Overstay, ban and Laos

[Mika78]

With a history of a long overstay and a 10 year ban still in place, it is possible for a person, with a new passport, to travel to Laos to settle himself there? No intention of attempting to enter Thailand again.

Edited March 29 by Mika78

[balo]

Why not? Laos is not Thailand. 

[Caldera]

I don't see why that would be a problem, assuming that you have a new passport and Lao officials won't see your Thai stamps.

 

Transiting through Thailand would be a potential problem though. Checking in for your flight to Thailand, the airline would probably get a "do not board" message, I don't think Thailand's APIS has provisions specifically for transit passengers.

[thesetat]

11 hours ago, Caldera said:

I don't see why that would be a problem, assuming that you have a new passport and Lao officials won't see your Thai stamps.

 

Transiting through Thailand would be a potential problem though. Checking in for your flight to Thailand, the airline would probably get a "do not board" message, I don't think Thailand's APIS has provisions specifically for transit passengers.

Why would he need to leave the international portion of the airport if changing planes here? They do not look for Thai stamps if not actually leaving the international section in the airport. And he will not be passing through Thailand immigration either. 

[Caldera]

3 hours ago, thesetat said:

Why would he need to leave the international portion of the airport if changing planes here? They do not look for Thai stamps if not actually leaving the international section in the airport. And he will not be passing through Thailand immigration either. 

 

I wasn't talking about entering Thailand, I was talking about APIS. You pay the APIS fee as a transit passenger, too, so my best guess is that the system is being used for transit passengers.

 

If your airline gets a "do not board" message via APIS for your flight to Thailand, you definitely won't be on that flight and your intention to transit airside wouldn't matter.

[paul1804]

Why does he need to transit through Thailand, plenty of flights to Laos from other countries? 

[NorthernRyland]

23 hours ago, Mika78 said:

With a history of a long overstay and a 10 year ban still in place, it is possible for a person, with a new passport, to travel to Laos to settle himself there? No intention of attempting to enter Thailand again.

"My friend kicked me out of his house, can I rent a house in another city?"

[Gknrd]

I've thought about this before, Just stay until you are caught. Then pay the fine get the ban and move on. Makes financial sense for sure. No bank hassles, no immigration hassles, no reports. 

[Caldera]

6 hours ago, Gknrd said:

I've thought about this before, Just stay until you are caught. Then pay the fine get the ban and move on. Makes financial sense for sure. No bank hassles, no immigration hassles, no reports. 

 

If the ban and being forced to move on at a moment's notice doesn't bother you, why not. Some people manage to overstay for 10+ years, after all.

[daveAustin]

Dunno, but with ASEAN being a thing it wouldn't surprise me if immigration data on undesirables between these nations was not shared. Beer Laos is nice, but. 😉

[kingstonkid]

18 hours ago, thesetat said:

Why would he need to leave the international portion of the airport if changing planes here? They do not look for Thai stamps if not actually leaving the international section in the airport. And he will not be passing through Thailand immigration either. 

The OP is not clear where he is now. Is he presently in Thailand looking to go to Laos?  Is he in a Western country flying directly to Laos?

 

This, I think, is the confusion.  If he is presently in Thailand and Overstay, he is going to get nailed by immigration at the airport or border for being overstayed.   I think then he may have an issue with paying fine.  Border runners may be able to say what would happen at the border crossing into Laos.

 

Laos immigration, if they see that you have been blacklisted for Thailand, may ask questions and, based on that, can refuse entry.

 

I am sure the Canadian that just got nailed for being 2955 would probably get refused, and he has a history.  BUT it would be up to the border immigration agent.

[Mika78]

8 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Dunno, but with ASEAN being a thing it wouldn't surprise me if immigration data on undesirables between these nations was not shared. Beer Laos is nice, but. 😉

Yes. 

[Mika78]

8 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

The OP is not clear where he is now. Is he presently in Thailand looking to go to Laos?  Is he in a Western country flying directly to Laos?

 

This, I think, is the confusion.  If he is presently in Thailand and Overstay, he is going to get nailed by immigration at the airport or border for being overstayed.   I think then he may have an issue with paying fine.  Border runners may be able to say what would happen at the border crossing into Laos.

 

Laos immigration, if they see that you have been blacklisted for Thailand, may ask questions and, based on that, can refuse entry.

 

I am sure the Canadian that just got nailed for being 2955 would probably get refused, and he has a history.  BUT it would be up to the border immigration agent.

 

8 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

The OP is not clear where he is now. Is he presently in Thailand looking to go to Laos?  Is he in a Western country flying directly to Laos?

 

This, I think, is the confusion.  If he is presently in Thailand and Overstay, he is going to get nailed by immigration at the airport or border for being overstayed.   I think then he may have an issue with paying fine.  Border runners may be able to say what would happen at the border crossing into Laos.

 

Laos immigration, if they see that you have been blacklisted for Thailand, may ask questions and, based on that, can refuse entry.

 

I am sure the Canadian that just got nailed for being 2955 would probably get refused, and he has a history.  BUT it would be up to the border immigration agent.

I didn't ask for myself

[sandyf]

On 3/29/2024 at 4:26 PM, Mika78 said:

With a history of a long overstay and a 10 year ban still in place, it is possible for a person, with a new passport, to travel to Laos to settle himself there? No intention of attempting to enter Thailand again.

Inital entry to laos may notbe a problem but

"to travel to Laos to settle himself there?" could be a different ball game.

Different questions are likely to arise and very unlikely the answers will be found here.

[zzzzz]

easier to stay long term in Cambodia than Laos an its a bit more westernized as well
1 year extension $285-300
flights from HK, KL, Singapore and some chinese cities 

[Moonlover]

On 3/30/2024 at 5:53 AM, thesetat said:

Why would he need to leave the international portion of the airport if changing planes here? They do not look for Thai stamps if not actually leaving the international section in the airport. And he will not be passing through Thailand immigration either. 

He can only do that if his checked baggage can be transferred to his next flight without his intervention..

[Kerryd]

18 hours ago, Moonlover said:

He can only do that if his checked baggage can be transferred to his next flight without his intervention..

Yes. 
Generally, if all your destinations are on the same ticket with the same airline, your luggage will be transferred normally.

IF you are flying to different destinations on different tickets and/or airlines, then yes, you will need to "arrive" in the country to go get your luggage and then check-in for your next flight.

So if you fly to Bangkok on BA (for example) and then have a ticket on Air Asia to go to Vientiane, you'd have to go through Immigration in Bangkok, collect your bags, exit Customs and then go to the Departure area to check in for your next flight.

But, if your were (for example) on a China Eastern flight from Amsterdam to Vientianne with a stop-over in Shanghai, then your bags should be automatically transferred so long as it is all on one ticket.
(If it's Amsterdam to Shanghai on one ticket and then Shanghai to Vientiane on a different ticket, even with the same airline, you will no doubt have to go through Immigration to get your bags and check in for the next flight.)

Another option is - travel light. If you really need some items, arrange to have them shipped/couried. That way even if you have different tickets on different airlines, you wouldn't have to leave the Departure Area. Especially if you've checked in online.
Just go to the Transfer Desk to find out which Departure gate to go to and be gone.
 

[treetops]

16 hours ago, Kerryd said:

Another option is - travel light. If you really need some items, arrange to have them shipped/couried. That way even if you have different tickets on different airlines, you wouldn't have to leave the Departure Area. Especially if you've checked in online.
Just go to the Transfer Desk to find out which Departure gate to go to and be gone.

 

The first airline most likely won't let you board without valid documentation for where they're taking you.

[kingstonkid]

On 3/31/2024 at 8:47 AM, Mika78 said:

 

I didn't ask for myself

But you did not answer my questions.

[bbi1]

On 3/29/2024 at 4:26 PM, Mika78 said:

With a history of a long overstay and a 10 year ban still in place, it is possible for a person, with a new passport, to travel to Laos to settle himself there? No intention of attempting to enter Thailand again.

Planning another overstay stink over in Laos now, are we? 😉 

[OJAS]

On 3/30/2024 at 7:06 AM, ArmandoWalter said:

Before making a decision to move, you should familiarize yourself with the visa requirements of Laos, as well as the possible consequences of violating Thai immigration laws, including an entry ban.

 

And a further key point which IMHO the OP needs to check is whether his home country has a diplomatic presence in Laos, in the form of an embassy or consulate. It it doesn't and consular-related issues arise in his case which need to be dealt with, he might find himself obliged to make physical trips to his home country's embassy in, guess where, Bangkok! 

[Denim]

On 3/31/2024 at 8:47 AM, Mika78 said:

 

I didn't ask for myself

 

Nobody ever does.