It’s now official! The order signed by the prime minister to give automatic extension of stay to foreigners has just been published in the Royal Gazette. Effective immediately. See here:
http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2563/E/081/T_0009.PDFThe following are my series of tweets about this while we wait for Immigration to interpret this themselves.
1️⃣ I was really hoping that the Immigration Bureau would announce the details themselves tonight, but they haven’t yet. And so I will put my neck on the line as we are in the middle of a pandemic. To be clear, this is MY advice. I am NOT Immigration. I’m saying this to save lives...
2️⃣ If your extension of stay expired BEFORE 26 March, you must pay the overstay fine first before you can get the extension to 30 April.
If the Emergency Decree is extended, then everyone gets automatic extension to 30 May. No need to do anything. No need to go to Immigration.
3️⃣ So, my advice to you is, if your “visa” doesn’t expire tomorrow, then do NOT go to Immigration. Wait for the official announcement. If your “visa” expires tomorrow, you have to make the decision yourself whether to go or not. If it was me, I would NOT go for safety reasons.
4️⃣ To be clear, Immigration is NOT shutting down. It’s open as normal. So, if you feel safe going to your local Immigration, then by all means go. If they’re not busy & you’re in the process of extending your stay by one year, then continue with that. But only if you feel safe.