Immigration going after over stayers?

[renegadeseal]

I have found myself in the situation of being "stuck" in Thailand as I'm unable to leave. I don't have enough money left to do a "visa run" and I cannot return to my home country due to other reasons. My embassy cannot help me in this case. I have not broken the law in any country, but now I am facing having to go on overstay, as I cannot afford a visa or to leave the country at the moment. It is absolutely my fault, I am not blaming anyone else that I'm in this situation, but I also have no other choice.

 

My question is, will immigration go after me, and if so how much time would I have to get my <deleted> together? I was here on volunteer visa + covid extension, and I have filed 90 day reports with my address, so it's in their system, they can easily track me down. Question is, are they going to do it? I understand the thai overstay law, and that if I get caught I will be put in the detention center until I can pay the fine and ticket to be deported.

 

How much time do you think I have after my current expires? I've read in the news people overstaying for many years, but they are usually on tourist visas, so no 90 day report filed?

 

I am not asking for advice on how to break the law, but my current situation does not offer me any alternative. My embassy doesn't want to help and COVID made visa runs too expensive for me to afford. I would just like to know if and when I can expect the cops to show up at my door and drag me to jail lol.

[ubonjoe]

Normally immigration does not look for those overstaying unless they have another reason to find them.

I am aware of people staying for many months on a overstay. Most left the country before they had more than 90 days overstay to avoid being banned from entering the country.

Just keep a low profile and do not get in trouble with police.

If you got caught with a overstay you would be detained, deported and banned from entering the country for 5 years,

[BritTim]

To some extent, your risk depends on where you live. If you are living somewhere like Bangkok or Pattaya, with many foreigners, it is likely to be a long time before anyone takes an interest in you (unless you go looking for trouble). If you are somewhere remote up country, you are more visible, and immigration might be in a habit of keeping tabs on foreigners in their area.

[renegadeseal]

I have to add, I have a Russian passport, and I just saw that Thai government is trying to help Russians stranded in the kingdom... so maybe this might be an option for me.

 

But my situation has honestly nothing to do with the war.. so thank you ubonjoe & BritTim for giving helpful advice. It gives me peace of mind and hopefully I can get my affairs in order and leave before 90 days overstay.

 

PS: I do not like what the Russian president is doing, I am against any kind of WAR, it is a horrible situation. NO TO WAR.

Edited March 10, 2022 by renegadeseal

[EricTh]

14 minutes ago, renegadeseal said:

I have to add, I have a Russian passport, and I just saw that Thai government is trying to help Russians stranded in the kingdom... so maybe this might be an option for me.

 

But my situation has honestly nothing to do with the war.. so thank you ubonjoe & BritTim for giving helpful advice. It gives me peace of mind and hopefully I can get my affairs in order and leave before 90 days overstay.

 

PS: I do not like what the Russian president is doing, I am against any kind of WAR, it is a horrible situation. NO TO WAR.

If you have a Russian passport, Thailand is giving a special renewal for Russians and Ukranians that is free of charge i.e you don't have to pay the 1900 baht fee.

 

So it is better to get a renewal instead of risking being banned from coming to Thailand in the future for overstay.

 

 

[DrJack54]

OP, when did you arrive in Thailand. 

Yes there was the amnesty period however that's long gone and people have been obtaining covid extensions.

What type of stamp do you currently have in pp. When does it expire? 

 

[renegadeseal]

8 minutes ago, EricTh said:

If you have a Russian passport, Thailand is giving a special renewal for Russians and Ukranians that is free of charge i.e you don't have to pay the 1900 baht fee.

 

So it is better to get a renewal instead of risking being banned from coming to Thailand in the future for overstay.

 

 

Do you have an article or something with more info on this? I would love to learn more

[audaciousnomad]

10 minutes ago, renegadeseal said:

Do you have an article or something with more info on this? I would love to learn more

"

To mitigate the short-term impact, tourists can extend their 30-day visa without paying the application fee, which costs 1,900 baht for both Ukrainians and Russians.

 

For tourists who are unable return home, whether due to suspended flights or political unrest, and cannot afford to stay in Thailand, the government plans to offer them shelter.

The possible locations are Phuket and Pattaya, depending on a survey tourism operators were sending out to their guests this week."

https://www.bangkokpost<dot>com/business/2275371/thailand-offers-aid-to-stranded-tourists

Please put the < . > in manually.  We are not allowed to directly link this URL on the forum. ????

Edited March 10, 2022 by audaciousnomad

[renegadeseal]

10 minutes ago, audaciousnomad said:

"

To mitigate the short-term impact, tourists can extend their 30-day visa without paying the application fee, which costs 1,900 baht for both Ukrainians and Russians.

 

For tourists who are unable return home, whether due to suspended flights or political unrest, and cannot afford to stay in Thailand, the government plans to offer them shelter.

The possible locations are Phuket and Pattaya, depending on a survey tourism operators were sending out to their guests this week."

https://www.bangkokpost<dot>com/business/2275371/thailand-offers-aid-to-stranded-tourists

Please put the < . > in manually.  We are not allowed to directly link this URL on the forum. ????

So it's only for tourist visa? No chance for volunteer + covid extension?

[audaciousnomad]

3 minutes ago, renegadeseal said:

So it's only for tourist visa? No chance for volunteer + covid extension?

Only immigration can answer that.  There is a help line if you are in Phuket:

"Phuket: A call centre has been set up to provide assistance to Russian and Ukrainian tourists affected by the conflict between the two nations.

The move follows flight cancellations by two Russian airlines -- S7 Airlines and Aeroflot -- and transaction woes faced by Russian tourists who are unable to use their credit cards.

Around 3,500-4,000 Russian tourists and 300-400 travellers from Ukraine are currently in Phuket.

 

 

The help centre is a joint effort by the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, provincial authorities, tourism police, immigration police and the provincial tourism business association.

 

Visitors from both countries are urged to contact 093-9372086 or 094-8191124 from 8.30am to 7pm for assistance with problems they might be facing. "

[EricTh]

43 minutes ago, renegadeseal said:

So it's only for tourist visa? No chance for volunteer + covid extension?

It applies to all visa types that have expired just like the Covid extension.

 

This time the condition is that you must be Russian or Ukranian.

 

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by EricTh

[Sydebolle]

Pass the bucket on; report to the immigration while not on overstay yet and explain your present situation. Like this they cannot fingerprint you for gone into hiding etc. and they might come up with a solution by putting some issues onto your embassy. 

Alternatively check with in-laws back in your home country for some temporary help - unless, of course, if you are on the run ........ good luck! 

[Thingamabob]

Go to immigration without delay and explain your situation (you may need a Thai speaker to accompany you unless you are competent in spoken Thai).

Could be that in the light of current events Immigration will be helpful given you are a Russian passport holder.

[Antiparovian]

What organisation did you do Volunteering for? What did the work involve ? Or perhaps an illegal Visa ? 

Edited March 11, 2022 by Antiparovian
Speling

[mtls2005]

18 hours ago, renegadeseal said:

I have found myself in the situation of being "stuck" in Thailand as I'm unable to leave.

Obviously there is more to your situation, and you seem reluctant to share that. And that's fine, by the way. Entirely your choice.

 

Unless you are physically restrained, you could proceed to SBAI/BKK and fly out as early as Tuesday, 15 March. (There may be flights earlier, I simply looked at Qatar.)

 

I understand that you do not want to leave. When you start talking about 500 baht per day, and living expenses, you'll spend more than an air ticket in the first 30 days of overstay. Go back home, re-group, and plan a future return to thailand under more legal conditions.

 

I can see Immigration wanting to check up on russian and Ukrainian citizens here, if only to insure that they are healthy, and not in need of emergency economic relief packages. They may even search you out if only to help with your visa situation?

[Tony125]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

Obviously there is more to your situation, and you seem reluctant to share that. And that's fine, by the way. Entirely your choice.

 

Unless you are physically restrained, you could proceed to SBAI/BKK and fly out as early as Tuesday, 15 March. (There may be flights earlier, I simply looked at Qatar.)

 

I understand that you do not want to leave. When you start talking about 500 baht per day, and living expenses, you'll spend more than an air ticket in the first 30 days of overstay. Go back home, re-group, and plan a future return to thailand under more legal conditions.

 

I can see Immigration wanting to check up on russian and Ukrainian citizens here, if only to insure that they are healthy, and not in need of emergency economic relief packages. They may even search you out if only to help with your visa situation?

He doesn't need to go on overstay. Free extensions are being given to Russians and  Ukraines as well as other help:

He can also search for more info in the Bangkok Post  on aid/assistance being given to Russians and Ukraines

Edited March 11, 2022 by Tony125
correction

[brianthainess]

22 hours ago, renegadeseal said:

I have found myself in the situation of being "stuck" in Thailand as I'm unable to leave.

Seems you were here before Putin's invasion, so why didn't you leave before your money ran out.

 

22 hours ago, renegadeseal said:

I don't have enough money left to do a "visa run" and I cannot return to my home country due to other reasons.

What are the other reasons ? 

[Tony125]

19 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Seems you were here before Putin's invasion, so why didn't you leave before your money ran out.

 

What are the other reasons ? 

Seem like you are not fully aware of world events, he may not have run out of money but since the US and EU have sanctioned Russia  their citizens cannot axcess funds from Russian banks  to buy tickets to fly home. Cannot use Master Card, Visa or American Expres cards .  That is the reason that the Thai Gov  is giving them free 60 day extensions as they don't have the 1900 baht to pay for them.  The Gov is also giving them help with accomedations and trying to get Russia to send planes to pick up the 3,000 plus still stuck in Thailand.

They also have few plane flying to Russia now.

 

Edited March 12, 2022 by Tony125

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, Tony125 said:

Cannot use Master Card, Visa or American Expres cards . 

I thought that China's UnionPay, also popular here, was going to process payments on russian express? (their motto: Leave Home.)

 

I would think that thailand could jigger some sort of temporary processing agreement, backed by russian goods?

 

 

 

 

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

I would think that thailand could jigger some sort of temporary processing agreement, backed by russian goods?

Even China is being wary about being seen to circumvent US sanctions against Russia's financial system (though, UnionPay is operating for the moment). I doubt Thailand would take the risk.

Edited March 12, 2022 by BritTim

[audaciousnomad]

2 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

I thought that China's UnionPay, also popular here, was going to process payments on russian express? (their motto: Leave Home.)

 

I would think that thailand could jigger some sort of temporary processing agreement, backed by russian goods?

 

 

 

 

As long as it's on credit. If they access debit via UnionPay and they don't have much cash, it's a problem still.  Russian cash value has tanked, losing 40% of its purchasing power in past 2 weeks.

[biervoormij]

With the talk of free extensions I think the following article may be relevant to this thread.

 

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/not-all-russians-and-ukrainians-will-get-free-visa-extensions-391724

[scorecard]

On 3/10/2022 at 6:24 PM, ubonjoe said:

Normally immigration does not look for those overstaying unless they have another reason to find them.

I am aware of people staying for many months on a overstay. Most left the country before they had more than 90 days overstay to avoid being banned from entering the country.

Just keep a low profile and do not get in trouble with police.

If you got caught with a overstay you would be detained, deported and banned from entering the country for 5 years,

Good advice.

 

Further, keep searching for official/unofficial organizations who help folks with problems abroad etc. 

 

My understanding is that there are many such organizations but you have to find them.

[Letseng]

7 hours ago, Tony125 said:

Seem like you are not fully aware of world events, he may not have run out of money but since the US and EU have sanctioned Russia  their citizens cannot axcess funds from Russian banks  to buy tickets to fly home. Cannot use Master Card, Visa or American Expres cards .  That is the reason that the Thai Gov  is giving them free 60 day extensions as they don't have the 1900 baht to pay for them.  The Gov is also giving them help with accomedations and trying to get Russia to send planes to pick up the 3,000 plus still stuck in Thailand.

They also have few plane flying to Russia now.

 

They can fly to Helsinki & from there catch the train. Other link is via Serbia/Belgrade.

[Neeranam]

19 minutes ago, Letseng said:

They can fly to Helsinki & from there catch the train. Other link is via Serbia/Belgrade.

There is also a train to Russia these days from Thailand. Takes about 20 days I think. 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, Neeranam said:

There is also a train to Russia these days from Thailand. Takes about 20 days I think. 

That could be a very interesting journey, but it goes via China. Good luck at the current time getting a visa for China if you are not a Chinese citizen.

[Onerak]

On 3/10/2022 at 5:44 AM, renegadeseal said:

I have to add, I have a Russian passport, and I just saw that Thai government is trying to help Russians stranded in the kingdom... so maybe this might be an option for me.

I think Russian passport holders are now being offered 30-day extension at no charge. First get the extension and wait and see for future extensions also. 

[NativeBob]

Overstay is not a good solution, but is not as scary as some folk describe. I've seen hundreds of farangs living happily, even doing some teaching jobs without valid visa. And not some slums of Pattaya, but quite legit Bangkok Suthisan area. Maximum is 1.000 THB tip and "life is good" again - if caught by police.

However if you have plans for Thailand, not just hang here and have fun, I would advise not to break the law.
hese days they got something called "computers" with database 

[digbeth]

On 3/12/2022 at 12:51 PM, mtls2005 said:

I thought that China's UnionPay, also popular here, was going to process payments on russian express? (their motto: Leave Home.)

 

I would think that thailand could jigger some sort of temporary processing agreement, backed by russian goods?

If they left Russia with only Visa and Mastercard cards, issuing new Unionpay cards and getting replacement in Thailand's going to be a problem,  

[Gottfrid]

19 hours ago, Neeranam said:

There is also a train to Russia these days from Thailand. Takes about 20 days I think. 

You are a kind soul. ????