Immigration Bureau mulls further visa extension for stranded foreigners

[mommysboy]

7 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

How can @jphasia be a Covid risk?

He entered Thailand end of February!  And he is worried about being forced to leave by the end of the Amnesty and possibly/probably encountering difficulties to return to his family if indeed having to leave.

Because he has to leave to another country such as Myanamar where there is covid19.  Thus, when he returns he becomes a risk. That's why I don't think it's fair that he should leave the country.  I said it was a no brainer- I thought what I said would be obvious when thought through.

Edited July 4, 2020 by mommysboy

[Almer]

Have i missed an update on when the 90 day needs to be done, mine was due on 25/05 ?

[kingofthemountain]

6 minutes ago, Almer said:

Have i missed an update on when the 90 day needs to be done, mine was due on 25/05 ?

If i understand the rule, you don't have to do it only if you cannot because of the covid

if you are already in Thailand and not in an hospital, i recomand you to do your 90 day report

as usual (With only few days in late you should avoid the fine)

i will do mine next week.

[drbeach]

18 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

You're not running around illegally but you should really have extended your permission to stay (you cannot renew a visa) when it was due to be extended as per normal. 

 

It's probably worth speaking to your immigration office to explain that your embassy could not provide you with what you needed (presumably letter of income) & can you extend now (backdated to the original extension date), failing that (& failing any "Special" arrangements being introduced) you will have to leave Thailand per whatever rules are introduced when the amnesty ends & get a new Non-O for Marriage.

 

I would imagine they can almost certainly backdate an extension as I've seen that happen before.

[Mulambana]

On 7/3/2020 at 3:41 AM, ExpatOilWorker said:

What nationalities are still stranded here?

I saw a bunch of Chinese tourists in Pattaya the other day. May be they were strabded in Chiangmai/Phuket and made it to Pattay now.

[drbeach]

9 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

If i understand the rule, you don't have to do it only if you cannot because of the covid

if you are already in Thailand and not in an hospital, i recomand you to do your 90 day report

as usual (With only few days in late you should avoid the fine)

i will do mine next week.

There is NO fine because you are allowed to delay it until after the amnesty ends.

[kingofthemountain]

3 minutes ago, drbeach said:

There is NO fine because you are allowed to delay it until after the amnesty ends.

Well if it's really the case i wonder why the 90 days counter at the immigration office

isn't closed and the IO working here put on a holiday until the 31 july.

Anyway i will go next week to do mine, just in case. When it comes to Thai

immigration rules, i prefer to play it safes.

[Anythingleft?]

There could be a lot more to this than meets the eye, it's a perfect opportunity to clear the decks without breaking a sweat or get any outside interference as they are not technically doing anything wrong (are they?) It only affects tourists and retirees, nobody with a "right" to live or be here

 

From a moral viewpoint, well that's a different argument............

[taxin]

On 7/3/2020 at 3:41 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

What nationalities are still stranded here?

As flights are taking off again anybody can, one way or the other, fly OUT of Thailand.

In Phuket (particular Patong) there are thousands of young French/Arab guys still around who will stay for as long as they can, a lot of them are unemployed back home and are here on a free holiday, no visa runs and no need to pay for extensions.
 

The benefits they get from the French government is enough for them to stay here, there is 4 star hotel in Patong accommodating these guys, charging 14,000 baht per month for an apartment that was selling for 2-3,000 baht per night in Feb/March, 2 in a room that’s only 7,000 baht each per month, this will leave them with more than enough money for booze and shish-a.
 

The bottom end hookers that were not part of the mass exodus out of Phuket, the ones with no families or a even a home to go to are servicing these guys, probably exchanging sex in return of Sangsom and a few puffs or Shish-a. 

These guys will be praying for the amnesty to be extended.

Edited July 4, 2020 by taxin

[Guitar God]

What’s there to mull? The borders aren’t open yet. 
I have a one year O ME (spouse) visa and need to go to Savannaket every 90 days to get a new stamp. 
 

 I can fly out of Thailand but I can’t fly there. If I do I need to quarantine for 14 days. Then quarantine for another 14 days when I return to Thailand, somehow, pay 80k for an insurance policy when I already have better health insurance policies they won’t recognize and pay 40k in Laos and Thailand to be held against my will for a month and not be able to come back to my home and family here, despite the fact I’ve been in Thailand since before the pandemic and I would be going from a country with almost zero active cases to one with zero. My risk to Thais is zero. But I still need to pay ฿180,000 and quarantine for a month ? This makes no sense at all.  They need to extend the extension period until there’s a viable solution. Right now, there isn’t. 

[Wavel]

On 7/3/2020 at 3:41 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

What nationalities are still stranded here?

As flights are taking off again anybody can, one way or the other, fly OUT of Thailand.

I'm a British expat oil worker myself, on a Non Imm O Visa. Who commutes to Aberdeen to work. With no home in the UK & no direct flights to London, I for one am not prepared to put my life further at risk, by having to endure multiple stop flights. and quarantine regulations once arriving in the UK no flights back into Thailand where I live. I think that makes me very stranded. With an essential need to getting a Visa extension. You see sir no two people have the same circumstances. I'am stuck here.

[sandyf]

19 hours ago, jphasia said:

I can give you an example of nationalities stranded here: My wife run her own business (restaurant) here in Thailand. She has few customers from Morocco. They came here on holidays (one couple on honeymoon) just before the borders closed. Since, they have trying to go back to Morocco but been unsuccessful so far. Why:

There have been around 5,000 Moroccan stranded outside Morocco since the borders been closed. As the covid situation went very bad in Morocco in the first few months, they totally lock down the country, not even doing repatriation. Then, they started repatriation recently with priorities (from neighboring countries, direct flights and quota...). The guy's stuck here are at the bottom of the list for repatriation. One Moroccan guy was explaining that he had a return flight in March. On his scheduled departing date, he went to the airport, check-in but later was denied to board as he was told that he won't be allowed to enter Morocco.

Another Moroccan guy came to the restaurant of my wife few days ago. He explained me that he was on his way to the airport. He said he got a call from his Embassy the night before. They informed him that they arranged a flight for him from Istanbul to Morocco for the next day but he needed to arrange his flight from Thailand to Turkey to get the connection. He tried to contact immediately the airline but no-one would answer. So he decided to go directly to their office at the airport. I didn't see him since so maybe he was lucky... 

I am sure there are more nationalities in such cases.

By the way, I am not from Morocco.

Yes, people think it was bad here in Thailand, but nothing compared to some other countries. In Morocco you had to get a certificate from the government to leave home and they were using drones to check the streets during the curfew.

I had booked a package holiday to Morocco from the UK on 13th May and a few days after my wife got her visa they declared the State of Emergency. The flight was with Easyjet and they were still saying the flight was on until a few days before we were due to go, although my flight to the UK had been cancelled weeks before. Still trying to get the money back on the holiday.

[Isaan Alan]

On 7/4/2020 at 7:08 AM, jkdenver said:

Well I for one, I can fly to the Uk, but as I live here with my wife and child and work in Saudi I see little point of flying to the uk with little hope of getting to Saudi who are in total lockdown or getting back here so I feel your point is mute and misinformed.

Yep I can fly to Australia (via Hong Kong which is twitchy) and then go into 14 day quarantine and then when do I get back to Thailand?

 

The trolls will enjoy that I suppose but there seems to be quite a few in a similar situation to me on TV so sympathy for you guys. Shame I already used up my 60 day extension but maybe that would work for some of you. Just remember that you need a Kor Ror 2  for your local (or other) Amphur document saying you are still married. 1900 baht and you get a 60 day reprieve

 

And for the trolls, why do I have this type of visa? Because normally I go to China 3 or 4 times a year. My record is 9 times in 1 year.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Isaan Alan

[Isaan Alan]

21 hours ago, Don Mega said:

If they were on extensions would they still need to border bounce ?

you are only allowed a single 60 day extension per 90 day stay if you have the Savan (and Hanoi?) Non_Imm O based on marriage (not the true Marriage visa)

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, Isaan Alan said:

you are only allowed a single 60 day extension per 90 day stay if you have the Savan (and Hanoi?) Non_Imm O based on marriage (not the true Marriage visa)

So you have to leave the country every 60 days rather than do 90 day reporting ?

[Tanoshi]

16 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

So you have to leave the country every 60 days rather than do 90 day reporting ?

No, a 90 day entry + 60 day extension = 150 days before doing a border hop for another 90 days.

Applying for the 60 day extension also counts as a 90 day report.

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

No, a 90 day entry + 60 day extension = 150 days before doing a border hop for another 90 days.

Applying for the 60 day extension also counts as a 90 day report.

ohh ok, I thought those on marriage extensions could do a 90 day report.

 

 

[Tanoshi]

13 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

ohh ok, I thought those on marriage extensions could do a 90 day report.

 

 

Those with extensions based on marriage can submit 90 day reports, they don't have to leave the Country to renew their extensions.

Those on Non O multiple entry Visas obtained at a Thai Embassy/Consulate are granted multiple 90 day entries for the validity of the Visa (1 year), but can extend each 90 day entry by a further 60 days based on marriage to a Thai, but you cannot apply for any type of extension if the Non O ME was issued based on retirement.

Edited July 5, 2020 by Tanoshi

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

Those with extensions based on marriage can submit 90 day reports, they don't have to leave the Country to renew their extensions.

Those on Non O multiple entry Visas obtained at a Thai Embassy/Consulate are granted multiple 90 day entries for the validity of the Visa (1 year), but can extend each 90 day entry by a further 60 days based on marriage to a Thai, but you cannot apply for any type of extension if the Non O ME was issued based on retirement.

Yeah my question was about always extensions, not visa's.

 

thanks for answering  my question though, we got there in the end.

[Tanoshi]

42 minutes ago, Isaan Alan said:

you are only allowed a single 60 day extension per 90 day stay if you have the Savan (and Hanoi?) Non_Imm O based on marriage (not the true Marriage visa)

 

40 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

So you have to leave the country every 60 days rather than do 90 day reporting ?

Your question to Isaan Alan above was in relation to his Non O ME Visa.

90 day reports are only required when you have permission of stay beyond 90 days, such as annual extensions based on marriage or retirement, or a 1 year entry from an O-A multi entry Visa.

[Peter Denis]

5 hours ago, Guitar God said:

What’s there to mull? The borders aren’t open yet. 
I have a one year O ME (spouse) visa and need to go to Savannaket every 90 days to get a new stamp.

...

Just for the record > You don't need to go to Savannakhet every 90-days to get a new permission to stay.  As long as your 1-year MultipleEntry Non Imm O (spouse) Visa is valid, you can exit and re-enter at ANY landborder-crossing or thai international Airport (this can be done same day).  And on entry a new 90-day permission to stay will be stamped into your passport.

[Don Mega]

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

 

Your question to Isaan Alan above was in relation to his Non O ME Visa.

90 day reports are only required when you have permission of stay beyond 90 days, such as annual extensions based on marriage or retirement, or a 1 year entry from an O-A multi entry Visa.

Yeah Isaan Alan brought the visa into the equation not me, my original question was about extensions.

[Tanoshi]

2 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Just for the record > You don't need to go to Savannakhet every 90-days to get a new permission to stay.  As long as your 1-year MultipleEntry Non Imm O (spouse) Visa is valid, you can exit and re-enter at ANY landborder-crossing or thai international Airport (this can be done same day).  And on entry a new 90-day permission to stay will be stamped into your passport.

He could also apply for a 60 day extension to each 90 day day entry, so wouldn't have to make another exit/re-entry for 150 days.

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

On 7/3/2020 at 4:46 PM, Isaan Alan said:

The lack of empathy from some posters make me think they drink vinegar instead of water.

Indeed. Every time this topic comes up, out come the keyboard warriors declaring we're all a bunch of sex tourists abusing the situation, and we should all go home on the next plane.

 

Then I must educate them, that I'm happily married, but not doing visas by marriage, but have been teaching for a number of years on Non-Bs. I just changed jobs right before the virus hit, and now cannot get my new Non-B processed. Thus, like you and many others, I have legitimate reasons for being here, and still need the extensions.

[Tanoshi]

27 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Yeah Isaan Alan brought the visa into the equation not me, my original question was about extensions.

Your original post in this topic referred to those using the automatic extension as 'freeloaders'.

 

On 7/3/2020 at 7:43 PM, Don Mega said:

This WuFlu thing is winding up, time for these freeloaders to sort their sh!t or go home.

Only those on Visas, which may have expired and need renewing, or those who need to do a border run for a new entry should be taking advantage of the amnesty automatic extension.

Because they choose a Visa as opposed to a 1 year extension doesn't make them freeloaders.

They choose the Visa option for a variety of different reasons.

 

Not all the Thai Embassies/Consulates of different Countries offer the single entry Non O Visa based on retirement (only the Non O-A, which requires the compulsory Health Insurance), so they entered VE or on a TV, with the intention of applying for the Non O at a local Thai Embassy/Consulate in order to apply for an annual extension, but the borders closed before they could do so.

 

To tar all those on the automatic extension as 'freeloaders' is a mistaken assumption.

[Eibot]

17 hours ago, jphasia said:

I am sure there are but in my case, the money is not the issue. As explained, the reason I have been with Non O Multi (based on Thai Child) vs year extension is because of situation of working in neighbor country and visiting my family often. I am not fully permanent in Thailand and not plan to for now. As I already said also before, my current situation is not as dramatic and I am just facing a global issue (Pandemic) which change my plans and situation with Thailand immigration. There is not much I can do now than wait and see what will happen in terms of visas, travelling in the coming weeks, months...

I cannot blame anyone or blame myself about the situation I am now. I have not chosen to be on overstay and I will have to follow the new rules (Amnesty extended, leaving the country...). It might be more complicate to return with all the new conditions (quarantines, certificate of this, certificate of that, insurance...). So far, I have a USD 100,000 health insurance that cover the Covid; so that's a start

They will extend the amnesty if land borders are not open yet.

[Lacessit]

On 7/3/2020 at 3:41 PM, ExpatOilWorker said:

What nationalities are still stranded here?

As flights are taking off again anybody can, one way or the other, fly OUT of Thailand.

Yes, but to where? If I want to return to Australia, how would I do it direct? AFAIK there are no flights.

Not that I want to go back to a country that won't let me out again until there's a vaccine.

[Don Mega]

4 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Yes, but to where? If I want to return to Australia, how would I do it direct? AFAIK there are no flights.

Not that I want to go back to a country that won't let me out again until there's a vaccine.

According to the Aus Embassy Thailand website both Qatar and Cathay are flying, albeit not direct.

[Myran]

On 7/3/2020 at 3:48 PM, samsensam said:

 

good question, certainly anyone from a western country does have, and has had, the opportunity to leave. though i have one friend who visits as a sex tourist, he decided to stay and then started posting on social media how he was 'stranded'... he is a kind of pathetic character, i guess he wanted his life to sound more exciting. i sent him a page of available flights home at reasonable cost... ????

 

Haha, that sounds like a guy my friend told me about. He had apparently been telling his family back in Europa that people were not allowed to leave their homes, that there was almost no food, and that you couldn't buy alcohol. I confirmed to him that the alcohol ban had been lifted weeks ago, that there were plenty of food to buy and have delivered, and that people were free to go outside. Apparently it caused quite a stir in the family when my friend relayed this information ????

[Isaan Alan]

11 hours ago, Don Mega said:

So you have to leave the country every 60 days rather than do 90 day reporting ?

standard 90 days + 60 days max = 150 days max