Hi there

hoping someone can help an old friend of mine with some advice

friend is 77 yeas old, been on retirement visa  for many years, using agent

he went to the uk for holiday, but didn't get a re entry permit before leaving , so when he arrived back, he was given a 30 day tourist visa

he didn't look to check any stamp till a friend saw his passport. It seems his visa ran out on the 14th September , which puts hi on maximum overstay, at 20,000 baht ?

he now has to pay the fine , maybe get another 30 days visa and then apply for another retirement visa?

he was going to go to the ;local immigration offices and see what they say, but not sure if they will just let him pay and extend visa, or if they will lock him up

he has very little money available , living on his state uk pension, the oid lower rate

any advice would be welcome , for the easiest and cheapest way to remain here 

his other option is to do border runs, but at his age its not easy, and hes starting to lose some of his marbles too 

thanks 

Can his agent not help him?

1 minute ago, Mutt Daeng said:

Can his agent not help him?

seems he wasnt too bothered and wants around 27,000 baht before he will help, plus overstay fee 

He didnt notice the 30 day stamp? 

3 minutes ago, Joinaman said:

seems he wasnt too bothered and wants around 27,000 baht before he will help, plus overstay fee 

no offense, but that IS helping.   It is not going to be free, he owes 20000 so we are talking about a charge of 27,000.   It is not the craziest number I have heard before.  OK, maybe the going rate is lower; however, it seems like this is a way out.  sorry about your friend.   I would just borrow/pay/loan whatever the money and take some stress off.  stress at that age must be worth something.

He needs to leave the country and pay the fine at on departure from the country.

Rather than trying to enter the country visa exempt again he should apply for a non-o visa at a nearby embassy and then apply for a new extension.

12 minutes ago, Joinaman said:

he went to the uk for holiday, but didn't get a re entry permit before leaving , so when he arrived back, he was given a 30 day tourist visa

he didn't look to check any stamp till a friend saw his passport. It seems his visa ran out on the 14th September , which puts hi on maximum overstay, at 20,000 baht ?

he now has to pay the fine , maybe get another 30 days visa and then apply for another retirement visa?

"his visa ran out on the 14th September"

His visa ran out?  Which visa, the old retirement extension or the 30-day visa exempt stamp when he last entered?

 

If he came in without a re-entry permit then he does not have a retirement (visa) extension, he just has the latest visa exempt stamp.  He'll have to apply from scratch for a retirement extension and most visa agents will be able to assist with that and with the overstay.

1 minute ago, Iamfalang said:

no offense, but that IS helping.   It is not going to be free, he owes 20000 so we are talking about a charge of 27,000.   It is not the craziest number I have heard before.  OK, maybe the going rate is lower; however, it seems like this is a way out.  sorry about your friend.   I would just borrow/pay/loan whatever the money and take some stress off.  stress at that age must be worth something.

i have to agree with you, i think he has at least half the money, but he hates paying for anything and keeps going on about how he only paid 10.000 before

hes even talking about not paying and living on overstay, saying what can they do to an old man 

3 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

He needs to leave the country and pay the fine at on departure from the country.

Rather than trying to enter the country visa exempt again he should apply for a non-o visa at a nearby embassy and then apply for a new extension.

Sounds a good plan to me.

Just now, Liverpool Lou said:

"his visa ran out on the 14th September"

His visa ran out?  Which visa, the old retirement extension or the 30-day visa exempt stamp when he last entered?

 

If he came in without a re-entry permit then he does not have a retirement (visa) extension, he just has the latest visa exempt stamp.  He'll have to apply from scratch for a retirement extension and most visa agents will be able to assist with that and with the overstay.

his visa exempt stamp ran out on the 14th. so on overstay

any recommendations for a visa agent that might be cheaper?

hes living in Isaan, but used an agent in Pattaya for many years 

does 27,000 baht sound about right to get this retirement visa back, or could it be done cheaper , because living on the old uk pension means money is tight for him

Thanks

7 minutes ago, Joinaman said:

i have to agree with you, i think he has at least half the money, but he hates paying for anything and keeps going on about how he only paid 10.000 before

hes even talking about not paying and living on overstay, saying what can they do to an old man 

if you come in visa exempt or on tourist visa you first have to convert to a non-O visa (90 days) and THEN apply for a one year extension of stay. 

 

the agents do this in one go so you get 15 months the first time you deal with them. B27K sounds about right for that service. 

 

subsequent extensions should be cheaper, I've been quoted 12.5K in Pattaya.

4 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

if you come in visa exempt or on tourist visa you first have to convert to a non-O visa (90 days) and THEN apply for a one year extension of stay. 

 

the agents do this in one go so you get 15 months the first time you deal with them. B27K sounds about right for that service. 

 

subsequent extensions should be cheaper, I've been quoted 12.5K in Pattaya.

thanks

its not the annual cost that hurts him its  the big cost to get back to a retirement visa 

OP, you only need to read one post.

As usual the post by ubonjoe is spot on. 

 

2 minutes ago, Joinaman said:

thanks

its not the annual cost that hurts him its  the big cost to get back to a retirement visa 

yeah it's roughly double, I guess because they're providing two services at the same time. 

 

I assume there's a reason for doing the initial conversion & extension at the same time but it might be worth asking an agent if they can split it into two parts to give him more time to acquire the funds.

18 minutes ago, Joinaman said:

hes even talking about not paying and living on overstay, saying what can they do to an old man 

If he’s caught on overstay he will be banned for a minimum of 1 year, so that’s what they will do to an old man.

 

The cheapest way is to fly out of Thailand as soon as possible to avoid being caught pay the 20,000. Get a visa and return to go back to an extension of stay

Ubonjoe gave you the only serious option.

29 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

He needs to leave the country and pay the fine at on departure from the country.

Rather than trying to enter the country visa exempt again he should apply for a non-o visa at a nearby embassy and then apply for a new extension.

Or use an agent here to avoid having to leave the country.

21 minutes ago, Lemsta69 said:

if you come in visa exempt or on tourist visa you first have to convert to a non-O visa (90 days) and THEN apply for a one year extension of stay. 

 

the agents do this in one go so you get 15 months the first time you deal with them. B27K sounds about right for that service. 

"B27K sounds about right for that service".

But not including the overstay charge that the agent will have to sort out first.

3 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Or use an agent here to avoid having to leave the country.

That would be a very expensive way to do it.

The agent mentioned wants 27k baht to sort things out plus 20k baht for the overstay fine.

12 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, you only need to read one post.

As usual the post by ubonjoe is spot on. 

 

...assuming that he will not pay an agent.   If he will concede that then an agent is another option.

Just now, ubonjoe said:

That would be a very expensive way to do it.

The agent mentioned wants 27k baht to sort things out plus 20k baht for the overstay fine.

the 27K presumably covers the financial aspect of the chap's situation.

Old codger is cruising for a bruising.

This is no place for an old, poor, sick (or sick to be), lone farang. As far as I know, he has to cross a border to clear his overstay.

On his return, it's almost guaranteed that he will be denied entry.

Catch 22.

He can try to show up at immigration asap, explain his negligence and hope for the best.

An agent can inquire on his behalf, if he chooses so.

Doesn't look good.

Sorry for the situation mentioned by the op. A shame for the elderly gentlemen. "visa" agents don't seem too concerned on advising about 90 day reports or re-entry permits. A simple 1,000 Baht re-entry permit would have saved a whole lot of hurt and further expense. Best to leave the country immediately and come back with a new Non-O and start the extension process again. 

 

30 minutes ago, Joinaman said:

any recommendations for a visa agent that might be cheaper?

hes living in Isaan, but used an agent in Pattaya for many years 

does 27,000 baht sound about right to get this retirement visa back, or could it be done cheape

Afraid not, the figure that he's been quoted is about right for starting from scratch.

15 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

If he’s caught on overstay he will be banned for a minimum of 1 year, so that’s what they will do to an old man.

 

The cheapest way is to fly out of Thailand as soon as possible to avoid being caught pay the 20,000. Get a visa and return to go back to an extension of stay

If he is caught he will be blacklisted from Thailand for 5 years, he'll get a 1 year blacklist if he doesn't get his Overstay sorted by 13th December (14th September + 90 days)

 

What are the penalties?

The fine for overstaying is 500 Baht per day, reaching a maximum fine of 20,000 Baht (when overstaying 40 or more days).

When overstaying for a significant amount of time (90 days or more days), it is a serious offense that you could face deportation and ban from entering Thailand. Here are the current guidelines for overstaying and entry ban:

 

When surrendering at airport immigration when leaving Thailand:

• Overstay less than 90 Days = 500 Thai baht/day overstay fine (maximum 20,000 Thai baht)
• Overstay more than 90 Days = 1 year ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 1 Year = 3 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 3 Years = 5 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 5 Years = 10 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 baht overstay fine

When caught while overstaying

• Overstay of 1 day to 1 Year = 5 years ban from Thailand and 500 to 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine
• Overstay more than 1 Year = 10 years ban from Thailand and 20,000 Thai baht overstay fine

 

 

 

TBH this is the 1st time I'm hearing that an Agent can clear an overstay without somebody leaving the country so 27K sounds like an absolute bargain (given his current situation)

 

 

 

19 minutes ago, Lite Beer said:

Ubonjoe gave you the only serious option.

sounds like old mate might not be able to meet the requirements at a nearby embassy as it seems he's brassic.

Is he able to vacate to a nearby country on his own and arrange a visa with all the procedures involved? It's not the easiest thing to do flying into Cambodia or Vietnam, getting a hotel, and finding the embassy, especially if your not young and agile.

 

It sounds like he's a little jittery.

6 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

This is a dangerous situation if he cannot afford to live back in the UK, and also the airfare involved. What's he going to do if he gets banned for a year, goto Cambodia? It sounds like he is a little jittery and not able to hop countries like a young guy would.

That's the nub of it. He's used to an agent doing things for him. He's not confident exiting the Country. 

The old guy won't want to hear this, but it may be time for him to return to his home country for good.  This isn't a good country for elderly foreigners with limited resources, no local family support, who are starting to "lose their marbles".  The fact that he left the country without a re-entry permit, didn't realize he was going on overstay and now doesn't have the financial resources to correct the situation is evidence that he can't handle his own affairs.  

 

It seems that he has family/friends in his home country because he visited them recently.  There are social and medical services available to people of his age there.  

 

He's not going to want to hear this.  There are no young beautiful women to tell him he's handsome and willing to spend the night with him for a modest gift.  Cheap beer and barstool buddies aren't steps away.  But he's in danger of being arrested for overstay (yes, they do arrest men of his age) or having an accident and receiving only minimal care because he can't pay the bill.  Something where he can't travel back to his home country, like a fall resulting in a broken hip.  

3 minutes ago, NancyL said:

The old guy won't want to hear this, but it may be time for him to return to his home country for good.  This isn't a good country for elderly foreigners with limited resources, no local family support, who are starting to "lose their marbles".  The fact that he left the country without a re-entry permit, didn't realize he was going on overstay and now doesn't have the financial resources to correct the situation is evidence that he can't handle his own affairs.  

 

It seems that he has family/friends in his home country because he visited them recently.  There are social and medical services available to people of his age there.  

 

He's not going to want to hear this.  There are no young beautiful women to tell him he's handsome and willing to spend the night with him for a modest gift.  Cheap beer and barstool buddies aren't steps away.  But he's in danger of being arrested for overstay (yes, they do arrest men of his age) or having an accident and receiving only minimal care because he can't pay the bill.  Something where he can't travel back to his home country, like a fall resulting in a broken hip.  

Very sensible advice. As we know, there are many others in the same boat living day by day, existing in 5,000 baht per month apartments receiving State Pension only with no provision for illness, old age or accidents.