Consequences of Overstaying in Thailand
There has been a lot of news recently about a crackdown on people working and staying illegally in Thailand. We’ve heard a lot about the so-called “border runs” being outlawed. Before, people were leaving the country and coming back straight away with a 15/30 day visa exemption stamp. Many were doing this back to back so that they could work illegally in Thailand over a long period. This is what they are targeting now. If you have many visa exemption stamps or even many back-to-back tourist visas then you might find yourself with a problem the next time you enter at a land border. At the moment, it is safe to arrive at the airport, but after 12 August 2014 the crackdown will cover every land and air border checkpoint.
They are also being strict with people who overstay in Thailand by blacklisting them. Did you know, if you are caught with an expired visa, even just a few days, you will be banned from entering Thailand for FIVE years. The following are the penalties for overstaying which is posted at Samut Prakan Immigration:
In the Case the Alien Surrenders Himself/Herself:
- Overstay more than 90 days => Forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for 1 year
- Overstay more than 1 year => Forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for 3 years
- Overstay more than 3 years => Forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for 5 years
- Overstay more than 5 years => Forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for 10 years
In the Case that the Alien is Apprehended:
- Overstay for less than 1 year ==> Forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for 5 years
- Overstay for more than 1 year ==> Forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for 10 years
The act of surrendering yourself is reporting at an Immigration checkpoint at a land or air border on your way out. However, you need to be careful that while you are on the way, you are not stopped by a police checkpoint. If they check your passport and see you have an expired visa, even if you are on the way out, the penalty will be more severe. I would suggest that if you are going to surrender yourself, you should do so at the airport. Unless, of course, you live near one of the borders. You then have to pay the daily 500 Baht fine up to the maximum of 20,000 Baht. If you surrendered yourself and overstayed less than 90 days then there are no other consequences.
As a side note, I just found out that you can extend your permission to stay in Thailand even if it has already expired. For example, if you are preparing documents to extend your stay in Thailand for another year and for one reason or another the documents aren’t ready, Immigration will allow you to be late. Obviously that is not advisable as you run the risk of being apprehended. But, Immigration will still accept your application even though your “visa” has expired. But, you would need to pay the fine for overstaying. So, if you are late by two days, you will have to pay a fine of 1,000 Baht. The alternative to overstaying is to leave the country and come back. But, you would then have to start the process again from the beginning. If you already have the work permit, this is also cancelled. If you are in this situation, make sure you talk to your local Immigration first so they know which choice you have taken.
UPDATE on 22nd JULY 2014: Immigration have removed the “lifetime” ban for those people who overstay more than 10 years
my name is sheikh I want know I overstay in Thailand more than 40 days before cause of accident and I was under treatment and after I little OK I makes my ticket and go to immigration and pay their fine but they go court photo lot of fomalties I surrender my self at immigration so I want know can I go back if I want make new tourist visa.Mr Richard
Sorry, each case is different. I am not in a position to interpret your case. It’s up to the Immigration officer.
Hi Richard. My visa runs on on the 2nd of may which is a Saturday and the immigration centre is closed. I dont get to koh samui till the 2nd may to renew it. I was going to go first thing monday morning and i already have my flight booked to go home on the 7th of may.
Hi, It’s the 6th of april (Easter monday so immigration office is closed) My visa expires on 8th of april. I’m from australia, stayed 30 days, renewed for another 30 days at immigration until the 8th of april. I have flights booked to leave on the 17th. I’m wondering if i can extend my visa at the immigration office tomorrow or if I have to fly out/cross the border to renew the visa. I have been told you can’t do land visa runs anymore but others have said you can. I’m training at a fitness centre and want to stay for songkran so if visa run (land or air) is possible i don’t want to bring all my stuff. To summarize, what are the chances immigration office in Phuket town will extend/renew the visa, also what are the chances i’ll be refused rentry (land or air.)
Take along your e-ticket to show that you have a flight booked on the 18th April. They might agree to give you two more weeks. I am afrain I cannot second guess their response.
Thanks alot for that. I will do. Are the chances high or low of getting refused re-entry if I cross the border and re-enter?
For southern Thailand, your chances seem to be lower for getting back in with another 30 days. The problem is, they just aren’t consistent to be able to predict. I guess it depends on their mood. It also depends a lot on the number of these visa exemption stamps you have already. And whether you look like a real tourist.
Hi Richard. I have overstayed my 30 day visa on arrival by a total of 6 days. It was my own stupidity for not checking my passport and realizing I was about to overstay. I want to extend it by 30 days… Do you think I can still go to Immigration in Bangkok and get the 30 day extension and pay the extension fee+overstay fee? Or do you think they will refuse me an extension and tell me to leave the country?
It is up to the discretion of the Immigration officer. But rightly speaking, he should arrest you and put you in the detention cell while waiting for your court date to pay the fine. Then they will deport you once you have managed to find someone to buy you a plane ticket to your home country. People with no money have spent months if not years in the detention center. I don’t mean to scare you, but just want you to know the consequences. The safest thing to do if you have overstayed your visa is to go straight to the airport, pay the fine and fly out.
Hi, I overstayed by 5 days last June, paid the fine at the airport at Samui and have a 4 by 2 cm overstay stamp in Thai in my passport. I’m getting married there this August, do you think I’ll have any trouble getting back in?
Others have reported they had no problems coming back in. But try and have some evidence that you are indeed a tourist and have money to support yourself without working. You never know.
Hi there
I overstayed about 9 months and got arrested and deported. I have a Thai stamp in my passport and do not know what it sais. How will i know/ find out if I have been banned or not? As I want to return to Thailand.
Er… any Thai restaurants near where you live? They often have Thais working there…
No Thai restaurants here. Any chance of sample stamps being displayed on a website?
Can you scan it to a .jpg file and upload it to Photobucket?
all is good no problem coming back have a new visa for other year
so happy to be home….
Dear all,
Anyone know about overstaying with regards to a baby. My daughter is 9 months old and will be travelling to Manila in 2 weeks. Since she was born we traveled to Manila once before. She has a British passport and I’m teaching at an International School with work permit and non-B. Any advice would be great.
On another note, my girlfriend (mother of said child) will leave next week and has an overstay on her passport (Fillipino) which is approaching 5 months (long story but we got stitched up). I realise we have to pay the 20k but was wondering if she will get blacklisted. Anybody have experience of settling this length of overstay at the airport?
I’ve been here for ten years on a work permit but my school has just told me as I’m only part time, they can no longer get me the work permit. I can get a marriage visa but this requires a non-immigrant O. My problem is this – they have given me absolutely no time to sort stuff out and my non immigrant B expires soon. Will I have to leave the country or can I overstay my non-B while I sort out my non-O?
I presume that you know it would be illegal for you to continue working at the school without a work permit? I cannot advise you it would be alright to overstay your visa as that would be illegal and there are risks involved. You have to make that decision yourself. I can only tell you of my experience when I changed visas. I did a border run and as I’m from a G7 country I got a 30 day visa exemption stamp. I then changed this to the correct visa (you have to do this two weeks before it expires).
I am a programmer in Thailand. In Bangkok there are some people who make visas without bordering from Thailand. I had overstey for 2 years
Hello I have my visa running out tomorrow which is a Sunday so the embassy is closed
My flight is booked for the 17th makes me 9 days over my 30 day visa do I
Run the risk and pay at airport
Or will they let me pay the 1900 and day fine on Monday at the embassy if I hand myself in I’m young traveler just silly been caught up in this and don’t want to get arrested by handing myself in
My flights are booked all help welcome
This has nothing to do with the embassy. You need to speak to Immigration. If only a few days they may let you pay the fine of 500 Baht per day and then extend for 1,900 Baht. But no guarantees. Your alternative is to pay the 9 x 500 Baht fine at the airport when you leave. But if you are picked up in the meantime, you will be arrested, detained, fined and deported. Not much of a holiday if you are looking over your shoulder all the time. But plenty of people paying overstay fines at the airport every day. Your choice.
hi Richard i over stayed by 34 days left on 06/05/14 payed my 20,000 B left then come back on 25/11/14 no problems i have a non-immigrant o visa now im levering on 22/2/15 then coming back on 2/3/15 for another year so i let you know how it goes… i have not done any visa runs or been to my local visa immigration officer. hope to do that on 2/5/15
Yes, looks like they are not blacklisting people despite the news last year. I think they decided to be more lenient as it would be bad for tourism if they banned people from the country. Thanks for letting me know.
34 days, 20,000 baht?
Shouldn’t that have been 17,000 baht?
well that’s what they fined me when i was at the counter the guy said to me do you no you overstayed your visa i said no then he said you no you will be fined 20.000 baht for over stay. he said you will be fined 1000 baht per day then he said the maximum fine is 20.000 baht.
i have a nephew who works for a oil company as far as i no he has had no trouble coming and going for the last 3 years.
i have been coming to Thailand now for 30ty years never had any trouble with immigration i was married to a Thai women she past away last year so immigration now gives me a non-immigrant o visa to visit my family now that runs out this year to so we see how that goes when i apply for a new one.
OK, thanks for the details. And, in the long run, what’s 3,000 baht? I guess the immigration officer had a happy ending for that. Hopefully karma will get him.
Good luck with your new visa – hope all goes well.
Hi Richard ,I have one friend that he is overstay almost 4 years cause he can’t make visa in Thailand and he can’t back to him country what he can do to make renew visa in Thailand without exit Thailand ,if he try to Marriage can he make visa or its imortent or he have to go immigration and pay for overstay and they make new visa for him or he have to exit from Thailand
He has no choice but to leave and pay the 20,000 Baht fine. And pray they don’t blacklist him for life. If he gets caught before he surrenders himself it will be worse.
My family of 4 has been in Thailand for a little over a year. Both parents have work permits, and our visas don’t expire for another two months. Our oldest child has the same visa expiration as us, but we just realized our youngest child who is 5 has a visa that expired 3 months ago. We have no idea why this could have happened as we’ve all travelled together and both kids had the same visa. We’re going to the immigration office to try to sort it out this week. Do you think it will be an issue? Will she have to leave and re-enter?
It’s up to the immigration officer. Most likely you will have to leave the country and come back. But, they might be lenient and let you pay the fine and then renew the visa there and then. Please let me know how you get on. Good luck.
Hi Richard,
Just wanted to first of all thank you for taking the time to reply. We actually got lucky on this occasion and we were able to fix everything at Imigration in Bangkok. Because our daughter is a child she was not subject to a fine, and we found a lenient officer that did not make us (her) leave and re-enter the country.
Good to hear that it turned out alright. Thanks for letting me know.
Sir my friend is overstay in bangkok for 10 days and he have no money for fine we send his ticket but unfortunately he don’t have moeny for pay fine and he want to come back bcz his mother was sick plz guide us right niw 1feb 2015
There is nothing I or others can do. Fine is 500 Baht per day. The longer he puts it off the larger the fine. Maximum is 20,000 Baht. If he gets picked up he will have to stay in Immigration Detention Center until someone pays the fine and the airline ticket home. Some people have been there years. My only advice to others is DO NOT OVERSTAY YOUR VISA!
Appreciate all ur advice , thank you so much
Thank you for your replay, he is just afraid to go back to the embassy and request for a new pasport because they might have the documents and records that he was advice to go and surrender in jail, previously embassy preper documents for him, if he go to embassy again they might remember him and catch him, do you think is it still possible for him to request new passport? What is the best thing to to do? And If he will be blacklisted in Thailand, can he still travel to any other country ? Thank you
I cannot say what may or may not happen as I am not your embassy or immigration. I can only reply from personal experience. About blacklisted to travel to other countries, they cannot do that. They can only blacklist you to travel to Thailand if they so choose.
Appreciate ur all advice , thank you so much
Hi. I have a friend who overstay in thailand for almost 2 years. He lost his passport and immediately report to the police station and went to indian embassy to report. But Indian embassy didnt give any good suggestion to get new passport or whatever option, but rather asked him to go and surrender himself. he was afraid to go in prison thats why up to now still in Thailand.Any suggestion on how he can go back to his country without being blacklisted? if he will be black listed in thailand, does it also mean that he cant go to other countries as well?
First step is to report lost passport to the police station. They will file a report and give you a copy. They wouldn’t normally ask about visa as this is not their job so don’t bring up the subject. Next go to your embassy and tell them you have lost your passport. Again, don’t tell them you have overstayed as that is not their concern. Once you have the new passport then leave the country via the airport. You will need to show the police report to show that you have lost your passport. Maximum fine for overstay is 20,000 Baht. Some people said they were able to leave the country and then come back again with no problem. But of course, no guarantees.
Thank you so much for your reply. Actually he had gone to the embassy , but they prefer him to surrender in the thai police.He always call and follow up but always asked him to keep calling until they asked him to surrender in the police. They said they will provide documents in the police for him to go back in india but needed to be in jail for few days. The embassy did not advise him to get new passport. Also the embassy asked him to surrender but he is afraid to be in prison. Now that he wanted to get a new passport , can he still go to embassy? or maybe they still have the record as earlier reported of his passport.If he surrender himself and go back india, will he still be blacklisted? Please advise..thank you so much.
Like I said, go to the embassy but DON’T tell them about the visa problem. They cannot refuse him a new passport. For my own embassy, the application is done online and you don’t even need to go to the embassy. But your embassy may be different. If they still refuse to give him a new passport then he has no choice but to go to prison. But I think it will be more than a few days as you cannot be deported if you don’t have a passport. You will stay in prison until you get one.
I would like to give you all an insight into my recent exit from Thailand, you can share my story but i wish to remain anonymous. I left Thailand to visit family in England just before Christmas, I had 18 months overstay and I got blacklisted at the main Bangkok Airport. I was told by countless people that they wont do it and that the overstay crackdown has eased off.. in which case it might of at border crossings, but I was banned for 3 years.. but.. 3 weeks later I am back here in Thailand without much difficulty at all. So you have heard it fresh from the cannon. Blacklisting for only 18 months overstay does happen and happened to me December 2014! Take care people
Hi Are a family of man wife and child who is 12 years. We arrived in Thailand on 1st December and are flying back to UK on booked flights on 8 th Feb. We had no visa therefore did the border run to Burma for an extension of 30 days. We were hoping to do another run to extend our time is this possible as we need a further 10 day stay. We have done this before unfortunately I am reading this is not possible please help as I am very worried. Thankyou in advance.
You can extend the 30 day visa exemption stamp at your local immigration office for 1,900 Baht. Less hassle than doing another border run. I presume you have plane “tickets” to show them?
It shouldn’t be a problem. Take your booking confirmation to show them if necessary. As it will show that you are due to the Kingdom and are here as tourists :o)
i was in thailand on a 4 week visa and i overstayed by 8 days, i paid the fin at the airport and am now planning to go back on the 29th december for another 2 weeks, do you think i will get turned back in bkk?
I have a friend who overstayed two years and paid the fine at the airport. He flew back the next day with no problem. But, of course, no guarantees.
Hi Richard,
It’s nice to see you’re actually answering the questions. None of the other conduits seem to be, and it’s clear that they’re lying to scare people so they can make money from them, or, they’re just know nothing big heads who like to put people down to make themselves feel better about what losers they are.
If I get a train to Malaysia, I’ll have to show my passport at the station to get the ticket, so would that count as handing myself in as they have police in the station? This seems logical and I can have a friend with me to know if they’ve arrested me as it’s not even a big drive to that station that is direct to the border.
If I get a bus to the border, they often want the passport as well, but that’s not really the same I don’t think, or, is it if I’m going straight through with one company?
Then, if I go by car, is that better or worse, as I could get stopped and I’d have to pay for loads of petrol but I add that as it may be better.
I’m nearest to Thungsong Junction which is good for all options, but I don’t think they give out tickets to Pedang Bassar and beyond in one journey.
I don’t care too much about coming back, but I don’t want any negative things on my passport if I can help it and don’t have much money as I’m going to have to borrow it as it is.
It is difficult for me to advise you as things like this are up to individual Immigration officers and also circumstances of the time. In theory, the ticket office at the railway station is only interested that you have a valid passport. Maybe just show them a photocopy of your passport photo page. In theory, the only people who will check your visa are Immigration officers. When I say “surrender” yourself I mean at the Immigration checkpoint at the border. I’m sorry I have had no experience with what you are asking nor have I heard about the experience of others. Maybe you can do us all a favour and report back here afterwards! Good luck!
I’ve been in Thailand on a 60 day visa got a 30 day extension but I did the maths wrong and my flight home is on the 2nd December that puts me 5 days past my 30 day extension I’ve only just looked in my passport and in the extension stamp it says Holder must leave the kingdom within the date specified herein, offenders will be prosecuted!!!! Does this mean I won’t be able to just pay 2500bht over stay at the airport when I leave or worse??? I’m really paniking now please help???
If you “surrender” yourself at the airport on the way out you won’t be prosecuted. You just have to pay the fine. It’s 500 Baht per day. It’s not that dramatic. I’ve had to do it a few times when I was extending my visa extension and my documents weren’t ready to submit. The Immigration officer said to me just don’t get caught! This means if you are out and about you might get caught up in a roadblock to check passports. If that happens you will be arrested and sent to court before being deported. This might take a few days and you will be held in the detention center.
What do you mean by surrender myself??? Do I just go through passport control as normal or is there a special part of airport I have to go to???? I’m proper confused??? And proper paniking
“Surrender yourself” means going through passport control (Immigration) channel at the airport. The opposite of that is to be caught out away from the airport or a border.
One additional point that I am from Scandinavia, if it does help 😉
Ok, I have to admit, I’ve been stupied and my visa has expired about a year ago. If I will or actually I need to go back my country next month, could someone give any advice how should I “proceed” at airport. Is it enough that I just pay 20.000baht and show my valid ticket.
Does it help anyway that I have a Thai wife?
I cannot give you any guarantees, but I personally know people who have paid the fine and left without any problems.
Waiting for 2nd year marriage visa was give 30 days extension after all paperwork but overstayed 1 week will I loose marriage visa ?
What’s the consequences ?
Did you speak to them first? I was one day late in submitting all the documents for my visa extension. They knew about it in advance and said I just needed to pay the 500 Baht fine per day. They also added to be careful and not get caught. In the end I was only a day late and just paid 500 Baht.
Hi I already handed the paper work in I was given an extension of 1 month whilst waiting on my paperwork to come back this happens every year but I had some female heth issues this week and was told to rest and totally forgot so I will have overstayed my extension by 1 week ???
I was in Thailand earlier this year on visa on arrival (first visit ever) and overstayed by 5 days. I paid the fine on exit (surrendered). If I go back to Thailand (by air) will i have problems at the border in getting another visa on arrival ? Thanks!
There is no guarantee but you shouldn’t have a problem. A friend of mine overstayed by 3 years. Paid the 20,000 Baht maximum fine at the airport and then flew back the next day with no problem.
Hi Richard, at the top of the post, it was mentioned that for a 3 year overstay…. it will be a 5 year ban from the Kingdom, how did it happen that your friend was able to be back the very next day?
I was referring to his experience from a few years back. However, some people have reported that they overstayed but weren’t blacklisted. Or they were as such but still managed to get back in. Of course, no guarantees and up to the discretion of the Immigration office.
I overstay in thailand and I have daughter in thailand. She is thai. In that case they can blacklist me for a year. And how much fine on 6 month overstay..
The overstay fine is 500 Baht per day up to a maximum of 20,000 Baht. There was talk about blacklisting people who overstayed and were caught. But, the last we heard the government asked Immigration to go softer on such cases. Of course, I cannot give any guarantees what will happen to you. It’s up to the Immigration officer. Just don’t lose your temper and be polite at all times.
Thenxs a lot…with cross finger…I will face immigration @12 nov…. I will fly to my country with my baby and wiFe..lets see what happen
Richard, do they check for overstay for national air travel? From BKK to Phuket? Thanks.
They are only interested in matching the name on the ticket with some photo id. I always use my Thai driver’s license for domestic flights.
i a have question i was denied at the Thailand airport 1month ago coz the Thai immigration saw my stamp visa runs boarder and my 37days overstay but its already paid before leave in thailand.but they denied me and sending me home rigth away. my question can i re entering again to thailand….pls i need your advice
Immigration staff have the right to refuse anyone who they think isn’t a real tourist. If you are here to work then I suggest you apply for the correct visa. Sorry, I cannot second guess what the next Immigration officer will say to you.
can any one help show me away my Friend is Myanmar she is marry to Malaysia guy and she Malaysia marry visa still available but she overstay in Thailand about 180 day or more now she want to go back to Malaysia can any one know away to do please Thank you
Go to the border and leave. Best to surrender now than be caught.
will she get arrested to prison?? or some thing will happen to her ??
Not if she surrenders herself. But, if she is caught in a passport check before she gets to the border or airport, she could be in Immigration Detention Center for a few days while waiting for a court date and then deportation. If she doesn’t have money to pay for a ticket to her home country she has to stay in detention until it can be arranged.
thank you so much sir Richard i will tell her husband. and one more Q sir she only have to buy a air ticket is it anything else she need to pay like the fine and how much ?
Fine is 500 Baht per day up to a maximum of 20,000 Baht. It’s important she surrenders to Immigration at either the airport or border crossing.
dilemma. orig entry Apr 10 last entry July 20th. need to wait for India visa (6-8 bus days) what are my ramifications if I stay in BKK until Aug 30th? 500B/day or possible 1 year ban since it is after the 25th? I go back to USA from Delhi, please advise
Thanks.
Greg
reply to John why do you say “every 90days” i am sure once you have got the “RETIREMENT VISA” YOU REPORT ONCE A YEAR ??
Hi Ken,
Interesting comment I am just basing it on what is in my passport I know the renewal is yearly but the retirement visa stamp I have which was just done beginning of this month states “permitted to stay in the Kingdom until July 2nd 2015 RETIREMENT , Notification of residence must be made every 90 days” So I have assumed that you should notify your address every 90 days.
@Ken Crossley: If you are “sure” that once you have a “Retirement Visa” (which doesn’t exist, actually), please don’t bother going to the local immigration office for a year and see what happens.
P.S. Don’t forget to take 2,000 baht with you.
So I have a friend who overstayed about 3 years now, and now an organization is trying to get him a non imagrant volunteer visa, is it possible to pay the fines and reenter on the new non b visa or will the ban take effect on re entry regardless of prepared papers?
The only thing I can suggest is to surrender himself at the airport and pay the 20,000 Baht fine. I do know people who then returned on the next flight. But really, it is up to the Immigration officer.
I am on a retirement visa and am reporting for the first time what do I need also do any of the new rules affect me, ive asked so many each has given me different replys. ive looked on line but its not to clear, I would appreciate your help thankyou. j charlton
Crackdown doesn’t affect retirement visa.
thankyou for your quick reply its hard here to find the same ansawer from everyone, you just end up confused. I wish you all the best. your advice will keep a lot of us from going the wrong way with bad advice. j charlton
Hi Jim,
you can report by letter using form TM47 which you can download from the internet.
Photocopy every page of your passport making sure you photocopy clearly the pages with the relevant visa. sign and date each page and mail to Immigration 90 day reporting. There should be a list of addresses you can mail to on the internet. I use Samut Prakarn Checkpoint address.
Your mail in should include a completed TM47 fill in accordingly. A photocopy of your most recent landing card, photocopy of each passport page signed and dated. A stamped self addressed envelope I put 20 baht on it. Send it registered to the chosen address. Costs me 42 baht every 90 days and they send me a receipt back. Hope this helps
Could following items be of any help if any problem occurs at the immigration: return ticket, confirmation of hotel room booking, money in cash to support my stay?
Hi,
I’m also a bit concerned about the enforcement of the visa-regulations.
I don’t have one single day of overstay in my 26 years of visiting Thailand, but I am there for 3 or 4 times a year. Mostly on visa exemption but also with a normal single-entry tourist visa. Anyway there are at least five weeks between leaving and re-entering the country and all travel is done by plane via BKK.
Do I have to fear problems when facing immigration in four weeks?
not sure how many remember the days of the now abolished “TaX Clearance Certficate” which was necessary to present when departing Thailand – nobody was exempt from needing this certifiate – every time I traveled I had to go to the office responsible for this – many times there were some poor souls who insisted that even they had been “in-country” for a few months they had not worked and not liable to pay Thai taxes – needless to say this was not an acceptable argument at that time – thank goodness they finally abolished the need for the “Tax Clearance” certificate – just wanted to add a point for everyone’s info
It is very interesting all the comments and debate going on about the new visa situation. I think rather than panic we need to remember that over the past 10 years they have had crackdowns on at least 3 previous occasions. These crackdowns usually last a few months then they realize that certain sectors in their country are being badly damaged and they relax the laws again. I think my preference, having spoken to and knowing many people involved in both the Farang side of the coin and Thai side, that they clamp down where it’s really needed. My personal opinion on that is the drug pushers (Kaosan Road and the like) and of course the paedophiles who live here or come on a child abusing holiday, these are the undesirables in this country as far as I am concerned. Personally I feel sorry for the children in Thailand who may possibly suffer as less teachers decide to come here. I think we have to be realistic and accept that no qualified teachers are going to devote their time here unless in an international school that has the means to pay a proper salary. I hope for the sake of the younger population this clampdown is as previous ones and is short lived. We shall see, I just feel sorry for all those here that are here to help Thailand move forward and are getting caught up in all the politics.
Sorry to say, but even though most of the new rules seems quite plausible it just sends out a bad signal to all foreigners visiting Thailand (“We don’t want you here anymore”) and at exactly the wrong time. Doesn’t Thailand have many more serious problems it needs to deal with right now?
Hi Richard,I am over 65 and would like Thai residency,My daughter owns a condo and I am registered in her yellow book.What do I do?
I very much do not understand what all the complaining of many people at the moment is all about. Is it not normal for any country that you must have a valid visa or stay permit. Hearing about people working in Thailand for many years without a proper visa and work permit makes me sick. They should be not only punished for over staying or wrong visa but also for tax crime which is much bigger damage to Thailand. They also damage the image of all foreigner and companies that do the right thing: applying for the proper documents.
Furthermore they take jobs from Thai people or other well qualified foreigner with proper work permit in place.
So all in all I am happy that this topic is getting the attention of the government now and that “hard” rules are in place now and enforced.
I appreciate your comment but most of the complaining is from the English Language sector where anyone who knows anything will realize that nearly 90% of teaching jobs in Thailand are filled by people on tourist visa’s and the like. Now I agree that bad teachers are a problem but this is not the solution. As for anyone saying how much they should be punished and how much damage they are causing in Thailand, that stance is just naive. Those people provide a valuable service to Thailand and the main issue is lack of decent salary. Thai schools cannot pay a proper salary so are grateful to have native speakers in their schools. A little more thought needed before you tar everyone with the same brush please
Actually I should change my comment to reflect that most some of the complaining will be from Language teachers who, like it or not, provide a service to Thailand at a fee the country can afford. Some complainers will have wives/ girlfriends here so yes maybe they should try and sort a visa but not a great crime. I think the sex freaks do the most damage by perpetuating the sex trade which flourishes here. Not many people are stealing jobs here from Thais and most legit companies are already within the law. If Thailand wants to solve this problem create the slush fund to pay a salary then people will happily go out of their way to get a correct visa. Don’t expect people to jump through hoops for peanuts hence currently the Thai education system is heavily reliant on the willingness of good people coming here and doing their best in difficult circumstances. Not necessarily right but a fact of life.
I agree with this, sex tourists are the problem thailand is trying to deal with and unfortunately many good hearted people pay the price. Part of me says good people must endure hardship, and wait this out, and then soon when the sex trafficking crap is cleaned up, they will lighten up to let teachers off the hook.
Have you any idea what might happen if one is unexpectedly confined to hospital (by accident or illness)and consequently is unable to renew a visa before expiry? I’m thinking here about retirement visas. This must be a situation that arises from time to time.
Contact your local Immigration office. Like I said, they will let you overstay for a certain amount of time AND still let you renew your visa. I can confirm that from personal experience. But I wouldn’t suggest you overstay for too long.
Do foreign children under 14 still get free visa? Parents have proper documents and work permit.
How about foreign children living with their parents with proper documents and work permit, do the kids also need to get a visa? What I know, foreign children are visa free until aged 14. Does this still hold true?
My mate is on overstay just coming up 1 year, just told him the news. So how will they keep record of who is banned? i guess they just take the Passport number? He said that people have told him to go back to Australia and change his surname and they come back.. surely that wouldn’t work.. i advised him against it. A bit off topic but i have an education Visa (Genuine) apparently certain ones are now exempt.. or is that just the typical (i heard this.. i heard that.. he said.. she said)
Sorry, I cannot publicly advise for him to do anything illegal.
I have many stamps in my passport which is 3 years old. I have never overstayed and most my visits have been either for a week/10 days or shorter (2/3 days) when in transit to the UK or other country. I’m currently live in Australia. Just wondering if those stamps will affect my next visit in September.
Quite possible. The situation is unclear at the moment on how you can prove you are a genuine tourist.
Here’s a tip for over-stayers of more than 10 years:
Don’t surrender yourself – get arrested!
That way, you’ll only be barred for 10 years, rather than for life.
(Or maybe Thai logic doesn’t work the way farang logic does.)
Yes, saw that. Seemed strange.
I had to sign yesterday, but there has been a little change: the life-long ban has been removed. Surrender or not – the maximum ban is 10 years.
I am looking forward to how they deal with the illegal ownership of land by foreigners through fake companies. This is a loop hole aka scam that needs clamping down on ASAP.
angsta, why should it be illegal for a foreigner to own land in Thailand in the first place? A Thai person can buy land in the U.S., UK or France. There are so many houses and condos that are empty and in disrepair because they were bought but never lived in by Thai people. There is a glut of property in Thailand. It would make a lot of sense to allow foreigners to buy buy land for business or for homes. If the laws weren’t so antiquated there would be no need to set up a shell company to buy property. And even if property is bought through a shell company what is wrong with doing it this way?? Very interesting that you see this as a problem or some type of threat. Changing the law would benefit all Thais. It would put dead money back to use and help create jobs and increase wages. That would be positive!!
Doesn’t sound to bad for me actually. I had to do a ‘border run’ once since my employer didn’t prepare all documents on time (they told me back then) and already had a bad feeling about that. So as long as you’re not trying to cheat it’s all fine, isn’t it?
Whether good or bad, right or wrong, the one thing I respect about Thailand is that they are not a bunch of bleeding heart politically correct do-gooders.
Richard, do you know of any statute or regulations for this? I follow the rules closely for my staff and know of no official basis for what you’ve posted. If it exists I’d like to see a copy if you could direct me to it. Otherwise it looks like scare mongering by just one police office. Regards.
It is 100% official. I had to sign this form today at Immigration to show I was aware of these consequences of overstaying. Someone on Twitter told me they say the same form at the Immigration office in Pattaya.
Here copies
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1426527307630526&id=100008198101012
Yes, that is the form I had to sign today at Immigration.
Currently I’m flying out every month and flying back in. Does this mean that I can’t continue doing this after the 14th of August?
Doesn’t really sound like you are a tourist. Can you proof it with hotel bookings and enough money to support your stay without working. I cannot second guess immigration officers as I don’t know your history, but it does sound suspicious. I think the people who will be the hardest hit are the oil rig workers who fly here for holidays.
I recently returned from India on the 19th. Does my new 30 day stay begin on 19th or my original entry date of the 9th? I have made 3 visa runs to date and my final departure date is Aug 23rd.
“I think the people who will be the hardest hit are the oil rig workers who fly here for holidays.”
Offshore workers are doing nothing illegal. They don’t overstay and don’t do border runs. They spend their holidays in Thailand which makes them tourists. Overstayers are the prime target here.
ANd it is not something I think, I know this for a fact.