The "sued and can not leave" visa

[Hal65]

Has anyone ever gotten this visa (or extension of stay) before? Happens if someone is suing you or accusing you of a crime, but the crime or evidence doesn't justify jail yet.

 

Length of stay attached to the case right? How slow are the courts? Anyone know a lawyer who can advise?

[JoseThailand]

Sounds like a plan...

[DrJack54]

6 hours ago, Hal65 said:

Length of stay attached to the case right? How slow are the courts? Anyone know a lawyer who can advise?

From one of your many threads the following......

"As an American with a long history of EDU visas, I typically enter Thailand through Chiang Mai. I come in on Tourist and convert to EDU."..

 

Concocting a fake court case is not a solution 

[Gottfrid]

6 hours ago, Hal65 said:

How slow are the courts?

Just look at the people who seized the airport in 2008 and that case. Have not been any ruling yet. You might just be lucky. 

[simon43]

I had one of those 'extensions' many years ago.  It lasted 1 month each time and every time that I had to extend by a further month I had to pay a bribe of about 5,000 baht to the local police in order to get the paperwork to apply to Immigration for the extension.

 

It was an expensive time - you do not want to go there...

[mark5335]

7 hours ago, Hal65 said:

Has anyone ever gotten this visa (or extension of stay) before? Happens if someone is suing you or accusing you of a crime, but the crime or evidence doesn't justify jail yet.

 

Length of stay attached to the case right? How slow are the courts? Anyone know a lawyer who can advise?

Was involved in a Civil Court (not Criminal Court) case in Bangkok a few years ago as the defendant in a commercial debt dispute. The first court appearance took place in Feb and the case was finally settled a few months later in June (i.e., less than 6 months in total). During that period I had to travel overseas so I checked with the plaintiff first to see whether they had notified Immigration to block me from leaving, to which they replied that they don't do that so I was free to travel.

 

However, in your case as an alleged criminal the situation may be different.

[BenStark]

I didn't know this forum now support discussing illegal practices.

 

The OP's post history consists of nothing more than discussing illegal working on fake visas

[arick]

If your being sued it is a civil matter not criminal.  

[teutonian]

On 1/7/2024 at 1:15 AM, Hal65 said:

Has anyone ever gotten this visa (or extension of stay) before? Happens if someone is suing you or accusing you of a crime, but the crime or evidence doesn't justify jail yet.

 

Length of stay attached to the case right? How slow are the courts? Anyone know a lawyer who can advise?

This „court visa“ is issued when a court has accepted a criminal case (such as defamation which can be brought by any individual or company for really dumb reasons such as a restaurant review).  In this case the original visa is cancelled along with any work permit. The person will be bailed and surrender the passport to the court.  Each time the person wishes to have the passport returned for any reason (immigration appointment, travel outside Thailand etc), the person‘s lawyer must attend to the criminal court and make a motion to temporary passport release.  This usually takes the better part of the day and accumulates significant legal fees.  The court must be convinced that the person has a legitimate reason to travel and will return for their next court date. 
 

if the person is granted travel permission, the court will issue a letter and notify immigration. At the airport the accused will have to show this letter to immigration police prior to being issued a boarding pass and again needs to show the letter upon entering Thailand again.  It takes around 15-30 minutes extra.  The person will have to make absolutely sure to attend court appointments.  Even if or especially if granted overseas travel permission by the court. 
 

The entire process with the court hearings can take 6-24 months. During COVID it took up to 3 years.  Once the court reaches a verdict the accused will be convicted and go to jail/pay a fine and maybe barred from Thailand, or the case dismissed and the passport and bail refunded.  The person can then apply for a normal visa and reapply for their lost work permit again. 
 

usually all cases in Thailand are appealed by the losing party.  So if the person has been found not guilty, there will usually still be an appeal. During the appeal process the person is considered innocent and there are no restrictions on visa or travel.  Once the appeal court has confirmed the not guilty verdict, often there is a request by the losing party for the Supreme Court to review the verdict. But usually these requests are denied. The verdict is then finally „finall“. The whole procedure can take 3-5 years. 
 

Usually the courts will urge the parties to settle. There is a lot of pressure to plead guilty to „get it over with“. But in addition to criminal charges there can be a civil damages suit brought against the person.  These can get very expensive in case of Anguilla plea. 
 

I recommend one not to skimp on legal costs to deal with such a case.  

[Grumpy one]

How slow are the courts? 

This depends on how much cash you have 

It can speed up or slow down the process

Splash enough and any discretion can disappear in a flash