If you are a foreigner (aka non-Thai citizen) currently stuck in Thailand and legally in the country under Thailand’s visa amnesty program, you may be worrying about what happens after the deadline on September 26th.
As it currently stands, although it could change if the Thai government decides to extend the visa amnesty after September 26th, you have several options.
- The first, of course, is to leave Thailand on or before September 26th. Although foreign tourists are banned from entering Thailand, there are flights currently leaving the country. Flights are expensive. If you do not leave, and do not have a relevant visa, you will then be in danger of being deported from the country if caught. Depending on how long you have been in Thailand illegally before you are deported, you could also be banned from further visits to the country for up to 10 years.
- Go to a Thai Immigration office and ask about ways to legally extend your visa. You must do this before the September 26th deadline and the sooner the better, as that will give you time to look into various options. One of them may be signing up for a Thai language course or for Muay Thai training.
- If you have a valid reason for not leaving Thailand on or before the visa amnesty deadline — this will usually only be due to a current medical problem, not having a flight available or that your home country is still in lockdown — you should immediately contact your embassy. Some embassies are still able to provide a letter recommending you be given an extension of your stay in Thailand. You can then present this to Thai Immigration and hope for the best.
The main thing you should be concerned about when dealing with any available options after the Thailand visa amnesty deadline on September 26th is that you do not leave it to the last minute to solve the problem.
Thai Immigration can be slow in furnishing you with the paperwork you will need to stay legal. So can foreign embassies.
Start to deal with it immediately, and you stand a better chance of being able to both remain in Thailand after September 26th and also be able to do so legally.
