are in, they will be out of work and not earning any money - overseas governments are not giving welfare benefits to non-citizens (Australia isn't either, there are some heartbreaking stories from people trying to survive) but at least their work visas have been extended IF they are able to find work.  All countries are extending their visas to stay, but I don't think many are extending working visas. 

 

I really don't know how those people are coping.

 

 

11000 from where to where . And have you looked recentlyor are you running off those figures still...cmon mate I just flew from Bkk to Brisbane direct for 2700 business class. There were also plenty of people in Economy 80 people on my flight 5 times a week apparently.  I don't live in Brisbane but I wanted to get back to Oz booked the flight 3 days before I flew got a covid test boarded flew to Australia.  Don't guild the lilly too much. You also might want to check some of your figures. I do believe there are some people over seas especially from Australia in legitimate dire circumstances. I reckon the vast majority aren't. And the responsibility for that falls solely on a pathetic Australian government basically happy to palm their residents off to the rest of the world. Absolute disgrace.

Edited April 1, 2021 by starky

[Wongkitlo]

12 minutes ago, starky said:

How am I gloating of you want to stay in Thailand fine but don't say it's because your "stranded" . Flights multiple times a week Bangkok to Brisbane 

You say yourself in your next post you paid  $2700 plus $3000 quarantine  plus other trips and you assume everyone can pay it. That is why younger generations dislike the baby boomers. They have taken all they can get and then gloat that people do not have the same financial  resources that they have.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Wongkitlo
Edit

[starky]

15 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

You say yourself in your next post you paid  $2700 plus $3000 quarantine  plus other trips and you assume everyone can pay it. That is why younger generations dislike the baby boomers. They have taken all they can get and then gloat that people do not have the same financial  resources that they have.

Bwahahaha righto mate.  Im only in my forties. How's that fit in with your skewed world view? Did you miss the part where I said plenty of economy seats and 5 times a week or do you just like to pick the bits that fit your narrative?  And how have you managed to survive in Thailand for the last year?  spent more than it would of cost you to get home yet? 

I could probably mention that younger generations are entitled sooks with no drive that's why they have nothing but that would be redundant 

Edited April 1, 2021 by starky

[Wongkitlo]

9 minutes ago, starky said:

Bwahahaha righto mate.  Im only in my forties. How's that fit in with your skewed world view?  And how have you managed to survive in Thailand for the last year spent? more than it would of cost you to get home yet? 

I could probably mention that younger generations are entitled sooks with no drive that's why they have nothing but that would be redundant 

And you use a word like " Pony up ", "gild the lily"? Did your grandfather teach them to you? I obviously had a business which has closed due to Covid which meant I could not leave straight away.  I was surprised when you said BKK to Brisbane 5 times a week. Strange that Brisbane arrivals have a departure list covering 4 days with no arrivals from Bangkok. According to you 160 people should have arrived in That time.

[AlfHuy]

On 3/31/2021 at 9:56 AM, hotchilli said:

Should keep a lot of people happy.

Call it "happy ending".

[starky]

15 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

And you use a word like " Pony up ", "gild the lily"? Did your grandfather teach them to you? I obviously had a business which has closed due to Covid which meant I could not leave straight away.  I was surprised when you said BKK to Brisbane 5 times a week. Strange that Brisbane arrivals have a departure list covering 4 days with no arrivals from Bangkok. According to you 160 people should have arrived in That time.

Jeez how did I get here then? Bit dirty on the world aren't ya champ lol. Also genius you have to swap planes in Singapore so maybe wanna go back and check ya list again.

  Here's a few flights from BKK to Brissy over the coming months ring Singapore Airlines mate see how ya go. Use a bit of initiative.  Those green ones are confirmed . Now how many a week do you see there? Oh and they are return prices in case ya wanna come back and get "stranded" again ????

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by starky

[AlfHuy]

22 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

The clue to that answer is in the story title isn't it - Foreigners 'stranded'

For this they created the "sandbox".

 

[Wongkitlo]

6 minutes ago, starky said:

Jeez how did I get here then? Bit dirty on the world aren't ya champ lol.

  Here's a few flights from BKK to Brissy over the coming weeks ring Singapore Airlines mate see how ya go. Use a bit of initiative.  Those green ones are confirmed . Now how many a week do you see there? Oh and they are return prices in case ya wanna come back and get "stranded" again ????

 

It is pretty common that if you book one of the cheaper flights they will just cancel it and you need to go through a process to get your money back. Unless you do what you did and paid for business class your chances are limited. It is safer just waiting for the embassy flight.

[starky]

5 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

It is pretty common that if you book one of the cheaper flights they will just cancel it and you need to go through a process to get your money back. Unless you do what you did and paid for business class your chances are limited. It is safer just waiting for the embassy flight.

Mate tell me what you want . I'm telling ya as myself and others have done there are flights available multiple times a week from BKK to Brissy. Not just all business and as I said near 80 people on my flight mostly not business class. Prices jumped up due to the Brisbane outbreak in the last few days but previous to that have been fairly steady.  Have no drama with anyone riding it out in Thailand. I'll be back again in August but saying you are stranded now at this time? Sorry it's just not true. 6 - 8 months ago sure.

[Wongkitlo]

1 minute ago, starky said:

Mate tell me what you want . I'm telling ya as myself and others have done there are flights available multiple times a week from BKK to Brissy. Not just all business and as I said near 80 people on my flight mostly not business class. Prices jumped up due to the Brisbane outbreak in the last few days but previous to that have been fairly steady.  Have no drama with anyone riding it out in Thailand. I'll be back again in August but saying you are stranded now at this time? Sorry it's just not true. 6 - 8 months ago sure.

I just don't believe what you are claiming. You are saying 5 flights of 80 people fly into Brisbane from Bangkok  each week. That is 400 people per week. Queensland have a cap of 1000 arrivals per week. You are inferring  that 40 % of international arrivals each week in Thailand come from Bangkok? I have been naturally following the situation online and there are countless reports of airlines selling seats that just are not going to fly. You get cancelled and then need to fight for a refund. I am already owed for 1 cancellation and don't want another useless voucher. Sure if you can afford to buy a business class seat as you did, you will have a higher chance of flying but buying a $1200 economy seat is risking a fight to get your money back. Airlines are businesses. They will prioritize those who pay more.

[n00dle]

On 3/31/2021 at 8:47 AM, nickmondo said:

how can anyone still be stuck here in Thailand?

they are here because they want to be, and they are testing the system to see how long they can stay here.

i hope they are being charged a good amount for this privilege

 

The answer to that is pretty clear. 1900 baht for 2 months.

 

Let me know if you have any further reading comprehension issues you need help with.

[n00dle]

2 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

Sigh. Many countries had long ago indefinitely paused any sort of scheduled visa process, acknowledging that the world is in chaos. 

 

Your comment demonstrates your lack of travel and living outside Thailand. 

 

Compassionate countries are not forcing law abiding guests to worry every few months over where they will go as the world plunges into wave after wave of the pandemic. 

Who is worrying, the precedent has been set. The requirements are clear. 

[starky]

9 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

I just don't believe what you are claiming. You are saying 5 flights of 80 people fly into Brisbane from Bangkok  each week. That is 400 people per week. Queensland have a cap of 1000 arrivals per week. You are inferring  that 40 % of international arrivals each week in Thailand come from Bangkok? I have been naturally following the situation online and there are countless reports of airlines selling seats that just are not going to fly. You get cancelled and then need to fight for a refund. I am already owed for 1 cancellation and don't want another useless voucher. Sure if you can afford to buy a business class seat as you did, you will have a higher chance of flying but buying a $1200 economy seat is risking a fight to get your money back. Airlines are businesses. They will prioritize those who pay more.

Mate I wish you all the best in getting home and sorry to hear about your business .  Bit over you telling me I dont know what im talking about but hey whatever. I am only telling you my personal experience in something I have done more than once and the prices and numbers of people I encountered doing it.  I know last year in July 10 000 international arrivals to Brisbane and last month 5700 arrived in Brisbane so again I think your out on your numbers. I wouldn't be surprised if a fair proportion of arrivals were coming from Asia but I can't confirm or deny either way. I prefer to stick to things I know to be true. I would suggest abs.gov.au for a more accurate description of arrivals.  Cheers.

Edited April 1, 2021 by starky

[Wongkitlo]

9 minutes ago, starky said:

I am only telling you my personal experience in something I have done more than once and the prices and numbers of people I encountered doing it. 

Really. I thought you were saying that 'there is 39k Australians overseas that don't want to pony up for airfares, sit in quarantine for 2 weeks, pony up for quarantine or a combination of all 3. ' but after all that you were just telling us about your flight back to Brisbane. I am sorry if you are 'a bit over you  telling me that I don't know about...' but if you are going to simplify people's problems to your own experiences  and try to make totally unfeasible  claims like 80 people fly into Brisbane , 5 days a week from Bangkok you can't really expect people to just take what you say as the truth.

[starky]

24 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

Really. I thought you were saying that 'there is 39k Australians overseas that don't want to pony up for airfares, sit in quarantine for 2 weeks, pony up for quarantine or a combination of all 3. ' but after all that you were just telling us about your flight back to Brisbane. I am sorry if you are 'a bit over you  telling me that I don't know about...' but if you are going to simplify people's problems to your own experiences  and try to make totally unfeasible  claims like 80 people fly into Brisbane , 5 days a week from Bangkok you can't really expect people to just take what you say as the truth.

5700 into Brisbane alone isn't 1000 a week is it mate and if your waiting for Australia to return to any sort of normality before you return you'll be there for years. I was in the plane you weren't so it's not unfeasible to me. And yes I don't believe there are 39000  people stranded overseas at all. I attempted to be civil but your a punish. See ya. 

  You follow it closely and your all over the numbers eh? 1000 a week my <deleted>.  March figures will be realesed soon by the ABS so I'll make sure to give ya an update.  How long to get the 39k "stranded" home when they bringing in over 25000 a month?

Edited April 1, 2021 by starky

[Wongkitlo]

15 minutes ago, starky said:

5700 into Brisbane alone isn't 1000 a week is it mate and if your waiting for Australia to return to any sort of normality before you return you'll be there for years. I was in the plane you weren't so it's not unfeasible to me. And yes I don't believe there are 39000  people stranded overseas at all. I attempted to be civil but your a punish. See ya. 

  You follow it closely and your all over the numbers eh? 1000 a week my <deleted>.  March figures will be realesed soon by the ABS so I'll make sure to give ya an update. 

I am sorry if you are getting frustrated. If you will post something that seems far different from people's experiences you must expect replies questioning your opinion. If you can afford the money for business class  great for you but not everyone can. I read a message from an elderly gentleman  last week who had finally been accepted for the $1100 embassy flight after trying since Xmas.  Even if it was 5600 arriving at Brisbane  in 28 days it is still impossible to believe. You are still claiming that  28% percent of all international  arrivals to Brisbane in February are coming from BKK. I know it is April Fools day but I thought you are being serious.

 

[Konini]

1 hour ago, starky said:

 

 

I'm not sure what figures these are, but Victoria hasn't had any international arrivals (apart from crew on cargo flights) since the little oopsie on Feb 5th.  They will resume next week.  800/week to start then back up to 1,100/week.  From memory QLD are capped at 500 per week at the moment, NSW 1,500 and a few hundred in WA and SA.  Flight crews have to go into the hotels too, so there's a lot of the spaces taken before you start with passengers.  I can't be bothered looking for numbers of completed quarantines, you have your mind made up.

 

Pretty lucky that you got to Thailand though.  Twice.  Written permission from Border Control before you're allowed to leave the country, and they weren't letting people leave to visit dying parents or attend their funerals last year, I think they eased up on it a bit now because of the outcry, but going on your jollies isn't a permitted reason to leave Australia at the moment. 

 

I'm really not sure I'd boast about it though.  A second hand story here, I don't know this person.  A relative of a close friend stuck in UK tried to get back for his terminally ill father's last weeks towards the end of August last year.  NBG.  He stayed on the list trying to get back for the funeral.  NBG.  He's still on the list trying to get back just to be  with his mum.   He lives and works in UK, just wanted to see his dad before he died then back to UK, now just want to give his mum a big hug and back to UK.  But he couldn't, because all the flights he booked were cancelled or he was bumped (still trying to get refunds for some of the flights by the way; fortunately he is in a position where he could keep putting flights on his credit card without worrying about when he'll get refunded so he has enough money to book another, and after the first couple of failures he's been booking business class direct with airlines not from agents).  He was cancelled and bumped because the airlines couldn't take him.  The airlines couldn't take him because there were no places in quarantine.  You seem to have had two places he could have had.

[NanLaew]

On 3/30/2021 at 9:43 PM, JeffersLos said:

That's pretty stressful and cr@ppy for those genuinely relying on them.

 

What? More stressful than not getting any consideration at all and having to leave in a hurry before getting rounded up for detention and deportation?

[SouthernMan3]

On 3/31/2021 at 7:31 AM, Enzian said:

I'm not "stranded" in Thailand, it's just that my home state of CA still has almost 200 new dead every day and I'm over 80. Same with my favorite place, Italy; getting worse not better there.

Greetings from another elderly Californian.   

I am the same.

Not stranded at all.

That said, I live here most of the year(I am all good visa wise) and if I go to California now I not only face the Covid epidemic but I don't know at this point when I would be able to return to my family here.

The situation is still so fluid.

And with the problems next door it just adds another layer of uncertainly.

 

Here's the BIG question: When and where will vaccines be available for us X pats here ???

[kiwikeith]

On 3/31/2021 at 8:56 AM, Soikhaonoiken said:

I wouldn't have thought many Farang are still stranded in Thailand, would have thought most Countries in the world operated a repatriation for there citizens, or allowed flights to enter over the last 12 months.. 

There is probably a lot of people up to no good still in los who will be wellcoming this 

[Wongkitlo]

21 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

There is probably a lot of people up to no good still in los who will be wellcoming this 

What kind of ' no good are they up to.?

Edited April 1, 2021 by Wongkitlo
Edit

[kiwikeith]

34 minutes ago, SouthernMan3 said:

Greetings from another elderly Californian.   

I am the same.

Not stranded at all.

That said, I live here most of the year(I am all good visa wise) and if I go to California now I not only face the Covid epidemic but I don't know at this point when I would be able to return to my family here.

The situation is still so fluid.

And with the problems next door it just adds another layer of uncertainly.

 

Here's the BIG question: When and where will vaccines be available for us X pats here ???

Whatever you decide do not get the Astra shot, Germany has suspended it for people 60 yrs plus. The Pfizer one is being used in NZ at the moment and seems to be OK with elderly. 

[dogfish180]

On 3/31/2021 at 10:36 AM, Wongkitlo said:

You tried to go to Australia lately?

https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/travel-restrictions

 

As I said, nobody is "stranded"