OK, after a few days of radio silence I'm back into the mix. Went to Chiang Mai Immigration today to see the fallout of the most recent announcement from the Immigration Bureau and I gotta say, it's actually a pretty soft landing for some.
So, I spoke with several officers and Investigators at CM Immigration extensively to clear up any misconceptions regarding the wording or visa types, etc. The following is not a BLANKET announcement for the entire country. Rather, it is CM Immigration's handling of the most current announcement, and some may apply to other provinces. If in doubt, ask that office.
Here goes:
The bottom line: If you are in Thailand on ANY type of visa, exemption stamp, extension of said extension, under consideration for extension, and the date of that permission is NOT BEFORE 26 March 2020, you are AUTOMATICALLY EXTENDED until the 30th of April, 2020. No stamps needed. No additional trips needed. No embassy letter, no nothing.
I'm not touching border passes because, well, I haven't seen one in CM. But, if you have one, you are waived overstay until borders open.
The reason for this is because Immigration officers and its staff are concerned about the spread of the COVID-19 virus currently rampaging around the globe.
The cost of this automatic extension is ZERO! Additionally, you will NOT fall into overstay areas if your stamp/visa is between 26 March and 30 April 2020.
This means if you have a Tourist Visa and it expires on 21 April, stay home and wait for the announcement of what to do come 30 April. If you want to be safe and apply for the extension because you came into the country on 17 March and you haven't extended before, feel free.
If you have applied for the COVID-19 extension and are riding the 20 days consideration and are due to pick up on 15 April....STAY HOME. You DO NOT need the stamp in your passport that gives you the additional 10-day stamp. You are automatically extended to the 30th.
If you are on a Non-O Education visa that expires in October 2020, but your next 90-day stamp is due on April 25th, You have until the 30th to scrape together all your documents and come extend OR wait and see what the next steps are going to be.
If you have a Non-O (Long Stay) visa that is up for renewal and you have everything and you want to renew while everyone else is hiding at the house, NOW is the time. Get it done while most people are away. Many visa agencies are utilizing this time to get many, many people done en masse.
Brief Tangent, while I'm thinking about it:
For all of you that explain to me that your current process of obtaining the 90-day stamp on your Non-O <<Ed/RET/Family/Med/Business>> by border-hopping need to understand that in Chiang Mai, the immigration office there doesn't just give 30/60/90-day stamps for you guys. You MUST bring in ALL your supporting documentation to show you still qualify for the visa. Period. Apologies in advance, but if you show up to get a 90-day stamp to continue your 1-year retirement visa without the 800K in the bank, they will not give it to you. Same with marriage visa without a marriage license (original), or ed visa without School paperwork.
Why do I bring this up? Because NOW, if your visa expires soon but you are lacking documents/data, etc....you now have time to scrape together all this stuff and ride the amnesty wave until things get back to normal (I.E. Border runs are happening again). This option will require faith, patience, and nerves of steel, though. The good news is that I will remain on-site and try to keep everyone abreast of CMI's specific rules and regulations and will be an addendum to the already-tremendous wealth of knowledge we have here in this group.
Final point: WHEN things get back to normal, you will be required to clear up your immigration status by leaving, applying, renewing, extending, or cancelling your visa. As we get closer to the end of the month, we will ALL be told what the next steps will be. Nobody knows what will happen on 30 April, and speculation does nothing but add fuel to the uneasiness fire many people are feeling. I don't know if the embassy-letter-shuffle will be needed anymore. I don't know what will happen if the borders remain closed. I don't even know what will happen if they OPEN. All I know I write here in hopes of prepping those people that need to know BEFORE they arrive.
Finally, 90-day reporting waivers are for people that are way far away from an immigration office, the elderly, infirmed, or just lazy that don't want to get out. If you have the capability or desire to do your 90-day reporting, do so. Use the drive through, do it online, whatever. But know that if you miss, you won't be penalized. BUT, you will need to get it done as soon as they say to, so be prepared.
The pics below are from this morning. It was so slow, they let me shoot people in the face with the thermal gun.
I hope this helps or at least sheds some light on the process. It's been dissected already, but this post is very CM Immigration specific.
