Asean Travel News Travel News Agency in Delhi
The Government of Thailand has confirmed on Tuesday (July 21) that it will extend the visa amnesty for foreign nationals in Thailand till September 26, 2020. It will be a huge relief for all foreign nationals stranded in Thailand due to global COVID-19 outbreak.
Ms. Traisuree Taisaranakul, spokeswoman for government, has said, “The automatic visa extension will now be in force until September 26. Mandatory 90 day reporting for resident foreigners with ongoing visas will also be suspended until September 26.”
The cabinet has approved visa amnesty extension so stranded foreigners can stay in Thailand and long queues at immigration centers can be avoided during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Visa amnesty for foreigners was supposed to be ending in the end of July but it is the third time visa amnesty has been extended since it was first imposed in March.
When the country was under a strict lockdown in mid of March, thousands of foreigners were stuck in Thailand. The country’s Bureau of Immigration have implemented an amnesty concessions to help stranded foreigners as many of them need to renew their visas and appropriate social distancing rules along with other COVID-19 measures.
Under the current visa amnesty, no paperwork or other regulations were announced, apart from the general extension. Foreigners will not have to wait in line at immigration centers to report their residency or length of stay in the country.
Moreover, officials has informed that it will provide sufficient time to stranded foreigners to extend their visas in Thailand or to make arrangements and take advantage of repatriation flights to return their home country.
Currently, only international flights for repatriation purposes are allowed in Thailand and only for specific groups of passengers. According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), commercial international flights may not resume soon.
In regard to COVID-19 transmission in Thailand, the country has reported a total number of 3,269 confirmed cases which are in a stable condition and 58 patients have died due to virus. However, 3,105 patients who tested positive to COVID-19 have completely recovered from the virus, as of Thursday (July 23).
