5 Minutes Overstay - '0' Visa

[Flatlander]

Hi,

I have O visa, so have to leave every 90 days. It expires this time on 3rd Aug. I am booked to go to philippines on the 5th Aug at 12.05 (5 min past midnight).

My understanding is if you are one day over then there is no problem. However, if its 2 days then I would have to declare this at the airport before leaving.

However, when I actually go through immigration at the airport, it will be about 10.30pm on 4th Aug, which would make it only one day over.

So my question is, if anyone knows, how strict will they be with this? Is it the point that the plane takes off (which would make it a 2 day overstay), or the point at which you go through immigration and they stamp your passport (making me one day over)?

I am assuming (and hoping) its the latter. But obviously I don't want to just walk through if I am wrong, as it may then mean going back to immigration desk etc and maybe missing the flight. Would rather not declare it though if don't need to as I don't want the overstay stamp in my passport and a fine.

Unfortunately this was the earliest flight I could get.

Thanks

Edited July 22, 2008 by Flatlander

[gusgorman]

I am fairly certain you will be charged with one days overstay. For sure it is taken from when you exit through customs, so you will get an exit stamp showing 4th August but they wil charge you one days overstay for this. Alternative is to go to immigration and ask for 7 day extension.

[Jimjim]

The OP is correct unless there has been a change from past policy. When you're one day over at the airport, you don't get charged with one day overstay. That is only at the borders. However, I don't know if they will consider the time the plane leaves or the time you go through customs. Perhaps just smile and be polite and perhaps they'll be lenient on you by 5 mintues?

[lopburi3]

I believe your permission to stay stamp ends on the 3rd and you leave on the 5th so that will be two days overstay and you will be changed 1,000 baht and your passport will be marked as an over stayer. As a 7 day extension only costs 1,900 baht and with airline ticket easy to obtain I would recommend doing so just to be extra safe.

[Mosha]

I thought that once past the passport check/stamp you were in/out of the country. That Tom Hanks film, I forget the title, was based on a true story. The guy lived in the departure lounge for a while, when his country (Iran ?) deposed the ruler and the country was not recognised.

[seagull]

I thought that once past the passport check/stamp you were in/out of the country. That Tom Hanks film, I forget the title, was based on a true story. The guy lived in the departure lounge for a while, when his country (Iran ?) deposed the ruler and the country was not recognised.

I think you're right ! Once you're passed the immigration checkpoint then you're out.

Consider this. If the OP's flight is scheduled for departure at 11.30 pm. And his flight is delayed past midnight. And he is overstayed by another day? I think not.

So to OP, please pay bht 500 at payment counter before leaving. Thank you kindly.

[PhilHarries]

I am led to believe that the reason one of the documents you are required to produce at immigration is your boarding card stub is to ensure you are stamped in on the day of arrival. This is to stop people arriving on flights at, say, 23:30 then hanging around for half an hour to gain an extra day, particularly those on 30 day visa exempt stamps. I presume a similar logic would apply to outbound passengers thus you would be subject to the overstay.

Having said that the immi officers I have dealt with inbound have been singularly uninterested in the boarding card stub but then I've never arrived later than about 21:00.

I think I remember the film Mosha talks about, I believe it is based on a man stuck at Paris airport for some years. I don't know why he was never given asylum as he couldn't return home. The French are very accommodating that way allowing all and sundry entry and then transporting them to Sangatte where they await a train to England (illegally).

[lopburi3]

The charge will be based on the scheduled flight time. If it were one day overstay there would not be any charge made.

[sjaak327]

Yep the scheduled departure of your flight is at the 5th, so you will be on overstay for two days. They base it on the departure time of your flight, something they clearly state at the sign at the airport. If your flight is delayed into another day, this is of no concern.

[Maigo6]

I thought that once past the passport check/stamp you were in/out of the country. That Tom Hanks film, I forget the title, was based on a true story. The guy lived in the departure lounge for a while, when his country (Iran ?) deposed the ruler and the country was not recognised.

I think you're right ! Once you're passed the immigration checkpoint then you're out.

Consider this. If the OP's flight is scheduled for departure at 11.30 pm. And his flight is delayed past midnight. And he is overstayed by another day? I think not.

So to OP, please pay bht 500 at payment counter before leaving. Thank you kindly.

I'm with Lopburi on this one, you are due out on the 3rd and will be leaving on the 5th, 2 days overstay , 1000 Baht fine and a stamp.

I don't think you are out of Thailand once you are through immigration, you are still on Thai soil and plenty of people have been arrested by Thai Police/customs after drugs are found concealed after Immigration.

[Lite Beer]

Yes. Why not go to Immigration and get a 7 day extension. It will only cost you 900 Baht more than the fine and could save you a lot of hassle. I would.

[seagull]

I thought that once past the passport check/stamp you were in/out of the country. That Tom Hanks film, I forget the title, was based on a true story. The guy lived in the departure lounge for a while, when his country (Iran ?) deposed the ruler and the country was not recognised.

I think you're right ! Once you're passed the immigration checkpoint then you're out.

Consider this. If the OP's flight is scheduled for departure at 11.30 pm. And his flight is delayed past midnight. And he is overstayed by another day? I think not.

So to OP, please pay bht 500 at payment counter before leaving. Thank you kindly.

I'm with Lopburi on this one, you are due out on the 3rd and will be leaving on the 5th, 2 days overstay , 1000 Baht fine and a stamp.

I don't think you are out of Thailand once you are through immigration, you are still on Thai soil and plenty of people have been arrested by Thai Police/customs after drugs are found concealed after Immigration.

You're right there Maigo6 about being still on Thai soil. However, for sake of using the correct date stamped on arrivals or on departures, I cannot see them using flight dates. OP is physically present at checkout immi on the 4th, so they used the 4th. You saying they will use the 5th dated departure stamp on passport ?

[mikethevigoman]

If the flight is 12.05 and you have gone through immigration before 12 you will be fine, i did it, no problems

[Jimjim]

I am led to believe that the reason one of the documents you are required to produce at immigration is your boarding card stub is to ensure you are stamped in on the day of arrival. This is to stop people arriving on flights at, say, 23:30 then hanging around for half an hour to gain an extra day, particularly those on 30 day visa exempt stamps. I presume a similar logic would apply to outbound passengers thus you would be subject to the overstay.

Having said that the immi officers I have dealt with inbound have been singularly uninterested in the boarding card stub but then I've never arrived later than about 21:00.

I think I remember the film Mosha talks about, I believe it is based on a man stuck at Paris airport for some years. I don't know why he was never given asylum as he couldn't return home. The French are very accommodating that way allowing all and sundry entry and then transporting them to Sangatte where they await a train to England (illegally).

It was a fictional film called The Terminal. Tom Hanks was from a fictional European country that they just made up for the film. He arrived in New York, not Paris. It's a Hollywood film.

However, it is based on this story:

"Inspired by the story of Merhan Nasseri, an Iranian refugee. In 1988, he landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris after being denied entry into England because his passport and United Nations refugee certificate had been stolen. French authorities would not let him leave the airport. He remained in Terminal One, a stateless person with nowhere else to go. He has since been granted permission to either enter France or return to his own country. He instead chooses to continue to live in the terminal and tell his story to those who will listen. Reportedly, his mental health has deteriorated over the years. When given the opportunity to live in France, he refused because the documents did not name him as "Sir, Alfred", and he claims to have forgotten his native Persian language. Reportedly, he left the terminal in August 2006 to be hospitalized for an unspecified illness."

[Flatlander]

"Inspired by the story of Merhan Nasseri, an Iranian refugee. In 1988, he landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris after being denied entry into England because his passport and United Nations refugee certificate had been stolen. French authorities would not let him leave the airport. He remained in Terminal One, a stateless person with nowhere else to go. He has since been granted permission to either enter France or return to his own country. He instead chooses to continue to live in the terminal and tell his story to those who will listen. Reportedly, his mental health has deteriorated over the years. When given the opportunity to live in France, he refused because the documents did not name him as "Sir, Alfred", and he claims to have forgotten his native Persian language. Reportedly, he left the terminal in August 2006 to be hospitalized for an unspecified illness."

Will hope I don't end up with a story like that to tell anyway!

Seems mixed thoughts on this one so I'll have to ponder it. I would have thought though they stamp your passport with the current date as you go through customs so it would be ok, but maybe not.

[seagull]

"Inspired by the story of Merhan Nasseri, an Iranian refugee. In 1988, he landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris after being denied entry into England because his passport and United Nations refugee certificate had been stolen. French authorities would not let him leave the airport. He remained in Terminal One, a stateless person with nowhere else to go. He has since been granted permission to either enter France or return to his own country. He instead chooses to continue to live in the terminal and tell his story to those who will listen. Reportedly, his mental health has deteriorated over the years. When given the opportunity to live in France, he refused because the documents did not name him as "Sir, Alfred", and he claims to have forgotten his native Persian language. Reportedly, he left the terminal in August 2006 to be hospitalized for an unspecified illness."

Will hope I don't end up with a story like that to tell anyway!

Seems mixed thoughts on this one so I'll have to ponder it. I would have thought though they stamp your passport with the current date as you go through customs so it would be ok, but maybe not.

Not to worry yourself, Flatlander. Tom Hanks was considered stateless in that movie. Just have yourself an additional bht500 in the event you need to pay for an additional day of overstay. Have a nice trip home.

[INTJ]

Visa application form in KL clearly asks "have you ever overstayed in Thailand".

Not a box I would like to be ticking.

Cheers

[Yorkie]

I can't remember when I last flew out of Thailand on an early morning (after midnight) but I have recently returned from Australia on a flight that left at 01:15 (or thereabouts) on 2nd July 2008. I arrived at the airport at around 23:45 on 1st July 2008. My departure stamp clearly states "01 July 2008 - Departed Australia".

Not that this helps the OP as whatever the "rule" states (if there is one) the immigration officer will decide at the time whether you have one or two days overstay. Be on the safe side and obtain an extension or otherwise get tomorrow's flight instead.

[mgjackson69]

My experience has been, the exit stamp indicates the date/time when you go through Immigration, not when the flight is.

For example, I departed BKK to Israel in January. My flight departed at 00h50 on 06 January 2008...the associated exit stamp in my passport is 05 Jan 2008.

I see another one, I departed BKK to Johannesburg in November 2007. The flight departure was 15 November at 00h15. The exit stamp is 14 Nov 2007.

I have one other, departed BKK to Lagos, Nigeria in March 2008. The departure was 17 March at 01h40. The exit stamp is also 17 March. I honestly do not recall what time I went through Immigration. I do remember that I had some hassle with my ticket at check-in and had to wait a bit, the check-in was an absolute zoo, they started check-in about an hour late (IMO), and the Immigration "pens" were absolutely full ...such that I very nearly missed the flight, I was being paged from the gate and was last to board. So it most probably was past midnight when I stamped out.

However, if you are going through Immigration and it is the last day allowed according to your entry stamp, they may be taking the departure time into consideration. I have only left on my final allowed day once, and the flight was on the same day that I stamped out...06h30 flight, I went through Immigration at 05h10 or so.

At any rate, you will be, at a minimum, on a one-day overstay. That might raise the flag to the nice officer, who might adjust it to 2 days.

Let us know how this comes out.

Edited August 3, 2008 by mgjackson69

[Mario2008]

I think it depends where you go. If you pay an overstay fine in advance, immigration will charge you according to your departure time. (They will not know when you go through immigration at the airport).

At the airport itsself you will get charged for overstay according the time you go through immigration.

[Maestro]

I have seen several posts saying that for the determination of overstay it was the scheduled departure date of the flight that was used. I have no personal experience with this.

Regarding the Thai exit stamp, my most recent experience (20 July 2008) shows that the date of presenting the passport at the immigration desk is used.

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Maestro