Thai Police raided the house

[007 RED]

9 minutes ago, Spinman said:

 

The GF asked for proof, and he said that she would have to contact Immigration in BKK.  (Chaeng Wantanna)

She will go to Sisaket Immigration with the documentation and ask them for their help.  She feels they'll be more responsive face-to-face than a phone call to Gov't House in Bangkok.

 

 

OP.... FYI Immigration HQ is located at Soi Suan Plu, Sathorn in down town Bangkok.   Their IT department is also based there.  Your GF could give them a call  (0-2287-3101) and explain the situation.  They are normally quite accommodating.  They may well ask for copies of your passport etc. and they will correct any error fairly quickly.

[cornishcarlos]

Raided the house ??? Or knocked on the door ??

 

Raided normally involves helicopters, abseiling heroes, CS gas and loud explosions.

Knocking on the door normally involves, well knocking on the door !!

 

Great dramatic headline though :)

[Spinman]

2 minutes ago, 007 RED said:

OP.... FYI Immigration HQ is located at Soi Suan Plu, Sathorn in down town Bangkok.   Their IT department is also based there.  Your GF could give them a call  (0-2287-3101) and explain the situation.  They are normally quite accommodating.  They may well ask for copies of your passport etc. and they will correct any error fairly quickly.

Thank you for this.  She thought it was "Gov't House" because we had gone there a few years ago.

I'll pass this number along to her.

She has now called Immigration in Sisaket.  They said their computer shows that I did indeed leave Thailand on May 2nd, 2017.  Everything is fine in their system.  She asked for proof, and they said that I would have to come myself.  The connection was lost/dropped so she's going to go there on Tuesday with my documentation and see if she can obtain a letter stating that everything is ok.

So, it appears that Immigration knew that I had legally exited the country and prior to my visa expiration, but Bangkok still sent Prang Ku Police to verify this information 8 months after the fact.   Maybe it's similar to the previous poster mentioning the situation in Hua Hin?

It seems like a lot of work for the local immigration officials and constabulary when nothing is amiss.   

[SunsetT]

4 minutes ago, 007 RED said:

Spinman…. Your concerns are understandable in so far as suddenly having the police turning up at your GF’s home and asking your whereabouts.   The trouble is it is all to easy to jump to the wrong conclusions like arresting you for overstaying.

 

That said, in yesterday’s TVF News there was a report that the Tourist Police in Hua Hin have been making house calls to check on the status of foreigners who may be overstaying.  According to the report it appears that those that they visited all had their paperwork up to date and nobody was arrested.

 

As has been subsequently commented, it seems strange that immigration are just doing random checks and that they haven’t request their central IT department do an simple database query to pull out the details of those persons who according to their computer system have overstayed their permission to stay and follow up on just those.

 

 

I think that this may be a similar situation in your case in so far that the local immigration are some considerable distance from your home, so they requested the local police to do a check.

 

FYI – When you exit the Kingdom, the IO places the photo page of your passport onto a scanner on his/her desk.  The scanner reads the information at the bottom of the page between <<<< >>>>.  As well as allowing the IO to check your status, the information is automatically uploaded to the immigration database together with the details of your exit (date, time, IO ID No. and Flight No.).  I would think that it is highly unlikely that the IO did not scan your passport or that your data has somehow gone astray.

 

As has already been pointed out, you have an exit stamp in your passport and that is all the evidence you need should you be unfortunate to be stopped on your next visit.

Yes, I think this is a similar lackadaisical, inefficient response by local authorities to show that they are actually doing something in response to a dictum from above to find overstaying foreigners. I suspect that, like Hua Hin, they just took a list of foreigner's names thrown up on their computer to be or have been in their area of juristiction without bothering to check the details. Nevertheless I understand your concern and sympathise with your anxiety and situation in having to go to all this trouble because with Thais and Thailand you just never know if they get it right or will put it right and this is very stressful.

[Spinman]

2 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

Raided the house ??? Or knocked on the door ??

 

Raided normally involves helicopters, abseiling heroes, CS gas and loud explosions.

Knocking on the door normally involves, well knocking on the door !!

 

Great dramatic headline though :)

1

I really don't think it's dramatic and it's pretty accurate.  If you prefer to call it a "Knock and Talk" along with "interviewing" the neighbors, questioning the Poo Ya Ban, taking photos of the residence, mailbox, and name on the gate, so be it.  The bottom line is that it's highly out of the ordinary and intrusive, to say the least.  Especially when they already knew I was out of the country.  It's a complete waste of resources as well.  

We don't know if they entered the house or not.  I highly doubt Thailand sends helicopters or uses CS gas or stun grenades for immigration "knocking on the door"  Knock and talks don't usually entail photography and interviewing the neighbors.  

I doubt LEO in Thailand wants to go knock on anyone's door.  They seem perfectly merry sleeping the day away in their little roadside stands.

 

 

[jenny2017]

1 hour ago, gunderhill said:

Is  one on a    Kawasaki 650 verysys??

Yep, with a special computer program you can see a sky-shot where somebody's deleting some posts on a website. I couldn't see the whole link, but it starts with Y and o? Perhaps you know more?

 

   

[cornishcarlos]

10 minutes ago, Spinman said:

I really don't think it's dramatic and it's pretty accurate.  If you prefer to call it a "Knock and Talk" along with "interviewing" the neighbors, questioning the Poo Ya Ban, taking photos of the residence, mailbox, and name on the gate, so be it.  The bottom line is that it's highly out of the ordinary and intrusive, to say the least.  Especially when they already knew I was out of the country.  It's a complete waste of resources as well.  

We don't know if they entered the house or not.  I highly doubt Thailand sends helicopters or uses CS gas or stun grenades for immigration "knocking on the door"  Knock and talks don't usually entail photography and interviewing the neighbors.  

I doubt LEO in Thailand wants to go knock on anyone's door.  They seem perfectly merry sleeping the day away in their little roadside stands.

 

 

 

I was being facetious... Never mind... I guess you have sense of humour failure at the moment !!

 

"Especially when they already knew I was out of the country. " Obviously they didn't, otherwise they wouldn't have "raided" the house :)

Edited February 9, 2018 by cornishcarlos

[Norrad]

Seems immigration is stepping up their game. I woke up to an email from my old landlord asking if I was still in Thailand, as immigration had been around to check my address. I left Thailand the middle of last year.

[Spinman]

2 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

I was being facetious... Never mind... I guess you have sense of humour failure at the moment !!

Sorry, I am rather upset over this.  It doesn't help that I have PTSD and anxiety already.  My apologies, I'm just stressed regarding this. cheers.

[pearciderman]

1 hour ago, NancyL said:

Something similar to this happens in Chiang Mai when a foreigner dies and his loved ones don't go to Immigration with the death certificate and passport to notify them of his death and "cancel his visa".  After a year or so, there's a knock on the door with Immigration police looking for the "overstayer".  Some widows find this rather traumatic, thinking the Embassy/Consulate would have notified Immigration of the death, but the police are always very kind.  However, they do insist that the widow/widower make a trip to immigration with the proper documents to take care of the long-overdue task.  At this time, there is no fine for failure to report a death of a foreigner to Immigration, but knowing CM Immigration, they might come up with a creative new fine.

 

No-one has to inform immigration on the death of a foreigner.

 

"

In Thailand, any death of a foreign national or a Thai citizen must be reported to the District Office or to the police within 24 hours.

If a foreigner dies in an apartment or a hotel, the landlord or the hotel manager will be required to report the death with the deceased’s passport and death certificate, if available. The District Office or the police will, within seven days, inform the foreigner’s embassy of the death and the embassy will, in turn, notify the next of kin as soon as possible.

If the person dies in a hospital, a death certificate will be issued by the doctor and the police will file a report. The body will be released to the family within two to three days if the cause of death is without any complications. There shall be a delay in the release of the body if the cause of death is suspicious, or a criminal act is suspected, because an autopsy will have to be performed first. When the death is confirmed, civil death certificate will be issued by the District Office."

[Spinman]

3 minutes ago, Norrad said:

Seems immigration is stepping up their game. I woke up to an email from my old landlord asking if I was still in Thailand, as immigration had been around to check my address. I left Thailand the middle of last year.

I guess the moral of the story is that you can overstay, just do it for less than 6-8 months.

5555

 

 

[Ulic]

While I do understand your anxiety I am sure that the proper stamps in your

passport and your airline itinerary (which they can check) will more than 

suffice. Save your airline boarding passes as well if you still have them.

(I save mine until my frequent flyer points are credited) I think you are

overthinking the whole incident. 

[BuckBee]

Deffo want want get GF follow up on this and not sloppy thai style as the mai ben rai turns into mee ban haa in the end lol .

Should be easy resolve as technical error but finding someone competent and with gumption process it correctly is the hard part here.

Trouble I seen with work permits etc for company I worked with was shocking and 99% of it was due to thai system errors or wrong advise mixed with the mai ben rai :-/ .

Trust your instincts and do it your way as the thai way will end up a complete ballache at best or arrest at worst lol .

Good luck ...

 

[champers]

I do understand the OP's concern but put simply; when he next arrives in Thailand on a flight originating outside Thailand it will be crystal clear that he has left Thailand already. Don't overcomplicate a simple error.

[Psimbo]

'Raided the house' or 'knocked on the door'? A little bit of hysteria goes a long way.

 

Edit: I see this was addressed a few posts before me- still seems a bit of a drama queen headline though.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Psimbo

[Proboscis]

How sure are you that it was the immigration police blunder and not someone trying to make trouble for you or your GF?

[Just Weird]

14 hours ago, Spinman said:

Well, sleepy Prang Ku had some action on Tuesday.  The Sisaket Immigration office sent the Prang Ku police to arrest me for overstaying in Thailand.

Evidentally, they think I've been there almost a year.  I flew in March 30th, 2017.  I received a 28 day Visa On Arrival.   On April 24th, I went to the immigration office in Sisaket and obtained a one-month extension so that I'd be proper and well sorted.  I knew I was going to fly home a few days after the original VOA expired, and I wanted to do everything legal.

I left Bankok May 2nd, 2017.  I have the departure stamps and immigration stamps to prove it.  The extension expired near the end of May, so I left approximately 3 1/2 weeks early.

The police didn't find me there, nor did they find the Thai GF or her mother.  They interviewed the neighbors and took pictures of the outside of the home, and the name on the gate.

The neighbors told them I hadn't been there in almost a year.  Supposedly, the Prang Ku police said there was a problem with the data, and then left.

 

"I left Bankok May 2nd, 2017.  I have the departure stamps and immigration stamps to prove it...The neighbors told them I hadn't been there in almost a year.  Supposedly, the Prang Ku police said there was a problem with the data, and then left".

 

So where do you see a problem, then?

[anon789561]

you must have annoyed someone or maybe a jealous neighbour? wouldn't worry about it but if you really are just go to the police, ask them who came to your house and why. then go from there. and remember this important bit of advice. meerkats ; )

[Russell17au]

Spinman, just relax and forget it, you have the exit stamp in your passport and you G/F has been in touch with Sisiket immigration that have informed her that you left Thailand on the date that is in your passport, so just settle down and relax and forget it, do not get yourself worked up over nothing.

[Norrad]

Input errors happen. Don't stress about it. Just show them the exit stamp in your passport if you are ever asked.

 

In my case I think the issue may have been that I was exiting with my young son, so we were pulled aside by a supervisor who stamped us both out at her desk and simply put the stamped departure cards in her drawer. For all I know those cards are still in her desk and they never made it into the system. According to my old landlord they made a note of it and left.

 

I'm not going to panic about it as I can simply show them my departure stamp (a full 2 months before my extension was going to expire) and entry stamp to my home country the next time I go to Thailand.

[NanLaew]

4 hours ago, Spinman said:

Then the Customs official asked me something strange.  "You're always confined to a wheelchair, right?"  I was stunned, but I answered  No.  They just threw me into it because I can't walk long distances and they said I wasn't steady enough on my feet and they made me use the wheelchair. He smiled, then he turned the computer monitor to me.  On it was a private picture on Facebook.  It was of me standing with the GF on the Bridge on the River Kwai from 2 days earlier.  He had access to my private social media photos.  He already knew the answer to his question.  He was testing me to see what I'd say and how I'd respond.  When I answered honestly, he showed the ace up his sleeve, so to speak.  Then he said "Welcome home" and no further checks were done or questions asked.  

Now THAT is just plain bloody scary.

[JackThompson]

2 hours ago, champers said:

when he next arrives in Thailand on a flight originating outside Thailand it will be crystal clear that he has left Thailand already.

 

35 minutes ago, Norrad said:

I'm not going to panic about it as I can simply show them my departure stamp (a full 2 months before my extension was going to expire) and entry stamp to my home country the next time I go to Thailand.

Stamps can be faked.  If arriving, they know you left - the issue is "when" you left Thailand.  Would they eventually figure it out?  Yes.  But that might take awhile.

 

In these cases, I'd get a confirmation by the airline that you were on the flight.

[JackThompson]

4 hours ago, Spinman said:

As for the USA and immigration, they do keep records, and they know far more than you might think.  ...

Then the Customs official asked me something strange.  "You're always confined to a wheelchair, right?"  I was stunned, but I answered  No.  ...

He smiled, then he turned the computer monitor to me. 

 

On it was a private picture on Facebook.  It was of me standing with the GF on the Bridge on the River Kwai from 2 days earlier.  He had access to my private social media photos.  He already knew the answer to his question.  He was testing me to see what I'd say and how I'd respond.  When I answered honestly, he showed the ace up his sleeve, so to speak.  Then he said "Welcome home" and no further checks were done or questions asked.  

If you are 100% sure that the pic was only private - and never re-shared by the GF or others publicly, then I would urge you to send this information to the "Electronic Freedom Foundation" so they can begin research on how this occurred.

 

We know from the Snowden revelations that our NSA is working with / has data-access to FB, Google, etc.  Govt-agency associated groups gave them their initial seed-funding, so they are essentially private contractors re-creating the East German Stazi spy apparatus, but in a far more powerful form, and for Americans, this time.

 

Usually, they use illegally-obtained information in secret - to assist in directing searches for "legal" information they can use in court.  Just throwing illegally-obtained data over to Customs would be news to me.

[elviajero]

12 hours ago, Spinman said:

The Prang Ku police say "mai pen rai"  The GF says "Mai Pen Rai,"

No doubt, thats the Thai way, but they aren't the ones that are going to detained at immigration while they sort out the error.

 

12 hours ago, Spinman said:

I've stressed the importance of her going directly to Immigration because "They sent the Prang Ku Police"

Correct. Speaking to the police is a waste of time. You need confirmation from immigration that their records are correct.

 

12 hours ago, Spinman said:

I've supplied pictures of my entry, extension, and exit stamps from my Passport, as well as the passport itself.  This way, I will have something to show at BKK on my next return.  Hopefully, it's sufficient to prove I haven't been hiding out in Issan for a year.  

Even if you do nothing now, I'm sure the problem can be resolved when you enter, but it will be hassle. I doubt the IO at passport control will immediately accept the exit stamp as proof if it contradicts the computer record, as stamps are easily faked. I would try and get a record of your flight out too, and anything that can prove you returned to the US. Basically put together as much supporting documentation as you can.

 

It's happened before and resolvable, but immigration will want to make sure of the error before stamping you back in, which may take some time and mean detention at the airport until it's sorted.

[Rama]

I would make sure she goes to immigration. The Police and Immigration never interact unless there's a problem. Saying Mai pen rai doesn't update the immigration records.

[oobar]

One thing that may be in your favor, in our experience, is that the Sisaket Immigration people seem unusually professional, competent, helpful, considerate and polite. 

[NancyL]

7 hours ago, pearciderman said:

 

No-one has to inform immigration on the death of a foreigner.

 

"

In Thailand, any death of a foreign national or a Thai citizen must be reported to the District Office or to the police within 24 hours.

If a foreigner dies in an apartment or a hotel, the landlord or the hotel manager will be required to report the death with the deceased’s passport and death certificate, if available. The District Office or the police will, within seven days, inform the foreigner’s embassy of the death and the embassy will, in turn, notify the next of kin as soon as possible.

If the person dies in a hospital, a death certificate will be issued by the doctor and the police will file a report. The body will be released to the family within two to three days if the cause of death is without any complications. There shall be a delay in the release of the body if the cause of death is suspicious, or a criminal act is suspected, because an autopsy will have to be performed first. When the death is confirmed, civil death certificate will be issued by the District Office."

This is the immediate reporting process when a foreigner dies.  Immigration isn't notified immediately.  They're notified after a death certificate is obtained, perhaps shortly before the next 90 day report or extension of stay is needed.  If not, then after a year or so, Immigration may come looking for them as overstayers because none of the agencies normally notified in the aftermath have the responsibility.  I speak from personal experience, multiple accounts of helping foreigners and their families through end-of-life in Thailand.  

 

You may wish to consult the section on "Visa Issues" in this document of "Funeral Assistance for Foreigners in Chiang Mai:

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IihzPd3B00Wkwo2eo-jb0flO35z36GaKsd6UQ3xmjr0/pub#h.7pe645xci1xv 

[EVENKEEL]

Good story.......But......Farang think too much, and take your name off the gate is my advice.

[BritTim]

I have read through this thread, and I think there is one issue no one has raised.

 

If you board a flight and arrive at immigration in Bangkok, then I could imagine a possible delay in getting cleared, but not outright denial of entry. What I see as a possible real problem is the existence now of the Advanced Passenger Information System. This sends details of all passengers through to Bangkok before you board. It is possible for the airline to receive a DNB (do not board) order from Thailand. If this occurs, the airline will simply not allow you to fly, and they will be unable to tell you the reason for the DNB order. It will be impossible to make a prompt appeal to immigration as you could if you actually arrived. There have been a couple of cases reported of this happening to people.

 

I think it unlikely that you are going to be caught by the APIS system, but unsure how you can be absolutely sure you are in the clear. It is something worth thinking about though.

[Spinman]

5 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Good story.......But......Farang think too much, and take your name off the gate is my advice.

 

My name isn't on the gate, it's the Thai Family name.  I can't even read it. lol

I assume the pictures were just to prove to Bangkok that they actually found the correct place.