Overstay in Thailand

[Tickatus]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm creating this topic because my brother in law is currently overstaying in Thailand for almost 2 years (about what I understood its clearly more than 1 year).

What charges is he facing ? Will he go to jail ?

 

He already bought a flight ticket to come back here (Vienna, Austria) but he looks like scared to be apprehended and maybe he will not catch his flight. 

 

Thanks for reading me

[problemfarang]

I think they will get some money and ban him from thailand maybe 1 or 5 years. He wont go to jail. Wait more people answer your post. 

Also you can check this forum because have many posts about this too. 

[Nyonya]

He will have to get some money ready possibly a minimum of 50,000 baht and any lower he will miss his flight for sure. Or to pay the overstay fine of a specified amount per overstay day..its gonna be a whopping big sum I am afraid.

[Tickatus]

15 minutes ago, problemfarang said:

I think they will get some money and ban him from thailand maybe 1 or 5 years. He wont go to jail. Wait more people answer your post. 

Also you can check this forum because have many posts about this too. 

Thanks for your answer. Maybe I was looking wrong but I didnt find any topics about Visa overstay in this forum, but I'm new here so maybe I don't understand how the research bar is working.

 

How you can be sure he won't go to jail ? And how much will he have to pay ?

Thanks

[Chris.B]

7 minutes ago, Nyonya said:

He will have to get some money ready possibly a minimum of 50,000 baht and any lower he will miss his flight for sure. Or to pay the overstay fine of a specified amount per overstay day..its gonna be a whopping big sum I am afraid.

No it isn't. The maximum fine is 20,000 baht.

 

He should go to the airport as soon as possible and fly out. He will get a 3 year ban and fine.

 

If he gets picked up by the authorities before he gets to the airport then things will get much more serious for him.

 

See here for more information:  https://www.tratimmigration.com/thailand-visa-overstay-regulations/

Edited September 20, 2021 by Chris.B

[Tickatus]

4 minutes ago, Nyonya said:

He will have to get some money ready possibly a minimum of 50,000 baht and any lower he will miss his flight for sure. Or to pay the overstay fine of a specified amount per overstay day..its gonna be a whopping big sum I am afraid.

Oh geez, I just looked and 50,000 thai bath is almost 1300euros.. but at least it's looking like he won't have to go to jail...

[Tickatus]

1 minute ago, Chris.B said:

No it isn't. The maximum fine is 20,000 baht.

 

He should go to the airport as soon as possible and fly out. He will get a 3 year ban and fine.

 

If he gets picked up by the authorities before he gets to the airport then things will get much more serious for him.

 

How can he avoid to be caught ? Asking someone to drive him to the airport?

 

Thanks for your answer

[Chris.B]

Get a taxi to the airport and go straight to check in. Have the cash ready.

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Chris.B

[jackdd]

He just goes to the airport, upon passing immigration there they will notice his overstay, he will be fined 20,000 THB, if he can pay this he is free to catch his flight. He will also be banned from Thailand for 3 years.

[Caldera]

17 minutes ago, Tickatus said:

Oh geez, I just looked and 50,000 thai bath is almost 1300euros.. but at least it's looking like he won't have to go to jail...

If he shows up at the airport, ready to leave, he has to pay a fine of 20,000 baht (that's the maximum amount) and he will be banned from reentering Thailand for a number of years (depending on how long he has overstayed). That's it, no jail time.

[Maha Sarakham]

This feels like one of those "I know a guy" or "I have a friend" posts ????  Either way, glad some good info was posted here, good luck!

[Tickatus]

Thanks everybody for your informations, it's really helpful.

 

Aint it better if he is in contact with a lawyer on phon when it's time for him to pass through the immigration?

[Tickatus]

15 minutes ago, Maha Sarakham said:

This feels like one of those "I know a guy" or "I have a friend" posts ????  Either way, glad some good info was posted here, good luck!

I am not even living in thailand and never been there. But thanks.

[Crossy]

5 hours ago, Tickatus said:

Aint it better if he is in contact with a lawyer on phon when it's time for him to pass through the immigration?

 

Nah, if he gets to the airport and has the 20k fine in cash he's home free, the staff are well used to dealing with overstayers and it's a reasonably quick and painless (except the 20k fine) process.

 

But he should certainly avoid any interaction with the authorities before getting to the airport.

[overherebc]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

Nah, if he gets to the airport and has the 20k fine in cash he's home free, the staff are well used to dealing with overstayers and it's a reasonably quick and painless (except the 20k fine) process.

 

But he should certainly avoid any interaction with the authorities before getting to the airport.

Can I add any interaction with a lawyer is the very last thing he should think about.

[Chris.B]

10 hours ago, Tickatus said:

Aint it better if he is in contact with a lawyer on phon when it's time for him to pass through the immigration?

No.

 

When he has completed check in, he should proceed through to airside straight away.

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Chris.B

[DrJack54]

OP, you have your answers above.

Good that your assisting.

Has not been painted out but your friend has dodged a bullet.

If detected prior to leaving he would be in a world of hurt and pain. There is NO  "can I pay fine now and leave Thailand" if overstay noticed prior to leaving.

As mentioned in previous posts. Avoid any contact with authorities.

Given we are in curfew and "unusual times" he may need plan out safe trip to Bangkok if currently in another province.

It's a very serious mater if caught on overstay

Edited September 21, 2021 by DrJack54

[richard_smith237]

11 hours ago, Nyonya said:

He will have to get some money ready possibly a minimum of 50,000 baht and any lower he will miss his flight for sure. Or to pay the overstay fine of a specified amount per overstay day..its gonna be a whopping big sum I am afraid.

The post above should be deleted - its complete and total misinformation.

 

 

 

[Denim]

10 hours ago, Tickatus said:

Thanks everybody for your informations, it's really helpful.

 

Aint it better if he is in contact with a lawyer on phon when it's time for him to pass through the immigration?

Don't forget, apart from the overstay fine he will probably need proof of a negative Covid test before being allowed to leave. Not sure exactly if there is anything else but others will advise.

[richard_smith237]

OP: Your brother In Law should not go to any lawyer or contact anyone in any official position. 

 

The best option for overstayers is to go to the Airport as soon as possible and ’surrender’ to immigration (i.e. just go to the regular Immigration desk on departure).

 

Check in for the flight, go through the regular immigration channel, have 20,000 baht ready for the overstay fine. Immigration will ’spot’ the overstay and your Brother In Law will be directed to a ‘different desk / office’ where he will be processed as an overstayer. 

 

As your Brother in Law has overstayed for longer than a year (but less than 3) he will be subject to the maximum fine (20,000 baht) and will be banned from re-entering Thailand for 3 years. 

 

-------------

 

IF for whatever reasons your Brother in Law is ‘caught’ before he gets to Immigration at the Airport and his Immigration Status is checked the consequences are more severe. 

This is very unlikely unless someone ‘reports’ your BiL to the authorities, or if he breaks some law, gets into trouble etc and the police are called etc... 

 

 

 

 

[Sheryl]

5 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

Nah, if he gets to the airport and has the 20k fine in cash he's home free, the staff are well used to dealing with overstayers and it's a reasonably quick and painless (except the 20k fine) process.

 

But he should certainly avoid any interaction with the authorities before getting to the airport.

 

This.

 

He should keep his head down, avoid contact with authorities, certainly not contact a lawyer or immigration. Just get to the airport as soon as he can and then pay 20k fine on the way out.

 

Arrest is a risk only if he is apprehended before reaching the airport.

 

Once at the airport he is not going to be arrested (as long as he can pay the fine). He probably will be barred from re-entering Thailand for a period of time.

[Chris.B]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

The best option for overstayers is to go to the Airport as soon as possible and ’surrender’ to immigration (i.e. just go to the regular Immigration desk on departure).

 

Very misleading. What is "the regular immigration desk" ??

 

He should proceed through passport control where immigration should pick him up. There is no surrendering!

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Chris.B

[2 is 1]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Check in for the flight, go through the regular immigration channel, have 20,000 baht ready for the overstay fine. Immigration will ’spot’ the overstay and your Brother In Law will be directed to a ‘different desk / office’ where he will be processed as an overstayer. 

Immigration officer come to pick you up from check in desk! They ask do you have money to pay fine (need cash money) , then they take you immigration office to make paper work / pay. fine After they have stamped your passport you can entrance to departure .

Edited September 21, 2021 by 2 is 1

[Crossy]

Hopefully this isn't our OP's friend:-

 

 

[Chris.B]

 

 

[fdsa]

The 20'000 THB is the maximum official fine on paper but I know a different experience - my friend and his wife were forced to pay 50 THB extra for every single day of overstay, totaling approx 50'000 THB. And that was an official (fine? bribe?) because it happened in the Suvarnabhumi airport, not some rural border with Lao or Myanmar where extra money would certainly land in someone's pocket.

 

TiT, you know.

 

So I would advise to anyone on heavy overstay to have some extra money above those 20k, just in case.

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by fdsa

[ubonjoe]

37 minutes ago, fdsa said:

The 20'000 THB is the maximum official fine on paper but I know a different experience - my friend and his wife were forced to pay 50 THB extra for every single day of overstay, totaling approx 50'000 THB. And that was an official (fine? bribe?) because it happened in the Suvarnabhumi airport, not some rural border with Lao or Myanmar where extra money would certainly land in someone's pocket.

That would be over 600 days of overstay at 50 baht per day.

I find the story very hard to believe since I have heard of it happening to anybody.

The max fine of 20,000 baht is in the immigration act.

[fdsa]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

That would be over 600 days of overstay at 50 baht per day.

I find the story very hard to believe since I have heard of it happening to anybody.

The max fine of 20,000 baht is in the immigration act.

there were 2 persons, each paid 20'000 "in the immigration act" and 50 THB/day extra for every single day of overstay, for several months. AFAIR they even got a payment slip for it, but I'm afraid they couldn't show a photo already because this happened several years ago.

[crazykopite]

If he makes it to the airport without being stopped by police he pays 20,000 baht and maybe he gets away with it otherwise it’s anything between a 1 years and 10 year ban. Maybe the best time to travel to the airport is during the evening as not so many once about.

[BKKTRAVELER]

I think the OP got the answer covered by now. Again, tell your friend to mind the Covid measures (Curfew at 9pm, could need a negative Covid test before leaving the country).

 

But also, tell him to get there with at least a few hours left before his flight. Although it seems that paying the overstay fine can be done relatively fast, it would be a shame to miss his flight by arriving last minute and be held up by immigration.