can someone adv me pls!!! my son arrived here in thailand when he was 4y.o., and now he's 8. his 1st 2rist visa was stamped at don muang airport, then i took him 2 the border to extend his 2rist visa, we've done that 2x. but i was told by some friends that kids are free of visa until they are 12 or 14 y.o. so i stopped taking him to the border.

however, i got a non-b visa and everytime i extend it, i always ask the immig office if i shd get a visa for my son. i always got the same answer "children under the age of 12 or 14 are free of visa so don't worry!". but then again, visa regulations keep on changing, i'm afraid to violate the law. pls adv me asap so i can do what is right for my son's visa. thnks guys!!!

jhinggay

The basic answer is that your son is in an overstay situation of about 4 years and therefore in the country illegally, the entry stamps in his passport having long expired. However, children are not prosecuted for overstay; but it is best that your son's passport entry stamps be brought current ASAP. Put your best humble smile on and visit an immigration office, with your son's passport in hand, and ask what you should do. You neglected to mention what foreign passport your son carries, not that it makes much difference.

"Children under the age of 12 or 14 are free of visa so don't worry!" may be true, but his passport, having been presented to immigration at Don Muang, needs to have the entry stamps kept current.

As said, your child should have a visa and valid permisison to stay. However children are not fined for overstay. It is always best to stay legal.

Making your son legal is easy. If you have a valid non-B with 1 year extensions of stay he can get a non-immigrant visa and extensions of stay as your dependend. If he goes to school it is also possible to get an educational visa for him. In that case you can even be a dependent of him if something happens to your permission of stay.

For both options he needs to leave the country and apply for a visa in a neighbouring country.

The basic answer is that your son is in an overstay situation of about 4 years and therefore in the country illegally, the entry stamps in his passport having long expired. However, children are not prosecuted for overstay; but it is best that your son's passport entry stamps be brought current ASAP. Put your best humble smile on and visit an immigration office, with your son's passport in hand, and ask what you should do. You neglected to mention what foreign passport your son carries, not that it makes much difference.

"Children under the age of 12 or 14 are free of visa so don't worry!" may be true, but his passport, having been presented to immigration at Don Muang, needs to have the entry stamps kept current.

thanks so much for your advice, i will run asap to the immig office and get things straightened up. i will keep you updated of what happen (if u don't mind). Cheers!!!

The basic answer is that your son is in an overstay situation of about 4 years and therefore in the country illegally, the entry stamps in his passport having long expired. However, children are not prosecuted for overstay; but it is best that your son's passport entry stamps be brought current ASAP. Put your best humble smile on and visit an immigration office, with your son's passport in hand, and ask what you should do. You neglected to mention what foreign passport your son carries, not that it makes much difference.

"Children under the age of 12 or 14 are free of visa so don't worry!" may be true, but his passport, having been presented to immigration at Don Muang, needs to have the entry stamps kept current.

my son is a filipino passport holder. i will take his passport ASAP to the nearest immig office and get things done properly. thkns alot for advicing me!!! cheers,

As said, your child should have a visa and valid permisison to stay. However children are not fined for overstay. It is always best to stay legal.

Making your son legal is easy. If you have a valid non-B with 1 year extensions of stay he can get a non-immigrant visa and extensions of stay as your dependend. If he goes to school it is also possible to get an educational visa for him. In that case you can even be a dependent of him if something happens to your permission of stay.

For both options he needs to leave the country and apply for a visa in a neighbouring country.

that's what i thought, but the explanation i got from the immig office wasn't very clear coz it was said in "thai". thks so much i now got an idea how to make him legally stay in the country. cheers.