If I get to the passport control before midnight it will still be the 30th April, or do they stamp the day you are flying out which will be the 1st of May at 55 mins past midnight. That means I will have overstayed by 55 mins, is this going to be a problem? Thanks for any replies in advance.

Should be no problem if you pass the immigration before midnight. Just one day is no problem anyway, you wouldn't have to pay a fine at the airport and wouldn't even get a real overstay stamp, just a stamp saying something that you left not more than 24 hours too late.

My understanding of this is, if you have exited immigration, effectively "stamped out" of Thailand. You enter an international area. Lets say your plane is delayed for a WEEK. (Hypothetical) Overstay does NOT come into play. Get there early and go through immigration before midnight.  

 

Good luck

If you exit before midnight you should be stamped out using that date (30th).

 

The major airports in Bangkok do not charge for overstaying less than 24hrs. Although, you might get a stamp in your passport confirming the overstay.

1 hour ago, BB1958 said:

My understanding of this is, if you have exited immigration, effectively "stamped out" of Thailand. You enter an international area. Lets say your plane is delayed for a WEEK. (Hypothetical) Overstay does NOT come into play. Get there early and go through immigration before midnight.  

 

Good luck

It’s not an ‘international area”, you’re still in Thailand.

I will not engage in Semantics:

 

OP I suggest you familiarise yourself with "International areas".  Please do not worry yourself with "soundbites" from the omnipotent. You will be OK

 

The following is plagiarised...

 

There are three common situations:

1. The country you are departing has outbound passport control

Once you cross the line you have officially left the country as far as immigration is concerned. You must pass through immigration to exit this area back to the public spaces.

In some cases, like Vancouver, it's not really "passport control". It's just a guy who checks your boarding pass and tells you that you cannot return this way (he has no authority other than calling someone else who does). But it's effectively the same thing. Canadian immigration gets passenger lists from the airlines and doesn't bother you on the way out.

2. The country you are travelling to has remote pre-clearance. The USA does this from Canada and Shannon, Ireland.

Once you cross the line you have officially departed the current country and entered the destination country as far as immigration is concerned. You may travel directly to your destination, usually without any further interactions of any kind with immigration or airport security (rather dependent on the gate arrangements at transfer airports).

3. The country you are departing does not have outbound passport control

Or at least not at this departure point.

 

You mix with other international and domestic travellers and board your departing vessel. You are considered to have departed when you pass the boarding gate.

Note the repeated use of "as far as immigration is concerned" and "considered to have departed". The departure lounge is not an embassy, it is still the sovereign soil of the departure country and if the local police want you for anything they will just walk in and grab you. If the American pre-clearance staff object they will be bluntly told to shut up and get out of the way or get arrested themselves for obstruction (pre-clearance staff are not diplomats).

In all the above cases, once you are "considered to have departed" you have met any immigration limits you may have. If you do this one minute before midnight on the day your visa expires you will not be considered to be overstaying. If your flight/ship/bus/train is cancelled you will usually get a short-term readmission as you did "leave" and the fact that you are still here is beyond your control. if immigration really wants you to leave you might even get a free hotel room for the night.

 

Flights in the Schengen zone are considered to be domestic flights - there is no passport control.

Tax easements (duty-free shopping) have more to do with your intentions than position within the airport. I've been to airports where the duty-free shops are in the public spaces. You show your boarding pass, buy what you want, and it's delivered to your departure gate (which also nicely bypasses security). If you don't have a suitable boarding pass you simply pay the tax-in price.

 

If the airport construction allows it (Heathrow for example) transiting passengers remain in the international area and have no interactions with immigration. This is purely a convenience and cost-saving measure. If you are wanted by the police for something serious they can and will arrest you in the international concourse. If, in this example, the UK does not wish to admit you for any reason you are fine here as you do not officially enter the UK. Passengers transiting between airports (Heathrow -> Gatwick happens a lot) DO require admission to the UK, which is occasionally denied. This means you go back to your departure point rather than your destination.

 

Legal rights of the departure country extend up to the time the airplane's wheels leave the ground (not sure about ships). If you punch out the cabin crew while taxiing to the runway, the local police will be called. Do it after takeoff and it's really the pilot's choice to return and land or fly to the destination - legal authority passes to the air carrier's country of registration after takeoff but the pilot can choose to accept the local authorities rather than carry a problem for 10 hours.

If the departure country's authorities decide they want to invite you in for tea and biscuits after takeoff, they can request that the airplane return or land at another airport in the same country. If the pilot refuses they either let you go or shoot the plane down.

 

@BB1958

 

All very interesting but irrelevant. As far as the Bangkok airports are concerned; once you have passed through passport control,  you have left from an immigrantion point of view, but you are still on Thai soil and in the country of Thailand. Not some international no mans land. 

Thanks for all the replies. If you see me in Bangkok, I will buy you a Beer or 2 Thanks.

3 hours ago, BB1958 said:

If the departure country's authorities decide they want to invite you in for tea and biscuits after takeoff, they can request that the airplane return or land at another airport in the same country. If the pilot refuses they either let you go or shoot the plane down.

Are you for real?

Pass through Immigration BEFORE you would go into Overstay, and technically you will be safe!

Don't worry, be happy.

17 hours ago, BB1958 said:

My understanding of this is, if you have exited immigration, effectively "stamped out" of Thailand. You enter an international area. Lets say your plane is delayed for a WEEK. (Hypothetical) Overstay does NOT come into play. Get there early and go through immigration before midnight.  

 

Good luck

"You enter an international area."

 

And if you steal something from the duty free shop will you be arrested by the " international police?" ... And put in an international jail cell awaiting your appearance before an "international court?"

 

No problem as far as overstay is concerned, but still very much in Thailand and under Thai jurisdiction.

It’s November, what’s April or May got to do with anything?

Get a life or realistic, can’t work that out then you have a problem,

 

I had exactly the same case couple of months ago and no problems. Went throw immigration before midnight and boarded my flight after midnight.

20 hours ago, Gjk7777 said:

...or do they stamp the day you are flying out which will be the 1st of May at 55 mins past midnight.

You'll need to check-in before midnight, so if you pass immigration also before midnight, you're safe – bear in mind, that there might be a queue at immigration, so check in two hours (or more) before scheduled departure time...????

Can anyone explain why when you arrive in Thailand at lets say 11:45 pm on Nov 1 and when you get your turn at immigration at lets say 12:30am Nov 2 they count your first day as Nov 1?? I’ve had this happen at least 3 times over the years. I don’t think it’s fair or correct.  I thought even one of those times the plane even landed just after midnight but was SCHEDULED to land at 11:45 or 11:50 and they still stamped the day before.

5 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

Can anyone explain why when you arrive in Thailand at lets say 11:45 pm on Nov 1 and when you get your turn at immigration at lets say 12:30am Nov 2 they count your first day as Nov 1?? I’ve had this happen at least 3 times over the years. I don’t think it’s fair or correct.  I thought even one of those times the plane even landed just after midnight but was SCHEDULED to land at 11:45 or 11:50 and they still stamped the day before.

 

As other people have pointed out, if you go through passport control on the way out before midnight, even though you're technically leaving Thailand the following day they give you the benefit of the extra day there.

 

So on the way in, you may 'lose' a day but in the directly analogous situation at the other end of your stay, you 'gain' a day. It's a case of swings and roundabouts.

6 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

 

As other people have pointed out, if you go through passport control on the way out before midnight, even though you're technically leaving Thailand the following day they give you the benefit of the extra day there.

 

So on the way in, you may 'lose' a day but in the directly analogous situation at the other end of your stay, you 'gain' a day. It's a case of swings and roundabouts.

I’m sorry but that does not answer my question. The way you write is like they assume you are here for 30 days. When you arrive at immigration at 12:45Am for example on Nov 2 why do they stamp you in on Nov 1? Even if the plane arrived at the gate at 12:10am. Thanks 

24 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

I’m sorry but that does not answer my question. The way you write is like they assume you are here for 30 days. When you arrive at immigration at 12:45Am for example on Nov 2 why do they stamp you in on Nov 1? Even if the plane arrived at the gate at 12:10am. Thanks 

Probably no one bothered to change date stamps. They don't bother you if your "overstay" is less than 24 hours ( at the airports) so in the grand scheme of things they giveth and taketh away. 

 

You could always claim to be suffering from jet lag and innocently ask the officer what day it is before s/he stamps you in.

 

 

 

 

Until you actually go to the boarding gate you are still liable to Immigration's whims.

If your plane leaves after midnight you are legally on overstay.

In saying that Thailand does not normally worry less then 24 hours overstay

 

10 hours ago, khunPer said:

You'll need to check-in before midnight, so if you pass immigration also before midnight, you're safe – bear in mind, that there might be a queue at immigration, so check in two hours (or more) before scheduled departure time...????

That's that I thought, thanks for the reply. Got some very entertaining answers Thanks for those too!   ????????

The way I understood it is that immigration will use the departure time of your flight as the day you leave Thailand. So arriving at Immigration before or after midnight should make no difference. In your case you will have technically overstayed by 10 mins but this is officially accepted and allowed.

But it could be a problem for people who are arrive at immigration on their first (allowed) overstay day and then have a scheduled departure after midnight, which takes them into a second overstay day.

 

But in reality it probably depends on whether the som tam agreed with the officer earlier in the day.

On 11/10/2018 at 7:17 AM, rak sa_ngop said:

The way I understood it is that immigration will use the departure time of your flight as the day you leave Thailand. So arriving at Immigration before or after midnight should make no difference. In your case you will have technically overstayed by 10 mins but this is officially accepted and allowed.

But it could be a problem for people who are arrive at immigration on their first (allowed) overstay day and then have a scheduled departure after midnight, which takes them into a second overstay day.

 

But in reality it probably depends on whether the som tam agreed with the officer earlier in the day.

If I go through Passport control on the 30th April at 11pm,well before midnight, it should be stamped the 30th April surely..anyways I will be posting the out come..wish me luck!

On 11/10/2018 at 2:17 PM, rak sa_ngop said:

The way I understood it is that immigration will use the departure time of your flight as the day you leave Thailand. So arriving at Immigration before or after midnight should make no difference. In your case you will have technically overstayed by 10 mins but this is officially accepted and allowed.

But it could be a problem for people who are arrive at immigration on their first (allowed) overstay day and then have a scheduled departure after midnight, which takes them into a second overstay day.

 

But in reality it probably depends on whether the som tam agreed with the officer earlier in the day.

I had a similar problem to this regarding arrival a few years back. I had a multi entry visa and a flight out booked exactly 60 days later, but my incoming flight from HK (due to arrive around 0015) landed early around 11.50pm. I took my time going through immigration and was stamped in close to 1am, but the IO still registered my arrival as the date before to correspond with the landing time. When I questioned it, she said it was the actual landing time that had to be recorded, not the scheduled one or the date I passed through immigration, and on departing 61 days later I got stuck with a one day overstay stamp. Even though I didn't get a fine, it was very annoying to get the stamp, and I'm still not sure the IO was right. 

On 11/10/2018 at 2:17 PM, rak sa_ngop said:

The way I understood it is that immigration will use the departure time of your flight as the day you leave

That matches my experience some years ago when I was on the old, just after midnight, BA flight! Got me an overstay!

Just to report the outcome of my 55 min overstay, he said it's the "day you arrive at immigration" it would be very unfair if he changed the date on the stamp when it was still officially the 30th April. He said no problem, as I have arrived at immigration on the final day of my Visa, I got a stamp with the 30th April, if I left it till after 12pm it would be a different stamp I am sure.

Here are the details of my last two flights with departure from BKK shortly after midnight.

 

Example 1

Schedule departure 01 APR 00:40

Immigration stamp 31 MAR 2019 (about 23:00)

 

Example 2

Schedule departure 04 APR 00:40

Immigration stamp 03 APR 2016 (about 23:00)

 

I had a similar situation several years ago and planned to exit through immigration before midnight. Hadn't planned on a huge queue at the desks and after well over an hour finally reached the desk at 15 minutes past midnight. Immigration officer seemed to find it very funny as he put an overstay stamp in my passport.

I had few hours on at least 3 occasions over 10yr period.

Last year I had one of about 5hrs and supervisor called over, he told me I was on overstay and was rather rude in manner but also said to thank the immigration officer at the counter as he was willing let it go, the supervisor wrote a note in thai next to departure stamp stating I had overstayed 1 day ????

You always use to have 24hr leeway on departure time to save confusion and keep it simple .

I always advised others it not a big deal but after that experience would advise only do it if really necessary as some hassle does arise from it .

What you also must realise is depending on how you booking in you will not be able get your boarding pass that far ahead of early morning flight to be able proceed through departure before midnight .

Worst that happen is a days fine but depending on your circumstance and way rules change a recorded overstay could mess you up in the future so you best waying up all possible risks and assume nothing as fact as in thailand any scenario is possible !

On 11/5/2018 at 1:36 PM, alex8912 said:

I’m sorry but that does not answer my question. The way you write is like they assume you are here for 30 days. When you arrive at immigration at 12:45Am for example on Nov 2 why do they stamp you in on Nov 1? Even if the plane arrived at the gate at 12:10am. Thanks 

depends on when they change the date at the counter, if they are slack it can be after midnight but should be at midnight