What are the current challenges and updates regarding visa extensions at Tak Immigration in Thailand?

@Philip *********

I'm not entirely sure why they were willing to make an exception in my case. They initially informed me that they were not issuing these letters to any Canadian citizens, and they advised me to return to Canada or somehow convert to a long-stay visa for Thailand, such as a retirement visa.

But a short time later, I learned that the American embassy had begun issuing such letters, and I wrote to the Canadian embassy a second time to ask if they were going to follow suit and change their policy.

They informed me that their policy had not changed, and they were not issuing these letters. However, something in my email describing my situation must have caught their eye, because they made an exception for me and issued a letter.

I don't know for sure, but I believe the deciding factor was that I had not maintained a residence in Canada for nearly three decades. I've lived almost my entire adult life in other countries. And with no home to return to in Canada, it would be difficult to comply with the self-quarantine measures. I supplied other reasons and arguments, probably no different than those of other people, so I'm not entirely sure which argument swayed them. I was grateful, however, to receive the letter.

What eventually happened in your case? Since you could not get this letter, I assume you had to leave Thailand or apply for a different type of visa?

@John-Paul *****

Good advice. I'll wait for a week or so and check for news, and then I'll head back out to the immigration office. Luckily, going to the office here in Mae Sot is not a big deal. And the office is small and personal and not so busy. On my visit yesterday, I was the only person there.

@Austin ******

And just like that, we're done. 🙂

@Stuart ********

From the last visa amnesties, I became familiar with this whole process of the prime minister having to sign things and then have the policy or law published in the Royal Gazette before they become official. But, for some reason, I completely forgot about all that. The way all the articles online read, it sounded like this new policy was just there and ready to go. It all sounded finalized. So it took me by surprise when the Tak immigration office didn't seem to know anything about it.

I did wonder originally if I should delay returning for my official extension of stay stamp until the dust settled. I wanted to wait until Friday at least. But my under consideration stamp said I needed to return on September 30th, and people advised me that it was wiser to follow those instructions than to delay. So I went in.

I'm not sure how I can figure out when it will be possible to go back and have my October 26th stamp changed to a November 30th stamp, but I guess news will start to trickle out about that.

@Greg *******

I should have anticipated that, but I honestly didn't. All the articles online and even the commentary from people like Richard Barrow made it sound like a done deal. All the articles even said that if you already had your 30-day extension of stay, you should just go in and get the date changed to November 30th. So I went into the Tak office with the expectation that they would be up to speed with everything I had read online.

I totally forgot that that isn't how it works here. The immigration authorities had made the announcement about the new policy, but I guess it still had to be signed by the prime minister and then published in the Royal Gazette (which I believe just happened), and THEN the official documents and directives have to be communicated out to the immigration offices.

So it was obviously going to take some time and they just weren't ready when I visited the Tak office. But I had no choice. My "under consideration" stamp required me to return on September 30th, so I did.

I'm seeing posts now from people that have flown out of Thailand in the last few days, and they were surprised to be fined for overstaying. They assumed they would be covered by the new visa amnesty until October 31st. But I guess that wasn't official either, and as far as the airport immigration officials were concerned, each day after September 26th was an overstay.

I guess I'll just keep my ear to the ground and wait until I hear news that the Tak office is changing the extension of stay stamps from October 26th to November 30th and I'll return to get that done. Fingers crossed. 🙂