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ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawVisa NewsWill Tourists Stranded Due to Coronavirus Need to Visit Thai Immigration?

Will Tourists Stranded Due to Coronavirus Need to Visit Thai Immigration?

Transcript of the above video:

PLEASE NOTE, THE SITUATION MATERIALLY CHANGED REGARDING THIS ISSUE SHORTLY AFTER FILMING THIS VIDEO, PLEASE SEE SUBSEQUENT VIDEOS FOR UPDATED INFORMATION.

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing tourists who have been stranded in Thailand due to Coronavirus and the knock-on implications associated with the various policies of various countries now dealing with, grappling with the aftermath of this virus becoming rather wide spread globally. 

We are basically discussing folks stranded here in Thailand. Where does things stand with respect to their immigration status, their visas and getting their visa status extended?

In a recent article from Bangkok Post, that is bangkokpost.com, the title is Immigration Bureau Pursues Visa Relief for Foreigners and to put this article in context, this article was published April 6th, 2020.  Approximately a week ago we started running videos about this notion about automatic visa extension for those who are stranded in Thailand and as we noted the Cabinet had approved in principle an initiative to go ahead and allow folks to stay in Thailand automatically while this COVID-19, this Coronavirus thing plays out. This article is interesting because it quotes the Immigration Chief directly which is very useful because now we are getting an idea of exactly how the Immigration apparatus is going to implement and enforce the Resolution of the Cabinet on this issue.  So quoting directly from this article: "The foreigners are now divided into three groups: foreigners with resident visas who normally reside in Thailand but cannot return to Thailand due to the COVID-19 crisis; foreign tourists who are unable to depart Thailand due to the crisis, (and that is who we're talking about here), and visitors from neighboring countries who hold a temporary border pass and got stuck in Thailand after the borders were shut. So again, foreign tourists.  Quoting further: "the foreign tourists in the second group who reported to Immigration Authorities for a 30-day extension after their Visas expired on March 26th or thereafter, their visas will be automatically renewed every 30 days until the pandemic subsides, said Police General Sompong Chingduang.  Under the Government's social distancing policy, these tourists will no longer have to visit the immigration Bureau and risk contracting the virus in a crowd."  Okay let me go ahead and quote this again because I think this is important:  "For foreign tourists in the second group who reported to Immigration Authorities for a 30-day extension after their Visas expired on March 26th or thereafter, their visas will be automatically renewed every 30 days until the pandemic subsides, said Police General Sompong."  That is Sompong Chingduang, the Head of Thai Immigration. So straight from the source if you will. 

Now what is important to note there, March 26th and foreign tourists who reported to Immigration Authorities for a 30-day extension after their visas expired on March 26th or thereafter. So it looks to me like there is an affirmative duty on the foreign national in Thailand who needs an initial extension to get an extension.  Then thereafter as this COVID-19 thing progresses, they are going to just keep status rolling over on a month-to-month basis for those individuals until such time as it is deemed that the travel restrictions can be lifted and those folks will have to go back to the normal rules pertaining to Thai Immigration. 

So at a practical level, I think that this means at least one trip is going to be necessary for folks to get the Visas extended and then thereafter their status will be sort of rolled over until further notice basically. It looks to me like it is going to be rolled over in 30 day intervals if you will. 

So the thing to take away from this video for folks who are stranded here, it does look like an in-person visit to Immigration is going to be necessary once, but once you are done with that, you have done it on or after the 26th of March at least according to this article, that is quoting the Head of Thai Immigration, it looks like you are not going to have to deal with further extension thereafter until this Coronavirus crisis abates.