STV - anybody got reply from Longstay?

[sallecc]

My girlfriend is trying to apply STV, last week she emailed her passport and info to Longstay agency (as 1st step in their procedure, link below), but until now they didn't reply, and nobody is answering the calls (except the machine mumbling in Thai, which is very appropriate as 100% of their customers are foreigners heh).

 

Did anybody got actual reply from Longstay? She is hoping to check the cost of 15-days quarantine hotels, charter flights, and mandatory 15-days after-quarantine hotels... all other costs are more or less known (insurance, tests, certificates, application, etc... seems as they don't require any bank statements).

 

STV procedure on Longstay website:

http://www.thailongstay.co.th/stv_visa.html

[Max69xl]

You can check out every ASQ-hotel online. You can see prices including facilities even the menu. Just google ASQ-hotels Bangkok. 

[MRToMRT]

I got a reply from them about a week ago (am in UK) after submitting my details about 4 or 5 weeks ago. It says.......

 

______

 

Your information has already been registered in our system. Once we are able to officially start processing your application, we will update you as soon as possible

 

_______

 

The sheer fact that they replied after being quiet for so long makes me wonder if we are going to see some movement on this coming up. I think we will, even for the high covid locations (covid tests and ASQ not being reduced for these locations obviously).

 

 

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by MRToMRT

[daviddunham]

Heard from them. They are bound to the same rules as the embassies for sure.

meaning: if the embassy in your country can make the STV (because your country is low risk) then longstay can move forward - currently most countries are NOT low risk

[treetops]

Some embassies are now offering STVs, albeit with hefty financial requirements.  Check her embassy website to see if hers is one.  It could be they're not responding because she's not eligible.

 

They allow scheduled flights so no need to price charters, and ASQ prices are freely available.  Here's a list of most including price ranges, although check out the latest ones which are missing from the list.

 

https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/SRBviAC5gs/COVID19/List_details_of_ASQ_Hotels_06102020.pdf

[daviddunham]

From what I can tell the only! 2 embassies in Europe that are offering STV are Finnland and Norway...

[sallecc]

Thanks for replies guys... She is planning to come to Phuket, but judging by the prices of (only) 3 ASQ hotels there (start ~90k), it's better to do BKK ASQ for 40-50k then head south to Phuket...

 

FYI I finally got somebody to answer the call... They didn't check email at all (???), only when I spell them entire email address and name, they found it and said "will put her in the system", jeez... My girlfriend is dual China & USA (I didn't mention USA of course), they asked which city she's staying (Guangzhou), then they said "the next available flight is by end of November, we will email you the details".

 

If any of you guys (Scandinavians and AU+NZ only at the moment) are not getting reply or they are too slow to respond, better keep calling them until they answer, otherwise they will not move their a$$es (even for those mega-inflated prices, jeez).

[daviddunham]

?!

if she is staying in china (if not chinese need proof of residence) she can just apply with the embassy now. Dont have to wait for Longstay. Takes 10 days for the STV including CoE...

[sallecc]

2 minutes ago, daviddunham said:

?!

if she is staying in china (if not chinese need proof of residence) she can just apply with the embassy now. Dont have to wait for Longstay. Takes 10 days for the STV including CoE...

Really? Only 10 days? That sounds great!

We thought only Longstay does it...

Do you know somebody who did it in in 10 days or have a link to that information? Thanks in advance!

[daviddunham]

Fact: If the country is low risk (china is), residents can apply at the embassy for STV. (My country was put on high risk ...sure any other visa atill being processed dont mind the sense in that as always with thailand????)

10 days: 5-7 days for STV, 5-7 days for CoE (after STV received)

...if you hand it in alltogether they can process them faster = 10 days.

 

handing in both would require you to have payed for insurances and ASQ and! hotel after quarantine (min 30 days) ...so ...if the STV is denied (for whatever reason) you wiould probably lose some cash (ASQ can be refunded, but insurances have 15 day window for refund request so it is tight)

 

I got my information from: called embassy directly

[DrJack54]

4 minutes ago, sallecc said:

Really? Only 10 days? That sounds great!

We thought only Longstay does it...

Do you know somebody who did it in in 10 days or have a link to that information? Thanks in advance!

Don't get excited. The first arrivals from China was planned for Oct 8. That never occurred. It seemed the demand for STV was underwhelming. Think the few STV folk are now scheduled to add to a repat flight. 

I started a reply to your thread hours ago along the lines of "unless your gf is flying from China has zero chance.....". Then cancelled it. This red herring visa is to enable Chinese to enter Thailand.

Above you mentioned Au and NZ. 

Australian citizens were advised this week that international travel would most likely be off table untill end 2021. 

NZ has population ~ 5mill. Good luck with flights. 

STV = CHINA.

[daviddunham]

5 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

STV = CHINA.

The person in question is staying in china ...unless Guangzhou is in France, which I doubt????????

[DrJack54]

14 minutes ago, daviddunham said:

The person in question is staying in china ...unless Guangzhou is in France, which I doubt????????

Say what. I realize the gf is in China and has chinese pp. That's why she has a chance to obtain STV and enter Thailand.

My whole point if she was not then has zero chance. 

Would have been helpful if op had included important info in OP. First time she was in China was mentioned post #7.

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by DrJack54

[thaitero]

2 hours ago, daviddunham said:

From what I can tell the only! 2 embassies in Europe that are offering STV are Finnland and Norway...

+ denmark

 

I do not see point of this using this "longstay company" and pay fees to them also..

One just should check their own embassy website regularly to see if it will be available..

 

 

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, thaitero said:

+ denmark

 

I do not see point of this using this "longstay company" and pay fees to them also..

One just should check their own embassy website regularly to see if it will be available..

 

 

No point. The SRV is a wet dream. At very best will be available only to Chinese. 

That group will not accept the ridiculous requirements. The handful that might will be scheduled onto repat flighs

[sallecc]

1 hour ago, daviddunham said:

Fact: If the country is low risk (china is), residents can apply at the embassy for STV. (My country was put on high risk ...sure any other visa atill being processed dont mind the sense in that as always with thailand????)

10 days: 5-7 days for STV, 5-7 days for CoE (after STV received)

...if you hand it in alltogether they can process them faster = 10 days.

 

handing in both would require you to have payed for insurances and ASQ and! hotel after quarantine (min 30 days) ...so ...if the STV is denied (for whatever reason) you wiould probably lose some cash (ASQ can be refunded, but insurances have 15 day window for refund request so it is tight)

 

I got my information from: called embassy directly

Thanks for your valuable input and time David, we'll deal with consulate directly, let's see how it goes...

[5ilver]

The Long Stay Co has gone quiet on me for the last 2 weeks. First week of Oct, they were pretty quick to reply me and I got the same "we'll have your passport copy and put you in the system" reply. After that, radio silence despite my follow-ups and didn't see any further updates on their Facebook page either.

 

However, good news is that many embassies in so-called "low-risk" countries are starting to update STV information on their official sites within these 2 weeks and direct application with the embassies are possible (if you're in a low-risk country and are a legal resident of that low-risk country). The Long Stay Co. are definitely not making an effort to earn their fee, so if applying direct with an embassy is an option - go for it.

 

I have also noticed that a 60-day Tourist (TR) visa has also now been made available (and eligible for COE) without any fanfare. It has less onerous terms that the STV, but is still stricter than the old single-entry 60 day TR. Proof of min. 500K THB bank balance in the past 6 months is required. 

[FalangJaiDee]

7 hours ago, 5ilver said:

I have also noticed that a 60-day Tourist (TR) visa has also now been made available (and eligible for COE) without any fanfare. It has less onerous terms that the STV, but is still stricter than the old single-entry 60 day TR. Proof of min. 500K THB bank balance in the past 6 months is required. 

Does "in the past 6 months" mean that you need to consistently have maintained at least 500k baht in your bank account for 6 months, or can do you just need to show a bank statement dated at most 6 months ago with 500k baht in it?

[charmonman]

I got a reply almost immediately but didn’t realize it as Yahoo decided to throw it in my spam folder. This was a few weeks ago. I am in a medium risk country , Canada, so will have to wait.

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, FalangJaiDee said:

Does "in the past 6 months" mean that you need to consistently have maintained at least 500k baht in your bank account for 6 months, or can do you just need to show a bank statement dated at most 6 months ago with 500k baht in it?

You have to prove you have had the equivalent of at least 500k baht for 6 consecutive months.

[SchuetzRob]

18 hours ago, daviddunham said:

Heard from them. They are bound to the same rules as the embassies for sure.

meaning: if the embassy in your country can make the STV (because your country is low risk) then longstay can move forward - currently most countries are NOT low risk

High risk vs low risk countries, I get it. But possible 'tourists' to Thailand have to quarantine 14 days before travel, do covid tests during this time, have to have a confirmation that they are not infected - and do the same procedure in Thailand. So why the differentiation between high- and low risk countries? 

[Surinkiwi]

yes, got an email today from Longstay after sending information on October 2nd. Email said 

"Your information has been registered in our system. once we are able to officially start processing your application, we will update you as soon as possible. "  

Not much help.

I am based in N Z and have been told by the Thai consulate that I will qualify for the Thai government repatriation flights in October, and December 1800 nzd one way.

Just need COE, insurance, Quarantine booking, negative covid test no more than 72hours before flight and visa.

Have emailed the Thai embassy to see if they can offer any assistance with visa.

 

Enjoy the helpful comments here and really appreciate the factual experiences that people share.

[Peter Denis]

17 hours ago, daviddunham said:

From what I can tell the only! 2 embassies in Europe that are offering STV are Finnland and Norway...

The four scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland) are offering STV.

But you need to have a passport of the low-risk country where you are applying.

 

Note: Applying for the STV is only indicated when

- NOT married to a Thai national, OR

- under 50 years of age.

When you meet 1 of these requirements (also when applying from a high-risk country) there are other - easier - options to get hold of the COE.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Peter Denis

[toolpush]

1 hour ago, Peter Denis said:

The four scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland) are offering STV.

But you need to have a passport of the low-risk country where you are applying.

 

Note: Applying for the STV is only indicated when

- NOT married to a Thai national, OR

- under 50 years of age.

When you meet 1 of these requirements (also when applying from a high-risk country) there are other - easier - options to get hold of the COE.

I assume you mean the O-A Retirement visas and their onerous requirements like the Police report and medical certificate? Where I am, it would take 4 months just to satisfy their terms on the police report. Go to police station and give prints and apply, wait, pickup and take to Notary public for translation, wait, pick up and take to Ministry of Consular affairs for authentification, wait, pickup and take to Thai Embassy for their Authentification. Wait again. 4 months estimated total.

[5ilver]

4 hours ago, FalangJaiDee said:

Does "in the past 6 months" mean that you need to consistently have maintained at least 500k baht in your bank account for 6 months, or can do you just need to show a bank statement dated at most 6 months ago with 500k baht in it?

It means you need to show 6 months worth of banks statements from the 6 preceding months before your application date, with each month evidencing a minimum balance of 500K THB every month.

[Peter Denis]

11 minutes ago, toolpush said:

I assume you mean the O-A Retirement visas and their onerous requirements like the Police report and medical certificate? Where I am, it would take 4 months just to satisfy their terms on the police report. Go to police station and give prints and apply, wait, pickup and take to Notary public for translation, wait, pick up and take to Ministry of Consular affairs for authentification, wait, pickup and take to Thai Embassy for their Authentification. Wait again. 4 months estimated total.

Yes, when married to a Thai national you are eligible for the COE irrespective of the Visa-type on which you apply.

And when over 50 years of age, you can apply from a new or valid Non Imm O-A or O-X Visa.

 

You did not mention your home-country where you apply for the Non Imm O-A Visa.

I am from Belgium and it took me less than 2 minutes to get the police-clearance from my local municipality (the time to get the free official document printed and stamped).  The medical certificate was a simple letter written by my doctor which he did sent me by post (didn't even need to visit him).  In short, meeting the Non Imm O-A Visa requirements was a piece of cake.

But yes, bureaucracy requirements can differ considerably per country.

Edited October 20, 2020 by Peter Denis

[5ilver]

2 hours ago, Surinkiwi said:

yes, got an email today from Longstay after sending information on October 2nd. Email said 

"Your information has been registered in our system. once we are able to officially start processing your application, we will update you as soon as possible. "  

Not much help.

Yes I think we're all better off going direct with the embassies (if the option is available), I just don't see why one would want to pay an additional fee to Longstay Co. when so far they've not proven that they can add significant value to this process...

[treetops]

1 hour ago, 5ilver said:

Yes I think we're all better off going direct with the embassies (if the option is available), I just don't see why one would want to pay an additional fee to Longstay Co. when so far they've not proven that they can add significant value to this process...

Longstay don't appear to have the financial requirements which is an obstacle for some.

[androokery]

It took about 10 days for me to get a reply, the same as everyone, i.e. "wait for clarification from government".

[androokery]

OP mentions 

Quote

mandatory 15-days after-quarantine hotels

I think it's unclear whether you have to pay for your entire planned stay (minus ASQ) or not. The 15 days is just the minimum based on that the shortest stay is 30 days.