Exit strategy for "legal" overstayers

[CorpusChristie]

I arrived in Thailand just before the New Year on a tourist visa and my intention was to depart in March but my flight was cancelled .

As land borders also closed , I was unable to exit Thailand to renew my visa and so took advantage of the overstay amnesty which is due to expire on July 31st .

  I spoke to an Immigration officer and he told me that I would have to leave Thailand by that date , otherwise I would be subjected to a  (full) overstay fine and potential ban .

  If Thailand doesn't open its land borders or relax entry requirement at airports/land borders and if most other Countries in the World keep refusing entry to foreigners , looks like I will have to fly home before July 31st .

  Is anyone else in a similar situation , (there must be 1000's of us) and what are your exit plans ?

As it currently stands, we will have to leave Thailand by flight before 31st August and we will not be allowed to return 

[Sundown]

Hopefully they will not ignore this problem since it affects thousands of people and open borders to all countries before 31st July (at least for those doing visa run to avoid overstay) otherwise option 1) fly home option 2) overstay not more than 1 year and pay 20000 fine

[KhunBENQ]

Stay optimistic that there will be an open land border before July 31.

What is your home country?

30 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

As it currently stands, we will have to leave Thailand by flight before 31st August and we will not be allowed to return 

31 August? And why not allowed to return? I mean sometime it must be possible to fly back in.

[ubonjoe]

38 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

I spoke to an Immigration officer and he told me that I would have to leave Thailand by that date , otherwise I would be subjected to a  (full) overstay fine and potential ban .

The overstay would not start until after July 31st.

If you did stay the max fine would 500 baht a day up to the maximum of 20k baht. The banning unless caught would not occur until after 90 days of overstay.

If the border crossings are not open by July 31st they may extend the amnesty. But there might be countries where you could fly to within the region and then return also.

[wmlc]

Scare mongering and sighting the opinion of one immigration officer who has not received any instructions and confirmation on anything and not verified even. You also state 2 dates of August 31st and July 31st. You make no sense. July 31st is the exemption expiry date and if not extended, you would not have until August 31st to leave. Please stop posting inaccurate information and rumors. Thanks 

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, wmlc said:

Scare mongering and sighting the opinion of one immigration officer who has not received any instructions and confirmation on anything and not verified even. You also state 2 dates of August 31st and July 31st. You make no sense. July 31st is the exemption expiry date and if not extended, you would not have until August 31st to leave. Please stop posting inaccurate information and rumors. Thanks 

Yes, I did mean *August 1 st* rather than the 31st .

The top Immigration officer that I spoke too had indeed received instructions from above and its a fact that as it currently stands , all *legal* overstayers will have to leave by August 1 st .

  It remains to be seen whether the overstay fine will begin on August the 1st , or from the day your visa expired , which isn't such an important detail 

[bestie]

Please stop writing and enjoy your stay in Thailand. Take a deep breath and relax. You scaring people for no reason which makes no sense at this time. 

[ubonjoe]

18 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

It remains to be seen whether the overstay fine will begin on August the 1st , or from the day your visa expired

From August 1st. That is very clear in the ministerial notice and immigrations announcements posted on their website.

Your visas expiration date means nothing after you are in the country. Only the admitted until date on your arrival stamp is important.

[CorpusChristie]

11 minutes ago, bestie said:

Please stop writing and enjoy your stay in Thailand. Take a deep breath and relax. You scaring people for no reason which makes no sense at this time. 

It wasn't my intention to scare anyone and I am indeed enjoying my stay in Thailand .

I just wondered what other *legal* overstayers planned to do in the future .

I can envisage Thailand letter people out BEFORE Thailand lets them back in again and currently the only option would be to fly home , but yeah, things are likely to change 

  Apologies to all the people that got scared after reading my post

[DrJack54]

22 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Apologies to all the people that got scared after reading my post

Nothing wrong with your post. I noticed the small typo. Not a big deal.

Thailand news has thread re gradual easing of entry INTO Thailand by non Thai. The first targeted is work permit holders along with those having PR.

Those on annual extensions retirement, marriage etc not mentioned. One would imagine they would be next stage and then tourist visas. As for doing a border bounce to re-enter visa exempt, its possible that visa exempt entries might not be available. Based on some info regarding Vietnam it quite possible that will not allow visa exempt entry. Thailand might do same. All of course just a guess. 

The amnesty date could be extended if borders not open in reasonable time prior to July 31.

There must be lot of people needing to exit prior to any end of amnesty.

A plan B is needed which would most mean return to home country.

 

Edited May 30, 2020 by DrJack54

[Nanaplaza666]

1 hour ago, CorpusChristie said:

Yes, I did mean *August 1 st* rather than the 31st .

The top Immigration officer that I spoke too had indeed received instructions from above and its a fact that as it currently stands , all *legal* overstayers will have to leave by August 1 st .

  It remains to be seen whether the overstay fine will begin on August the 1st , or from the day your visa expired , which isn't such an important detail 

Sorry but there is a big difference between aug. 1st or the day when your visa expired some peoples visa expired from march so that's a big difference with aug. 1st 

[berybert]

50 minutes ago, Nanaplaza666 said:

Sorry but there is a big difference between aug. 1st or the day when your visa expired some peoples visa expired from march so that's a big difference with aug. 1st 

It would be down to you to sort  out what you need to do with regards to your visa. 

Not sure an immigration officer would accept your excuse being "some bloke on the internet said"

[Wongkitlo]

I can't remember where but I read that the amnesty may be extended till the end of the year. I know they can be silly but I'm sure they will do something to stop the offices and borders overflowing on ,31st July.

[Yorkshire Tea]

23 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

I can't remember where but I read that the amnesty may be extended till the end of the year. I know they can be silly but I'm sure they will do something to stop the offices and borders overflowing on ,31st July.

Well I hope they come up with an exit strategy for the amnesty & don't wait until too close to end of July to announce it.

[Max69xl]

2 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

It wasn't my intention to scare anyone and I am indeed enjoying my stay in Thailand .

I just wondered what other *legal* overstayers planned to do in the future .

I can envisage Thailand letter people out BEFORE Thailand lets them back in again and currently the only option would be to fly home , but yeah, things are likely to change 

  Apologies to all the people that got scared after reading my post

You don't have to worry about a few days overstay,just pay the fine when leaving the country = 500baht/day. 

[justaphase]

Don't worry mate..wait and see..I'm in the same boat. except my visa expired on 25th March..1 day before said amnesty, but it was too busy at CW so I just thought mai pen rai.

 

[philba]

The amnesty was put in place to give people ample time to find flights home.

 

If you're still here holidaying and it all ends suddenly, you only have yourselves to blame.

 

It's not in place for you to extend your holiday.

 

You should be actively trying to return to your home country.

 

It really isn't rocket science.

[CorpusChristie]

23 minutes ago, philba said:

The amnesty was put in place to give people ample time to find flights home.

 

If you're still here holidaying and it all ends suddenly, you only have yourselves to blame.

 

It's not in place for you to extend your holiday.

 

You should be actively trying to return to your home country.

 

It really isn't rocket science.

Did the Thai Government announce that we are all expected to be trying to return home or is that just your opinion of what we should be doing ?

[CorpusChristie]

1 hour ago, justaphase said:

Don't worry mate..wait and see..I'm in the same boat. except my visa expired on 25th March..1 day before said amnesty, but it was too busy at CW so I just thought mai pen rai.

 

That happened to my friend as well , he had to pay 1900 Baht for a 7 day extension to bring him past the 26 th March

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, justaphase said:

Don't worry mate..wait and see..I'm in the same boat. except my visa expired on 25th March..1 day before said amnesty, but it was too busy at CW so I just thought mai pen rai.

If you mean your permission to stay expired March 25th, I would be more than a little worried in your situation. The automatic extension is for people who were legally in Thailand as of March 26th. If, however, you extended your permission to stay (perhaps paying a small overstay fine) that made you legal again, then you have nothing to worry about.

[Wongkitlo]

54 minutes ago, philba said:

The amnesty was put in place to give people ample time to find flights home.

 

If you're still here holidaying and it all ends suddenly, you only have yourselves to blame.

 

It's not in place for you to extend your holiday.

 

You should be actively trying to return to your home country.

 

It really isn't rocket science.

It seems an unsympathetic view to people's real situations. A lot of inter provincial travel has been stopped or uncertain. Some people are worried about trying to get to Bangkok to catch flights  and not being able to. I travelled between provinces a few weeks back and was stuck in a minivan with 16 passengers. Covid is a life threatening disease. Do you think people should expose themselves to it because you seem to think they should? I regretted making the journey but am luckily ok. The other thing is there are not many planes. There are relief flights but they are expensive. People have paid for flights and then had them cancelled with no refunds. Thai airways owes a large amount to customers with cancelled flights and is now going bankrupt. Do you expect people to keep paying for cancelled flights? Then there is the human mercy side. I remember when 1000s of people were sick in Italy and I met an elderly couple who were going back to Italy. I said stay in Thailand. They said their grandchildren were in Italy so they wanted to go back. I do hope they survived. Do you really have no sympathy for people who decided to stay because they were afraid to return home?

 

[wmlc]

6 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

Yes, I did mean *August 1 st* rather than the 31st .

The top Immigration officer that I spoke too had indeed received instructions from above and its a fact that as it currently stands , all *legal* overstayers will have to leave by August 1 st .

  It remains to be seen whether the overstay fine will begin on August the 1st , or from the day your visa expired , which isn't such an important detail 

So what you are saying is the top immigration officer received instructions from above. That would mean you were talking to the Head of immigration or Immigration Chief and the instructions you were made so privy to were given directly from the Prime-minister. You didn’t say one of the top, but the top. If only we all could be so connected as you to have all this inside information. You must be the most important farang in Thailand. Therefore, you deserve your own column on Thai visa and we should all be paying you for your advice. Thank you for your valuable post. I was so wrong!!!! Please forgive me.????????????????????????????????????????

Edited May 30, 2020 by wmlc

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, wmlc said:

So what you are saying is the top immigration officer received instructions from above. That would mean you were talking to the Head of immigration or Immigration Chief and the instructions you were made so privy to were given directly from the Prime-minister. If only we all could be so connected as you to have all this inside information. You must be the most important farang in Thailand. Thank you for your valuable post. I was so wrong!!!! Please forgive me.????????????????????????????????????????

No need for that attitude .

  I was talking to a high ranking Immigration officer at my local office , he wasn't just one of the behind the counter guys .

  And he was telling me what instructions he had been given, from whoever gave him the instructions , I wasn't trying to imply that I had "inside information" or that I was "important"

  He did tell me that I had to leave Thailand BEFORE July 31st or I would face the full fine and overstay penalties , although he may have just been trying to convince all the overstayers to keep up with the 30 day emergency visa extensions (at 1900 Baht a time)

  We  were close to a noisy busy road , both wearing face masks and his English wasn't perfect , so, it may have just been a misunderstanding .

[DrJack54]

2 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

Did the Thai Government announce that we are all expected to be trying to return home or is that just your opinion of what we should be doing ?

I agree with his opinion. When borders open it is  problematic what what options will be available. Will visa exempt entry for border bounce be still available. 

Folk here on expired permission of stay currently ok under amnesty should have a plan B. For some #1 on that list would be returning home. 

MANY folk "living here" on setv, visa exempt etc, may find not so simple for some time. 

Some think borders open nip over random border to obtain 30 day VE I to Thailand....Maybe /Maybe Not possible

Edited May 30, 2020 by DrJack54

[Caldera]

My exit strategy is quite simple: Preferably, I will fly to a nearby country if things open up enough so that there aren't any onerous restrictions. That failing, I'll fly to a country in Europe that has opened up by then (I'm thinking Greece). That failing as well, I'd fly to my home country as a last resort and wait things out there.

 

No need to panic just yet, but I'll have my flight booked well before the end of the amnesty. If they extend it with sufficient advance notice, I'd consider staying in Thailand for some additional domestic trips.

 

[DrJack54]

44 minutes ago, Caldera said:

That failing, I'll fly to a country in Europe that has opened up by then (I'm thinking Greece).

I read in AU news today that Greece plan open up June 11. Au and MANY other countries. Meaning 60+.

Didn't mention what's required. Doubt quarantine as article was along lines "we want tourists back".

No tourism will work with quarantine.

Good luck with stay in eg Vietnam.

[CorpusChristie]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

I agree with his opinion. 

He thinks that I should be trying to get back to my home Country as quickly as I can

But, I don't want to go back 

[DrJack54]

Just now, CorpusChristie said:

He thinks that I should be trying to get back to my home Country as quickly as I can

But, I don't want to go back 

Sorry but that sounds like child saying to mummy "I no want go school today"

Explain your current stay in Thailand prior to Mr covid-19. Then you will get sound advice.

If it was chilling out in Asia on visa exempt etc. Then time go home. 

Many folk think borders will open like light switch. Slip over to Laos or whatever reenter visa exempt. Doubt it.

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, DrJack54 said:

Sorry but that sounds like child saying to mummy "I no want go school today"

Explain your current stay in Thailand prior to Mr covid-19. Then you will get sound advice.

If it was chilling out in Asia on visa exempt etc. Then time go home. 

Many folk think borders will open like light switch. Slip over to Laos or whatever reenter visa exempt. Doubt it.

I had planned on going to Sri Lanka and should be there now , but they closed the Country down .

I have no job and nowhere to live back home , so, no point in going back .

I am hoping that Sri Lanka will open their borders once more, so I can continue on my journey there 

[DrJack54]

Just now, CorpusChristie said:

I had planned on going to Sri Lanka and should be there now , but they closed the Country down .

I have no job and nowhere to live back home , so, no point in going back .

I am hoping that Sri Lanka will open their borders once more, so I can continue on my journey there 

Best of luck. I mean that. Hopefully Thailand will allow border bounce with visa exempt 30 day. Problem is that's not for all countries and perhaps not any for some time. 

Everyone talks about covid second wave.

Not much chat about people in your situation along with expiring passports etc etc.

Is this a horror movie to wake up from.