How are expats in Thailand coping with the uncertainty?

Expats in Thailand are now trapped in their very own tropical paradise.

Although the focus has been on expats of all persuasions and positions trapped overseas simply because they chose the wrong moment to leave their country of residence, those following this worldwide drama should spare a thought for those who’re now prisoners in their chosen tropical paradise.

To those stuck in their home country due to a badly-timed visit, lockdown in tropical Thailand doesn’t seem like a jail sentence but, for those who have a good reason to leave temporarily, it certainly feels like one. If they follow their instincts or hearts and leave, they’ve no idea at all when they’ll be able to return, even although repatriations are expected to begin at the end of the month. Given the country’s amazingly efficient and successful method of fighting the pandemic, many have no idea why the government’s making it so difficult for them to behave normally.

Right now, empty beaches are making social distancing very straightforward for the average expat retiree closeted securely in, for example, Pattaya, even although its reputation as sin city is now dead in the water. However, the ability to escape and then return now rests on both the colour and content of expat passports and the state of the war against the virus in their home countries. It’s a lottery in which the world country with the best results as regards infections and deaths gives the human right to travel and return as is normal.

Trial runs are about to take place, with tourism potential more important than reuniting expat parents with their partners and children as well as an unsurprising twist towards the Chinese tourists who fuelled the hospitality trade’s profits whilst wrecking the local experience for long-term Western expats. And, of course, brought with them the scourge of Covid19 which wrecked the entire sector for the foreseeable future.

Those long-term expats who’re not yet giving up on the Thailand experience don’t know what’s going down next, but are hoping they’ve not made the wrong choice yet again.