The Cabinet approved the “second automatic visa extension” to all types until July 31 yesterday. (See story here.)
While the second extension has yet to be publicly posted on the main Immigration Bureau website (see here), the PR Department of Thailand today posted the news in an announcement that read:
“The Cabinet, during its meeting on 21 April 2020, approved the draft notification of the Ministry of Interior on the second automatic visa extension for foreigners to stay temporarily in Thailand.
“The objective is to avoid mass gatherings, as a large number of foreigners are likely to travel to meet immigration officials for visa extensions, and this may lead to a risk of COVID-19 infection.
“The Ministry of Interior on 7 April 2020 issued a notification granting an automatic visa extension until 30 April 2020 for foreign visitors whose visas expired as from 26 March 2020, in an effort to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
“According to the draft notification approved by the Cabinet on 21 April 2020, the period of time permitted to stay will be extended from 1 May 2020 to 31 July 2020. This means that foreigners whose visas had expired as from 26 March 2020 will be permitted to stay until 31 July 2020 without having to apply for an extension,” the announcement added. (See here.)
A briefer post on the PR Department’s main Facebook page noted:
- Automatic visa extension
- Exemption from 90-day reporting
- Exemption from visa extension fee
- No need to submit any documents
The Immigration Bureau will process all the above steps for you. For more information please contact the Immigration Bureau’s call center at 1178, the announcement said.
Phuket Immigration Deputy Chief Col Nareuwat told The Phuket News that while his office has yet to receive an official order from the Immigration Bureau headquarters in Bangkok confirming the second automatic visa extension, it is expected to be same the first automatic extension to all visa types issued on Apr 7, granting all visa types that had not expired before Mar 26 free extensions until Apr 30. (See here.)
Col Nareuwat said that he was aware of the Cabinet’s approval granted yesterday, but noted that technically his office still has to receive the official order before they can enforce it.
However, he did confirm the automatic visa extension does apply to all visa types.
Asked specifically whether the extension apply to one-year visas, he said, “Yes, the extension applies to all visa types.”