The disruption has left some visitors unable to leave Thailand before their permitted stay expired, prompting the Immigration Bureau to introduce temporary relief measures, including an overstay fine waiver for travellers departing the country once flights resume.
However, foreigners who wish to remain in Thailand must still apply for a 30-day extension of stay, which has added to the workload at the Phuket Immigration office.
Pol Lt Col Laddawan Waenkaew, secretary to the Phuket Immigration chief, said the office has been processing large numbers of extension applications in recent days.
“I’m not sure exactly how many people have had their stay extensions processed, but it has been extremely busy every day lately,” she said.
Under the Immigration Bureau measures, foreigners delayed from leaving the country after Feb 28 due to flight disruptions in the Middle East will not be fined for overstay if they leave Thailand once travel becomes possible.
DRIVE-THRU CLOSURE
The situation has been compounded by the earlier closure of the Phuket Immigration Drive-Thru service, which had previously allowed foreigners to complete some procedures without entering the office.
Pol Lt Col Laddawan said the service was closed after complaints from local residents and nearby government offices about traffic congestion caused by vehicles queuing for the facility.
“Cars waiting for the Drive-Thru were backing up outside the immigration office and affecting traffic in the surrounding area,” she explained.
She said the queues sometimes extended as far as the Phuket Customs office nearby, creating disruption for motorists and people travelling through the area.
“We received complaints from Thai residents, including parents dropping children off at nearby schools and staff from government offices in the area,” she said.
The Drive-Thru service itself had only two machines, which could not process the growing number of users quickly enough, causing vehicles to accumulate along the road.
Immigration officials therefore decided to close the service and direct visitors to complete their procedures inside Room 101 at the office instead.
Despite the increased workload and long lines, immigration officers say they are ensuring that all visitors who queue for services are processed on the same day.
“We always make sure that everyone who is in the queue is served that day,” Pol Lt Col Laddawan said.
She added that Phuket Immigration continues to encourage foreigners to use online services, particularly the 90-day reporting system, which can be completed electronically without visiting the office.
Authorities are also considering the possibility of establishing additional service points in other locations in the future to help reduce congestion at the main immigration office.
Phuket Immigration Chief Pol Col Khemchart Wattanapakasem could not be reached for comment as he was attending a meeting with Immigration Bureau officials in Bangkok.