On 5-day Overstay. Confusion RE; Thai Govt announced 30 day extension CoVid travel disruption

[idiot farang]

Link to Thaivisa news article about Thai Govt. Visa Extension: 

I'm on day 5 overstay. The final day of my visa, I was scheduled to fly to South Korea Sunday, connecting thru China- just as South Korea blew up and travel warnings were issued by my country. I decided not to go, largely because last Friday the Thai govt. announced 30 day extensions now also applied to non Chinese. However, now 7 days later, literally nobody knows how this works!

US Embassy says no guidance has been given to them (Thai announcement said a letter from your embassy is required), they know nothing about it, and don't believe it was an "official" announcement/policy. Thai immigration is a black hole of "I don't knows". So I have no idea what I am supposed to do. Obviously concerned about being unlucky with a random stop by police. I was in Thailand getting medical treatment and had already paid for the normal 30 day extension at immigration on 31 January- so that wasn't an option.

 

Any suggestions as to how to actually utilize the announced 30 day extension--- or communicate with higher ups in Thai Immigration to get this sorted?

Edited March 6, 2020 by idiot farang

[ubonjoe]

I suggest you contact the embassy and ask them it would be possible to contact immigration.

You could of applied for an extension, paid the 1900 baht fee and been granted 7 days to leave the country rather than going on a overstay.

You could also call the immigration helpline at 1178 and ask them.

Since you qualify for a 30 day visa exempt entry you best option might be to do a border run for a new entry.

[DrJack54]

OP, sorry for your situation. I read this account in a thread today. 

Personally I have another spin on what you might do. In your shoes I would have exited already. To anywhere to return Thailand with visa exempt entry. 

My suggestion...get to airport and fly nearby country. Pay overstay at airport.

Some might laugh at that and I understand. However it gives you 30 + another 30 if you need with extension.

Your overstay done and dusted. 

I don't trust one hand of Thai government knowing what other is doing.

[idiot farang]

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I suggest you contact the embassy and ask them it would be possible to contact immigration.

You could of applied for an extension, paid the 1900 baht fee and been granted 7 days to leave the country rather than going on a overstay.

You could also call the immigration helpline at 1178 and ask them.

Since you qualify for a 30 day visa exempt entry you best option might be to do a border run for a new entry.

Didn't learn about that "7 days to leave the country after rejection" loophole until reading Thaivisa today. 

 

Tried to get to someone higher up at the embassy, but was told I couldn't. I asked that they contact Thai Immigration and was told they don't do that. Was also told it's no big deal, just pay the fine when you leave. I said, 'yeah, but if I'm anywhere but immigration and I'm stopped, I'm in trouble if nobody knows the policy'. Her glib response, "yeah, you'd go to jail and be deported- I'd try to avoid that". Sage advise. ???? Very disappointing experience.

 

[idiot farang]

6 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

 

I don't trust one hand of Thai government knowing what other is doing.

Yeah, I gave them too much credit- should have taken a cue from the tourist assassins they positioned behind them as to how this would be administered! lol
Placed way too much faith in my govt as well. Given that all things coronavirus dominate all news right now, I thought they'd at least be paying attention. Silly me...

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, idiot farang said:

Yeah, I gave them too much credit- should have taken a cue from the tourist assassins they positioned behind them as to how this would be administered! lol
Placed way too much faith in my govt as well. Given that all things coronavirus dominate all news right now, I thought they'd at least be paying attention. Silly me...

I understand. However your current situation needs to be sorted. Your trip to Sth Korea, necessary or just on route to.....

If you outline your travel plans going forward you will get better advice.

You need to get back to USA?

I just had flights cancelled to Japan by airasia march 18. However they are still flying to Japan. Just vastly reduced schedule. I know some guys fly states via Japan. 

At very least do a border bounce to fix up current dilemma or fly out/in.

[ubonjoe]

31 minutes ago, idiot farang said:

Tried to get to someone higher up at the embassy, but was told I couldn't. I asked that they contact Thai Immigration and was told they don't do that.

I think immigration is suggesting this clause of the police order could be used for the 30 day extensions rather than something new.

 

 

[sanemax]

They may not give you an extension, because you are on overstay

[anthony0339]

Just like Chinese nationals. You get a letter from your embassy and then go to immigration and file for an extension of stay based on your travel plans being disrupted by the corona virus. 1,900 baht and there should not be anY over stay. You will also need proof your flight was canceled or other proof you can’t go back to your home country. 

[edwardflory]

Before you make ANY assumptions about ANYTHING concerning Immigration, follow rule #1:

 

Rule #1

ALWAYS contact YOUR LOCAL IO for their policy - it varies office to office

[DrJack54]

58 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

Before you make ANY assumptions about ANYTHING concerning Immigration, follow rule #1:

 

Rule #1

ALWAYS contact YOUR LOCAL IO for their policy - it varies office to office

Local imm office is last place you would go in this situation. The OP currently is on overstay. Yes that may be overlooked however the OP indicated he had contacted US embassy and they had no idea. Catch 22.

 

Edited March 7, 2020 by DrJack54

[travelerjim]

I believe any request for an extension must be made BEFORE overstay.

 

Sadly the OP is already on overstay.

 

Tj

[travelerjim]

Which airline are you using fm South Korea to USA?

 

Delta is giving full refunds

And told me yesterday all their flights will be stopped soon.

 

I ended up booking both KLM and Delta via AMS to US.

 

But Japan Air/American Air still flyng to US via BKK to Japan

 

Good luck...

 

Tj

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, travelerjim said:

Which airline are you using fm South Korea to USA?

 

Delta is giving full refunds

And told me yesterday all their flights will be stopped soon.

 

I ended up booking both KLM and Delta via AMS to US.

 

But Japan Air/American Air still flyng to US via BKK to Japan

 

Good luck...

 

Tj

I mentioned pretty much same advice earlier. The OP would of been monitoring situation prior to his flight to Sth K a week ago. Maybe harsh but thinking could of been more proactive especially to avoid overstay. Could of done border run once realized wasn't taking flight. 

He can still do that and buy time.

I just had AirAsia cancel my flight to Osaka. However they are still flying there but on very reduced schedule.

My flight was march 18 and I see next available march 30. He could investigate flight to Japan then to USA.

[Nakmuay887]

23 hours ago, idiot farang said:

Didn't learn about that "7 days to leave the country after rejection" loophole until reading Thaivisa today. 

It's not a guarantee. It's just to allow you enough time to leave. 

 

If you apply for an extension with say 3 days remaining on your current visa and they deny the extension, you might receive no extra days at all. If immigration deems 3 days is long enough to exit the country etc.

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, Nakmuay887 said:

It's not a guarantee. It's just to allow you enough time to leave. 

 

If you apply for an extension with say 3 days remaining on your current visa and they deny the extension, you might receive no extra days at all. If immigration deems 3 days is long enough to exit the country etc.

Interesting! Never heard of that. 

Thought it was 100% rejection of extension and given 7 days to get out of dodge. Never read account of what you describe.

Edited March 7, 2020 by DrJack54

[Nakmuay887]

12 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Interesting! Never heard of that. 

Thought it was 100% rejection of extension and given 7 days to get out of dodge. Never read account of what you describe.

That's what immigration told me in Mae Sot. And it made sense actually. Otherwise people would use it for an extra week everytime. That's what the lady explained, 

 

She could be incorrect though 

[sanemax]

1 minute ago, Nakmuay887 said:

That's what immigration told me in Mae Sot. And it made sense actually. Otherwise people would use it for an extra week everytime. That's what the lady explained, 

 

She could be incorrect though 

1900 Baht for an extra week is why people dont use it every time 

[sanemax]

16 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Interesting! Never heard of that. 

Thought it was 100% rejection of extension and given 7 days to get out of dodge. Never read account of what you describe.

Immigration give you seven days to leave the Country , if you already have seven days left on your visa , they may feel that an extra 7 days is unnecessary 

[DrJack54]

27 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Immigration give you seven days to leave the Country , if you already have seven days left on your visa , they may feel that an extra 7 days is unnecessary 

Never heard of that either but ok you must have. Anyway I hope the OP is clearing up overstay. Cannot apply for extension now.

[Maestro]

On 3/6/2020 at 11:58 AM, idiot farang said:

I was scheduled to fly to South Korea Sunday, connecting thru China- just as South Korea blew up and travel warnings were issued by my country.

 

The idiot farang does not say what the idiot farang's country is but later in that posts the idiot farang says that the idiot farang contacted the US embassy about the letter the idiot farang would have needed to get the extension of stay mentioned in the news article of 28 February. This is the travel advisory of the US embassy for South Korea, as updated on 29 February:

 

Quote

 

Reconsider travel to South Korea due to an outbreak of COVID-19. Read the entire Travel Advisory.

Level 4 - Do Not Travel to:

 Daegu due to the level of community transmission of the virus and imposition of local quarantine procedures.
A novel coronavirus is causing an outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization determined the COVID-19 outbreak constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).  The South Korean government has reported cases of the COVID-19 in the country and has upgraded its response level to “grave”, its highest response level. On February 24, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 3 Travel Warning ­ Avoid Non-essential Travel for South Korea.  Travelers should review and follow the Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines for the prevention of coronavirus if they decide to travel to South Korea.  If suspected to have COVID-19 (coronavirus) in South Korea, you may face travel delays, quarantine, and extremely expensive medical costs.

If you travel to South Korea, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends individuals take the following steps:

Avoid contact with sick people.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
Discuss travel to South Korea with your healthcare provider. Older adults and travelers with chronic medical conditions may be at risk for more severe disease.
Clean your hands often by washing them with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains 60%–95% alcohol. Soap and water should be used if hands are visibly dirty.
It is especially important to clean hands after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.

 

 

From the above travel advisory and from the idiot farang's posts it appears that

• the US embassy did not advise the idiot farang to refrain from travelling to South Korea
• the idiot farang's flight to South Korea via China was not cancelled
• nothing would have prevented the idiot farang from leaving Thailand prior to the expiration of the idiot farang's permission to stay and travelling to any other country in the word of his choice if the idiot farang decided of the idiot farang's own accord not to fly to the originally intended destination of South Korea

[sanemax]

5 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Never heard of that either but ok you must have. Anyway I hope the OP is clearing up overstay. Cannot apply for extension now.

No . I have not heard of that . Thats why I wrote "may feel" , which is giving a possibility , rather than a statement of fact 

[idiot farang]

To further clarify- my connection was thru China. Yeah, I decided not to take the flight even though it was not cancelled. I am not worried about catching the virus in Thailand. Given how fast it spreads on cruise ships, I think the risks on commercial aircraft filled with Chinese and South Koreans is an unknown that has yet to be determined. Given that I live with 2 disabled family members with compromised immune systems, I chose not to go given the rapid surge in Korean cases and the US travel warning. 
 
I'm not playing victim here. I was mainly hoping there was someone with more info than me- being ridiculed by and admin isn't really what i came here for.

Worth noting.. talking to employees in the executive lounge at my hotel- there are 75+ Chinese NOT from the Wuhan area who are on overstay because they don't want to return to China. THEY got the 30 days extra with no problem. Perhaps simply because Thailand bends over backwards for Chinese- idk.

 

So, yeah, after witnessing the carefree Chinese overstayers, I naively figured the announcement meant non-Chinese would get the same treatment. I decided to stay in Thailand and get the procedure I was going to have done in South Korea done here- hence not leaving right away via different routing.

[idiot farang]

Follow up Question:

 

When I got my 1900 baht 30 day extension, the wait was 4 hours- so I struck up some conversations. There was a Dutch guy who was 10 days overstay. Because of this, they would not give him and extension; but they did give him 7 days to exit Thailand- same as has been mentioned above. Is this SOP? I'll be done and ready to leave in 7 days, so this would obviously be preferable to a visa run if those additional 7 days do not incur the 500 baht/day fee (something I am unclear about).

 

Thanks to all who have given helpful replies....

[Max69xl]

On 3/6/2020 at 10:56 PM, sanemax said:

They may not give you an extension, because you are on overstay

You pay the fine and then apply for the extension. It will get denied but you'll get 7 days to leave the country. Everybody is happy. 

[idiot farang]

8 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

You pay the fine and then apply for the extension. It will get denied but you'll get 7 days to leave the country. Everybody is happy. 

Thanks.

I'll stop by the embassy in the morning just to give it a shot at speaking to someone above those answering the phones. Then, successful or not (at getting some type of a letter), I'll head to immigration. If they allow the extra 30 days (like they are doing for pretty much ANYONE from ANYWHERE in China, afaik)- great. If not, I'll pay the fine and get my extra 7 days.

I remain confused as to whether there is a 500 baht/day fine for those 7 days???

[BritTim]

20 minutes ago, idiot farang said:

I remain confused as to whether there is a 500 baht/day fine for those 7 days???

If you had applied for an extension immediately after deciding to change your travel plans, there would have been no fine, even if you were denied the extension. You will have no good explanation for your delay in requesting the extension. It is not even certain that they will accept your application. They may tell you to leave immediately by air as the overstay is too long to clear at the immigration office. Whatever happens, you are going to pay an overstay fine.

[DrJack54]

No point in applying for an extension.

Your already 7+ day overstay. The denial and 7 days to leave would of been from your current until date. Too late.

Said it before. Since you were not able to sort this out before your current until date you should of left straight away to clear overstay and return VE. Could of been via cheap flight or border bounce.

In your OP you state that you were due to fly out last Sunday. So what did you do for one week?

Good luck Monday.

[idiot farang]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Said it before. Since you were not able to sort this out before your current until date you should of left straight away to clear overstay and return VE. Could of been via cheap flight or border bounce.

In your OP you state that you were due to fly out last Sunday. So what did you do for one week?

Good luck Monday.

I was flying to Seoul for a medical procedure/tourism. When I decided not to go (again, very much a last minute decision made on Sunday when Immigration  and embassy were closed), I based my actions on what I've observed for a month from Chinese overstayers, and what I was told by hotel employees about said overstayers. So, yeah... didn't really worry about it- thinking I had 30 days. I was disappointed Monday when the embassy didn't know <deleted> I was talking about. Still, figured since the press conference was only 2 days earlier, that they'd be in the loop by week's end. WRONG. 

Anyway, (thinking) I had 30 days, I decided to research getting it done here- that took time, along with setting 2 appointments. Whether this was a good decision or a "THE idiot farang"( ©Maestro) decision, this was my thinking. With the information I had regarding Chinese overstayers at the time, my "THE idiot farang"( ©Maestro) decision wasn't as stupid as it appears at first blush.

Edited March 8, 2020 by idiot farang

[idiot farang]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

No point in applying for an extension.

Your already 7+ day overstay. The denial and 7 days to leave would of been from your current until date. Too late.

 

Confused by this take- only because the Dutch guy paid his 10 day overstay and was given 7 days to exit Thailand. 

Perhaps, like many things in life, it depends on who you get. The employee may have been kind to him for whatever reason?...

Edited March 8, 2020 by idiot farang