Integrity Legal

The Coronavirus, also referred to as COVID-19, has been a major issue in recent days and it appears to be having a substantial impact upon immigration policy in the United States of America and the Kingdom of Thailand. In a recent article from the Bangkok Post, it was noted that visa exemption stamps and visa on arrival privileges are being suspended for citizens of certain countries, quoting directly from a recent article:

Thailand on Wednesday cancelled the grant of visa on arrival for 18 countries and visa exemption for three others…The 18 places are: Bulgaria, Bhutan, China (including Taiwan), Cyprus, Ethiopia, Fiji, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mexico, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Vanuatu. Visa exemption will be cancelled for South Korea, Italy and Hong Kong…

It also appears that Thai Embassy and Consulate officials will begin requiring medical certificates by visa applicants, to quote directly from a recent article in Reuters:

Chatree Atchananant, director-general of the foreign ministry’s Consular Affairs Department, said visa applicants will need to present medical certificates and insurance as part of the screening at Thai embassies.

Meanwhile, some days ago officials in the USA had previously announced that US visa issuance and travel would be greatly curtailed by those either coming from China or other areas impacted by the virus. More recently, it has been announced that all travel from Europe to the United States will be suspended. To quote directly from a recent article from Bloomberg:

President Donald Trump said he will suspend all travel from Europe to the U.S. for the next 30 days, the most far-reaching measure yet in the administration’s efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus…The World Health Organization earlier Wednesday declared the outbreak is now a pandemic and urged governments to step up containment efforts as the number of worldwide cases topped 123,000 and deaths exceeded 4,500.

As the coronavirus outbreak continues the travel industries of various countries are reeling. In Thailand, the tourism industry has taken a major hit. Concurrently, the immigration systems of both the USA and Thailand are dealing with the issue in different ways. Although the laws governing Thai visa and American visa issuance have not substantively changed, Thai and American immigration and customs officials have broad plenary and discretionary authority to deal with public health and safety matters as they see fit. Exactly how this situation will continue to evolve remains to be seen, but we will continue posting information and analysis on the legal and immigration ramifications of this pandemic.

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