Can a local agent do my non-O renewal while I am in quarantine?

[DonsMom]

 

I am flying to the US next week specifically to get my J&J shot, returning 10 days before my one-year non-O expires. 7-day quarantine worked into this schedule just fine, but 14 days clearly doesn’t. I can’t return earlier because of the 14-day “maturation” period for the vaccination.

 

Today at CW, I was told I can renew TODAY (the magic calendar on her desk told her so). I wasn’t prepared, and banks are closed for the holidays.

 

Knowing nothing about quarantine, I wonder if I can hire a local agent and pass documents to him/her – passport, financials, etc. – while I am in quarantine? If I need to sign bank docs, can the agent take care of the back and forth?

 

I think my only other option is to enter after my visa expires on a tourist 30 day, then start my non-O process all over again.

[ubonjoe]

Bank branches at malls, shopping centers and etc were open today and will be open tomorrow. You still have time to get your extension done this week.

You could have somebody do the extension for you while in quarantine. The biggest obstacle might be getting the bank letter and etc.

[DonsMom]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Bank branches at malls, shopping centers and etc were open today and will be open tomorrow.

So I thought, too. BKK Bank branch at CW was closed, as were other branches including Ekkamai commercial bank and Silom head office. Other banks seemed mostly to be open.

Can agent and I pass documents to each other through the hotel "quarantine" wall?

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, DonsMom said:

Can agent and I pass documents to each other through the hotel "quarantine" wall?

You could leave them for the agent to pick up at the reception desk or he could leave them for you.

[Kiujunn]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

You could leave them for the agent to pick up at the reception desk or he could leave them for you.

I have heard of ASQ hotels that won't let you give your passport to the agent, it might be infectious. Nothing allowed to come out of the ASQ room.

[Caldera]

It would be best to renew it this week while you're still here. 

[BritTim]

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You could leave them for the agent to pick up at the reception desk or he could leave them for you.

 

It might be possible to bribe hotel staff to act as a conduit with an outside agent, but I do not think, in general, asking staff to come to your room in PPE, disinfect whatever you are leaving at reception, and arranging for an outside individual to get past security to to pick up something from ASQ reception is a service that is provided.

[Tanoshi]

This is a no brainer.

Obtain your extension this week and a single re-entry permit.

You then don't have to worry about a possible delay in the US or the length of quarantine on return. 

[ThaiVisaCentre]

We have been able to coordinate this with most ASQ hotels, but this could be because we also run the ASQ.in.th booking platform, and have existing established relationships with almost all of the ASQ hotels while following all additional COVID-19 protocols.

When we first started this was quite difficult, and ability to pickup documents varied hotel by hotel. So you should ask the hotel first if they allow this, or contact our team to confirm this for you.

[DonsMom]

16 hours ago, Caldera said:

It would be best to renew it this week while you're still here. 

Will do.

I realize I set my initial travel dates in a moment of Covid-19 panic last week (or maybe it was brain fog-had Covid a year ago here). So it was a simple thing to change my departure by a few days, and take the rest of this week to renew.

Thanks all.

[DonsMom]

3 hours ago, ThaiVisaCentre said:

So you should ask the hotel first if they allow this, or contact our team to confirm this for you.

Good idea. Thank you TV for getting this info to us.

[visarunner]

On 5/4/2021 at 2:37 AM, BritTim said:

 

It might be possible to bribe hotel staff to act as a conduit with an outside agent, but I do not think, in general, asking staff to come to your room in PPE, disinfect whatever you are leaving at reception, and arranging for an outside individual to get past security to to pick up something from ASQ reception is a service that is provided.

I think no, 

[treetops]

20 hours ago, DonsMom said:

I realize I set my initial travel dates in a moment of Covid-19 panic last week (or maybe it was brain fog-had Covid a year ago here). So it was a simple thing to change my departure by a few days, and take the rest of this week to renew.

 

I realise you've got it sorted, but you could also have returned earlier as with 14 days quarantine for all, there is no need for a "14-day “maturation” period for the vaccination".

[ThaiVisaCentre]

After rereading your comment, what did you mean by "Tourist 30 day"?

I have to assume you are talking about exempt entry, and for most countries the exempt entry has been extended to 45 days. This gives you adequate time to apply for your non-o after you leave your quarantine hotel. 

But if you are from one of the countries which only gets a 30 day exempt entry then we do understand the need to process your extension while under quarantine. The alternative is to obtain a 60 day extension based on section-5 (COVID-19) after you leave the ASQ hotel, and then apply for your non-o (this is if the section-5 order is extended again to cover your dates, as of now the last day to apply is May 29th).
 

[DonsMom]

4 hours ago, treetops said:

no need for a "14-day “maturation” period for the vaccination".

You're right! Since the quarantine period is same whether vaccinated or not, I'll simply return sooner and know that I will have completed the "maturation" of the vaccine while in quarantine.

Solves everything.

I learned a new Thai word/expression today: "wunwye" What a mess.