Overstay Mistake Options

[MJKT2014]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

So, basically

And this is helpful because?

 

The op needs to find an agent to help him out on off chance he could get some sympathy points. Needs to act fast.

[fishtank]

26 minutes ago, MJKT2014 said:

And this is helpful because?

 

The op needs to find an agent to help him out on off chance he could get some sympathy points. Needs to act fast.

It was using an agent that got him into this mess in the first place.

Some people never learn.

[Suradit69]

16 hours ago, Isaanbiker said:

It can happen that the expiration date of the passport is somehow "overlooked' by an inexperienced IO. 

 

  All foreigners should ensure that their visa/ extension of stay is always in order. I've never forgotten a 90 day registration yet and hope that it stays like that.

 

  A reminder in the phone, or PC is always helpful. 

 

   

90 day report has nothing to do with an overstay.

 

The only thing that matters for an overstay is your current permission/extension of stay. Checking that your visa is in order (or doing 90 day report) is irrelevant. Most people doing an extension would no longer have a valid visa either in or out of order.

[Nevalern]

6 hours ago, MJKT2014 said:

And this is helpful because?

 

The op needs to find an agent to help him out on off chance he could get some sympathy points. Needs to act fast.

Any suggestions on an Agent that could help would be appreciated. And then do I pay them upfront in the hope they can fix it for them to come back and say No cant help. No refund because I cant go to the police..

 

[Nevalern]

7 hours ago, HampiK said:

Actually even worse. Knowing to have a problem, but wait 2 more month till it will be a really big issue with a possible ban!

And No i didnt wait 2 months after the fact to do something, I waited 2 months to put it on here. I've been trying to figure out a solution  along with  battling my ex over my daughter. Some of us arent as perfect as others and emotions  filled with betrayal, anger, and despair  can put a speed bump in our logical thought mode.

 

[edwardflory]

17 hours ago, Nevalern said:

I have a brand new passport with no stamps. What if I did a land crossing? Any suggestions?

Just a thought...

"NO" stamps.  If I was a IO I would assume you entered illegally - eg "NO ENTRY" stamp, no visa stamp, no extension of stay stamp.

 

IF possible, go to your local immigration office WITH your OLD passport, get the necessary stamps TRANSFERED to the NEW passport.

 

My thoughts also are that you NEED a lawyer that knows immigration laws, police orders and requirements really well.

 

You are responsible to make sure all your paperwork is in order.

Edited August 6, 2019 by edwardflory
information

[elviajero]

31 minutes ago, edwardflory said:

IF possible, go to your local immigration office WITH your OLD passport, get the necessary stamps TRANSFERED to the NEW passport.

There is nothing to transfer as his stay permit expired in March.

[Kosmo Smallpiece]

17 hours ago, Nevalern said:

Could/Should I go to a Land crossing with a thai friend and my daughter and plead my case pay the fine and hope and pray they waive the ban.

 

The problem is that there is no consistency between the different entry/exit points, or between IO's. It's at best tricky. Good luck with whatever you try.

[kevinmartyn]

Really their is NO excuses for being an overstay and not knowing the Thai rules! The bottom line is that you are in the wrong! Sorry but you know the system and number 12, come on

[jackdd]

1 hour ago, edwardflory said:

My thoughts also are that you NEED a lawyer that knows immigration laws, police orders and requirements really well.

How should a lawyer help? OP broke the law, the law (a ministerial order actually) says 1 year ban if he surrenders.

His only hope is to find an IO who is willing to not apply the law when he leaves the country. We are talking about a personal favor here, not about law.

[Nevalern]

5 minutes ago, kevinmartyn said:

Really their is NO excuses for being an overstay and not knowing the Thai rules! The bottom line is that you are in the wrong! Sorry but you know the system and number 12, come on

No ones denying that I'm in the wrong. I know that. I'm not blaming anyone and I'm not on here sobbing. But thanks for confirming for me I was starting to wonder.

[Nevalern]

9 minutes ago, jackdd said:

How should a lawyer help? OP broke the law, the law (a ministerial order actually) says 1 year ban if he surrenders.

His only hope is to find an IO who is willing to not apply the law when he leaves the country. We are talking about a personal favor here, not about law.

A favour as in baht. Open to a recommendation if you know someone

 

[elviajero]

2 hours ago, jackdd said:

How should a lawyer help? OP broke the law, the law (a ministerial order actually) says 1 year ban if he surrenders.

His only hope is to find an IO who is willing to not apply the law when he leaves the country. We are talking about a personal favor here, not about law.

A lawyer could negotiate away the ban on humanitarian grounds. Bans are entirely down to immigration and they can waive them with just cause.

 

IMO there is just cause with the confusion over the extension period alone; and especially when they used to issue extensions beyond a passport expiry date.

 

The OP’s mistake is an easy one when you don’t know/understand the rules.

[kanook]

I think elviajero's or BritTim's idea of contacting a lawyer or a fixer are constructive.  Good luck to the OP, hopefully you will be able to avoid a ban.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

A lawyer could negotiate away the ban on humanitarian grounds. Bans are entirely down to immigration and they can waive them with just cause.

 

IMO there is just cause with the confusion over the extension period alone; and especially when they used to issue extensions beyond a passport expiry date.

 

The OP’s mistake is an easy one when you don’t know/understand the rules.

I think an appeal without using a fixer would have had a good chance if action had been taken immediately the OP became aware of the problem. Three months later, with no real attempt to resolve the problem earlier, and I am sceptical that he will get a sympathetic hearing. He knew of the issue before he was going to be subject to blacklisting. I strongly suspect most officials are going to believe he should have acted sooner if he wished to be allowed back into Thailand. That said, I hope for the OP's sake that you are right and I am wrong.

[jackdd]

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

A lawyer could negotiate away the ban on humanitarian grounds.

The IO will probably not change his mind without having money involved, and if OP bribes an IO anyway i don't see much use for a lawyer, this just adds to the cost because the lawyer takes his share.

I assume that OP can't go to court for something which hasn't happened yet. So he could get himself arrested, then appeal from the detention center, if his appeal isn't granted this means a 5 year ban (with a not so nice time spent in the detention center and additional costs), or he could leave Thailand and then try to appeal, but he will be outside of Thailand and is completely in the hands of the lawyer who might just take him out, and the process might even take longer than the year which the ban lasts.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

The IO will probably not change his mind without having money involved, and if OP bribes an IO anyway i don't see much use for a lawyer, this just adds to the cost because the lawyer takes his share.

I assume that OP can't go to court for something which hasn't happened yet. So he could get himself arrested, then appeal from the detention center, if his appeal isn't granted this means a 5 year ban (with a not so nice time spent in the detention center and additional costs), or he could leave Thailand and then try to appeal, but he will be outside of Thailand and is completely in the hands of the lawyer who might just take him out, and the process might even take longer than the year which the ban lasts.

Once the blacklisting has been imposed, an appeal to have it lifted (even on humanitarian grounds) is unlikely to succeed. The OP's options are limited but, if he wants to avoid a ban, he needs both luck and vigorous action now, before he is banned.

 

One additional point I would make that I do not think anyone has mentioned: I do not think a local immigration office, even if the top official at the office is sympathetic, has the power to fix this. Only immigration at airports and some land borders can clear such a long overstay and possibly use their discretion to waive blacklisting. 

[ericthai]

3 hours ago, elviajero said:

A lawyer could negotiate away the ban on humanitarian grounds. Bans are entirely down to immigration and they can waive them with just cause.

 

IMO there is just cause with the confusion over the extension period alone; and especially when they used to issue extensions beyond a passport expiry date.

 

The OP’s mistake is an easy one when you don’t know/understand the rules.

Hopefully the agent he used for the 1 year extension really did the work and got real stamps.  There have been reports of agents using fake stamps. 

OP I would make two plans.

Plan 1)  leave Thailand and try work things out with the IO on exit 

Plan 2) Start making arrangements to move your daughter and live somewhere else for 1 year.

Wish you luck!

[Nevalern]

1 hour ago, ericthai said:

Hopefully the agent he used for the 1 year extension really did the work and got real stamps.  There have been reports of agents using fake stamps. 

OP I would make two plans.

Plan 1)  leave Thailand and try work things out with the IO on exit 

Plan 2) Start making arrangements to move your daughter and live somewhere else for 1 year.

Wish you luck!

Thank you all. I need to find an immigration lawyer but as they say the better they are the more expensive they are. Thailand keeps on about family so I am hoping that since I am raising my daughter here in Thailand and as my Thai wife walked away from her duties as a wife and mother plus for the last 4 years I haven't messed up with visas before they will let it go with just a fine......  Shit now I'm paranoid that the stamps are fake...thanks ericthai..lol

Thanks to everybody for your comments and suggestions. I'll keep you all updated...

 

[BritTim]

3 minutes ago, Nevalern said:

Thank you all. I need to find an immigration lawyer but as they say the better they are the more expensive they are. Thailand keeps on about family so I am hoping that since I am raising my daughter here in Thailand and as my Thai wife walked away from her duties as a wife and mother plus for the last 4 years I haven't messed up with visas before they will let it go with just a fine......  Shit now I'm paranoid that the stamps are fake...thanks ericthai..lol

Thanks to everybody for your comments and suggestions. I'll keep you all updated...

It is not always true that the most effective immigration lawyers are the most expensive. Often, you are paying more for fluent English, while what you really need is a lawyer with connections. This is something that a typical foreigner is not usually able to judge very well.

[HampiK]

On 8/6/2019 at 3:28 PM, Nevalern said:

And No i didnt wait 2 months after the fact to do something, I waited 2 months to put it on here. I've been trying to figure out a solution  along with  battling my ex over my daughter. Some of us arent as perfect as others and emotions  filled with betrayal, anger, and despair  can put a speed bump in our logical thought mode.

•  

I'm sorry for my wrong conclusion, and hope it will go fine for you and your daughter.

[Isaanbiker]

On 8/6/2019 at 6:33 AM, BritManToo said:

Nope, OP's extension expired in March, he's been on overstay 3+ months.

It's quite hard to understand that the OP needed so long to get that. BTW, it's soon five months overstay, hard to believe. 

 

     The most important part of living here is your visa status and all foreigners should be able to manage that. 

 

I'd also talk to a lawyer who knows certain people at Immigration.

 

   There could be a way to pay the fine and apply for a new visa.

 

   But that all depends on the IO. 

Edited August 8, 2019 by Isaanbiker