Best alternatives to stay after September 26

[audaciousnomad 693]

I am in the same boat as OP. Looking for ideas as well, in case no more grace left to give us by LOS.

[EricTh 3,030]

5 minutes ago, Caldera said:

From reading similar offers, 25,000 baht seems to be the price of the initial Non-O visa issued by immigration, for someone who entered Thailand as a tourist. Good for 3 months only, can be extended but that costs extra.

 

So volunteer visa is only for 3 months? I doubt they will extend indefinitely.

 

[jonga80 45]

 

9 hours ago, EricTh said:

So volunteer visa is only for 3 months? I doubt they will extend indefinitely.

 

1 year is 35.000 bahts. Too much better price 1 year than 3 months.

 

In my case, I only want to be until the end of december, so I will have to pay 25.000.

 

By the way, I copy here the last answer of one of this agencies:

 

"Yes, if you have tourist visa then your option will be volunteer visa

25K for 3 months

And let me clarify. If you start process now, your valid date of your visa will start after 26th September

I think you shouldn't wait until close to 26th August because the visa will take time to proceed around 1 month

So if you want to apply, we recommend you to apply as soon as possible since your visa will start after 26th September anyway"

Edited August 1, 2020 by jonga80

[audaciousnomad 693]

 

1 hour ago, jonga80 said:

 

1 year is 35.000 bahts. Too much better price 1 year than 3 months.

 

In my case, I only want to be until the end of december, so I will have to pay 25.000.

 

By the way, I copy here the last answer of one of this agencies:

 

"Yes, if you have tourist visa then your option will be volunteer visa

25K for 3 months

And let me clarify. If you start process now, your valid date of your visa will start after 26th September

I think you shouldn't wait until close to 26th August because the visa will take time to proceed around 1 month

So if you want to apply, we recommend you to apply as soon as possible since your visa will start after 26th September anyway"

Which agency quoted?

[jonga80 45]

12 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

 

Which agency quoted?

Thai Visa Centre

[BritManToo 45,241]

16 hours ago, jonga80 said:

It would be, but it's a risk to wait until that moment.

 

Not much risk now Thai Airways have cancelled all international flights until after that date.

[UncleMhee 587]

10 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

in case no more grace left to give us by LOS.

 

7 minutes ago, jonga80 said:

Thai Visa Centre

Go see Grace.....it costs what it costs. So do you want to stay.....or not!!

[sandyf 6,644]

15 hours ago, Max69xl said:

There's no such thing as an EU passport. 

Of course there is, all passports issued by EU member states are passports of EU citizens.

I suspect that comment is from someone who does not have the Queen's English as their native language.

[sandyf 6,644]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

 

Not much risk now Thai Airways have cancelled all international flights until after that date.

Hardly a strong argument considering it is only 4 days, Thai Airways cancelled our flight from Krabi to BKK in a couple of weeks, along with a large chunk of the domestic schedule.

If you are saying that there will be no scheduled international flights in/out of Thailand until the 1st Oct then it may be a different matter.

[Caldera 3,510]

2 hours ago, jonga80 said:

Thai Visa Centre

Did they tell you if they will keep your passport the entire time the visa is being processed (several weeks)? A friend of mine asked an agent in Pattaya and that's what they told him.

 

That would be a no-go for me in Thailand, being without my passport for weeks. I had always thought you get an under consideration stamp and then come back to have your visa or extension stamped into your passport.

 

[BritManToo 45,241]

31 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Hardly a strong argument considering it is only 4 days, Thai Airways cancelled our flight from Krabi to BKK in a couple of weeks, along with a large chunk of the domestic schedule.

If you are saying that there will be no scheduled international flights in/out of Thailand until the 1st Oct then it may be a different matter.

I think Thai Airways is a good indication of future Thai government actions.

If Thai airways ain't flying, I don't think they'll be expecting us to be flying.

[Phillip9 558]

21 hours ago, jonga80 said:

I'm in similar situation, looking how to stay here after 26th of september. I want 3 more months, until now I only have the agent option paying 25k for a volunteer visa.

Seems like a risky strategy to me.  What are you going to say if you are stopped by a random police or immigration officer and asked about your volunteer work that you are not actually doing?

 

I assume random checks by police looking for foreigners overstaying will be common after the sept 26 deadline.

Edited August 1, 2020 by Phillip9

[ubonjoe 48,646]

37 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I think Thai Airways is a good indication of future Thai government actions.

If Thai airways ain't flying, I don't think they'll be expecting us to be flying.

Thai Airways has gone bankrupt so it is not a good indication of anything.

There are other airlines flying out of Bangkok. 

[BritTim 9,709]

57 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I think Thai Airways is a good indication of future Thai government actions.

If Thai airways ain't flying, I don't think they'll be expecting us to be flying.

I am fairly sure you are wrong, but I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you. You have indicated your intention of doing nothing until September 20th, and I expect there will be plenty like you. At that point, trying to find flights out of Thailand before the September 26th deadline (with the limited number of flights leaving) is going to be expensive, at best, and impossible at worst. Do not rely on immigration being sympathetic. They will not be interested in whether you have been trying to leave for a few days. They will want to know what you have been doing for the last six months. It will also be way too late for an agent to help. Volunteer and education visas take much more than a few days to arrange.

[BritManToo 45,241]

4 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I am fairly sure you are wrong, but I will be keeping my fingers crossed for you. You have indicated your intention of doing nothing until September 20th, and I expect there will be plenty like you. At that point, trying to find flights out of Thailand before the September 26th deadline (with the limited number of flights leaving) is going to be expensive, at best, and impossible at worst. Do not rely on immigration being sympathetic. They will not be interested in whether you have been trying to leave for a few days. They will want to know what you have been doing for the last six months. It will also be way too late for an agent to help. Volunteer and education visas take much more than a few days to arrange.

I'm putting 400k in the bank.

I have the legit options of 60 day & 1 year extensions.

or I could buy the retirement through agent for 25k.

But as I've already paid for a Non-O ME valid until April 2021, I prefer not to pay again.

Edited August 1, 2020 by BritManToo