Hello,

a good friend of mine went back to the UK last night for the holidays and as he passed immigration he was stunned the immigration informed him he overstayed his visa. He has an elite visa and didn't know he had to exit the country once every 12 months, he was staying in Thailand for the past 15 months.

The immigration officers were sympathetic but couldn't do anything, they said it happens quite often. He is blacklisted for 12 months. Is there anyway to appeal this?

His elite visa is good for another 2 years. To add salt to the wound he had to pay 25,000 baht fine for overstaying.

 

No, there is nothing he can do.

 

Hiso life

I have to laugh but it's no laughing matter. This is so Thailand amirite???

 

Attracting millionaires daily!

 

Funny though...he'll be back and probably buy another hiso visa. That's why they do it. They just don't care bc they don't have to.

 

See his story hits British press and Reuters.

 

Edit: I absolutely love the fact they fined him the full 25k too.

16 minutes ago, 3421abc said:

To add salt to the wound he had to pay 25,000 baht fine for overstaying.

Isn't the maximum overstay fine 20 000 Baht ?

Don't you just loath it when you have those who wallowing in the misery of others? so the man did a mistake, is this a good reason to mock him?...

why do people bother staying in Thailand with all the immigration non-sense, this country has no future, it doesn't change or improve, it's only great for coming 3 to 4 months a year

4 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Isn't the maximum overstay fine 20 000 Baht ?

special Thai 'elite' pricing? ????

 

Didn’t the people at the Elite Visa Agency advise him that he has two options to get the annual “quasi” extension:  

 

1) Leave the country and enter

2) Go to Immigration and pay 1900 Baht fee if one does not leave the country at least once a year.

 

Blacklisted and a 25,000 Baht fine after paying 500,000 or more for an Elite Visa?  Only in Thailand.  I would have called the Elite Visa agency from the airport and demand immediate assistance.  Elite Visa advertisement implies “VIP” type service.  I was considering this in the future if I decided that Thailand is the place to be for life.  Maybe not.  

29 minutes ago, 3421abc said:

He has an elite visa and didn't know he had to exit the country once every 12 months

Think you will find that he did not need to exit Thailand, however if staying more than one year he needs to attend immigration.

It's unfortunate he was not aware of that.

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Think you will find that he did not need to exit Thailand, however if staying more than one year he needs to attend immigration.

It's unfortunate he was not aware of that.

Thailand is trying to encourage people like this to come!

 

He should have been advised or even assisted at the airport when it blew up

it really beggar's belief that this has happened even after 2 businesses and 23 years living here

 

If he had been helped ok yes mistake but all ok it now sorted out .........great promotion

Nah instead fined and banned not such good promotion, is it

18 minutes ago, GrandPapillon said:

why do people bother staying in Thailand with all the immigration non-sense, this country has no future, it doesn't change or improve, it's only great for coming 3 to 4 months a year

Rent is cheaper for the value than just about anywhere else, and quality/choice of food is outstanding. I was a happy camper for 15 years until this Covid mismanagement came along. I miss my family back in the states but won't risk an expensive trip only to find myself locked out of Thailand cuz they can't quite figure out how to do things properly.

32 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Isn't the maximum overstay fine 20 000 Baht ?

Yes it is. Maybe they charge you extra for the ban?

17 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

 I would have called the Elite Visa agency from the airport and demand immediate assistance.

Dont think that there's anything that they could have done to assist him 

22 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Didn’t the people at the Elite Visa Agency advise him that he has two options to get the annual “quasi” extension:  

 

1) Leave the country and enter

2) Go to Immigration and pay 1900 Baht fee if one does not leave the country at least once a year.

 

Blacklisted and a 25,000 Baht fine after paying 500,000 or more for an Elite Visa?  Only in Thailand.  I would have called the Elite Visa agency from the airport and demand immediate assistance.  Elite Visa advertisement implies “VIP” type service.  I was considering this in the future if I decided that Thailand is the place to be for life.  Maybe not.  

Yes, they constantly send out reminders about avoiding an overstay.

 

You don't need to leave the country, you just go to an immigration office and do an extension of stay once a year.

 

Some people still don't know this - almost certainly because before the pandemic struck they left the country many times each year so it wasn't relevant to their situation until now.

 

This is a prime example of a badly thought out law with zero flexibility catching people it wasn't designed to catch in its widely cast net.

 

8 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Dont think that there's anything that they could have done to assist him 

Could he have not just phoned them surely they have an emergency phone

They could have turned up  in a car taken to immigration done the visa thingy whatever's is required changed his flight dropped him back 

job done 

What is he really paying 500000 THB for if not something special

1 minute ago, poohy said:

Could he have not just phoned them surely they have an emergency phone

They could have turned up  in a car taken to immigration done the visa thingy whatever's is required changed his flight dropped him back 

job done 

He was already on overstay and they wouldn't have been able to extend his visa at an immigration office 

7 minutes ago, poohy said:

Could he have not just phoned them surely they have an emergency phone

They could have turned up  in a car taken to immigration done the visa thingy whatever's is required changed his flight dropped him back 

job done 

He had already overstayed 3 months at that point. Can't turn back the clock

3 minutes ago, poohy said:

Could he have not just phoned them surely they have an emergency phone

They could have turned up  in a car taken to immigration done the visa thingy whatever's is required changed his flight dropped him back 

job done 

Immigration would not of done the extension with that long of a overstay.

Once on a overstay there is not much that can be done it is more than a few days. Any overstay longer than 90 day results in a ban of at least one year when leaving the country. 

If caught with a overstay it is a longer ban from entering the country.

Ok so immigration could or wouldnt help

Now friend of mine got deported 2 years ago 4 or 5 years overstay he is able to return immediately no black list was made against his name (yes obviously a payment was made for this prior to leaving)

Not arguing rights or wrongs of the above, but if that can be done surely for someone coughing up 500k you would think there must be options or at least the blacklist wiped

 

Lucky i will never be Wealthy enough to fall into this trap really Feel for the guy!

A sorry tale. Surely he must have noticed his permission to stay stamp expiry date? Always check on arrival that the correct permission has been stamped and be sure to follow the rules. Feel sorry for the guy after paying all that money and getting no help from Thai Elite.

 

Even if on an EV you have to know the rules. They are totally clear: Leave the country once a year or do your extension at the local IO.

I don't think it's the fault of the Immigration or the EV company.

A similar thing happened few years ago to a Swedish guy who lived in our condo building. He was on an Elite visa but became involved in a very serious traffic accident. He was hospitalised for a long time (best part of two months IIRC). When he came out it turned out he'd overstayed. He got in touch with Elite Visa but still had to pay a fine (despite letters from hospital etc), but no ban. I thought it was very harsh. Never saw him again after he returned to Sweden -  his car was parked up gathering dust. I assume he either passed away or lost interest in returning to Thailand.

7 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Even if on an EV you have to know the rules. They are totally clear: Leave the country once a year or do your extension at the local IO.

I don't think it's the fault of the Immigration or the EV company.

A lot on the EV don't even know that you still have to do 90 day reports as well. In some cities, there is an agent that will do it for you free of charge, included with the EV fee. But ya, even though you are paying so much, don't really expect to be treated like an elite or that it really gives you any special status or get out of jail free card.

12 minutes ago, poohy said:

Now friend of mine got deported 2 years ago 4 or 5 years overstay he is able to return immediately no black list was made against his name (yes obviously a payment was made for this prior to leaving)

I suspect that was before March of 2016 when the new overstay rules went into effect.

There was no ban for an overstay before then.

 

14 minutes ago, poohy said:

Not arguing rights or wrongs of the above, but if that can be done surely for someone coughing up 500k you would think there must be options or at least the blacklist wiped

He not the only person that got banned after overstaying their one year entry from a Elite visa.

The is nothing that Thai Elite can do. Thai  Elite provides a lot of info to its members about how long the visa allows them to stay in the country and the consequences if they overstay.

Darwin award, he should of understood the terms of the thai elite

Immigration officials at a sufficiently high level have the power to waive the blacklisting. I really do think that this is a case where imposing the fine and waiving the blacklisting would have been appropriate. Too late now.

2 hours ago, ezzra said:

Don't you just loath it when you have those who wallowing in the misery of others? so the man did a mistake, is this a good reason to mock him?...

No, it´s not! However, he should have been aware of the rules.

25 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Immigration officials at a sufficiently high level have the power to waive the blacklisting. I really do think that this is a case where imposing the fine and waiving the blacklisting would have been appropriate. Too late now.

I have never read of anybody being successful when filing a appeal for it.

If he had not paid the fine and was taken to the detention center (IDC) he might of been able to get something done.

They will quite happily tear someones life apart for a piece of paperwork and a rubber stamp.

 

I suspect they like doing this which is why the law was introduced.

 

This should be a lesson to everyone, the paperwork is important, you're not.

23 minutes ago, ukrules said:

They will quite happily tear someones life apart for a piece of paperwork and a rubber stamp.

 

I suspect they like doing this which is why the law was introduced.

 

This should be a lesson to everyone, the paperwork is important, you're not.

I think the lesson should be to familiarize yourself with the visa rules of the country you are staying in and the date by which you have to leave or extend.