When will expats with non-immigrant O visas be able to return to Thailand?

@Greg *****

I suspected that. Then you should know.

@Burnard ***********

Right, “shut up and follow the rules” regardless of how stupid or illegitimate the rules are.

@Greg *****

Which rules? The official, posted rules, or the invisible rules?

@Burnard ***********

Violating either has the same results.

@Greg *****

Exactly!

You just made my point.

@Burnard ***********

“shut up and obey”

no we tried but we were stuck first in Indonesia. Couldn’t get plane of the island

@Joel *******

it was that urgent to leave on march 14?

@Mark *********

having to leave for work was a legitimate demand on you, but others left for reasons they could have controlled.

@Sammy ******

no I don't understand if Thailand will allow OA why not O ? Please explain.

@Ken ******

first, where does it specifically deny O visas the opportunity to enter?

@Ken ******

so your source is a guy quoting the website of what aparticular embassy is doing. the formal postings from the thai govt I have seen address non-thai residents who reside legally in Thailand and does not distinguish between types of visas.

that embassy information seems not to address O visas as O Visa are not issued outside Thailand.

look at #4 , clicking on the "more information " link specifies all the rigamarol one has to go thru to actually enter.

but note at the end, the exclusion of US for the STV due to how out of control the virus is, despite Trump's lies, one can understand completely, them not wanting it spread there-- if ur home country has a high rate of transmission, good luck in ever actually bring allowed in-- so what they can apply for an OA, will they be allowed in?

By virtue of Section 9 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548 (2005) and Section 11 of the State Administration Act B.E. 2534 (1991), the entry to Thailand is permitted for particular persons in the exempted list. The list for non-Thai nationals includes the following:

(1) Exempted persons or persons who are specified, permitted or invited by the Prime Minister or Chief official responsible for remedying the emergency situation to enter into the Kingdom pertaining to necessity, whereby conditions and time frames may also be prescribed;

(2) Persons on diplomatic or consular missions or under International organizations, or representatives of foreign governments or agencies performing their duties in Thailand, or any other persons in international agencies, that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives permission pertaining to necessity, including their spouse, parents, or children; (click here for more information)

(3) Non-Thai nationals who are spouses, parents, or children of Thai nationals (click here for more information)

(4) Non-Thai nationals who have a certificate of residence, or have been permitted to take up residency in the Kingdom, including their spouses or children; (click here for more information)

(5) Non-Thai nationals who have a work permit or have been granted permission to work in the Kingdom in accordance with Thai laws, including their spouses or children (click here for more information); or Migrant workers, who have been granted permission, to work in Thailand (For Migrant workers, the applicants may contact their employers directly for more information);

(6) Non-Thai nationals who are students of educational establishments in Thailand approved by Thai authorities, including their parents or guardians, except for students of non-formal schools in accordance with laws on private schools or of any other similar private educational establishments; (click here for more information)

(7) Non-Thai nationals who need to receive medical treatment in Thailand, including their accompanying persons, except for treatment for COVID-19 (click here for more information)

(8) Non-Thai nationals who are permitted to enter the Kingdom under a special arrangement with a foreign country or have been granted permission by the Prime Minister – all of whom must strictly adhere to the Kingdom’s communicable disease prevention and control.

>> For Media production or Filming (click here for more information)

>> For Thailand Privilege Cardholders, please contact Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd. (Thailand Elite) directly to request for authorization. At this stage, without authorization from Thailand, the Royal Thai Embassy can’t issue COE for Elite cardholders. (click here for more information)

>> For Thailand long stay/retirement visa (O-A & O-X) (click here for more information)

Persons under 2 – 8 must apply for a Certificate of Entry (COE) at the Royal Thai Embassy/Royal Thai Consulates-General and obtain a visa (if they do not already have one) at least 15 working days before the intended date of travel.

Currently, the following types of visas are NOT permitted to enter Thailand: Tourists visa holders (TR), Transit passengers (TS), Sports visa holders (S), Monks and other religious visa holders (R) and their spouses or children, Volunteers (O), and non-formal students visa holders (such as language schools, diving schools, boxing schools). Due to a high number of infection rate, the APEC card holders and the applicants who are currently in the USA and wish to obtain Special Tourist Visa (STV) do not fall under the categories that could enter Thailand at the moment, please check back regularly for any update

@Terry *******

yes OA and OX visas are now eligible for entry.

@Charles ***************

yes lol

@Joe **********

tell that to my brother in law who nursed covid patients in I CU .I would rather listen to doctors than you .It is nothing like the flu

@Johanna *******

I am educated and highly experienced in medical matters... Here check out the real survival numbers.

@Joe **********

A trump supporter are you

@Geoff *******

well different where my daughter lives in Bangkok .She is scanned in every shop she goes in and cant go in unless you wear a mask. My 3 year old grandaughter wont go out unless she has a mask on .Seems to be good where they are

@Ahkim *******

yip.

@Dominic ********

you are correct on 90 days STV.

@Dominic ********

I was writing about before STV.

2+ years of crackdowns on long-stay tourists has not worked well for Thailand and made them more dependent on China.

My understanding is that STV is a temporary visa type. It will be interesting to see in it carries on after Covid.

@David *********

I hope not my daughter lives there

@Johanna *******

The damage has been done. Sorry to say they went to far

@David *********

As long as we can get out to see them that's our main concern at the moment .And our grandkids

@J**

, so.. North Korea can or can't do it?

@Ahkim *******

Probably means 'maybe' - a sort of joke based on the extreme strictness in North Korea

there was no probably in your post, but it doesn't matter. if you skip a generation or two of the virus' mutation you end yo with spanish flu type occurrences

@Geoff *******

exactly .. especially when you look at the figures in other similar counties ..such as the Philippines , Malaysia and Indonesia .. Singapore has had 16 times more Covid cases than thailand despite having less than one tenth of the population of thailand

@Keef *******

An quite partial to the dark Lao beers when I can get them.

@Andrew ********

for sure man I would drink them always at the original cheap Charlie's bar in Bangkok

@Keef *******

Cheap Charlie's the Westherspoons of Thailand, they do reasonably priced food and excellent staff in Pattaya.

@Pascal *******

can you believe anything China tells the world?

@David *****

Better believe China than some forum ;)

@Keef *******

The Chinese have more in terms of numbers, whether they spend more individually is not sure. They book packages with Chinese tour operators, use Chinese co.panies when here and patronise places where the Chinese guides take them and a lot of them are Chinese owned restaurants and shops, hiw much trickles down to the Thais is debatable.

@Andrew ********

yes it's more controlled for them. Doesn't always mean the money goes the right direction. But what is? Most of my money goes to Singhas brewery 555

@Keef *******

yes

Discipline

Fighting the virus

Or protect them selves against the virus,is not relevant in this

Money is

And because many businesses are gone already

It’s to little

To late

@Peter *******

yes there are people that become a citizen but it takes time. The PR road is less dificult but also takes time. You can in actual fact stretch your OA visa (multi entry) to nearly 2 years under normal conditions. After entry you stay here untill just before your 1st year finish. Then you leave the country and return before the 1st year is finished. Immigration will then stamp you in for a further 12 months. You can get an extension inside the country before your 1st year on an OA if you comply with non imm O requirements (proof of B 800 k or B 65 k per month).

@Bobby *******

Yes but some can not afford it as their pension is not so big and prefere to wait till better days, the one who have money they dont mind to paid and most of them apply for the big 270 days visa

@Pascal *******

. baht is about 1,000 US dollars. For 15 days accommodation. That's $66 per day. You're telling me tourists want to come here and can't afford $66 per day? And these are the tourists who will help save the Thai tourism economy? Am I missing something here? Does Thailand really want people like this?

@Bobby *******

I know but if somebody get around thb 50,000 pension and need to spend 33,000 for 15 days they can not if they do not have saving

@Pascal *******

. Ok. I don't think they are the target tourists Thailand is looking for. Can't afford the accommodation, I doubt they can afford insurance and flight! They want tourists to spend money! That's the whole point

@Bobby *******

Yes correct it is a problem for some of them to come back here, hopefully later when most will come back to normal

@Pascal *******

. Possibly, but I think quarantine will be here for another 6-12 months, and insurance will be a permanent fixture. They were talking about it before Covid, so I think this is part of the "new normal"

@Bobby *******

They may accept people to fly to Thailand if they pass the test before flying and are still negative upon arrival

@Pascal *******

. They're talking about 10 day and 7 day quarantine. The covid tests are too unreliable. Someone can pick up the virus during the flight and nothing will show until a couple of days later, as has happened already with the Thai repatriation flights. Doubt very much it will happen any time soon

@Chris *****

. It could be a while before Thailand opens up to high number countries like the UK. Thai authorities will monitor the UK situation, and I'm sure it's not lost in them that Britain has a very large anti-authority movement, with well-publicised demonstrations, frequent bad-tempered outbursts over simple mask-wearing, and little adherence to safety measures. They do not represent the type of people the Thai government is trying to entice to come here. Sadly, the UK is shooting itself in the foot (and the US is not much different) with its total mis-management of the virus.

I fear your right bobby

@Greg ******

. If you're talking about applying for the retirement visa, this has to be done in your home country.

@Bobby *******

I’m going on the basis they already have a non- O or O-A already. Why they are stranded.

If they are just starting the process then you are correct, it can only start in your home country.

@Mark ***********

. I doubt if the O will be allowed. There is a tendency from embassies and immigration to wind this back. It is not available in many embassies now

@Peter *******

. It was widely announced on 29 September. Information is available from various sources

@Stephen ******

i need papers in Switzerland- we are stuck here and thinking of applying O-A, since we can‘t go back with O

@Stuart ********

fortunately i am Swiss and married to a Swiss 🤩🤩🤩

@Stuart ********

- That is only the Non O for Marriage or Dependents. Surely you are aware of the Non O for Retirement... no method to process back

@Joe **********

I’m aware of the different types of Non O. I was merely replying to the comment that Non O’s couldn’t get in.

@Stuart ********

- But your answer was incomplete - you left out retirees

@Joe **********

I also left out the other copious reasons you can get a non O for - as none of them are relevant to being able to access the country.

@Stuart ********

just keep digging.. The non O for Retirement is a significant category. And it is quite odd that a Non O Category that requires 800,000 Baht in the Bank or 65K Baht a month x 12 months is ignored by the government as being inconsequential

@Joe **********

I don’t doubt it’s not inconsequential and I have no idea why they haven’t let those with that visa in yet. However I was refuting the post stating blankly that non Os were not allowed in as it isn’t true.

@Stuart ********

You have a real problem using the word "Execpt".. Except it is true for Non O based in Retirement... keep digging

Well actually there is another Non O that allows you in. That’s the guardian of a non Thai national at an international school. Forgot that one.