Thailand extends permission for foreigners to stay in the country until 31 July

By TIN Media | Asean News Published 3 years ago on 23 April 2020
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BANGKOK:

Thailand extends permission to stay in the country until 31 July for thousands of foreigners on various kinds of temporary-stay visas.

The Thai Cabinet approved a second extension of an earlier concession that automatically extended visas until midnight 30 April. It applied to visas that had expired on 31 March or afterwards.

A notification of the Ministry of Interior detailing the latest extension was attached to the Thai Cabinet meeting notes 21 April. The notice will become law once it is published in the Royal Gazette probably by the end of the week.

The notification said the automatic extension safeguards the health of foreigners by ending the need to queue at Immigration Bureaus premises to extend their visas in person.

Thailand introduced in March strict social distancing rules and orders all residents and visitors to wear a protective mask to reduce the risk of  infection from Covid-19.

Travel bans and flight cancellations stranded thousands of international travellers in Thailand. They faced horrendous queues at Immigration Bureau offices when they applied for a visa extension.

Media reports pointed out that the queues constituted a health risk that contravened the government’s instructions on social distancing prompting the initial decision to approve an automatic visa extension to the end of April.

Now, under the latest concession, all temporary visa holders will be granted an automatic visa extension granting them permission to stay in the  country until 31 July. Also, the 90-day reporting rule for foreigners holding a one-year visa has been suspended until 31 July.

Once the Ministry of Interior ruling is published on the Royal Gazette the Immigration Bureau will post details of the auto extension until 31 July on its website.


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