foreigners
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Expats
Bangkok Midnight Marathon 2020 bans foreigners
It’s official. The Bangkok Midnight Marathon 2020 is closed to foreigners. Popular blogger and Samut Prakan school employee Richard Barrow posted the news last night saying… “For some reason, the organisers of this year’s Bangkok Midnight Marathon have decided not to allow foreigners to run. I hope this doesn’t become part of the ‘new normal’.” Unsurprisingly, the social media outrage was…
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Covid-19 News
No current plans to extend list of foreigners allowed back into Thailand
There is no immediate plan to extend the list of foreigners being allowed to come to Thailand at the moment. Specifically still excluded are retirees with valid visas, homes and families in Thailand. The directive comes from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Thailand’s experience with Covid-19, it has closed its borders to tourists and visitors, stranding both Thais and…
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Covid-19 News
All foreigners will have to serve 14 day quarantine “in the foreseeable future” – Minister
Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pipat Ratchakitprakan, is reassuring Thais by explaining that all foreigners, regardless of their status or origins, will have to serve a mandatory 14 day quarantine, at least “in the foreseeable future”. Thailand officials are currently prepares phase six of the re-opening of the country, loosening the restrictions imposed in April when the country closed…
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Covid-19 News
Extension of visa amnesty, extension of emergency decree
In a big day of important announcements, the Cabinet has approved an extension to the emergency decree as well as an extension to the visa amnesty for foreigners. The extension of the visa amnesty will now run until September 26. It now allows foreigners to stay in Thailand without renewing their visa as long as their visa did not expire before…
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Covid-19 News
Thailand pries open its borders for Phase 6 of re-openings
Phase 6 is on the way which will allow more groups of foreigners back into Thailand and pry open the borders another incremental step. The next phase will allow the entry of foreign migrant workers from neighbouring countries to ease a current labour shortage. The two industries for migrant worker re-entry are the construction industry and food export businesses. CCSA spokesman…
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Covid-19 News
Phase 6 to be announced this week, will allow more groups to come to Thailand
“…keeping the economy functioning is of secondary importance.” 5 move groups are expected to be allowed into Thailand as the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration rolls out Phase 6 of the -reopenings’ this week. The groups would include migrant workers and some foreigners. A meeting was held yesterday where the next phase of reopening Thailand was discussed which will be considered by…
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Covid-19 News
Poll: vast majority fear second virus wave, support foreign arrival ban
A recent opinion poll by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll, showed well over 90% of respondents fear a second wave of Covid-19 and want a complete ban on foreign arrivals in Thailand. The poll, taken July 14-18, gauged the concerns of 1,459 Thai adults of various education levels and occupations, about the possibility of a second outbreak,…
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Expats
Proposal being ‘examined’ by authorities for a possible visa amnesty extension
Today the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has briefly addressed the issue of the current visa amnesty, which is due to finish on July 31. The issue was mentioned today as part of the daily briefings. The visa amnesty was announced, then extended, in April to allow foreigners with lapsed visas, to stay in the country without having to…
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Covid-19 News
400 people in Rayong being traced, schools closed down, Government apologises
“We apologise for what happened. We will take it as a lesson.” At a packed media conference this morning the CCSA has announced that an Egyptian pilot, testing positive for Covid-19, along with “9 colleagues” visited at least 2 shopping malls in the Rayong province. Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin says the infected airmen, along with 9 others members of the crew,…
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Covid-19 News
“Let us stay – Why can’t Thai Immigration extend our visas?”
OPINION The current visa amnesty, and what will happen to foreigners after its conclusion (at this stage on July 31), is a constant source of confusion and stress for many foreigners. Some were truly stranded in the Kingdom when the borders were closed and flights become limited for a return to their home countries. Others decided to stay in the…
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Expats
Visa amnesty, looming July 31 deadline in Thailand
NOTE: This post is not designed to scare anyone, but simply prompt foreigners, currently in Thailand, about the situation with visas. There is a list of all embassies in Thailand at the end of this article. The Thai government has had a visa amnesty in force that has allowed foreigners to stay in Thailand during the Covid-19 outbreak. It automatically extended…
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World News
Myanmar puts a hold on international flights until at least October
According to Myanmar’s National Tourism Development Central Committee vice-president, Myanmar’s airports are unlikely to re-open to international commercial flights until at least October this year. There is no guarantee, however, that even if the country opens its skies to international flights, there will be any takers other than airlines offering repatriation flights. Border closures around the world have grounded entire fleets…
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Covid-19 News
Poll shows most Thais still oppose foreign arrivals
A recent survey carried out by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll, shows that a majority of Thais still oppose opening the country to foreigners, even if they’re not infected with Covid-19, saying the global coronavirus situation is still very serious. The poll was conducted on July 6-8 on 1,251 people aged 18 and over, of various…
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Expats
Immigration official says visa amnesty extension “is unlikely”
As the deadline for the visa amnesty draws closer, conflicting whispers are emerging from Immigration offices around the country. The Thaiger is privy to a discussion with an Immigration officer this morning where an extension was said to be likely, for 1 month beyond July 31. But just this afternoon Khaosod English has published a contrary story saying that an…
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Expats
What will happen to foreigners with expired visas after July 31?
Before you read further, seeking a definitive answer, we don’t have one. But stranded foreigners, who have been able to stay in Thailand via a visa amnesty, have an approaching D-Day – July 31, 2020. This is the sunset of the current amnesty for foreigners who have, through no fault of their own, been stuck in Thailand whilst the borders…
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Thailand News
Thailand News Today – Friday, June 26
A different program today looking at the issues of flying around Thailand at the moment and a few things to remember. Also the latest we know about the borders slowly opening up and the process of slowly allowing some foreigners to re-enter the country. Back to the usual format on Monday. Have a fantastic weekend. Tim and The Thaiger team.
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Covid-19 News
Arrival ban to end on July 1… some foreigners will be allowed in
“Dr. Taweesilp says about 50,000 foreigners are expected to visit the country under the new rules.” Thailand will begin allowing foreigners to enter the country from July 1, easing the months-long arrival ban. But foreign tourists will still be banned. Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesperson of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says that the first group will comprise businessmen…
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World News
President Trump frees jobs for Americans by targeting foreigners
US President Donald Trump is reportedly targeting working foreigners in an effort to free up jobs for American citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. He says he will pause some types of green cards that give immigrants permanent residency and suspend foreign workers’ visas until the end of this year in a move that has critics saying he is using the…
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Covid-19 News
International flight talks resume as “travel bubble” debate rages on
“There must be thorough discussions, which may continue into next month.” As the Thai government mulls the possibility of “travel bubbles” with countries where Covid-19 appears under control, aviation representatives are talking with commercial airlines about a potential return to international services. Limited domestic flights have been operating again since May, with the exception of Phuket, which resumed its domestic…
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Tourism News
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble – Thailand’s international travel quandary
With apologies to William Shakespeare. You’re going to hear a lot more about travel bubbles in the next few months. Indeed it will become the ‘new normal’ in the short-term for Thailand’s battered tourism and hospitality industry. The world is NOT going to magically re-open up and travel as they did before, at least not in the next few years.…
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Thailand News
Thailand News Today – Thursday, June 11
Transport Company resumes service, bans foreigners The wheels on the bus go round and round. But not for foreigners living in Thailand. It’s now official. If you’re a foreigner you won’t be allowed on intercity buses operated by the state owned Transport Company, under the auspices of the Thai Ministry of Transport. They announced today that foreigners are banned from…
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Covid-19 News
Transport Company resumes service, bans foreigners
The wheels on the bus go round and round. But not for foreigners living in Thailand. The Transport Company, the state operator of intercity bus services, announced today that foreigners are banned from its services due to the Emergency Decree. Although services have resumed on most of their routes across the country, foreign travellers are not allowed to board because…
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Thailand News
Health Ministry: 98% of recent Covid-19 cases imported
The Ministry of Public Health made an announcement this afternoon via social media regarding recent statistics around Covid-19 in Thailand. The gist of the statement is that all recently reported cases of the virus have been imported by Thais returning from abroad. Here is the full text… “From the reports of confirmed cases in the previous two weeks, among 64…
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Covid-19 News
TAT will use domestic tourism as dress rehearsal for international returns
“…the tourism sector will continue to be stifled by disease control measures until a Covid-19 vaccine is developed.” Due to the current ban on international arrivals, extended several times and now in effect until at least July, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has created a strategy to support domestic tourism and “learn from the experience”, as it eases into the…
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Covid-19 News
Security chief says country to reopen July 1
The chief of Thailand’s National Security Council announced today that Thailand has set July 1 for the end of all “business and activity lockdowns” ordered to cope with the Covid-19 crisis, include provincial and international travel. The announcement also included the end of the Emergency Decree and curfews, Bangkok Post reports. NSC Secretary-General Somsak Rungsita says the lift of restrictions…
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Covid-19 News
Bank report predicts extended timeframe for Thai tourism recovery
As the severity of the current situation facing Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry starts to sink in, Kasikorn Bank Research Centre have released a report with some stark predictions. Thailand’s tourism and hospitality industry faces losses of 1.69 trillion baht in 2020 and recovery “may not be clearly evident” next year. The report also foreshadows strict ‘new normal’ procedures as government measures…
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Covid-19 News
Misery as arrival ban keeps families apart
Thailand’s ban on foreign arrivals is causing misery among families across the nation as foreigners married to Thai nationals plead with the government to let them return to be with their families. James Jacobs, a Briton stranded in France, told Nation Thailand he wants to return to his 29 year old wife Sopa, who lives in Chiang Mai. Speaking by…
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Covid-19 News
Foreigners arrested for swimming at closed Pattaya beaches – VIDEO
Police in Pattaya arrested 3 foreigners who were violating public orders to stay off of public beaches at around noon today, at the back of a hotel in the province’s Pratumnak area. Pattaya City police officers told reporters they issued several soft warnings to the foreigners while they were in the water, but they refused to stop swimming and simply…
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Covid-19 News
Visa amnesty for foreigners – but conditions apply
“All foreign nationals are advised to closely monitor the Immigration Bureau’s website for updates, though the measures announced on Wednesday are valid until April 30 unless otherwise updated.” The visa amnesty has been announced, hopefully relieving some of the stress on stranded tourists and other foreigners that have ended up without flights or ways to get home. Many flights have…
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Covid-19 News
Pattaya commences ‘restricted access’ from April 9 onwards
Today, Chon Buri’s governor Pakkhathorn Thianchai has approved the Pattaya City’s proposal to restrict access to the town at 2pm from tomorrow (April 9) for 21 days. It is not a new curfew, but a limitation on people travelling in and out of the city region. Pattaya City will commence a 24 hour lock down of the city’s borders where…