Reporter: RonnyLatYa
Ref: TB Immigration Info Brief 023/20: New Immigration Rules Approved and In Effect – www.thailandblog.nl/dossier/visum-thailand/immigration-infobrief/tb-immigration-info-brief-023-20-new-immigrationrules-approved-en-van-kracht/
The information below was already known yesterday, but when this Immigration Info Letter was drawn up on April 22 at 0800 Thai time, there was still no official notification and confirmation on the immigration website.
For the time being, it is therefore still subject to reservation.
https://www.immigration.go.th/index
It concerns the previously taken Corona measures in the field of immigration and which were introduced on April 7. (See Ref) These would now be extended until July 31 and also already have the approval of the Cabinet.
They may have appeared in the minutes of the Cabinet, but to make it official it must first be signed by the PM and then appear in the Royal Gazette.
Assuming that this will happen in the next few days, this means that those whose period of stay ended after March 26 need not apply for an extension of their period of stay. In other words, no overstay fine will be imposed on these persons. Whether it also applies to the other measures that were approved on April 7, including exemption from 90 days of notification, is not immediately clear when drawing up this Immigration Info Brief, but I assume it does.
NB. Year extensions must/can simply be extended when they expire and in accordance with the chosen and planned procedure.
I'll follow up and as soon as official confirmation I'll let you know on the blog.
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Regards,
RonnyLatYa
ronny thank you very much for this useful information i was in my squeaky bag for this event i do have a visa support letter from the embassy but april 24 my non imigeand o visa is over and i will fly back 11/5 with the klm this message will my old heart thank you well
To be clear, do nothing until July 31st. KLM flight booked for May 9, visa expires May 6,
Flight has already been canceled twice, maybe it will work now.
What about legalizing the letter of support from the Embassy? This must be done in person in Bangkok.
Since when does that letter have to be legalized? I just happened to have it in, completely finished by post and legalization is unnecessary. Although it can never be ruled out that somewhere an official suddenly does make that requirement…..
For regular extensions of your stay period that expire after March 26, you do not need a visa support letter. You will automatically receive an extension until July 31, at least if the PM signs this.
For a one-year extension and if you use a visa support letter, I don't think you should have anything legalized. Or it must have changed there in recent years.
in response to this message, the immigration made a call to the local immigration office in Phrae.
If I just wanted to drop by for the 90-day notice.
You are exempt. Not that you shouldn't report it.
In Chantaburi, people have been demanding for the past 2 years that the income statement for an annual visa be legalized. This must be done in Bangkok. New staff?!
There are more immigration offices that ask that, but from your text I understood that it was Immigration Bangkok and it was also not clear whether it was about a year extension.
There are 2 support letters.
But I think the legalization department in Bangkok is still open, but I can't confirm that 100%.
The facebook page of the Dutch embassy also mentions it (thanks to Gringo for the info).
It is a pity, however, that they also use visas (just like immigration, by the way) instead of a period of residence.
No visa will be extended. Your visa itself will always expire at the end of its validity period.
So read “period of stay” instead of “visa”
“Do you have a visa for Thailand that expires after March 26, 2020? Then it will now be automatically extended until July 31. This applies to all visa types and also the 90-day notice. You do not need to go to the immigration office for this extension and also the Covid-19 visa support letter from the embassy is no longer necessary.”
https://www.facebook.com/netherlandsembassybangkok/
Just read that this exemption does not apply to retirement visas, marriage visas, also on this Thai blog.
Yes that is true. For a one-year extension, follow the normal procedure. After all, you are not part of the target audience with your annual extension.
The target audience of this “automatic extension” of the period of stay is actually those who have obtained a period of stay of 30/60/90 days upon entry with a visa/visa exemption and who, at the end of that period of stay, including possibly the 30/60 day extension , could not leave Thailand before closing the borders.
Someone who has an annual extension is not included and must simply obtain a new annual extension if he wants to stay longer. Immigration will process these applications as before.
But someone with a one-year extension who decided not to renew and was still planning to leave Thailand permanently after March 26 will then be covered by the scheme again. He must leave Thailand when it becomes possible again and the period is currently between March 26 - July 31, 20. Just like the target audience.
I do want to warn you to be careful if you want to cut corners with your annual extension.
Suppose you decide to hitch a ride on that automatic extension in order to make a profit for about 3 months and then ultimately only get your annual extension on July 31, you could come home from a bare journey. But everyone just does what they think they should do.
Actually, you should look at it this way. The actual period of stay is not actually extended until July 31.
However, no overstay fine will be charged if you leave Thailand between March 26 and July 31. Maybe that gives a different picture of that “automatic extension”.
My practice of asking around over the past few days shows that people 'think' they know and therefore advise you wrongly; visited Head Office Police yesterday and there 5 officers sang in unison that I really didn't need to take any action ...
Partly at the request of Ronny, I continued digging; a friendly Thai with connections called the Immigration Office Koh Samui and he informed me that I really have to go there in the coming days with my NON Immigrant “O” to apply for an Extension of Stay of 1 year based on Retirement, as the last stamp stated…
With additional result that when I return to Koh Phangan I have to go into quarantine for 14 days …
Charles,
As I feared…. and therefore advised you in a PM that it was wise to get clarity about this, because the answer they gave you was unknown to me.
But as I also said, it could be that special rules apply to the islands
Not so. Too bad because you now seem to be running into that quarantine.
Hopefully you can still sit it out at your home and not be obliged to stay in some room that they choose for you.
I went to Khon Kaen immigration last week for my 90 day report, and it was almost extinct there.
If it's like this everywhere, I don't see the problem.
I also asked the friendly lady about the 90-day notification.
She told me that the intention is that when the exempt period is over, you come and make the report.
So you can't postpone it until the next 90 days notification.
Whether other immigration offices, or other immigration officers from the same office, have a different opinion on this is, as always, the question.
She doesn't know because no decision has been made about that.
In any case, I do not see the point of an exemption if it is then expected that they will be there on August 1.
Advice. Leave that waiver as it is, useless, and simply make your 90-day report as provided and in any way you choose or can.