Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the protests in Thailand. 

This has been a topic that has been across the news frequently in recent days. We are also discussing this with respect to the Thai Visa Amnesty extension, or the Thai Immigration Amnesty extension; some have called this the Automatic Visa extension. Whatever you want to call it, Thailand has permitted those who are trapped in Thailand due to the lockdowns associated with COVID-19, they have permitted them to stay in Thailand until October 31st, 2020 in a type of Amnesty status which is going to exist notwithstanding the fact that their visa status may have expired. 

Now I have done a number of other videos on this channel discussing the Visa Amnesty. I am not going to go into great detail on the circumstances and situation involving that but we are talking about this topic in conjunction with the protests. Now I want to be very clear, this video is not made in any way to make any type of political statement. This is a wholly a-political video. This has no political agenda; this is neutral with respect to the protests. We are simply acknowledging that these demonstrations are happening and we are discussing this in the context of Thai Immigration. 

Now the reason I am making this video is while we are not discussing the protests themselves or getting into any kind of detail regarding the protests, we are discussing what the protests may or may not direct or indirectly impact with respect to Immigration and visas specifically for expats and those who have been stranded for lack of a better term in Thailand due to the lockdowns associated with COVID-19. This is one thing I think people have not thought about since these protests have arisen, since this whole situation has manifested itself and I think expats haven't really noted this; the Amnesty is presumptively ending on October 31.  I am sure I sound like a broken record because I said that was going to happen at the end of July 31st, it didn't happen. I said it was going to happen at the end of September and it didn't happen but it presumptively was going to happen and in the case of the situation in September, it technically did occur, it was just retroactively nullified and the Amnesty continued. This is something I don't think folks who are currently in Amnesty are taking into account. With the situation as it is in Thailand it is reasonable to infer that Expats who have not dealt with their Amnesty or not dealt with their visa situation, it is not a major priority for the Thai Government at this moment. Policymakers are probably not overly concerned with this at this time. So those who are in Amnesty who have not regularized or normalized their status and presume to remain in Thailand past the end of the presumptive date that the Amnesty terminates, I think it would be a good idea for those folks to go ahead and seriously consider getting into some kind of normalized, regularized long-term Thai Visa status because as I stated a moment ago, the current situation does not lend itself to a great deal of attention being given to those who have continued to maintain their lawful status in Thailand via Amnesty. What I am saying is this could be a situation where folks presume that the Amnesty will continue to be extended and it simply doesn't happen and it could simply not happen because the Government has other things on their mind. Relevant policymakers are not overly focused on this particular issue and for that reason it just kind of falls by the wayside. 

So if you are in Amnesty status and you have not normalized your status as of the time of this video and its publication, I would strongly suggest doing so because the overall situation does not lend itself to a strong presumption that the Amnesty will continue.