Extension Decision days 14th, or 21st or not?

[RubbaJohnny]

I read somewhere the cabinet  will decide to extend the amnesty or not at its meetings.

These occur on Tuesdays.

I realize they could do anythig or nothing indeed.

 

However there are now only  3 Tuesdays until the deadline

Tuesday 14th next week

Tuesday 21st

Tuesday 28th which is not only a National holiday but very very close to the deadline if needing to buy air tickets  , get visas, health clearance, transport to an airport.

 

On my calendar both 27th and 28th shown as holidays for HM the King's  birthday as immigration will be off for the weekend 25th and 26th there are by my reckoning there only 15 more days to visit immigration before amnesty ends, am I correct?

 

[ubonjoe]

There is cabinet meeting today or tomorrow since yesterday was a holiday they did not have one.

I cannot predict or even guess when they will make a decision about the amnesty.

[RubbaJohnny]

Thanks I suppose they do not have to do anything which leads to uncertainty and chaos as well as wealthy farangs there are hundreds of thousands possibly millions of ASEAN folks who cannot cross the borders so will be obliged to fly out too.

[notyouraveragefarang]

I think its crazy to think 2-3 weeks before amnesty expires they're gonna tell everyone they have to leave and not have a clean and reasonable route for people to take to leave and re-enter the country.  

 

People have been waiting this out for a while and have settled in here and it would be ridiculous to wait this long to tell people to leave...and go where?

[ubonjoe]

I think they will have to extend the amnesty or come up with another way for people to stay in the country.

There is no indication of when the neighboring countries will be opening their border crossings and it will also require Thailand to open theirs. 

[DrJack54]

9 minutes ago, notyouraveragefarang said:

People have been waiting this out for a while and have settled in here and it would be ridiculous to wait this long to tell people to leave...and go where?

First up I agree that the amnesty should be extended however your question ."....and go where?" Has one simple answer and that is home. Passport country.

[CorpusChristie]

Just now, DrJack54 said:

First up I agree that the amnesty should be extended however your question ."....and go where?" Has one simple answer and that is home. Passport country.

Some of us don't want to go home though

[DrJack54]

Just now, CorpusChristie said:

Some of us don't want to go home though

That sounds like a kid in a nightclub and they say "last drinks" and you say "but I don't want go home" 

Buy an elite visa.

[Jajazazajaja]

1 hour ago, notyouraveragefarang said:

I think its crazy to think 2-3 weeks before amnesty expires they're gonna tell everyone they have to leave and not have a clean and reasonable route for people to take to leave and re-enter the country.  

 

People have been waiting this out for a while and have settled in here and it would be ridiculous to wait this long to tell people to leave...and go where?

no, they told people 3 months ago they had to leave before 31st July

 

[JackThompson]

55 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

That sounds like a kid in a nightclub and they say "last drinks" and you say "but I don't want go home" 

Buy an elite visa.

No.  Not paying extortion through agents or elite.  Passport-country is not an option, either.

I will go elsehwere, if Thailand insists on breaking up my family, under threat of arrest for overstay.

Edited July 8, 2020 by JackThompson

[CorpusChristie]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

That sounds like a kid in a nightclub and they say "last drinks" and you say "but I don't want go home" 

Buy an elite visa.

Kids in nightclubs !!!!

 

[natway09]

The very nature of the virus situation makes 3 weeks a lifetime.

In Australia they closed the border in Victoria overnight which meant over 1,000 people can no get to or home from work.

Just relax, they will not lock you up

[jackdd]

5 hours ago, Jajazazajaja said:

no, they told people 3 months ago they had to leave before 31st July

Afaik they never said this. Can you provide a quote where immigration said this?

[Jajazazajaja]

3 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Afaik they never said this. Can you provide a quote where immigration said this?

What do you think a 3 month Visa amnesty means? What do you think the July 31st deadline was for?

 

Come on...

 

do you know what an expiration date on a Visa means?

Edited July 8, 2020 by Jajazazajaja

[BangkokAlan]

I believe the amnesty maybe extended but for only a short time perhaps days/weeks rather than a longer period but who knows? its all speculation. Most countries in Europe can be reached now from Thailand direct or via Hong Kong or Doha both allowing transiting and for other countries there are repatriation flights so there are options to leave to home countries, albeit many may not want to do this.

 

They are also opening up Muang Thong Thani from 13th July with an online queuing system which to me suggests they are expecting large crowds to be attending, they would not need this if things were to remain on amnesty and CW immigration was over capacity which its not it only has a long queue at the 90 day reporting line. I believe at minimum the usual processing and fees for any extensions will be applicable from 31st July onwards as well as the normal reporting process IE TM30. But again this is speculation.

 

Having arrived the end of March on a visa exemption i was on the amnesty 31st July timeline waiting for Vietnam to reopen so i can go back to work. I decided to use my 60 day extension option to stay with my  Thai wife now rather than wait for a possible end of July rush at the immigration office.

 

I went to CW office today and was in straight to the counter and out in an hour arriving just before 1pm while they were closed for lunch and out by 2pm with the officers being very helpful, which in my experience they always are when you have the correct documents and bring more than you need to substantiate your legitimate request. 

 

They could only extend the timeline of stay from the day of submission today so I'm in until 8th Sept which is fine for me as the officer checked all documents and said if i apply again by 15th August with the required documents for an extension based on marriage i can extend again subject to their approval.

 

Good luck to everyone on the amnesty i hope it does get extended but its inevitable at some point they have to get their systems back to normal as internally the country is now fully open.

[ubonjoe]

The cabinet had a meeting today. But no news I have seen about the amnesty.

[jackdd]

16 minutes ago, Jajazazajaja said:

What do you think a 3 month Visa amnesty means? What do you think the July 31st deadline was for?

 

Come on...

 

do you know what an expiration date on a Visa means?

"Once the situation is resolved, such alien must apply for visa extension and do 90-day reporting as specified by regulations"

 

The situation is clearly not resolved, the borders are still closed, just a few flights out of Thailand available. While people from European countries or the USA are probably able to somehow leave Thailand, i suspect that there are quite a few smaller countries which are currently not reachable.

If they intended that people leave before July 31st i would expect a sentence like "Foreigners who don't qualify for an extension have to leave the country before July 31st". From the information which immigration gave us it's just reasonable to assume that they will extend it if the borders are closed, which is currently the case. Of course this is Thailand, so who knows...

Edited July 8, 2020 by jackdd

[finy]

The amnesty will obviously be extended until 31st Dec or 31st July (2021).

 

It's the only thing that makes sense for Thailand (not foreigners).

 

Wait and see.

[darrendsd]

1 minute ago, finy said:

The amnesty will obviously be extended until 31st Dec or 31st July (2021).

 

It's the only thing that makes sense for Thailand (not foreigners).

 

Wait and see.

I would love it if they extended it by a year as it will take me over the 50 year old mark

 

However I think the chances of them doing that are slim to none

 

But we can hope

[Caldera]

6 hours ago, Jajazazajaja said:

no, they told people 3 months ago they had to leave before 31st July

Wrong. They told people that their permission to stay got automatically extended to July 31st. That was already the second automatic extension, so it's not unreasonable to assume that there might be a 3rd one forthcoming if the situation hasn't returned to normal, pending further announcements.

 

At no point did the Thai government tell any foreign nationals to leave, provided they were legally in Thailand on March 26th. Several embassies, on the other hand, did tell their citizens to reconsider their stay in Thailand and/or urged them to return outright.

 

And let's put that in perspective: There are still thousands of Thais stranded in foreign countries as well. They, too, rely on their host countries being lenient with them.

 

I think the time has passed for not extending the amnesty, as land borders remain closed and flights out remain limited. I do believe, however, that they are working on issuing extensions at immigration offices instead of renewing the automatic blanket amnesty. If they'll be able to make this change this month remains to be seen.

[Terry B]

47 minutes ago, finy said:

The amnesty will obviously be extended until 31st Dec or 31st July (2021).

 

It's the only thing that makes sense for Thailand (not foreigners).

 

Wait and see.

Okay by me! I'm so happy right now that I unexpectedly ended up here in Thailand of all places to wait out this Virus thing. And am being so unusually super-productive right now while preparing for my return to the west - (i.e. - "my passport country") - after being gone now for years -  to hit the ground running as soon as the virus clears-out there. Getting back into the regular 9-5 daily working grind: This is a great time and place to retrofit regardless of where to next!

Edited July 8, 2020 by Terry B
Not very clearly written

[Saradoc1972]

8 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

That sounds like a kid in a nightclub and they say "last drinks" and you say "but I don't want go home" 

Buy an elite visa.

Can't say I disagree with you, but Thailand was more or less inviting people to come here and strike up at least semi-permanent residence, just having the money to live here with a few other preconditions. Try that with any of our western states. Those were the terms that most everyone striking up camp here made serious preparations to go that step, those with a firm intend to stay within the law and play by the rules. I have 3 passports by now with a stellar record of in and outs, no single overstay, never a TR visa, 5 or 6 exempt entries, everything nice and dainty. 

Obviously not talking about the soldiers of fortune who just popped up here and thought staying was easy and they would be dodging their way around, and everybody should have been clear they were here courtesy by the Kingdom and would have to stick by the rules and those could change (have changed, or at least the enforcement) but simply cancelling that sort-of-invitation just like that would leave a sense of betrayal with all the hassle involved to now be here.

Elite Visa would not help anyone at the moment, unless actually in Thailand. Those are off just fine, agreed. Would not have bought one after seeing how things were going a little down the drain since at least 2016, personally, rather decided I would likely be calling it quits around 51, i.e. 2023, but was quite certain that would not be a problem. Till now.

Edited July 8, 2020 by Saradoc1972

[MrBiker]

Well my August 2 flight got cancelled today so it really is not as easy to go home as everyone thinks it is. I have to wait up to 6 weeks to get a travel voucher for the same airline that cancelled me. My METV has been expired since April 2nd. I don't want to risk booking more flights and getting them cancelled and then later have thousands of dollars in travel vouchers. Really hope they have something for us. 

[LukKrueng]

10 hours ago, JackThompson said:

No.  Not paying extortion through agents or elite.  Passport-country is not an option, either.

I will go elsehwere, if Thailand insists on breaking up my family, under threat of arrest for overstay.

If you have a family here you could probably get a proper long term permit to stay, but you chose to play the visa run game. That game is not available now and no one knows when and how it will be in the future. So you can go back to your home country, get a proper visa / permit to stay, or try to find another place to go to. Thailand does not insist on breaking up your family. 

[DrJack54]

31 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

If you have a family here you could probably get a proper long term permit to stay, but you chose to play the visa run game. That game is not available now and no one knows when and how it will be in the future. So you can go back to your home country, get a proper visa / permit to stay, or try to find another place to go to. Thailand does not insist on breaking up your family. 

Disregard. That chap you quote has been playing victim card for long time. Likes to blame immigration. Gives a purpose to for a gripe. Think it's a hobby.

If I was married I would still go down retirement path if over 50. 

Yes married guys have more hurdles along with folk using income method (some offices). Some folk obsessed with immigration problems. 

99% have no issue.

Edited July 8, 2020 by DrJack54

[DrJack54]

3 hours ago, MrBiker said:

Well my August 2 flight got cancelled today so it really is not as easy to go home as everyone thinks it is. I have to wait up to 6 weeks to get a travel voucher for the same airline that cancelled me. My METV has been expired since April 2nd. I don't want to risk booking more flights and getting them cancelled and then later have thousands of dollars in travel vouchers. Really hope they have something for us. 

In your thread you stated your trying to return Canada. 

One city my country Oz has 500 yesterday return Brisbane. Which is 3rd largest city. How many returned to bigger cities.

Maybe you need deal with Canadian embassy.

[JackThompson]

3 hours ago, MrBiker said:

Well my August 2 flight got cancelled today so it really is not as easy to go home as everyone thinks it is. I have to wait up to 6 weeks to get a travel voucher for the same airline that cancelled me. My METV has been expired since April 2nd. I don't want to risk booking more flights and getting them cancelled and then later have thousands of dollars in travel vouchers. Really hope they have something for us. 

I hope their are several huuuuge lawsuits filed by class-action or governments against these airlines for not refunding IMMEDIATELY when they cancel flights.   People need those funds to buy their next ticket.  They are stabbing people when they are trapped/down - it is reprehensible behavior.

[clorox]

most of the people here are people with multiple 0 visa, they need to re-activate their entry (out/in), instead of going to border, they can just do it at the immigration, everybody have a valid visa in that way people get their 90days without needing to go anywhere, they get the fee, win win 

[Peter Denis]

10 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

If you have a family here you could probably get a proper long term permit to stay, but you chose to play the visa run game. That game is not available now and no one knows when and how it will be in the future. So you can go back to your home country, get a proper visa / permit to stay, or try to find another place to go to. Thailand does not insist on breaking up your family. 

No need to go to your home-country (or any other country for that matter) when the Amnesty expires, and your prefer staying in Thailand and meet the criteria.

If you are +50 years of age, or married to a thai national or have thai dependant children, you can apply at your local IO for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement or for reason of family.  In the last month of that 90-day Visa you can then apply for the 1-year extension of stay based on that Visa.

The only problem that could arise when doing so, is that your local IO might not accept your application for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa, when your permission to stay expired and you are presently on the Amnesty-based extension.

So you would need to enquire at your local IO whether they would accept your application, some IOs will do so, while others will refuse to do it (yes, Thailand and consistency - a not very stable combination).

 

[JackThompson]

10 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Disregard. That chap you quote has been playing victim card for long time. Likes to blame immigration. Gives a purpose to for a gripe. Think it's a hobby.

This is how people like you characterize those who try to help others from falling of the "immigration just wants the official documents" tripe. 

I wish someone like me had warned me that immigration was not really interested in if you meet the requirements, and were just looking for a way to force you to make a payoff.  Instead, I was fed lists of requirements, which were wrong - because they did not include the "unpublished requirements" added - and had my wife treated like dirt by those (expletive) cruel (expletives).

 

Quote

If I was married I would still go down retirement path if over 50. 

Yes married guys have more hurdles along with folk using income method (some offices). Some folk obsessed with immigration problems. 

99% have no issue.

Do NOT believe this 99% stuff and be shocked and surprised as I was. 

 

If you go to immigration with your wife, warn her they may treat her like dirt, and do their best to humiliate and insult both her and you (mostly said to her in Thai - since she is they one they can "get to" emotionally).  The IO may have been taught to see her as a traitor to her 'nation and race' for marrying you.  They HATE the fact she has a decent life, because you support her, and want to Destroy that.

 

But most importantly, remember that Immigration runs an agent-racket, where most of their incomes are derived (similar to the rest of the rtp).  They have set 'traps' to force a portion of applicants to ONLY be able to get an extension via a payoff.  Different offices have different trip-wires set up.

Edited July 9, 2020 by JackThompson