Thailand Bail would like to take this time and reach out to our clients and partners about the COVID-19 situation in Thailand as it relates to criminal cases and immigration issues in Bangkok, Koh Samui, Pattaya, Udon Thani, Phuket, Hua Hin, Samut Prakarn, and other places. This article will address postponed court hearings, as well as court hearings that are not postponed, immigration announcements for case visas / defendant’s visas, as well as general information about the situation of the coronavirus / COVID-19 in Thailand.

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Update on Court Cases in Thailand

The COVID-19 virus has disrupted the world, including Thailand. We hope that all of our clients’ families and friends are healthy. Our job is to keep everyone updated on their court cases, and we have been receiving daily calls from our clients about their cases in the various criminal courts in Thailand.

As a general rule, court hearings that are not essential for justice being served have been postponed. What does this mean exactly? WE have seen the following types of court hearings postponed because of COVID-19:

• Pre-trial court hearings, when the defendant is out on bail
• Some court reporting dates before Indictment Day
• Court hearings where we have requested a postponement due to COVID-19
• Some civil court hearings

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In addition, there have been some court hearings that have not been postponed, as follows:

• Indictment Day (Usually 30, 48, or 84 days after the first court hearing)
• Trial for serious cases
• Court hearings where the defendant is in prison and not out on bail
• Court hearings where the defendant plead guilty, and the court is examining the witnesses and evidence to determine the sentence

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As you can see from the lists above, it is best to have our lawyers and staff check for you to see if your court hearing is going to be postponed or not. Please note that the above information comes from our cases, currently in the following courts, and each court has its own rules:

• Bangkok Criminal Court (Ratchada)
• Koh Samui Provincial Court
• Bangkok North Municipal Court
• Bangkok Civil Court
• Bangkok South Criminal Court
• Bangkok South Municipal Court
• Taling Chan Provincial Court
• Pathumwan Municipal Court
• Phra Khanong Provincial Court
• Nonthaburi Provincial Court
• Samut Prakarn Provincial Court
• Pattaya Provincial Court
• Pattaya Civil Court
• Pattaya Municipal Court
• Rayong Provincial Court
• Phuket Provincial Court
• Phuket Municipal Court
• Hua Hin Provincial Court
• Chiang Mai Provincial Court
• Udon Thani Provincial Court
• Mukdahan Provincial Court
• Kanchanaburi Provincial Court
• Nakhon Sawan Provincial Court
• Buriram Provincial Court

It is important to check each court, since each court has its own rules for postponements from COVID-19.

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Immigration Rules for COVID-19

The Thai Immigration Bureau recently announced that they would allow all foreigners to get automatic extensions on their visas and extensions of stay through 30 April 2020. This is welcome news for all foreigners in Thailand who were stressing out about the visa situation.

As of today (09-04-2020) we can confirm that we have had clients who we were assisting with case visas who also received automatic extensions. However, as we get closer to 30 April 2020, we will need to check for updates from Thai Immigration.

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If you have any questions about your case, even if the lawyers and staff at Thailand Bail are not currently managing your case, please contact Thailand Bail at info@thailandbail.com or call us at +66 808734042. We also have WhatsApp, Line, Viber, and other ways in order to get in touch.