The Immigration Bureau (IB) announced yesterday that foreigners with Thai residency whose re-entry visas require them to return to Thailand within one year from the date of 26th March 2020 will be allowed to stay abroad until further notice.
The agency said it has decided to relax the one-year re-entry requirement dating back to 26th March last year as the COVID-19 outbreak still restricts all modes of travel.
Deputy bureau chief Pol Maj Gen Archayon Kraithong said the current situation makes it very difficult for stranded foreign residents to make it back to Thailand.
The temporary easing of the re-entry rule was intended to help foreigners with Thai residency who are still stranded overseas, he said.
Pol Maj Gen Kraithong, who is also the IB spokesman, said his boss Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang is concerned about foreigners with Thai residency who are still stranded in other countries and have not been able to return to Thailand since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pol Col Pakapong Saiubon, deputy chief of Immigration Division 1, directed all foreigners who have questions to contact the Bureau via www.immigration.go.th or on the 1178 hotline.
