Any Visa extensions after covid-19 extensions run out

[dj230]

Is there any other extensions/visas available for those who have run out of the covid-19 visa extensions?

 

I was thinking of doing a marriage visa as a last resort, maybe medical treatment extensions, if not, how do border runs work, can you just fly to another country and fly back with a visa exemption or is there a waiting period needed before you can re-visit on a visa exemption?

[Peterw42]

How can you run out of covid extensions, they are still going are they not?

[ubonjoe]

Sixty day covid 19 extensions are still available until May 24th. They could extend the order for them again.

If married to a Thai you could get a 60 day extension her it you have not gotten one before.

I would not recommend leaving the country and returning with a 30 day visa exempt entry. Best to get a tourist visa or a non-o visa if married to a Thai.

[dj230]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Sixty day covid 19 extension are still available until May 24th. They could extend the order for them again.

If married to a Thai you could get a 60 day extension her it you have not gotten one before.

I would not recommend leaving the country and returning with a 30 day visa exempt entry. Best to get a tourist visa or a non-o visa if married to a Thai.

Wait they extended it again?! 

[dj230]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

How can you run out of covid extensions, they are still going are they not?

I thought they expired in March, I guess not 

[ubonjoe]

1 minute ago, dj230 said:

Wait they extended it again?! 

The order for them was extended from March 25th to May 24th last month.

 

[steve187]

get a long stay yearly 'married' extension

[dj230]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

The order for them was extended from March 25th to May 24th last month.

 

Are there any new “requirements” or those eligible for it or same as usual? 
 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, dj230 said:

Are there any new “requirements” or those eligible for it or same as usual? 
 

It is the same as the one issued in January. Those with non immigrant visas or a 15 day visa on arrival are no longer eligible.

[dj230]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It is the same as the one issued in January. Those with non immigrant visas or a 15 day visa on arrival are no longer eligible.

Thank you sir 

[Dart12]

The pattaya immigration denied me a covid extension in March.  I was denied due to length of stay and because I was converted to a volunteer visa back before they started teh amnesty program.

I was also denied ANY visa type in the pattaya and BKK area after talking to some 40 agents and 'officers', except for an ED visa for 110,000 that came with no classes lol.

I was told I will have 7 days ext only.  that's it.  It was time for me to go.

 

I'm now happily on a long term ED visa.  Process was efficient and easy. 
I was even on overstay already, and it was still not a problem.

Cost about 40k for 9 months visa.  they now offer 12 month for 55k instead (wish they had that one when I applied 6 weeks ago).

I did not have to leave the country.

My friend, a more seasoned traveler opted to do visa run, because he was planning to fly back home in june and didn't need that long of a visa, nor wanted to pay that price.

If everything went smooth, it was gonna cost him 20 to 25 k for a week in cambodia and all the hoops and everything else to refresh him to a 30 day tourist visa.

Instead, his traveling partner was denied entry a week before he tried.  He was already out of country so he prepped for the same experience upon the flight in.

It cost him an additional 15k to gain entry.

Im sure that is not everyone.  But that is the people I know who we've all been in contact about solutions when we first started to hear the pandemic remnants being denied any further covid extensions despite the official report nationwide that they would go on as usual.

You'll be fine.  Just get on the search now.  It's a 4 week ish process to get approved.
 

[CartagenaWarlock]

2 hours ago, Dart12 said:

I was also denied ANY visa type in the pattaya and BKK area after talking to some 40 agents and 'officers', except for an ED visa for 110,000 that came with no classes lol.

OMG, why people would spend that kind of money instead of going back to their home country? Are they person non-grata in their home country?

[dj230]

3 hours ago, Dart12 said:

The pattaya immigration denied me a covid extension in March.  I was denied due to length of stay and because I was converted to a volunteer visa back before they started teh amnesty program.

I was also denied ANY visa type in the pattaya and BKK area after talking to some 40 agents and 'officers', except for an ED visa for 110,000 that came with no classes lol.

I was told I will have 7 days ext only.  that's it.  It was time for me to go.

 

I'm now happily on a long term ED visa.  Process was efficient and easy. 
I was even on overstay already, and it was still not a problem.

Cost about 40k for 9 months visa.  they now offer 12 month for 55k instead (wish they had that one when I applied 6 weeks ago).

I did not have to leave the country.

My friend, a more seasoned traveler opted to do visa run, because he was planning to fly back home in june and didn't need that long of a visa, nor wanted to pay that price.

If everything went smooth, it was gonna cost him 20 to 25 k for a week in cambodia and all the hoops and everything else to refresh him to a 30 day tourist visa.

Instead, his traveling partner was denied entry a week before he tried.  He was already out of country so he prepped for the same experience upon the flight in.

It cost him an additional 15k to gain entry.

Im sure that is not everyone.  But that is the people I know who we've all been in contact about solutions when we first started to hear the pandemic remnants being denied any further covid extensions despite the official report nationwide that they would go on as usual.

You'll be fine.  Just get on the search now.  It's a 4 week ish process to get approved.
 

I was approved in March for a covid extension until mid may, if they give me one more that'd be enough for me since I am due for a trip back home anyways.

 

so you paid 110k for a 12 month visa? What is the 9 month 40k visa and 12 month 55k visa?

 

I read that immigration wasn't too keen on those with "volunteer" visa's and if you were on a volunteer visa you wouldn't be eligible for the covid extension anyways since it got changed to those only on tourist visa's. At least you got it sorted, if I wasn't planning to take a trip back to canada in the summer I think I would opt for one of the longer term visas, albeit I would prefer to do everything without any loopholes incase it bites me in the future. I was reading about how someone tried entering Thailand on a visa exempt but had an ED visa, so the immigration officer asked them to speak Thai, of course he didn't know any. 

 

I wonder if ED visa's work for international/private universities, I am in Thailand and plan to stay for a while, doing a degree in a private university only costs a few thousand dollars a year and some of the computer science degrees looked pretty interesting. 

 

 

[Caldera]

34 minutes ago, dj230 said:

I wonder if ED visa's work for international/private universities, I am in Thailand and plan to stay for a while, doing a degree in a private university only costs a few thousand dollars a year and some of the computer science degrees looked pretty interesting. 

That's not a bad option if you wish to study in Thailand anyway. You can definitely get an ED visa and extensions for attending university. They come with fewer restrictions and less hassle than those for studying at an informal school such as a language school.

[dj230]

3 hours ago, Caldera said:

That's not a bad option if you wish to study in Thailand anyway. You can definitely get an ED visa and extensions for attending university. They come with fewer restrictions and less hassle than those for studying at an informal school such as a language school.

Interesting, I will look into it, I am planning a trip back home first anyways but at the same time school semester starts in a few months, was thinking Bangkok university or Rangsit university, the only thing that kind of made me not want to attend is how they're so relaxed about their programs, stuff like grading seems a bit...silly with no grades other than a final exam, lots of programs don't even have a certain "average" to maintain a pass in a course to get your degreee. 

 

I was thinking of Chulalongkorn if I wanted to attend a serious university but I'd have to do certain entry exams I believe and apply. 

Edited April 18, 2022 by dj230

[MajorTom]

6 hours ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

OMG, why people would spend that kind of money instead of going back to their home country? Are they person non-grata in their home country?

Because their "home country" is Thailand?

 

Returning to country of origin, processing a new passport and then return would probably cost more than 110K. And a waste of time. Fortunately he found a cheaper option.

[Dart12]

11 hours ago, dj230 said:

I was approved in March for a covid extension until mid may, if they give me one more that'd be enough for me since I am due for a trip back home anyways.

 

so you paid 110k for a 12 month visa? What is the 9 month 40k visa and 12 month 55k visa?

 

I read that immigration wasn't too keen on those with "volunteer" visa's and if you were on a volunteer visa you wouldn't be eligible for the covid extension anyways since it got changed to those only on tourist visa's. At least you got it sorted, if I wasn't planning to take a trip back to canada in the summer I think I would opt for one of the longer term visas, albeit I would prefer to do everything without any loopholes incase it bites me in the future. I was reading about how someone tried entering Thailand on a visa exempt but had an ED visa, so the immigration officer asked them to speak Thai, of course he didn't know any. 

 

I wonder if ED visa's work for international/private universities, I am in Thailand and plan to stay for a while, doing a degree in a private university only costs a few thousand dollars a year and some of the computer science degrees looked pretty interesting. 

 

 

no, I did not take teh 110,000 option.  They called me daily though always telling me it going away haha.

I kept searching and broadening my search til I found a long time agency that had a decent offer.  

I paid 40k and am enrolled for actual classes.

Several other agencies offered same thing, but wanted about 65k or more.

I felt confident enough as well, as this agency did not take "cash only" nor full payment upfront.  They took only half, and I paid online to an actual business name so I had a paper trail.  

We also signed a contract upfront with guarantee for full refund if they did not get my visa sorted.

I went for the most legit path I could find.  However, what is legal here today can be illegal tomorrow at any given time.  Luckily, they seem to open one door when shutting another.  The cash flow just can't get jammed up with no doors for it to flow haha.

Jokes aside, it took a lot of stress to find, cost me a good 2 weeks of time and missed responsilities to find the solution.

Not fun.

[thailandbeachisland]

Of course there is always a visa possible, I still don't know anyone who had to leave without any other choice.

2 years covid extension and still doing...

 

 

[secondtime]

On 4/18/2022 at 7:20 AM, Dart12 said:

My friend, a more seasoned traveler opted to do visa run, because he was planning to fly back home in june and didn't need that long of a visa, nor wanted to pay that price.

If everything went smooth, it was gonna cost him 20 to 25 k for a week in cambodia and all the hoops and everything else to refresh him to a 30 day tourist visa.
…
I

t cost him an additional 15k to gain entry

That 40k baht your friend ended up spending - was that flying from Bangkok, to Phnom Penh, getting the visa, coming back and doing test and go?  Seems rather expensive.  Was he not vaxxed and had to quarantine in both countries, or are there some other expenses?

[MajorTom]

1 hour ago, secondtime said:

That 40k baht your friend ended up spending - was that flying from Bangkok, to Phnom Penh, getting the visa, coming back and doing test and go?  Seems rather expensive.  Was he not vaxxed and had to quarantine in both countries, or are there some other expenses?

Cheaper now. As of last month you had to do pre-departure PCR tests in both countries. That alone cost me nearly 8K. +Cambodian visa, Flights, Hotels ,Taxis, Covid insurance for return to Thailand, T&G package.. It adds up quickly.

[Dart12]

4 hours ago, secondtime said:

That 40k baht your friend ended up spending - was that flying from Bangkok, to Phnom Penh, getting the visa, coming back and doing test and go?  Seems rather expensive.  Was he not vaxxed and had to quarantine in both countries, or are there some other expenses?

No, about 20 to 25k.  the additional 15 was the extra fee to allowed back in.   He had a prior volunteer visa and been here two years under mostly covid extensions.  Everything else was all good.

[Dart12]

11 hours ago, thailandbeachisland said:

Of course there is always a visa possible, I still don't know anyone who had to leave without any other choice.

2 years covid extension and still doing...

 

 

we were people that listened to the government early on before the amnesties started.  We paid big money for volunteer visas when they said we had to attain something long term to stay.