90 Days Stamp Without Visa

[damole]

I just returned to Thailand last week without a visa as this was an un-expected trip of one month and my non-immigrant-o had run out at the end of December. At the immigration desk in Suvarnbhumi the immigration official kept looking at my old visa and asking me questions like was I working here or were my parents Thai ( I am part Indian but born in London) and I kept replying that I am just a tourist. Eventually he said OK and stamped my passport and I noticed that he stamped it for 90 days and not the expected 30 days. Does this mean I could stay here 90 days? Or does the fact that it's a mistake mean if I stayed longer then on exit it would be queried?

[ubonjoe]

It sounds like he made a mistake.

Are you sure your visa is expired?

As far as having a problem goes it is up to you what you do about it,

You could go to immigration and point out the mistake and see what they say or do about it.

[taxexile]

it will be sorted out (one way or another ! ) when you exit the country.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

it will be sorted out (one way or another ! ) when you exit the country.

Even if it costs 20,000 baht

[Crossy]

it will be sorted out (one way or another ! ) when you exit the country.

Even if it costs 20,000 baht

This is the danger. If the outgoing immigration chap notices you'll be slapped with an overstay. Never happened to me, but another traveler on one of my (rare) border hops got stung at Poipet when outgoing immigration spotted their erroneous stamp.

Up to you what you do about it, but inaction may cost 20 Grand and an overstay stamp

[Lite Beer]

Yes Damole. It is really up to you to go to Immigration and get it changed if it is wrong as you will probably be on overstay.

[taxexile]

immigration officials make lots of mistakes with dates and stamps , they are rarely picked up until much later either when your passport is checked on leaving the country or at an immigration office when applying for an extension.

from my own experience .....

1. when renewing a retirement stay at suan phlu in bkk , the penpusher there noticed that the airport arrival stamp (issued months before) did not have the officers signature on it , i was told to go back to the airport , find the officer and get him to sign it before they would extend my retirement stay , i tried to explain that it would be impossible for me to get to the arrivals section via departures and then find a man who because he didnt sign it was anonymous. it took over an hour of discussion with the supervisor there before they would give me my extension.

2. a date was stamped on an entry stamp in red ink instead of blue ink , or the other way round. this was noticed at hua hin immigration office and caused a long delay before my 90 day reporting could be completed.

they will not admit their mistakes and the onus seems to be on the passport holder to make sure dates etc. are done correctly.

Edited February 17, 2009 by taxexile

[WilliamIV]

You say you were born in London.

Does that mean you hold a British Passport?

Cos holders of some other Countries" Passport qualify for 90 days.

You say this is an unexpected one month trip

So I would suggest it would be a waste of time to get it corrected

if you plan on leaving within 30 days anyway.

[damole]

Thanks for the advice. I am a UK citizen with British passport. I arrived on the 12th Feb and my return ticket (to India) is on the 12th March so exactly 28 days and at present I have no plan to stay longer but Chiang Mai can have a strange effects on a person travel plans ;-). I will go to immigration and get it checked anyway because I wouldn't want to have trouble applying for my next non-immigrant O when I am back in the UK this summer.

Edited February 17, 2009 by damole