Thai Elite Visa & overstay

[Caldera]

No matter if the immigration officer made a deliberate decision to overlook the overstay or not, it is amazing that their system even allows processing a 90-day report while the applicant is on overstay. A classic example where a "computer says no" scenario would be the best possible outcome!

 

[Mavideol]

4 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

This is one of the many reasons why I would never consider an Elite visa.

agree and do/did the same, ignored, They still have to renew every year and do 90 days reports, same as the ones with 1 year extension of stay do

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

 They still have to renew every year 

Read this post I did earlier.

 

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

No need to do a extension unless you stay in the country for a year without leaving. You get a new one year entry every time you enter the country.

The old Lifetime Elite visa only allowed 90 day entries. Those required getting extensions to stay longer than 90 days.

 

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Are these comments serious. I can only conclude that your joking.

 

It's not a joke when an immigration officer decided to pretend that everything's all ok and send them on their way without a care in the world.

 

Everyone except the OP knows what it means if you go over 90 days, especially an immigration officer.

 

This person now has to leave the country immediately or be locked up in a hellhole prison.

 

I've long considered that the average immigration officer will treat foreigners with nothing but contempt and do anything they can to make problems for their 'customers'. As far as I'm concerned they're actively 'an enemy' who works only against us.

 

 

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

It's not a joke when an immigration officer decided to pretend that everything's all ok and send them on their way without a care in the world.

 

Everyone except the OP knows what it means if you go over 90 days, especially an immigration officer.

 

This person now has to leave the country immediately or be locked up in a hellhole prison.

 

I've long considered that the average immigration officer will treat foreigners with nothing but contempt and do anything they can to make problems for their 'customers'. As far as I'm concerned they're actively 'an enemy' who works only against us.

 

 

What you suggest could have possibly happened, but I strongly doubt it. But on the other hand I kind of agree with the gist of your POV about immigration. They are not our friends. They are POLICE. We are suspects. This was driven home to me on my very first visit applying for my very first retirement extension, eons ago of course. I was accused of presenting a fake passport! 

 

Someone with the ELITE stuff in their passport is kind of signaling, I am special. Well, not so much, huh?

Edited June 12, 2021 by Jingthing

[DrJack54]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

What you suggest could have possibly happened, but I strongly doubt it. But on the other hand I kind of agree with the gist of your POV about immigration. They are not our friends

Perhaps yourself and the fella you quote could read current thread.

It involves USA guy that was given incorrect stamp. Ended up think ~3 month overstay. Very confused guy regarding rules.

@Wake Up could possibly share his experience with immigration at CW.

Amazing assistance from them to help him out. 

 

[Tanoshi]

12 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Perhaps yourself and the fella you quote could read current thread.

This is the thread Jack mentioned:

CW help USA friend - Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits - Thai Visa Forum

[richard_smith237]

11 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

The thing is, they would have noticed this as they check your visa when they do the 90 day report yet they said nothing when he did the March report.

 

They didn't tell him at the time he did the 90 day report, he was only on about a ~60 day overstay then and could have avoided being banned for a year by paying a fine.

 

How many people go and do a 90 day report while on overstay and have no problem on the day? I have a feeling this doesn't really happen.

 

I can only conclude that the immigration officer laughed a little inside knowing that they will be able to throw this person out of the country in a couple of months time when they return for the next 90 day report.

 

There's no way they didn't know this would happen - and allow it to happen.

 

The 90 day report should have been refused due to not having a current valid extension - then there would be no problem here.

 

This is a failure of the immigration system and I suspect it was quite deliberate on the part of the officer involved.

 

 

The golden question here is :

 

How and why did they issue a fresh 90 day report for someone who was already on a 2 month overstay?

-

 

Totally wrong...  Immigration just made a mistake and didn’t notice the over-stay. Thats it, nothing nefarious, nothing nasty, just a person who flicks through a 100 passports each day and this time (in March) missed something. 

 

Immigration officers aren’t infallible, I’ve been given incorrect entry stamps on arrival. 

 

Your 'make believe story' simply highlights that you have somewhat of an axe to grind.

 

 

 

[kbb]

I am so glad I read this - You guys saved me a lot of grief. 

 

My ELite Visa is just about a year old, and my admission was stamped until July 2021.

 

Normally I would travel out of Thailand at least once a year. 

Obviously, the Corona thing changed all that.

 

However, I totally spaced on the difference between the 5 year visa expiration, and my "Admitted Until" date. 

My fault. 

 

Contacted the Service office at ELite & they'll help me with the extension stamp at Khon Kaen Immigration.

 

Thanks again to Thai Visa - That was a close call ...

 

______________________________

[email protected]

1: Please send photo of your 1 year stay stamp on your passport to us which shows issued date xxyyzz

2: Please send photo of your TM6 card to our email.

3: Please send photo of TM30 notification receipt to our email. (must been registered under your address in Khon Kaen )

4: Please ensure you have your Elite membership card 

5: Please advise if you are convenient to visit khon kaen immigration office at earliest date xxyy or onward. (Please specify the service date you would like to book )

 

Once we confirm the booking , we will issue a stay extension certificate letter and send it to you by email , you have to visit the Khon Kaen immigration with required docs upon the date of appointment by yourself.

[Dexxter]

19 hours ago, BKKTRAVELER said:

I think he'd have to pay 20k fine (maximum) and they'll process him and ban him for 1 year. Just my 2 cents...

 

I noticed that one of the conditions for getting an Elite visa is that you did not have any overstays in the past. Does this mean he will no longer be eligible to renew his Elite visa in a couple of years?

[nobodysfriend]

By purchasing an expensive " elite " visa , you are officially recognized as being  "a friend of Thailand " they say .

They do not say that this means that they are your  " friend " .

They are not .

It is just a tourist visa for 1 year that is renewed automatically for another year by each new entry to the country . If you do not leave the country , you have to follow the same procedure renewing your visa yearly with immigration , just as everybody else on a long stay visa .

 

If it is worth it ?

Up to you ...

For me a clear NO .

[crazykopite]

That is good enough reason never to purchase the elite membership all they are after is ones money typical attitude <deleted> Jack we’re okay . Sorry about your circumstances maybe you should write to the PM because they’ve treated you in a unacceptable manner .

 

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, kbb said:

I am so glad I read this - You guys saved me a lot of grief. 

 

My ELite Visa is just about a year old, and my admission was stamped until July 2021.

 

Normally I would travel out of Thailand at least once a year. 

Obviously, the Corona thing changed all that.

 

However, I totally spaced on the difference between the 5 year visa expiration, and my "Admitted Until" date. 

My fault. 

 

Contacted the Service office at ELite & they'll help me with the extension stamp at Khon Kaen Immigration.

 

Thanks again to Thai Visa - That was a close call ...

 

______________________________

[email protected]

1: Please send photo of your 1 year stay stamp on your passport to us which shows issued date xxyyzz

2: Please send photo of your TM6 card to our email.

3: Please send photo of TM30 notification receipt to our email. (must been registered under your address in Khon Kaen )

4: Please ensure you have your Elite membership card 

5: Please advise if you are convenient to visit khon kaen immigration office at earliest date xxyy or onward. (Please specify the service date you would like to book )

 

Once we confirm the booking , we will issue a stay extension certificate letter and send it to you by email , you have to visit the Khon Kaen immigration with required docs upon the date of appointment by yourself.

You don't need any contact with the Elite company to do that very easy extension! They are creating more work for you  not less. Just collect the copies of the required documents and show up at immigration. No special letter needed!

Edited June 13, 2021 by Jingthing

[ubonjoe]

31 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

No special letter needed!

I can assure you people have have been turned away by immigration if they did not have it.

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I can assure you people have have been turned away by immigration if they did not have it.

I stand corrected. 

[humbug]

18 hours ago, jackdd said:

A while ago (like 1 or 2 years or so) we had a guy here on Thaivisa with Thailand Elite visa who, if i remember correctly, had Thailand Elite do the 90 day report for him while on overstay, and nobody said anything and the 90 day report got processed. Then on the next 90 day report they noticed it and he was in the same situation as OP now. So it has happened at least twice so far, and probably a few more times because not everybody will open a thread on Thaivisa about it.

but that story was very likely fake, many a fake story written on visa threads especially elite, i remember that one  well, this is about an overstay 'if' a true posting not about a visa type, and extensions are checked on the computer while you wait for a print out for the 90 day report

[Neeranam]

What a rip off! I thought if you paid 500k, you had a 5 year visa. 

 

[Tanoshi]

25 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

What a rip off! I thought if you paid 500k, you had a 5 year visa. 

 

In Thailand's case, the validity of a Visa (the period during which you can enter) is different than the permission of stay (granted at entry).

 

In the OP's case he entered Jan 7th 2020 and was granted permission of stay until Jan 7th 2021 (1 year) as per his class of Visa entitled him to.

He should have either exited and re-entered just before Jan 7th 2021, to obtain another 1 year permission of stay, OR, applied to extend his permission of stay for a further year (an extension). He did neither.

[Neeranam]

4 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

In Thailand's case, the validity of a Visa (the period during which you can enter) is different than the permission of stay (granted at entry).

 

In the OP's case he entered Jan 7th 2020 and was granted permission of stay until Jan 7th 2021 (1 year) as per his class of Visa entitled him to.

He should have either exited and re-entered just before Jan 7th 2021, to obtain another 1 year permission of stay, OR, applied to extend his permission of stay for a further year (an extension). He did neither.

I understand that. Paying that amount of money means you should not have to leave the country or do 90 day reports. 

Total ripoff, especially considering I paid 5,000 baht to get Thai citizenship. 

[Neeranam]

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

I've long considered that the average immigration officer will treat foreigners with nothing but contempt and do anything they can to make problems for their 'customers'. As far as I'm concerned they're actively 'an enemy' who works only against us.

Absolutely, I've experienced this contempt when they didn't know I could speak Thai. 

Like many in positions of authority here, they make problems so we then need to say, "is there any thing we can give you to make this problem go away"? 

 

[Neeranam]

On 6/11/2021 at 8:10 PM, JasonHH said:

Any advice or help on this would be greatly appreciated 

Hire a lawyer and threaten to sue, they could fix this if they have to.

You could ask an agent, who will pay off the immigration, if you don't know how to do this yourself. 

I assume there is no marks in your passport yet. 

[Tanoshi]

6 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I understand that. Paying that amount of money means you should not have to leave the country or do 90 day reports. 

Total ripoff, especially considering I paid 5,000 baht to get Thai citizenship. 

The Elite Visa is the only way a foreigner under the age of 50 or not married to a Thai can stay long term. The EV is classed as a Tourist type Visa.

 

The OP mentioned he had a long term partner. Had they married, he could stay long term by applying for annual extensions based on marriage.

I assume he has his own reasons for not pursuing that option.

[Neeranam]

5 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

The Elite Visa is the only way a foreigner under the age of 50 or not married to a Thai can stay long term. The EV is classed as a Tourist type Visa.

 

The OP mentioned he had a long term partner. Had they married, he could stay long term by applying for annual extensions based on marriage.

I assume he has his own reasons for not pursuing that option.

I believe under the Constitution, if he has a Thai child, he can not be refused entry into Thailand unless he has committed a criminal offence. I guess overstay is that. 

 

I would definitely threaten sue Elite visa if they are a private company. 

 

[Tanoshi]

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I would definitely threaten sue Elite visa if they are a private company. 

It's not Elite Visa's fault.

The EV allows you to stay in accordance with the Immigration laws of Thailand.

It's the OP's responsibility to understand and comply, which he clearly didn't.

I suspect he thought because he still had a valid Visa he was OK to stay until it expired.

[James105]

This is really, really harsh.   Forced to leave Thailand, a 20,000 baht fine on exit and not allowed to enter Thailand for a year means that one of the Elite visa years is wasted (100,000 baht) for what is effectively an admin error on the part of the OP.    There was no intention to cheat the system here as he has paid a lot for a long term visa, but is treated the same as someone who does try to cheat the system and overstays without paying for any visa at all.  

 

This does serve as a good reminder for myself though to start adding these dates to phone reminders for when mine is due though as my ability to remember important dates is somewhat limited, as every family member whose birthday I have forgotten would attest to.  

[olfu]

So, I have to pay nice chunk of cash for 5 year visa in advance and suddenly have to remember to go to immigration every 90 days? 

Smells like scam.

[ubonjoe]

29 minutes ago, olfu said:

So, I have to pay nice chunk of cash for 5 year visa in advance and suddenly have to remember to go to immigration every 90 days? 

Only 90 day reports are required that can be done in person or online or by mail or by somebody else.

No extension is needed unless they stay in the country for a entire year with leaving. Each entry allows a one year stay.

[richard_smith237]

28 minutes ago, olfu said:

So, I have to pay nice chunk of cash for 5 year visa in advance and suddenly have to remember to go to immigration every 90 days? 

Smells like scam.

 

Nope... But it does smell like you should never step foot overseas if you are unable to remember a visa renewal date and 90 day reports.

 

90 day reports are out of Thai Elite’s hands, although they will do them for you. 

The yearly extensions is out of Thai Elite’s hands. 

 

No foreigner in Thailand is exempt from either 90 day reports or yearly extensions - it doesn’t matter what visa they can get. 

 

------

 

That said: It would be easy for the laws to be altered so that those with long term visas have no need to extend each year.

 

There really is no need for the 90 day report - they are totally unnecessary. 

 

Is there really any need for 12 months extensions for those on 5 year visas and marriage extensions - it would make things a lot easier for everyone if they offered 5 or even 10 year extensions etc. 

 

Additionally: Just like the UK, it would make perfect sense to allow those on long term extensions (i.e Non-Imm O extensions) to work here, just like those on Spouse visas / ILR can work in the UK. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DrJack54]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Paying that amount of money means you should not have to leave the country or do 90 day reports. 

No one forced OP to purchase an PE.

Fact is he did and like most things there are rules. Don't like the rules don't buy PE.

Simple.

[DrJack54]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

I believe under the Constitution, if he has a Thai child, he can not be refused entry into Thailand unless he has committed a criminal offence. I guess overstay is that. 

 

I would definitely threaten sue Elite visa if they are a private company. 

 

That cannot be serious. He has zero grounds to even complain to PE company. The rules clearly laid out.

 

As for first bit, boggles the mind.