Additional Conditions for Entering the Kingdom, Visa Regulations & Extension-of-Stay
1). Additional Conditions for Allowing Aircraft to Fly in and out of Thailand
On August 3, 2020, The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (“CAAT”) had made an additional announcement regarding Conditions for Allowing Aircraft to Fly in and out of Thailand (No.3). The new announcement includes new category of persons that will be allowed to enter Thailand, these include the following:
- Aliens with Thai residence certificate, including their spouse and children;
- Non-Thai nationals with a work permit, including their spouse and children;
- Foreign workers whose employers or agents were granted permission by the Thai government to bring foreign workers to temporarily work and stay in Thailand;
- Non-Thai nationals under a special arrangement between the Thai government and foreign countries;
- Special individuals or groups under the recommendation of the ad hoc committee and approved by the Prime Minister.
Nonetheless, all persons entering Thailand must still comply with COVID-19 Public Health Countermeasure’s Regulations and shall be subject to a 14-day state required quarantine or alternative state quarantine (ASQ) at their own expenses.
2). Visa Regulations & Extension-of-Stay
The Thai Immigration Bureau had also made an announcement regarding Thailand’s visa regulations and condition for extension-of-stay for visa holders during COVID-19 Public Health Countermeasure, they are as listed below.
A). For Short-Term Visa
This includes Tourist Visa (TR), Transit Visa (TS), Visa-on-Arrival (VOA) and those with Visa exemptions. Those holding the visa types as listed must prepare to depart Thailand no later than September 26, 2020. With this being said, those with the following reasons will be eligible to apply for a 30-day extension-of-stay per permission:
- Those suffering from illnesses – A valid medical certificate must be provided to a local immigration office;
- Other reasons such as: no available departing flights or destination country undergoing outbreak restriction/containment protocol – A letter of confirmation from an embassy or consulate must be provided to a local immigration office.
B). For Long-Term Visa
Holders of long-term visa must submit an application for visa extension in accordance to their respective visa types. The application for visa extension may be submitted from now until September 26, 2020 (last day). The extension will be effective from September 27, 2020 onwards.
C). Notification of Residence
House owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels (e.g. Airbnb, B&B and hostel) that accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national.
Moreover, any foreign nationals who have been granted the temporary permission to stay in Thailand on long term non-immigrant visa must notify his/her residence to the immigration officer every 90 days. Foreign nationals under this category with a notification deadline falling between March 26, 2020 – July 31, 2020 must notify the immigration officer no later than August 31, 2020.
