Please help

[drifter]

due to "circumstances REALLY beyond my control, i have overstayed approx. 6 months on British passport. however. i have 100% legit S.African passport as am "dual national. anyone know of travel agency/service can take s.a. passport over ANY border and get 30 day arrival for Thailand.?? and cost-approx. Problem i see, if either thai or other country study passport - where did this guy come from-how did he get into Thailand in first place??no entry stamp for Thailand!? any help here?? PLEASE

[Boo]

drifter, I can't see how anyone could overstay 6 months & have it really out of their control. I suggest you book a ticket home, go to the airport & hand yourself over to the authorities, they will then request a large payment from you to get out of the country. Once you are on home turf you can then, usually re-enter the country, without any kind of black mark against your name.

An ex of mine from phillipines overstayed 2 1/2 years & only realised he was in s"&t street when his passport was due to expire.  He did as I suggest above & at a considerable cost (payed for by his now wife) was escorted to the plane in handcuffs & put in a seat. He has since returned to Thailand a couple of times on holidays & has had no problem getting in or out of the country.

Probably not the answer you wanted but the most honest way for sure.

[sevinnow]

Drifter ever heard of "out of the frying pan into the fire"?

Should you trust one of these agency to do your passport run on your South African passport and the said Company goes bust or get's interevened by immigration, and all passports they are holding get confiscated, you'll remember the above quote.

Take the advice of the last post and swallow the "pill".

Regards

Sev

[Bob Chittie]

If they were really beyond your control i.e. you were kidnapped, drugged, stranded on a island, in a coma etc. you'd expect immigration to atleast hear you out. If the circumstances were'nt REALLY outside of your control, I'm afraid you've got to fllow the advice of the last two posts. You could send out your other passport through an agency, which is illegal and could get you blacklisted, but would the neighbouring country agree to stamp it seeing as there is no entry stamp and if no, what would be their response? You've got to make the call.

[wilson steer]

Put on a clean shirt, take a respectable Thai friend and attend an immigration office as they open in the morning, have an air ticket out of Thailand and pay the 20,000 baht fine. Easy!

[lopburi3]

From previous reporting the best procedure would be to obtain a ticket out ASAP and pay your overstay at the airport; unless you want to spend time in jail.

[chonabot]

Put on a clean shirt, take a respectable Thai friend and attend an immigration office as they open in the morning, have an air ticket out of Thailand and pay the 20,000 baht fine. Easy!

I think this route would not be cool, as you would be " banged up" As previous chaps have advised , buy a ticket out, go to airport, do lots of smiling and have cash available.

Good Luck

[Boo]

Just another note,  

The first time I came to los I got "stuck" on samui, i.e. having too much fun & couldn't be bothered to leave for the visa (n.b. I had no idea about the overstay laws & that if I got caught I would go to jail), so I overstayed 53days.

I also just went to the airport, smiled sweetly at the middle aged immigration officer, explained, honestly, why I had overstayed & paid 10,600 baht. It hurt my pocket & I took a friendly but serious telling off from the guy & promised never to do it again, (I have never overstayed more than 1 day since & that is usually because I forget the renewal day or was flying back to UK the next day) I was processed in about 30 minutes & allowed to leave without any other trouble & as I was walking out of the office, the imm officer said, "you come back to thailand, sure, we like people like you, you buy us new filing cabinets!" I just laughed nicely & kept on walking. ???

My original advise is best, you have to be leaving the country when you see the immigration officials otherwise, they will be forced to imprison you & escort you out of the country, which is both humiliating & time wasting.

Just dress nice, comb your hair & take whatever they tell you with a smile on your face, getting angry, agressive or rude will just get you thrown in a cell for the night to show you whose boss.

P.s I have never had a problem re-entering the country, on the same passport that shows the overstay stamp.

[Bob Chittie]

Boo, See article http://www.thaivisa.com/303.0.html

I think your situation was before Thaksin and Co. came into power. And it was under 20,000 baht st 200 baht a day so it wouldn't have been a big deal. But sounds like Thaksin is cracking down on this too.

[Boo]

Hi Bob, You you are right, it was over 5 years ago so maybe they were more lienient then. I flew out last month with 1 day overstay & when I checked in & the ticket guy looked at my passpost, I told him, yes I have 1 day overstay, I will go to immigration when we finish here but he had to check with a supervisor to see whether he could check me in! The guy in immigration was ok though, I even think it was the same one from my first overstay, very friendly but stern, I just kept smiling & got out ok.

[george]

The best route to clear your overstay and aviod detention is to just to go to Don Muang Airport and travel out. 200 Baht/day, maximum 20,000 Baht. Just smile and pay up, no problems!  

If you visit the Immigration Bureau, they will detain and deport you.

[wilson steer]

I disagree with previous comments on this. If you have a long overstay it is better to declare it before going to the airport, preferably at an immigration office other than Pattaya.

Again take a Thai professional or Thai lawyer. Sort it out in a quiet, serious manner. This will avoid jail and only attract a 20,000 baht fine.

Thai immigration want to see you with a clean white shirt, a short haircut, glasses (even if you don't need them) and nervous looking, tearful and with a Thai friend. Don't panic, come clean, pay your way!

[george]

If you prefer to travel with your white shirt, clear your overstay direct at Don Muang or at any border checkpoint.

If you prefer to be detained for illegal overstay (at least for 24 hours with a confirmed ticket back home), clear it at the Immigration Bureau. The shirt will not be so white.

[drifter]

thanks all of u for many replies. all meant in good faith (i hope)!!!! only prob. no have 20,000 baht!!! and not have "outward ticket"!! YES, YES, YES all my own fault!!! i know. thanks anyway. good luck to all

[lopburi3]

Believe you would be well advised to contact your Embassy ASAP and work this out before you take a path with no return.  I am sure they can help you at this stage.  Don't go deeper.

[Rambutan]

Hi!

The others might disagree, but I would give your own idea a try!

Yuo can try S&A. I've tried it, and it worked fine. It took only three days. I know some others who tried it , and it was fine as well. I think it's 99.9% save.

If it doesn't work, you'll still have your other 'small book'.

[ChiangMaiThai]

I think it all depends on what prevented 'drifter' from leaving the country six months ago. If you were just drinking on samui then I don't know how much the relevant authorities are going to help. Perhaps sending the other passport on a visa run would work. But with no money for a plane ticket and no money to pay your overstay fee, maybe your best off going to your embassy. But if you are really stuck here with no money at all, then perhaps the best they could do is get you to your home airport and have you banned from Thailand. I hope things work out. By the way, do you want to post why you were prevented from leaving? You might get some more specific ideas from members.

[george]

Hi!

The others might disagree, but I would give your own idea a try!

Yuo can try S&A. I've tried it, and it worked fine. It took only three days. I know some others who tried it , and it was fine as well. I think it's 99.9% save.

If it doesn't work, you'll still have your other 'small book'.

Do not use agents to send your passport out of the country. Over one hundred foreign passports was confiscated by Immigration Investigators from an agent in Songkhla province very recently (July 2003) on the way between agents and corrupt Immigration officers.

[drifter]

hi folks, thanks for all your "more" replies. i see some mention S&A. do u know if they have offices in Chiang-Mai, or can i post them my passport, and if so, do you have address?? many thanks. by the way , just thought i'd let you know-i am not a stupid farang. i've been "living" in Thailand for about 14 yrs! this time "permanent" for 2 yrs! When i said i could not renew visa due to "circumstances BEYOND MY CONTROL" that's exactly what i meant!!!! just i've never had a problem before and thought i'd check out possibilities beforehand! thanks again

[NathanV23]

I think if that's the route you've decided on, knowing the risks, you should atleast go to the agent in person. But its your call.

[keestha]

Is everybody sure the fine for overstay is still 200 Baht a day with a max of 20000? Maybe I am wrong here, but I thought a few years ago it was raised to 400 Baht a day with a max of 40000 Baht.

[george]

Since a few years now the fine for overstay is 400 Baht a day, with a maximum of 40000 Baht. Leaving the Kingdom it will do you no harm to look respectably and apologize for your overstay.

Wrong info, keestha!

The overstay charge went from 100 Baht/day to 200 Baht per day in year 2000. Maximum 20,000 Baht.

[keestha]

LOL....whilst you were quoting me, I was editing my post already. Thx for enlightning me.

[Johnt]

Attend to an immigration office as they open in the morning, have an air ticket out of Thailand from next day. Tell you want to go to the court and want to go home. Then they bring you to the court and here you pay 2500 baht, and they will drive you to the airport and send you home.(deportation) You will not have to pay the overstay, and can return next day if you like. They can not make any "black marks" in your passport. Only if its something about rubbery, drugs and so.

The immigration police will sure try tell you that if you pay some money "under table" then he will not make any marks in your passport. But they are not allowed to do, if you only have problems about overstay. Believe me. I just have overstay 9 month, (out of control???????) Maybe you have to stay 1 night in the Jail, but you will not have to pay the overstay.