https://thethaiger.com/news/phuket/american-arrested-for-overstaying-visa-by-79-days-at-phuket-airport

 

The prevailing wisdom has always been when someone is on a significant overstay, best to book a flight out, go to the airport and at passport control, pay the B20,000 or B500/day if less than 40 days, get the black mark in your PP and out you go.

According to Thaiger News, several overstayers have been arrested at the Phuket airport, apparently prior to Immigration.  I can't help but wonder if airline check-in personnel are tipping the police off or maybe visa agents as it appears the police were looking for him.  According to Thaiger News, this is not an isolated case as there have been other overdtsy arrests at Phuket Airport.

The difference for the overstayer is huge.  Instead of simply paying the maximum fine and departing, the arrested overstayer is taken usually to the Immigration Detention Center and wait perhaps many days for the case to be processed.  Fines are much higher, deportation enters the picture which is really complicated and the blacklist re-entry bans are much longer.

I have not seen similar reports from Suvarnabhumi or Chang Mai.  Perhaps if somebody you know is on overstsy, they should probably avoid Phuket International Airport.

 

Don't overstay. 

 

Simple.

There was a news article not long ago, that Police had located overstayers by their mobile phone location. 

2 minutes ago, Shop mak said:

There was a news article not long ago, that Police had located overstayers by their mobile phone location. 

Where is the link to that story? 

I believe that the overstayers referred to had existing arrest warrants for crimes committed in Thailand and were detained in order to face those charges..

People should just avoid overstaying, no problems then.

Not even reported where I live, if reported every overstayer I would be busy reading the news 24 hours a day. 

I have a friend who has overstayed by three years now. He tells me all he has to do is book a flight out, pay a 20,000 baht fine and then come back, is this correct? He has never been in trouble before for anything but I told him I don't think its so simple. Who is right, me or him?

8 minutes ago, Deserted said:

I have a friend who has overstayed by three years now. He tells me all he has to do is book a flight out, pay a 20,000 baht fine and then come back, is this correct? He has never been in trouble before for anything but I told him I don't think its so simple. Who is right, me or him?

3 hours ago, greg71 said:

 

Thank you for this, so I was right then? I thought so, now I need to work out how to brake it to him. I guess applying for a new passport because he lost his old one doesn't work right?

2 minutes ago, Deserted said:

 

Thank you for this, so I was right then? I thought so, now I need to work out how to brake it to him. I guess applying for a new passport because he lost his old one doesn't work right?

You answered your own question.

Just now, Deserted said:

 

Thank you for this, so I was right then? I thought so, now I need to work out how to brake it to him. I guess applying for a new passport because he lost his old one doesn't work right?

You are correct, and not him. A new passport won't help his case. Looks like your buddy will be banned for 5 years + the 20,000 baht fine.  His cavalier attitude to overstay is what has got him in this fix.  

3 hours ago, swerve said:

You are correct, and not him. A new passport won't help his case. Looks like your buddy will be banned for 5 years + the 20,000 baht fine.  His cavalier attitude to overstay is what has got him in this fix.  

 

That's what I thought all along. He stopped trying when Covid came and hasn't attended to it since. But how they gonna know if he reports his passport as lost and gets a new one. They won't have the new one in the system and he should be okay right?

2 minutes ago, Deserted said:

But how they gonna know if he reports his passport as lost and gets a new one.

Biometrics and personal data.

3 minutes ago, swerve said:

You are correct, and not him. A new passport won't help his case. Looks like your buddy will be banned for 5 years + the 20,000 baht fine.  His cavalier attitude to overstay is what has got him in this fix.  

 

But a farang guy on the next bar stool told him lost passport works.

 

So I guess his next gem will be 'immigration is corrupt and they don't respect the laws'.

3 hours ago, treetops said:

Biometrics and personal data.

Oh yes, fingerprints, forgot that. Oh dear, he is in trouble then.

5 minutes ago, Deserted said:

 

That's what I thought all along. He stopped trying when Covid came and hasn't attended to it since. But how they gonna know if he reports his passport as lost and gets a new one. They won't have the new one in the system and he should be okay right?

 

If he's overstayed, then he's overstayed! End of story!

 

Old then new, not in immigration system is not relevant. 

1 minute ago, Deserted said:

 

That's what I thought all along. He stopped trying when Covid came and hasn't attended to it since. But how they gonna know if he reports his passport as lost and gets a new one. They won't have the new one in the system and he should be okay right?

I don't know how Thai Immigration catches deportees when they pull a fast one, and try to return early.  Like with a name change passport.  But, they do catch many of them and it doesn't go well.  Maybe your friend doesn't need to be in Thailand.  There are other warm countries he can go to and wait out his 5 year ban should he wish to return.

3 hours ago, swerve said:

I don't know how Thai Immigration catches deportees when they pull a fast one, and try to return early.  Like with a name change passport.  But, they do catch many of them and it doesn't go well.  Maybe your friend doesn't need to be in Thailand.  There are other warm countries he can go to and wait out his 5 year ban should he wish to return.

I told him that but because he has a wife here he kinda sees Bangkok as home. There must be ways to get out of the country, fake stamps at the border and so on. I think he could get out if he put his mind to it but I am not sure he could get back in though.

3 minutes ago, Deserted said:

I told him that but because he has a wife here he kinda sees Bangkok as home. There must be ways to get out of the country, fake stamps at the border and so on. I think he could get out if he put his mind to it but I am not sure he could get back in though.

A wife is a very good reason to be in Thailand.  Perhaps the wife could move with him. I don't know how sneaking out of the country will go in the end.  I do remember hearing about a Nigerian guy who was deported and then snuck back into Thailand. He was eventually caught and deported again, but did manage to stay here for a few years more.

19 minutes ago, treetops said:

Biometrics and personal data.

 

Even if you change your name you cannot change date of birth, fingerprints or face

3 minutes ago, proton said:

23 minutes ago, treetops said:

Biometrics and personal data.

 

Even if you change your name you cannot change date of birth, fingerprints or face

 

I think the first clue they'll have is the lack of an entry stamp in the new passport.

 

1 minute ago, impulse said:

I think the first clue they'll have is the lack of an entry stamp in the new passport.

He could get it overseas (it's easy to get out unnoticed) so the entry stamp point is moot, but he would almost certainly not get back in, even with a new passport.

3 hours ago, treetops said:

He could get it overseas (it's easy to get out unnoticed) so the entry stamp point is moot, but he would almost certainly not get back in, even with a new passport.

I suspect that is the case yes.

35 minutes ago, treetops said:

Biometrics and personal data.

…& face recognition scanners, the same ones in the IO’s that look like innocent video cameras pointing at the entrances 

41 minutes ago, Deserted said:

Oh yes, fingerprints, forgot that. Oh dear, he is in trouble then.

Never mind fingerprints, they will know when he last entered the country based on his name and date of birth - that's all they need to know.

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

Never mind fingerprints, they will know when he last entered the country based on his name and date of birth - that's all they need to know.

I've told him already he may be able to sneak out with fake stamps and whatnot but won't be able to sneak back in. I thought that was the case all along but never really said anything until he started telling me all he has to do is pay a 20k fine and that's it

 

18 minutes ago, Deserted said:

That's what I thought all along. He stopped trying when Covid came and hasn't attended to it since. But how they gonna know if he reports his passport as lost and gets a new one. They won't have the new one in the system and he should be okay right?

I stopped renewing my MC registration during COVID and have not done so yet. The MC is a used one I bought five years ago for 18K. I only run it in Jomtien's back alleys for going to 7-11 or to the beach. 

3 hours ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

I stopped renewing my MC registration during COVID and have not done so yet. The MC is a used one I bought five years ago for 18K. I only run it in Jomtien's back alleys for going to 7-11 or to the beach. 

 

Yeah but that's a different story. They can't prove you use it or even have it still. 

1 hour ago, Deserted said:

I have a friend who has overstayed by three years now. He tells me all he has to do is book a flight out, pay a 20,000 baht fine and then come back, is this correct? He has never been in trouble before for anything but I told him I don't think its so simple. Who is right, me or him?

If he means he can come back in immediately then he is wrong. The penalties for overstaying by as long as he has involve at least a 3 year ban, possibly 5. Which of those it is, depends on whether it's less than three years, or more.

 

Quote

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.

 

Overstaying in Thailand