How Bad Is 2 Days Overstay On Purpose?

[ungu]

A friend of mine entered Thailand from Malaysia using 30 days visa exemption.

It will be expired on August 16th, and she will do a border run on that day to Mae Sai to get another 15 days.

The second border run will be on August 30th.

The third border run will be on September 6th, and will be expired on September 27th.

She was planning to go out Thailand on September 27th, but apparently, the ticket price from 3 weeks before until 1 day after is 4 times more expensive than the one on 2 days later, which is 29th. The difference is around 6000 baht.

Her options are:

1. go to immigration and ask for 7 days extension. Question: Is 15 days visa exemption from Mae Sai elligible for 7 days extension? If yes, how much does it cost? If I heard correctly, it's 1900 baht?

2. do the fourth border run to Mae Sai (costs only 1350 baht from Chiang Mai). But what I know is, the fourth border run should be avoided because when you do 4 border runs back-to-back, somehow you will be marked and checked whether the person working illegally and some hassle that might occur later. My friend is not working, she is here for family purpose, but she doesn't have a direct family relationship to be elligible to get the normal Non-O visa.

3. overstay on purpose. Go to the airport on 29th, and hopefully can just pay the fine to the immigration gate at the airport which is 500 baht per day (so it costs 1000 baht). Question: does it work that simple? just pay, finish, and fly? or there will be some trouble, questions, blacklist, etc? Or maybe we cannot pay at the immigration gate, maybe we can only pay to an immigration office outside airport, or maybe we will be held in IDC to wait for a court because the overstay "crime"?

Can someone give me answers to my questions or advice which one is better to do out of those 3 options?

PS. tourist visa to vientianne is out of question.

[Mario2008]

Any extension will cost 1,900 baht.

Overstay is indeed that simple. Unless you get caught awhile on overstay, then they can detain you untill you pay the fine and have an airticket out of the country. Not a pleasent situation. Best is always to try to get the extension, slighty more expensive but legal and gives peace of mind.

[Spoonman]

Can you actually do 4 border runs back to back ??

[Lite Beer]

Why not go to a Thai Consulate and get a free Tourist Visa?

[fiddlehead]

Yeah, i think i'd fly down to KL and get one and forget all about those 15 day runs and the overstay problem.