THAILAND: Visa Amnesty Update 03 Sep. 2020

03/09/2020

THE VISA AMNESTY

The visa amnesty expires finally on the 26th September and will NOT be extended., stranded foreigners must get embassy letter, medical certificate, new visa or leave Thailand. Foreign embassies will provide the required letters but only where appropriate according to the UK embassy as certain financial facilities are being offered to both American and British nationals who cannot afford to purchase a flight home. The new 30 day extension must be applied for on each occasion supported by documentation on the grounds of either ill health or that the foreign national is unable to return home.

What is a visa amnesty?

It is the visa relief or automatic visa extension for all foreign nationals staying in Thailand affected by the COVID-19 crisis as announced by the government on July 29, 2020.

Who are covered by the visa amnesty?

All foreign nationals who are legally staying in Thailand whether you are here on visa exemption entry stamps, tourist visa, non-immigrant visas, or yearly extension of stays.

The validity of the visa amnesty is until September 26 only. There is no indication that this visa amnesty or grace period will be extended.

GUIDE FOR FOREIGNERS TO AND IN THAILAND

Thailand travel ban on some international passenger flights has been extended until further notice.
Thailand grants visa amnesty to all foreigners in Thailand whose visas expired on March 26 onward; foreigners are permitted to stay in Thailand until September 26 only.
The “automatic visa extension” continues until Sept 26. In order for short-term visa holders to remain in Thailand after that date, they must apply for an extension to stay before Sept 26. For that, they must have a letter from their embassy or a letter from a doctor (in case illness is preventing travel). The 30-day extension, if granted, will become effective from Sept 27.
Thai Immigration Bureau in Bangkok opened a temporary immigration office for short term visa extension and 90-day reporting applications at Muang Thong Thani.
The foreigners to be allowed to enter Thailand will comprise of diplomats and foreign workers including their families, business representatives and experts invited by the government, permanent residents, foreigners with Thai families, students and their guardians, medical tourists and their attendants and migrant workers with official documents. Foreigners must get in touch with the local Thai Embassy in their current location to apply for Certificate of Entry and for more information.
Currently, the following types of visas are NOT permitted to enter Thailand: Tourists visa holders (TR), Sports visa holders (S), Monks and other religious visa holders (R), Retirement visa holders (O-A/O-X), Volunteers (O), and non-formal students visa holders (such as language schools, diving schools, boxing schools).

THE CURRENT IMPLEMENTING RULES OF THE VISA AMNESTY

Visas or permit to stay that have expired from March 26 onward will be allowed to temporarily stay until September 26th.
Foreigners will not be charged 500 baht per day for overstaying their visa or permit to stay.
Foreigners who are due to file their 90-day address notification must do it starting August 1-31, 2020.
Foreigners on tourist visas or visa on entry are no longer required to apply in person for an extension at an immigration office.
Foreigners holding a long term visa such as working visa, marriage visa, or retirement are required to apply for their yearly extension at the immigration office now or before September 26. The extension of stay will start September 27, 2020 and valid for 1 year.
Foreigners do not need any embassy letter to be granted the automatic visa extension unless they want to stay beyond September 26 due to travel ban in their country.

Will the visa amnesty be extended?

No, the validity of the visa amnesty is until September 26th only.

What will happen when the visa amnesty is lifted or not extended anymore?

When the situation is resolved and returns to normal, foreigners must leave Thailand on or before September 26 or they must apply for the proper visa extension within August 1 to September 26. Foreigners are also required to do the 90-day reporting within August 1 to 31. Those who fail to comply with these requirements will be strictly prosecuted according to the laws.

30 DAY VISA EXTENSION

The Immigration Bureau, have indicated that foreigners still in Thailand when the visa amnesty expires on September 26th may apply for a 30-day extension on a case by case basis.

30 day extensions can be applied for on certain criteria supported either by a medical certificate or embassy letter.

1. Anyone who is ill or physically unable to fly can apply for an extension provided that they have a valid medical certificate.

2. Foreigners who have been living in Thailand on tourist visas since the Covid 19 crisis, may also present as grounds for an extension their inability to find a flight home. However, such an application must be accompanied by a letter from the appropriate embassy or consulate.

EMBASSY LETTER

Western embassies are providing these letters to their nationals but only on valid grounds.

All the main embassies for western visitors in Thailand have indicated that such letters will now be available. This reverses an earlier position for some. An application for them can be made to the US, UK and Australian embassies, among others, online.

However, such a letter must be on the basis that the applicant cannot procure a flight home or cannot return home on demonstrably genuine grounds.

Otherwise, such visitors must prepare to leave Thailand by September 26th.

Note; Grounds to apply for a 30-day visa extension does not encompass where an applicant simply cannot afford the plane fare home.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR FOREIGN NATIONALS TO RETURN HOME

Many embassies such as the UK and American missions in Bangkok, are offering special financial measures to their nationals once they contact the embassy seeking help.

The UK Embassy makes it specifically clear that if a UK national can return to the United Kingdom, then there is no reason to issue a visa extension letter.

EXTENSION BASED ON MEDICAL GROUNDS

A 30 day extension based on medical grounds is a matter for the applicant, the local immigration office and a medical expert who can provide approved certification, which must be applied for before the 26th September.

VISA EXTENSIONS

Extensions will not be granted automatically.

Extensions can be granted on a repeated basis for foreigners who have the appropriate letters and whose circumstances warrant it.

Each application will be vetted by a local immigration officer.

Each further application to extend will require renewed documentation as to the applicant’s circumstances.

The visa amnesty expires finally on the 26th September and will NOT be extended.

LONG TERM VISA HOLDERS

All long-term visa holders whose permits to stay expired after March 26 also must submit an application for an extension to stay from now until September 26th, 2020.

Multi-entry Non-Immigrant B visa holders who up to the end of March last, regularly left Thailand for business or travel purposes and returned with a 90-day extension, are advised to contact their local immigration office for guidence expected before September 15th next.

Cross-border travel has not been possible since the end of March and indeed will not be possible after September 26th in all likelihood as Thailand’s borders remain essentially closed except under approved entry and strict quarantine procedures.

90 DAY REPORTING

If you are a foreigner staying in Thailand for a period longer than 90 consecutive days holding a Non-Immigrant Visa or Extension of Stay, you are required by the Thai Immigration to report your current address every 90 days.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF VISA OVERSTAY

During this COVID-19 crisis in Thailand, some foreign nationals may find themselves overstaying in Thailand, do so by mistake, by miscalculating the length of their stay, forgetting their visa expiration date or by unforeseen cancellation of their flights due to travel restrictions.

As a traveler, you should strongly avoid overstaying in Thailand, but if you do find yourself in Thailand on an expired visa it is very important that you act fast and in the right way.

You are solely responsible for leaving Thailand or extending your visa when in Thailand. If you are caught failing to do so you will face penalty or legal sanctions which can end in imprisonment and deportation.

SOURCE: The Imigration Buraeu

MENZZOO MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

Related Artcles;

The Consequences Of Visa Overstay

Useful Links;

The Imigration Buraeu

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