BANGKOK — A family of eight from Zimbabwe, including four children, has been stuck at a Bangkok airport for most of the past two months, unwilling to return home because of political uncertainty there and unable to secure visas to a third country.

Thai immigration officials said the family members had applied to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the hope of obtaining refugee status. They are being allowed to remain at the airport, rather than a detention center, while their case is considered.

On Friday, the travelers were settled into a quiet corner of a large waiting area, where they occupied three sofas. Their luggage was piled on airport trolleys, and the children watched a video on a small portable device while the adults talked with reporters and airport personnel who stopped by.

The Zimbabwean travelers declined to give their names, or to explain how they ended up in their predicament. They also did not say what danger they would face if they were to return to Zimbabwe.