UPDATE: Deadline for 60-day “Covid” visa extension being pushed to January 25

This article has been updated with information from a Thai Immigration document.

The deadline to apply for the 60-day “Covid” visa extension is this Friday, but a document from Thai Immigration leaked on social media says the date has been pushed back to January 25. The order needs to be published in the Royal Gazette to be made official.

There had been talk among the expat community that the Thai Cabinet approved an order to push the deadline to apply for the extension from this Friday to December 31, but a that date had not been confirmed. The Thaiger’s Thai news staff reviewed the official minutes of Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting and found it did not mention the 60-day visa extension. The order was focused on granting migrant workers from neighbouring countries permission to stay in Thailand until the end of the year.

The visa extension deadline has been pushed back as it has been in the past due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation. The extension costs 1,900 baht and requirements, such as a letter from an embassy, can vary depending on each immigration office.

The special visa extension scheme came into effect last year as countries throughout the world closed borders and airlines grounded flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The deadline to apply has been extended several times, and typically announced by the Thai Immigration Bureau at the last minute.

Now that Thailand has reopened to vaccinated travellers from selected countries and other nations are lifting restrictions, it’s unclear how much longer the Thai government will continue the visa extension scheme.