Overstay And Passport Amendments

[beano2274]

Good morning to one and all.

Firstly this is not about me, I have a Non O (Marriage Visa)

A friend of mine is on overstay since 2006, he has a job, but for this job he needed a passport, but his had expired, so in a moment of madness or whatever, he changed the dates in his passport and photocopied it

example: 2007 now looks like 2009.

He used this photocopy to acquire work and a rented condo with his GF. Does anyone know what consequences this could have, if he were to be caught.

The person in question is a EU citizen.

[harrry]

.

He used this photocopy to acquire work and a rented condo with his GF. Does anyone know what consequences this could have, if he were to be caught.

The person in question is a EU citizen.

Jail in both Thailand and the Other county.

I think he should get a new passport immediately and then handle the overstay issue.

[ubonjoe]

Plus he is working without a work permit on top of everything else.

If he is caught it could be some serious fines and/or jail and deportation.

[sriracha john]

Does anyone know what consequences this could have, if he were to be caught.

For his overstay it's jail, fine, deportation, and possibly blacklisted from entering the Kingdom again.

Along with additional charges for altering his passport and working without work permit.

[InSiSongkram]

I did a border run last week and bumped into a Dutch guy who had 2 years overstay he went and handed himself in and spent 21 days or so in jail and paid a Baht 4,000 fine in the court just to give you an idea of the penalties.

[PhilHarries]

"Losing" or "machine washing" the offending passport might be his best option. To get a new passport he has to send the old one to his embassy where they might notice the ammendment. They might the just overlook it but I doubt it as it amounts to forgery and is treated as a very serious issue these days.

So if he destroys the evidence and just presents a photocopy they may accept it at face value provided they don't check with the issuing authority as they did in the case of that Brit in Phuket in which case he's in the doo doos.

He might just want to lose it altogether with no photocopy but even then if his embassy do a check they may find that it was expired anyway.

Not a good situation IMO and the overstay is the least of his worries.

[lopburi3]

If he has used passport to obtain work/condo I suspect there are copies available and a wash is not going to solve that problem - which is extremely serious. Use of false documents is a much more serious crime than overstay from my understanding (which is not first hand so I may be wrong).

[monty]

If he used that amended passport to rent an apartment he probably will be in problems soon, as the landlord has to report his details to immigration...

Once they pick him up he'll have some explaining to do, what exactly happens will have to do a lot with his cash situation!

If he has enough handy cash he'll probably will stay out of jail on bail, as none of the offenses are serious enough to deny bail.

With the proper planning and a bit of luck he should be able to leave Thailand without doing much jail time.

Most people get stuck in the immigration detention because of not being able to secure all proper documents (passport or temporary travel document along with an air-ticket out) at the time they receive their sentence.

When you pay your fine after the judge has set it, you'll get picked up by immigration again and stay with them until you leave Thailand. No bail possible for this section of the process.

He'd better loose the passport, get a new one, or at least a temporary travel document from his embassy, buy a ticket and fly out. Better buy a full fare ticket, as his lengthy overstay might require a criminal check-up which takes a bit of time, resulting in the need to re-book his ticket.

No hassle on a full fare one, but nigh to impossible with the budget ones...

Also, with the lengthy overstay they might require you leave on a direct flight to your home country!

[beano2274]

As with most or all Condo owners, I do not think that he registered my friend.

My friend does not have that much money, I personally think that if he gets caught

he will go into the Detention Centre, and stay there for a while until someone comes

up with the money for his fine and onward ticket, plus his accommodation charge at

the detention centre and also the taxi to the Airport.

Then upon landing in his home country I think he will be arrested for falsifying a legal

document i.e. The passport.

The thing is he does not believe it will happen to him, and unlike others he does not hide

he goes out gets drunk and is abusive to everyone, one day it will catch up with him.

Oh and he also used the false passport details to register his baby

[lazygourmet]

A few years ago, Chris, a good friend of mine died in a Thai jail.

He has just altered his Thai stamp "admited until" date to the next day!

His sad story is here

[beano2274]

lazygourmet, a very sad story indeed.

My friend has not amended his Visa stamp, as this ran out years ago.

He has amended his Passport issued and expiry dates.

If he reports that he has washed his passport, then the Embassy upon

checking will find his previous passport expired, then they will realise

he is on Overstay, as they would know that there is no Visa for 3 years

available. So would the Embassy then inform the Local Police? and of course

the Embassy has to issue a new or temporary one in order for him to get

deported. How long would the issue of a new or temporary passport take?

[Soutpeel]

lazygourmet, a very sad story indeed.

My friend has not amended his Visa stamp, as this ran out years ago.

He has amended his Passport issued and expiry dates.

If he reports that he has washed his passport, then the Embassy upon

checking will find his previous passport expired, then they will realise

he is on Overstay, as they would know that there is no Visa for 3 years

available. So would the Embassy then inform the Local Police? and of course

the Embassy has to issue a new or temporary one in order for him to get

deported. How long would the issue of a new or temporary passport take?

Your friend needs to "loose" his passport, The embassy would not inform the immigration police, you dont mention which passport he is on, but he would be able to get an emergency passport issued pretty quickly.....go to the airport pay his over stay and get the h*ll out of dodge

[harrry]

If it were me I would

Buy an open dated ticket on a regular airline which has fully changeable ticket with availability on any day....ie a Business class changeable refundable ticket.

Lose passport and get new one through embassy.

Arange lawyer for quick contact and response. Prepay so they can come and bail out etc.

Go to immigraton early in the morning with new passport and lawyer if possible. Have at least $2000 cash on you. Admit overstay and ask to regularize the situation.

Your lawyer will probably arrange for you to be taken directly to the court and have a speedy hearing. You will then be taken to the airport to catch you flight. If you are lucky you can avoid having to stay in detention if you can catch the flight immediately.

Your photocopies will probably not come to light although the EU country would take a dim view of a passport being altered.

[Soutpeel]

Have at least $2000 cash on you.

...to quote the OP "My friend does not have that much money..."

[lazygourmet]

From which E.U. country your friend is coming from?

In any case, he should just report his passport as lost or stolen; then, following his own embassy rules, he will have -or not- to provide a police report.

This is not a big deal, just go to Khaosan police station; everyday dozen of people are queuing for an official "stolen" report.

Apply for a new passport, which mostly will be a temporary one (same day). In any case (unless crime!) embassy will not report to local police.

Make sure to have a valid & flexible one-way ticket (back home) and THB 20,000 within the next few days.

Contact a lawyer, to my knowledge, Sunbelt who sponsors this forum has proven facts dealing with immigration for such matter.

Let the lawyer do the job, it might takes longer in case of police background checking.

Stay away of any trouble until receive "green light" from the lawyer.

Hope it helps.

But please tell him not to do it again...

[sriracha john]

As with most or all Condo owners, I do not think that he registered my friend.

My friend does not have that much money, I personally think that if he gets caught

he will go into the Detention Centre, and stay there for a while until someone comes

up with the money for his fine and onward ticket, plus his accommodation charge at

the detention centre and also the taxi to the Airport.

Then upon landing in his home country I think he will be arrested for falsifying a legal

document i.e. The passport.

The thing is he does not believe it will happen to him, and unlike others he does not hide

he goes out gets drunk and is abusive to everyone, one day it will catch up with him.

Oh and he also used the false passport details to register his baby

In that case, we're looking forward to that new thread that is made when he is caught...

[monty]

Embassies will not report anybody for being on overstay. It is not their job, and you are not breaking their laws!

As above posters mention, get temporary passport ASAP (you'll need a police report stating that it is lost, but even police don't check your visa status when making up a stolen/lost report!).

Unfortunately you'll have a hard time getting through an airport as no stamps in your replacement passport.

Which means you'll have to go to immigration after which only a judge will be able to set the fine.

Normally the fine will be much lower then the 20,000 maximum allowed!

[Bakeman]

I have known individuals who have taken trips on shuttles into Cambodia or Loas without border check points. It may be easier to depart from a less suffisticated region. Bottom line, if this doesnt work then he should have simply followed the easy Thai guidelines. Dont do the crime if you cant do the time.

[monty]

I have known individuals who have taken trips on shuttles into Cambodia or Loas without border check points. It may be easier to depart from a less suffisticated region.

That would be a one way ticket out!

No way you would ever make it back into Thailand without triggering alarms at immigration on entering...

[lazygourmet]

I have known individuals who have taken trips on shuttles into Cambodia or Loas without border check points. It may be easier to depart from a less suffisticated region.

That would be a one way ticket out!

No way you would ever make it back into Thailand without triggering alarms at immigration on entering...

Exactly!

You would just be back as an (even more!) illegal... where is the point?

Doing it legally; as soon as the THB 20,000 (40 days limit) is over, they (immigration) will only accept a travel document showing that you are going back to your country of origin. No more possibilities of border run.

As far as I remember, your friend overstay is 3 years; so expect that they will do a police background check. That can take up to 2 weeks. That's the reason why I mentioned before to take a lawyer, who will be act as a guarantor; instead of doing everything by your own and languishing in a cell waiting for a go.

[lazygourmet]

Embassies will not report anybody for being on overstay. It is not their job, and you are not breaking their laws!

As above posters mention, get temporary passport ASAP (you'll need a police report stating that it is lost, but even police don't check your visa status when making up a stolen/lost report!).

Unfortunately you'll have a hard time getting through an airport as no stamps in your replacement passport.

Which means you'll have to go to immigration after which only a judge will be able to set the fine.

Normally the fine will be much lower then the 20,000 maximum allowed!

Going to court would be be a worst case scenario, cheaper of course;

but depending of the mood of the judge, that could be one of his last days (forever) in LOS!

[lopburi3]

You do not have to go to your home country after an overstay where you pay the fine.

[beano2274]

You do not have to go to your home country after an overstay where you pay the fine.

But if you are caught you are Deported, and deportation is to your home country

From WikiAswers

"Deportation is the act of deporting a person back to their mother country who does not have the rights to be in the country from which they are being deported"

[lazygourmet]

You do not have to go to your home country after an overstay where you pay the fine.

Agree with you lopburi3; but in this case the person concerned will only receive (as I am thinking) a temporary passport.

This travel document will only allow her/him to go back motherland to ask for a proper new one.

[InSiSongkram]

Apply for new passport, wait for new passport, face the consequences of overstay....

[ubonjoe]

You do not have to go to your home country after an overstay where you pay the fine.

Agree with you lopburi3; but in this case the person concerned will only receive (as I am thinking) a temporary passport.

This travel document will only allow her/him to go back motherland to ask for a proper new one.

Unless a person asks for an emergency travel document they normally issue new passports unless somebody is already in detention.

And a trip to your home country is not required if you just get ready to leave and go to the airport and pay the fine. I would not reccomend just doing a border run.

[beano2274]

Firstly he needs to get his Passport sorted, that is clear to me, then sort out overstay and then get a new stamp, however, as stated if he gets caught then none of this can be done.

Firstly he will be in detention, his passport has expired, he will need to get a new one from the Embassy this will take 10 days, so at least 10days in detention, then he has to find the money for the passport and the overstay so 35,000baht (approx), then a ticket out of Thailand to homeland, as illegally here, so deported, money for ticket, money for B&B at the Detention centre and of course Taxi money to Swampy.

So all of this has to be done from the outside, and obviously he is stuck in Jail, so his Mum is gonna have to rescue him again this time with a lot more money. I think a minimum of 55,000baht.

Does everyone agree with the above, only if he gets caught of course.

[lazygourmet]

Apply for new passport, wait for new passport, face the consequences of overstay....

Waiting for a new travel document is not really annoying,

but waiting for the replacement of TM.6 (departure card) + entry stamp, from immigration, is.

That is already a pain, in case of a lost passport, while being legal; so I cannot imagine how it is while being overstay.

[beano2274]

Of course I failed to add that upon landing in his home country he might be arrested for Falsifying a Legal document, i.e the passport.

[lazygourmet]

Firstly he needs to get his Passport sorted, that is clear to me, then sort out overstay and then get a new stamp, however, as stated if he gets caught then none of this can be done.

Firstly he will be in detention, his passport has expired, he will need to get a new one from the Embassy this will take 10 days, so at least 10days in detention, then he has to find the money for the passport and the overstay so 35,000baht (approx), then a ticket out of Thailand to homeland, as illegally here, so deported, money for ticket, money for B&B at the Detention centre and of course Taxi money to Swampy.

So all of this has to be done from the outside, and obviously he is stuck in Jail, so his Mum is gonna have to rescue him again this time with a lot more money. I think a minimum of 55,000baht.

Does everyone agree with the above, only if he gets caught of course.

One last time, after I give up:

1st. Find money: for passport (temporary is cheap THB 1,000); for overstay (THB 20,000); for a cheap one-way ticket (?) & for lawyers (?) but he will need them.

Without that money in front (I would say $1,500) better not do any move!

2nd. Apply for a new travel document at the embassy, they might deliver a new one. But mostly that will be a temporary pass...

3rd. Wait & let lawyers do their job

Good luck to your friend