I couldn't believe it, I was certain that I was due to leave on the 3rd, but when I went through business passport control at Ol' Swampy the officer found out that I was two days overstay.

I had always promised myself that I would never ever do this but out of my own stupity I mistook my entry stamp (3rd Dec) for my exit date, well this is the only way I can explain it to myself.

Anyway, I ended up with a 1000 baht fine (2 days overstay), I asked the Policeman if this would affect my future entries, he said no.

There was a Scando girl next to me who had a 6000 baht fine.

ANyway, I have my non imm O visa now, you cannot imagine how worried I was when I found out I had overstayed. Overstay was the one thing I promised myself I would never do, even though the people I was with were telling me it is no problem, just pay the fine. I just couldn't do it, it is not within the paramaters of my moral code but heck it happened to me, I was so shocked and so embarrassed.

ANyway, I now have an overstay chop in my passport and I feel ashamed. But I am still here... Have you every overstayed?

Once, by one day. It was my first visit to Thailand and it was a business trip on visa exempt stamps. It was back in 1992 and I seem to remember only getting 7 days extendable by another 7 (UK citizen, when was the thirty day limit introduced?) Anyway I stayed about a month, extended by a business trip to Singapore. Bottom line was that my business in Thailand meant leaving a day later than my permitted stay. No problem everyone said, it's only a 200 Baht fine at the airport and you're away. So with some trepidation I approached the immigration officer at passport control.

"You overstay".

"Yes, I am very sorry but my business took longer than expected".

"You go see man at desk".

"Okay, could you show me where the desk is?"

"Down there".

He pointed way down the hall behind the immigration desks. So I made my way down there thinking "I am effectively out of the country, what's to stop me going through to departures" but common sense prevailed and I pressed on. I eventually found myself at a large impressive polished desk with a sign "Visa Overstays". "Bingo" I thought and stood in front of the officer there and handed over my passport.

"No stamp in passport".

"No, I have overstayed one day and the officer told me to come here".

"No, you go office down there" pointing all the way back down from whence I had just come to a small glass office.

So I got to the office the atmosphere of which probably made the Venusian air seem fresh by comparison (no no smoking rules then) and I entered.

Eventually a man came over.

"You have problem?"

So I explained all I'd been through.

"No problem" and with that he stamped my passport and ushered me out of the door, no fine.

So all I got was a little rondfoek (sp?), as the Afrikaaners would say, and I was on my way. Boy did I enjoy that next ice cold Singha, the fact that it was at that scabby little snack bar was irrelevant.

That was my one and only transgression regarding overstay. Due to gross stupidity, laziness and a bit of ignorance I did have a very sweaty time at Aranyaprathet some fifteen years later but that's another story and one I'd rather forget.

I overstayed by one day, a few years ago.

I was told about my overstay but they overlooked it, nice of them I thought

I haven't overstayed yet. I'm hoping to be able to do this sometime but I'm not sure when I will be able to arrange it....I have a pretty tight schedule what with planting rice in July and harvesting it in November. Any advise you could give me on how you were able to work overstaying into your schedule would be appreciated.

Chownah

Happened to me once many years ago - also because I just forgot about the correct exit date. It was three days in total and I was escorted to some immigration interrogatin room at Don Muang. looked a ll a bit scary, but except for a big finger-rasing don't-you-ever-do-that-again, a stamp and 600 Baht fine nothing happened.

Tuky,

Don't worry about it! After I finished my last Thai contract, being the silly moo that I am, had no idea that had return work permit within the week., even though my visa was valid for several months after. Got a so called lawyer involved who sweetly advised me there was no need to leave the country as I was in the process of setting up my own business. she turnes oyt to be a scam artist and ripped me off 20,000..In the end, ended uo doing EVERYTHING myself, from immigration (where I got fined for 26,000 overstay) to labour dept. Now happy to say, everything is ship shape, finallyafter major headaches and lots of running around! Live and learn as they say!

My work place has always handled my visas and in my previous firms they provided multiple re-entry visas, in fact the company lawyer did everything.

So when I moved on I never thought twice about re-entry visas. I assumed it would all be taken care of, and assumption as they say is the mother of all .... ups and what they say is true.

Just before my 3rd trip abroad that year with my new firm I discovered that they had only applied for a single rentry visa, so I had over stayed by several months!!

I got hit with a 20,000 Baht fine, and had to apply for all my visas again, non imm B the lot! Such a pain, but a lesson learned!