News Forum - “Covid-19” visa extension deadline tomorrow, no word from immigration

[Thaiger]

The deadline to apply for a 60-day “Covid-19” visa extension is tomorrow, although it is possible that the Thai Immigration Bureau could continue the scheme for another two months. The announcements in the past have often been last minute and sometimes made even after the deadline had passed. The 60-day extension was launched for foreigners who are unable to leave the country due to cancelled flights and travel restrictions related to the ongoing pandemic. The extension costs 1,900 baht and requirements can vary depending on each immigration office. Most require a TM30 form signed by a landlord or hotel manager […]

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[Rebel]

Not to sound brutal, but the rest of the world are invited to Thailand so why can't foreringers so not return to their own countries? Some even bragging that the Omricon are harmless. Who to believe?

[Cabra]

11 minutes ago, Rebel said:

Not to sound brutal, but the rest of the world are invited to Thailand so why can't foreringers so not return to their own countries? Some even bragging that the Omricon are harmless. Who to believe?

There is no country anywhere that will not allow its own citizens to enter their own country (some, like NZ, under managed quarantine, granted). The program should probably be cancelled based on that fact alone. However, the real reason THA started the program to begin with was to keep people here, during the early days of the pandemic, and  spending their money. But with TnG and sandboxes, there is no real good reason to keep covid extensions. Plus the immigration offices are tired of it, and would love to see it ended

[HolyCowCm]

So this doesn't seem to apply to the 30 day exempt on arrival, and so leaves that extension up to the IO's mood either to be another 30 days or 15 days or only 7 days as what CM has done in the past.

 

Checklist for the 60-day Covid-19 visa extension…

• TM.7 Application for extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom (Click HERE)
• TM.30 Notification of residence with a signature from landlord or hotel manager (Click HERE)
• Passport photo 4 x 6 centimetres
• Copy of passport identification page and all pages related to current visa
• A letter from home country’s embassy in Thailand
• 1,900 baht visa extension fee

 

[Faz]

49 minutes ago, Rebel said:

Not to sound brutal, but the rest of the world are invited to Thailand so why can't foreringers so not return to their own countries? Some even bragging that the Omricon are harmless. Who to believe?

Many are married to Thais, Thailand is their home and they stay via the Non Imm O ME Visa.
They've been using the 60 day Covid extensions since they were introduced to stay with their families.

What would you have them do?

[Stonker]

19 minutes ago, Faz said:

Many are married to Thais, Thailand is their home and they stay via the Non Imm O ME Visa.
They've been using the 60 day Covid extensions since they were introduced to stay with their families.

What would you have them do?

Get a Non Imm O married extension, which is the visa and extension they should have if living here long term, with a low financial requirement, rather than taking advantage of a loophole with a visa which wasn't intended for long term retirees but was meant for those working overseas who came to Thailand regularly to visit a Thai wife on a 'shift' basis, such as oil rig workers or expat shift workers.

They've been playing the system using a visa that wasn't intended to be used long term, and now they've been caught.  If they don't have the money required for a marriage extension, then they really shouldn't have been living here in the first place.

 

[KoilStorp]

54 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Get a Non Imm O married extension, which is the visa and extension they should have if living here long term, with a low financial requirement, rather than taking advantage of a loophole with a visa which wasn't intended for long term retirees but was meant for those working overseas who came to Thailand regularly to visit a Thai wife on a 'shift' basis, such as oil rig workers or expat shift workers.

They've been playing the system using a visa that wasn't intended to be used long term, and now they've been caught.  If they don't have the money required for a marriage extension, then they really shouldn't have been living here in the first place.

In case you didn't notice, Thailand has always worked on loopholes for its own interest. Before covid extension there were visa runs, the former is mostly here to replace the latter.

It is in Thailand's interest to be attractive for long term tourists/digital nomad and such so as long as nobody is breaking the law, there is no reason to criticize, this is not YOUR THAILAND.

[Faz]

58 minutes ago, Stonker said:

Get a Non Imm O married extension, which is the visa and extension they should have if living here long term, with a low financial requirement, rather than taking advantage of a loophole with a visa which wasn't intended for long term retirees but was meant for those working overseas who came to Thailand regularly to visit a Thai wife on a 'shift' basis, such as oil rig workers or expat shift workers.

They've been playing the system using a visa that wasn't intended to be used long term, and now they've been caught.  If they don't have the money required for a marriage extension, then they really shouldn't have been living here in the first place.

Certainly not a 'loophole'.
The non Imm O ME is a valid Visa option, but granted it's introduction and purpose was intended to cater for those regularly visiting Thai family/spouse.

Consider this, I know a few British expats, married to Thais, who have lived in Thailand far longer than I have.
Previously they used the 40K per month income method by way of an Embassy Income letter, which gave gross income figures.
When the British Embassy ceased the income letters, the Immigrations orders were changed to allow proof of monthly income transferred into a Thai bank account. 40K per month. However income is taxed at source in the UK, so the income they now transfer is nett, not gross, plus the depreciating pound exchange rate, meaning whilst they previously met the requirements and indeed obtained annual extensions of stay at Immigration offices, through no misgivings of their own, they found themselves unable to meet the 'local' financial requirements and little option but to change to the Non Imm O ME Visa.

[Cabra]

1 hour ago, Faz said:

Many are married to Thais, Thailand is their home and they stay via the Non Imm O ME Visa.
They've been using the 60 day Covid extensions since they were introduced to stay with their families.

What would you have them do?

Do it the proper way by getting the proper visa for long stay, and stop gaming the system. 

[Stonker]

23 minutes ago, Faz said:

Certainly not a 'loophole'.
The non Imm O ME is a valid Visa option, but granted it's introduction and purpose was intended to cater for those regularly visiting Thai family/spouse.

Consider this, I know a few British expats, married to Thais, who have lived in Thailand far longer than I have.
Previously they used the 40K per month income method by way of an Embassy Income letter, which gave gross income figures.
When the British Embassy ceased the income letters, the Immigrations orders were changed to allow proof of monthly income transferred into a Thai bank account. 40K per month. However income is taxed at source in the UK, so the income they now transfer is nett, not gross, plus the depreciating pound exchange rate, meaning whilst they previously met the requirements and indeed obtained annual extensions of stay at Immigration offices, through no misgivings of their own, they found themselves unable to meet the 'local' financial requirements and little option but to change to the Non Imm O ME Visa.

I don't want to split hairs, but if it's not being used for it's original purpose and some are taking advantage and using it for a purpose it wasn't intended then I think that would meet most people's understanding of a loophole.

I know it sounds unsympathetic, but if someone has less than 40k a month and they don't have 400k to put in the bank then they really shouldn't be here and there's little reason for Thailand to allow them to stay here.

[Bluesofa]

2 hours ago, Cabra said:

There is no country anywhere that will not allow its own citizens to enter their own country (some, like NZ, under managed quarantine, granted). The program should probably be cancelled based on that fact alone. However, the real reason THA started the program to begin with was to keep people here, during the early days of the pandemic, and  spending their money. But with TnG and sandboxes, there is no real good reason to keep covid extensions. Plus the immigration offices are tired of it, and would love to see it ended

Not that it affects me at all, but I'm interested when you say 'the immigration offices are tired of it, and would love to see it ended'.

Have you spoken to some of the IOs who have voiced their opinion, and as to why they're tired of it?

[Stonker]

36 minutes ago, KoilStorp said:

In case you didn't notice, Thailand has always worked on loopholes for its own interest. Before covid extension there were visa runs, the former is mostly here to replace the latter.

That's simply not correct - that wasn't what the Covid extension was for.

38 minutes ago, KoilStorp said:

It is in Thailand's interest to be attractive for long term tourists/digital nomad and such so as long as nobody is breaking the law, there is no reason to criticize, this is not YOUR THAILAND.

How can it be "in Thailand's interest to be attractive to" people with an income less than 40k a month, which is less than the minimum required for a work permit, who don't have enough to put 400k in the bank?

Correct, it's not 'MY THAILAND', it's the Thais', and why would they want to support foreign welfare cases?

That's not being critical, just realistic - it's a foreign country, not a charity.

[Faz]

43 minutes ago, Cabra said:

Do it the proper way by getting the proper visa for long stay, and stop gaming the system. 

What's the proper Visa then?

[Faz]

17 minutes ago, Stonker said:

I know it sounds unsympathetic, but if someone has less than 40k a month and they don't have 400k to put in the bank then they really shouldn't be here and there's little reason for Thailand to allow them to stay here.

The Brits in particular went from proof of 'gross' to 'nett' earnings and a devaluation of the pound from 52 BHT to 38 BHT. Many married to Thais used to obtain annual extensions of stay quite comfortably with a gross pension of 50K THB per month, which they then experienced being slashed to 38K THB a month and had to find another option.

Whilst many used the savings on purchasing assets in Thailand, Immigration don't accept them.
It's fine to state in hindsight they should have kept something in reserve, but at the time they met the financial requirements and never anticipated the events that took place.

[harry1]

about time the power that be, introduce to retiree thai ID, receptiveness paperwork seems to be a hobby here

[KoilStorp]

16 minutes ago, Stonker said:

That's simply not correct - that wasn't what the Covid extension was for.

How can it be "in Thailand's interest to be attractive to" people with an income less than 40k a month, which is less than the minimum required for a work permit, who don't have enough to put 400k in the bank?

Correct, it's not 'MY THAILAND', it's the Thais', and why would they want to support foreign welfare cases?

That's not being critical, just realistic - it's a foreign country, not a charity.

Of course it's what it's intended for, don't be naive, everybody could have gone home a long time a go and they know it. The point is to keep the money flowing + they are happy to get those fat bribes from visa agencies (like now with agencies proposing"emergency covid extensions, get em before they're all gone") so no the immigration office managers are not tired of it.

Secondly, a person who doesn't want the hassle of more complex options to be permitted to stay does bring good money for the economy, even with only 40k per months, it is good income here.  More stable forms of visas are good but some people just don't want to stay that long or don't want to bother with the complicated procedures and requirements so they use the more flexible loopholes. It's a win-win situation.

 

[Cabra]

19 minutes ago, Faz said:

What's the proper Visa then?

There is an entire alphabet soup of valid long stay visa options (marriage, retirement, guardian, volunteer, education, work, etc.). Pick your poison. There is not, nor should there be, a girlfriend visa for some 30/40 something shagging a Thai girl he met at the bar Sorry to say

[KaptainRob]

16 minutes ago, Cabra said:

There is not, nor should there be, a girlfriend visa for some 30/40 something shagging a Thai girl he met at the bar

Is that not the Multiple Entry tourist visa? 

[Bluesofa]

11 minutes ago, Cabra said:

There is an entire alphabet soup of valid long stay visa options (marriage, retirement, guardian, volunteer, education, work, etc.). Pick your poison. There is not, nor should there be, a girlfriend visa for some 30/40 something shagging a Thai girl he met at the bar Sorry to say

I can see you'd been in charge of visas based on moral grounds.
I'd guess you would be examining all the other applicants, in case they were shagging a girl met at the bar?
What if the bar girl migrated to working in a 7 Eleven, would he original dubious past be investigated?

Just playing devil's advocate.

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

5 minutes ago, Bluesofa said:

Just playing devil's advocate.

Hey …. That’s me!

[Faz]

19 minutes ago, Cabra said:

There is an entire alphabet soup of valid long stay visa options (marriage, retirement, guardian, volunteer, education, work, etc.).

But the Non Imm O ME is a long term Visa, valid for 1 year, can be issued to those with Thai family/spouse.

[Stonker]

41 minutes ago, harry1 said:

about time the power that be, introduce to retiree thai ID, receptiveness paperwork seems to be a hobby here

They have, several years ago.

[NateUK]

1. It brings in money for the immigration department. They are happy with that arrangement.

2. It makes life easier for those that have Thai Wife and don't have a marriage visa. 

3. Traveling back to one's home country and back again in a few weeks is a proper pain in the ass right now due to covid regulations and re-entry BS.

But my question is... Why does anyone care about what other people do, focus on your own life and enjoy it. It's got f*** all to do with anyone else if other people use the covid extension or not! You lot are starting to sound like the moral police! Which I bet none of you are saints! Sad old F***s got nothing better to do with your life than sit on this donkey forum and post nonsense.

[Stonker]

12 minutes ago, Faz said:

But the Non Imm O ME is a long term Visa, valid for 1 year, can be issued to those with Thai family/spouse.

But that's not what it was ever intended to be for, and you know that as well as I do.

[Stonker]

1 minute ago, NateUK said:

1. It brings in money for the immigration department. They are happy with that arrangement.

2. It makes life easier for those that have Thai Wife and don't have a marriage visa. 

3. Traveling back to one's home country and back again in a few weeks is a proper pain in the ass right now due to covid regulations and re-entry BS.

But my question is... Why does anyone care about what other people do, focus on your own life and enjoy it. It's got f*** all to do with anyone else if other people use the covid extension or not! You lot are starting to sound like the moral police! Which I bet none of you are saints! Sad old F***s got nothing better to do with your life than sit on this donkey forum and post nonsense.

Actually it's got plenty to do with the 'rest of us'.

These 'farang kee-nok' are the reason why the 'rest of us' have to produce so much documentation, why embassy letters stopped, and why the changes were introduced, why tourists have to pay insurance, etc.

The majority suffer because of a few who played and continued to play the system - and the only people "happy with the arrangement" are the visa agents.