Thai Immigration Introduces Jail Time For Overstayers

[Maestro]

I think this is a publicity stunt by Pattaya One. Look at what the Phuket Chief had to say.

I suspect in the weeks ahead we'll hear from lots of people who overstayed X number of years or months and paid their 20,000 THB and left at the airport.

What did the chief of the Phuket immigration office have to say? He said that the immigration law has not changed, and in doing so he denied something that nobody had said or written. The original post in this topic is not about a change of the Immigration Act, but about a change of an unpublished rule made on the authority of the unchanged section 84 of the Immigration Act.

[Maestro]

Searching for something else I found this two-year-old post on ThaiVisa which is still valid today, I believe, but I shall be happy if Badbanker will post about any changes that have occurred since that time. I quote below just the last paragraph:

From

...For all it problems Thailand is a nice place to stay IF you have a visa! I suppose the lesson to be learned from this all is don't overstay your visa or you will be caught eventually and deported from the country. At the moment there are several people in the IDC that are unhinged and do not know or do not want anyone to know who they are or fear arrest in their home countries who have been there for 3-5 years. But then again maybe you will enjoy the close proximity of pungent male company and forget my advice.

Under the new rule, if you pass through a border checkpoint with an of overstay of 22-41 days it is at the discretion of the immigration officer to decide on a case-to-case basis whether to have the overstayer arrested or let him off with a summary fine. For 42 days or more, an arrest now appears mandatory. Therefore, to reduce the risk of arrest, the overstayer should first go to an immigration office, perhaps accompanied by a lawyer, with a ticket for an outbound flight within 24 hours and pay his fine, and only then proceed to the airport. It can of course not be excluded that also in this case an immigration officer might decide on an arrest. As the rules are not officially published we do not know if they are really restricted to border checkpoints.

The general exhortation of avoiding an overstay altogether remains in place: read your passport, know and remember the expiration date of your permission to stay, leave not later than that expiration date or get an extension of stay from an immigration office if you qualify for it.

[loser1]

I think that 42 days is over the top before they stick you in the slammer, it should be more like 10 days without a very good reason.

10 days? no way! that's not going to be fair, the death penalty is what is really needed, even for a 5 minutes delay, but i am confident they will introduce this soon as we are already moving in a coherent and right way, also a work permit for any action a foreigner got to take while here is another move for improvements, you lift an arm? that's work! you breathe? that's working! you are walking without a thai person making your legs move for you? you ale a climinal! you want to stay here? than get your paperworks (and money) sorted, there is a plane leaving every hour otherways

Whats the problem? I've done the trip about about 15 times and have never overstayed once , actually i've turned up a day early twice .

[Krap]

Prison time might be ok in a country where u can trust due process and where bribes are not frequent. Risking 2 years prison for something unforeseen happening on your vacation might not fit everyones idea of fun n relaxation.

[Eureka]

to all you self righteous high and mighty folks out there! have you ever had sex with a bar girl/prostitute in thailand? if you answer yes then you have broken the law and are no better than the overstayers. tut tut !!!!!!

What law have they broken? The 1999 Prostitution Act provides for penalties for the customers of prostitutes, if the prostitutes are less than 18 years of age or, if their transaction with or solicitation of a prostitute causes a public nuisance. Do you assume that all have either had an underage prostitute or created a public nuisance with one or both? Why post mindless trash?

u would have to read the whole thread to see where i was coming from. There are member of thai visa that are castigating people for overstaying and yet have probably broken the law by using prostitutes. People who live in glass house and all that.

First it was an Ivory Tower and now it's a Glass House. Do you work in Real Estate?

Edited September 24, 2010 by Eureka

[hhgz]

"If they want to clear out the rubbish, introduce a 1 month amnesty after that anyone who overstays should be fair game."

Why have an "amnesty"? People who overstay know that they're committing a crime, and they should be held responsible for their actions. There should be no leeway.

[techboy]

Sure it is not too bright to overstay but throwing someone in the slammer? Not right. I would like to hear what some of you hard-line heros had to say after spending a few days in a foreign lock-up. :jap:

[mojo80]

But at least this should be posted in legit site like in MFA or in http://www.immigration.go.th

I cant understand why this has to be posted here even there is no clear document or public directive otherwise this is another thai gossip. hope this is not true.

The immigration law is, in fact, posted on the immigration website: http://www.immigrati...ration_Act.pdf. Read Section 81:

Section 81 : Any alien who stay in the Kingdom without permission or with

permission expired or revoked shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding

two years or a fine not exceeding 20,000 Baht or both.

If it ended here, everybody who overstays for any period of time would have to be brought to court. Fortunately, however, there is also this provision in the law:

Section 84 : In all offences under this Act, except the provisions of Section 62 Para.1 Section 63 , 64, 71

and 82 Para.2. The settlement Commission ,consisting of the Police Department's Director General or

Representative, the Public Prosecution Department's Director General or Representative, and the

Immigration Division's Commander or Representative, as the, members shall have the authority to assign

duty of settlement to the Inquiry Official or the competent official by fixing a settlement rule or any

conditions as the Settlement Commission my deem proper.

When the offender has paid the fine as stipulate, the case shall be deemed settled under the

Criminal Procedure Code.

It is on the basis of this section that the old "settlement rule" of allowing the immigration officers to collect a fine of 500 Baht per day, maximimum 20,000 Baht was established and the officers were given the authority to decide whether to have an overstayer arrested, detained and be brought to court. I believe this rule has not been published and therefore the full details are not known. The information in the original post of this topic obviously is a modification of these details and while the revised rules are not being published in an official organ such as the Government Gazette a spokesman for the Immigration Bureau has kindly given these details to an executive of ThaiVisa for the information of our members, so that they may not be caught unaware. From this I deduce that the Immigration Bureau is not too keen to have to arrest overstayers and would prefer that foreigners do not overstay at all and if they do, perhaps inadvertently, for a shorter period than 22 days.

Whether or not this new policy will get posted on the immigration website remains to be seen, but what temporary visitor to Thailand actually reads that site or even knows of it? Hardly any, I wager, unless he gets a link to it on ThaiVisa.

Dont think all off what you said is TRUE, The OP clearly has got this information from pattaya one news, yet you contradict yourself by saying an alleged executive of thai visa. Its all hot air, to drum up more site hits!

[massein]

This is certainly bad news for more than a few serial overstay offenders. Perhaps The USA should study Thailand's policy and give up its catch and release policy. If the Thai Gov would offer a reward to patriotic citizens, Thailand could rid itself of these dreaded offenders in short order.

[hm1973]

There are some major misunderstandings here that need to be cleared up.

Pattaya One are not saying there has or will be a change of Immigration Rules, as suggested in the Phuket Gazette article.

Our article is based on real events and real accounts of people who have been arrested for overstay here in Thailand. Of course, if you speak with an Immigration Officer, they will give the official line, we are giving you the "real" line, which is of far more use to you, if you are facing the prospect of clearing up a visa overstay issue.

There have been attempts to attack Pattaya One before it has even started. I expected that as other publications, here in Pattaya, will clearly be concerned that their market share could be affected from 1st October.

The Pattaya Times Newspaper owned by Mr. Drew Noyes, seems to be at the top of the list at the moment. Have a look at this article which he has published on his website:

No change in visa overstay rules despite web rumor

Immigration Colonel insists visa overstay penalties have not changed. Foreigners must not be afraid to leave the Kingdom of Thailand when they wish. They will not be arrested for overstays less than 365 days, contrary to a recently posted statement of ThaiVisa.com provided by PattayaOne.net.

A recent report on the normally very reliable website ThaiVisa.com and provided by PattayaOne.net is false, according to the head detention officer for the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police.

"The penalties established under the terms of the Immigration Act 1979 remain in effect. We do not want foreigners to believe they are in jeopardy of arrest and detention for overstaying their visa if they have overstayed less than one year. This will cause them even more problems and wasted time. The enforcement guidelines for the governing statute strictly states that detention is mandatory only if the foreigner has overstayed for one year or more. There have been no changes. In case of overstays beyond 364 days, he or she must be detained. A background check for wants and warrants is conducted. If the overstayer is found to be in no other violation, then he or she appears before a judge in Bangkok and is generally fined 20,000 baht plus court costs and must return to his country of passport issuance. He or she is NOT blacklisted," he insisted.

"However, if a foreigner is wanted by police through the Transnational Crime Data Center, a Thai court or INTERPOL, then he or she will be detained by Immigration if caught or attempting to leave at a border crossing or airport, regardless of his or her visa status" he added.

Under the Act, any foreigner who stays in the Kingdom without permission, or with permission expired or revoked, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding two years, or a fine not exceeding 20,000 baht, or both if the overstay exceeds one year. But the prison term is rarely invoked. If the overstay is less than one year the fine is 500 baht per day to a maximum of 20,000 baht. If the offender is arrested or stopped by any Thai police officer for a traffic offense or other incident and found to be overstaying his or her visa, then they will be detained. It's best to clear up the overstay yourself before being caught, he stipulated.

The lawyers at PAPPA Co., Ltd. in Pattaya confirm the penalties have not changed according to several immigration sources. PAPPA Co., Ltd. in Pattaya has helped many foreigners with overstay problems.

"The best advise for those who have overstayed more than 21 days is to turn themselves in at the Bangkok office on Jang Wantana and pay the fee before going to the airport or border. If the overstay is less than three weeks then just pay at the border or airport. If the overstay is more than a year, contact a lawyer prior to revealing your overstay to immigration officers," said Wanrapa Boonsu, Managing Director of PAPPA Co., Ltd.

Pattaya Times, 24/09/10

--

Once again, a complete misunderstanding of the Pattaya One article. We are not saying there has been a change in the rules.

Apart from the clear attempt to advertise their sister company PAPPA, the accusation of our article being false is laughable. To say that Immigration will not arrest foreigners if they have overstayed their visa for less than 365 days is completely wrong and I can only suggest that Pattaya Times remove the article immediately otherwise the IDC center in Bangkok will soon fill up with overstayers who have read the article and have believed it.

Maestro, an administrator of this board has already highlighted the regulations Immigration Officers work under which effectively gives them complete discretion of how they interpret the rules.

The bottom line is, you are liable for arrest and imprisonment if you overstay your visa. We have highlighted this fact in the Pattaya One article, excerpts of which are available on Thai Visa, and we published the "reality' of the situation and how Immigration Officers are "really" enforcing the rules. You can either choose to take-in what we have said or ignore it. We hope you read it and ensure you never overstay your visa and enjoy your time here in Thailand.

There are overstayers in IDC Bangkok waiting to be deported, who have overstayed for a lot less than 365 days. This is a FACT.

[britainmal]

Please Samram, give me a break, the majority of foreigners benefit Thailand then the law breakers, so get your logic right! You are worried about a few farangs that overstay in Thailand, give me a break. You are also a half kiwi too!

[Changian]

Our article is based on real events and real accounts of people who have been arrested for overstay here in Thailand.

^The difference being a real news report would have quoted their sources.

Interesting as threads here which report unsubstantiated stories are quickly shut unless they can provide links to actual fact based, news sources.

Whereas this thread is posted as 'News' but is based entirely on changes to unpublished rules which no-one knows really exist or not and which havent been reported by any legitimate news source.

If the story was intended to be a taste of the type of exclusive revelations readers can expect in the new paper then I expect to see loads of articles based in changes to unpublished rules which are known only to a select few farang insiders - who happen to write for Pattaya's newest 'newspaper'.

[Lotusbluete]

There are overstayers in IDC Bangkok waiting to be deported, who have overstayed for a lot less than 365 days. This is a FACT.

Hallo Howard Miller,

If so, then do all ThaiVisa readers a favour, try to visit theses people you apparently are aware of, try to find out their cases (how many days overstay) and report real hard facts. That would be something for a start of your paper! That would be investigative journalism! Looking forward to your report.

[mongoose11]

I think for those that have overstayed +41 days then a border crossing in the last half hour of the day would be your best bet.....and then stay cosha!

[Mario2008]

1 post deleted as off topic.

[Amras]

I have an education visa. 90 days was up on a monday however monday is one of my assigned study days. Immigration is closed sat/sun. I went on tuesday, one day after with a letter from school. They did not care.

In addition, at the end of my all day adventure at chaeng wattana upon receiving my passport I found my change was not given to me. Change was 100 baht; 1900 visa extend + 500 overstay =2400, paid with 2500. The lady that gave me my passport did walk away rather fast.

Very very disheartening to experience this lack of integrity and blatant attempt hoping I would not notice and walk away, after which time it would be too late to say anything. Just for 100 baht makes me not hold these people with much esteem.

Would it not be better to simply charge in advance for 4 extensions on an ED visa instead of giving them more work and causing people that are supposed to be at school to lose an entire day.

I consider myself objective and open minded but my perception of much of the immigration dept rules are designed for self enrichment.

So why not go on a Friday? It's only 3 days before. It is not Immigrations fault/problem that you are busy on Monday when you have to report.

Why do so many people think that rules need to be bent for them.

The law is the law.

So many people get all high and mighty, I bring money into this country blah blah blah. Yes you probably do, but so what. It doesn't mean your entitled to stay. We're visitors and should respect the laws that govern this country. Yes corruption exists and how many people benefit from it and support the existance of corruption! Doing the right thing will mean you don't have to participate in it and maybe this will help Thailand to move away from this path.

How do you feel about those coming from China etc to yoru hoem country (usually Australia, UK and USA) with a TON of money, get into University, stay there etc because they have the cash? Most don't think its right, yet people believe in Thailand everything should be different and they should be granted 'special' privilages because they are injecting money into Australia. What such an elitest attitude.

Same s*** diff smell. Foreigners bring in a lot of money to many countries, through business investment tourism etc. It is not just Thailand. Even Australia has around 4% of income from tourism. 1/25th of our money comes from overseas visitors.

Sure there can be often extenuating circumstances that may result in you overstaying, but half of the posts here act as if that is the norm. If it is, it shouldn't be, it should be the exception and thats the problem. If people were doing the right thing, this wouldn't be an issue. But clearly so many don't and then get ina s*** because Thailand wants to start moving in the right direction. Yes Thailands immigration and Visa laws may be difficult/hard to get for long term. But honestly they aren't any more difficult and time consuming then getting ones/moving to Australia. Thailand has a huge population and needs the infastructure to support it. It can't afford to be 'willy nilly' about immigration policy like it has been. Why do you think so many other countries curb numbers of migrants. Its often about infastructure among other things.

Maybe so many of you have forgotten that there is often more to it than just trying to get money out of foreigners, because you've been out of your home country for so long or you really believe that things are so black and white.

My argument is based on having an Education visa and not being able to see immigration on Monday due to precisely that, education. As they have discretionary powers one might reasonably think they could see a valid reason.

USA has many non US students and many are not wealthy. They do not need to report to immigration every 90 days and pay another fee on top of the student visa they already paid for.

My post mentioned nothing about me spending money in Thailand.

I see nothing wrong with non-national students attending university in USA without regard to their national origin. Chinese study and work hard and are successful in every country they go. I see nothing wrong with that nor am I resentful.

Have you any opinions/thoughts on them trying to steal my 100 baht change?? Am I am elitist for wanting my change?

Do you think those of us that don't focus our lives around 10 beers and a go go bar are elitists? (injected for fun)

If the corruption were eliminated, then perhaps the entertainment venues would cease to exist and consequently perhaps the TV forum?

Sorry my entire post wasn't aimed towards you, but in general to many posters here.

I still think your excuse for not going on or before you date is weak. People complain about the discretionary nature of these suppossed new overstatying rules and then (in other cases) complain when discretion is not used.

Honestly I don't get it.

The law/rule is there. It is clear, it is known, there are in 90% of cases no excuse really.

The 100baht was a tip...didn't you know that (bit of a joke). That is a seperate case. I've never had an issue of getting change before and clearly that was an individual who was being dishonest.

Don't break the law, do the right thing, make it fit into YOUR schedule. What's the problem?

I think people will always complain when they feel hard done by, even when its entirely there own fault due to laziness, being unorganised, being arrogant or ignorant. Even ignorance isn't an excuse. It isn't in the 'west', so why should it be in Thailand.

[MsClueless]

And in Europe Sarkozy gets slaughtered because he ordered the illegal Romas to be expelled

And Belgium is paying a fortune to lodge/feed the 20.000 asylum seekers until their case is decided.

Wished I could try to ask asylum in Thailand

I dont get this mentality of...only the western world is allowed to enforce their laws?

anything that Thailand does to enforce its law seems to get an overreaction of criticisms from the expats living here.

any Thai person going to any of your countries are expected to obey your laws. if we dont, we pay the consequences.

so why shouldnt foreigners here respect the law of the land?

I really dont get it.

I dont know what does asylum seekers have anything to do with people who come to visit, voluntarity, then overstay.

but.....you might want to take note of the number of refugees (mainly from Burma) that the Thai government hosts.

[Tafia]

I actually ended up with 1014 days overstay due to various reasons. After negotiations with Embassy and a very ameniable immigration department I left on good terms and have since returned. Why did they change the rules and not let us poor people just do a border bounce every month?

Looking forward to Christmas in Thailand.

Tourist Visas are Free!!

[moskito]

There are overstayers in IDC Bangkok waiting to be deported, who have overstayed for a lot less than 365 days. This is a FACT.

Hallo Howard Miller,

If so, then do all ThaiVisa readers a favour, try to visit theses people you apparently are aware of, try to find out their cases (how many days overstay) and report real hard facts. That would be something for a start of your paper! That would be investigative journalism! Looking forward to your report.

There are indeed overstayers in prison. I worked for a newspaper once and get a fax they smuggled out of the prison to ask for help.

These poor guys were not able to pay the overstay fine, so the immigration at Bkk Internatioal Airport locked them away. Sad story, if there is no one paying your dept you will sit there until u get black. As far as I know, German and other Embassys will not pay these overstay fines for their citizens, so if one doesnt have nice friends or a family back in Europe they are really <deleted>--ked.

As far as I furthermore know the amount one cant pay for overstay doesnt matter to the immigration, it is possible they let you miss your flight back home and throw you in jail just for missing 500.-Baht. So guys, think before you taking that risk. Even Immigration is just doing their job! Same like in most other countries.

[mrtoad]

to all you self righteous high and mighty folks out there! have you ever had sex with a bar girl/prostitute in thailand? if you answer yes then you have broken the law and are no better than the overstayers. tut tut !!!!!!

What law have they broken? The 1999 Prostitution Act provides for penalties for the customers of prostitutes, if the prostitutes are less than 18 years of age or, if their transaction with or solicitation of a prostitute causes a public nuisance. Do you assume that all have either had an underage prostitute or created a public nuisance with one or both? Why post mindless trash?

u would have to read the whole thread to see where i was coming from. There are member of thai visa that are castigating people for overstaying and yet have probably broken the law by using prostitutes. People who live in glass house and all that.

First it was an Ivory Tower and now it's a Glass House. Do you work in Real Estate?

More likely time share.

[thisdude]

This is exactly why I have for several years refused to be a part of thaivisa.. you people are a bunch of self righteous wanke_rs. Have none of you ever had troubles in your life?

In what way does a person on overstay affect any of you?

and how is it any of your business? I am not on overstay and have never in my 8 years overstayed but I still dont feel I have the right to go pointing my greasy finger at someone who may have fallen down on their luck. not every fallang here is rich. some people including friends of mine have had difficulties in keeping up with their visa situation and are standing on their own two feet here without momma or daddy paying or bailing them out.

Not every foreigner here on overstay is on overstay because of drugs alchohol or woman troubles. some have legitimate problems to over come.

[DickFarang]

I think that 42 days is over the top before they stick you in the slammer, it should be more like 10 days without a very good reason.

And in Europe Sarkozy gets slaughtered because he ordered the illegal Romas to be expelled

And Belgium is paying a fortune to lodge/feed the 20.000 asylum seekers until their case is decided.

Wished I could try to ask asylum in Thailand

What you write about France and Belgium is correct, sad but true, but it does not justify an overstay in Thailand.

[Phatcharanan]

This is exactly why I have for several years refused to be a part of thaivisa.. you people are a bunch of self righteous wanke_rs. Have none of you ever had troubles in your life?

In what way does a person on overstay affect any of you?

and how is it any of your business? I am not on overstay and have never in my 8 years overstayed but I still dont feel I have the right to go pointing my greasy finger at someone who may have fallen down on their luck. not every fallang here is rich. some people including friends of mine have had difficulties in keeping up with their visa situation and are standing on their own two feet here without momma or daddy paying or bailing them out.

Not every foreigner here on overstay is on overstay because of drugs alchohol or woman troubles. some have legitimate problems to over come.

Oh dear!

Having a bad day?

[Pattaya46]

And in Europe Sarkozy gets slaughtered because he ordered the illegal Romas to be expelled

That is complete disinformation !

- He ordered to delete illegal camps. The fact that most of these camps are Roms camps was not considered in the order.

- These people are not expelled ! They are proposed an amount of money to go back their country, and only those who accept this money get a free ticket to their country. Those who are not interested are still in France and can stay here legally as European citizens. Camps are illegals, but the presence of the Roms is legal.

[boredinbangkok]

Just a heads up..

My buddy was on 7 month overstay and left to KL yesterday. Paid his 20k baht fine at the airport immigration and 10 mins later he was off to catch his flight.

He returned back to thailand the same evening on a 30day on arrival visa stamp..

So much for jail time..

[DP25]

There are overstayers in IDC Bangkok waiting to be deported, who have overstayed for a lot less than 365 days. This is a FACT.

The only reason they are there instead of home is because they do not have the 20,000 baht needed to pay their fine. There are people who have been in prison there for years, yet if they had the money to pay their overstay fine and a ticket to their home country they would be on the next plane home. That hasn't changed and isn't going to change. Get back to me when the first overstayer is in jail, not an IDC holding pen, who actually has money to pay the fine and the ticket home and isn't wanted for some other crime. Include pictures, actual interviews with Thai officials with names, links to Thai language media sources, etc. It's not going to happen. This is simply fear mongering to generate hype

[mrtoad]

This is exactly why I have for several years refused to be a part of thaivisa.. you people are a bunch of self righteous wanke_rs. Have none of you ever had troubles in your life?

In what way does a person on overstay affect any of you?

and how is it any of your business? I am not on overstay and have never in my 8 years overstayed but I still dont feel I have the right to go pointing my greasy finger at someone who may have fallen down on their luck. not every fallang here is rich. some people including friends of mine have had difficulties in keeping up with their visa situation and are standing on their own two feet here without momma or daddy paying or bailing them out.

Not every foreigner here on overstay is on overstay because of drugs alchohol or woman troubles. some have legitimate problems to over come.

Great first post, looking forward to some more.

However, the fact that there are a number of people who are flagrantly breaking the law without any real legitimate reasons then it does become an issue for those that are here legally. Some have even posted on here with their reasons, which are not legitimate.

The fact is, and you may have missed it , Immigration in all countries is an issue, and if people continue to break the laws then criteria will get tougher for those that wish to remain here legally. What are your feelings on your own countries immigration policies? Are they tough enough? What does your country do with people who are on overstay? Have a think about it, and maybe you may answer some of those questions.

[Maestro]

...The Pattaya Times Newspaper owned by Mr. Drew Noyes...has published on his website:

No change in visa overstay rules despite web rumor

Immigration Colonel insists visa overstay penalties have not changed.

...

A recent report on the normally very reliable website ThaiVisa.com and provided by PattayaOne.net is false, according to the head detention officer for the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police.

...

The enforcement guidelines for the governing statute strictly states that detention is mandatory only if the foreigner has overstayed for one year or more. There have been no changes...

I wish I could get hold of the cited enforcement guidelines so that I could add them to my list of laws and regulations about visas and related subjects. Perhaps Pattaya Times can get it from the Immigration Colonel or the head detention officer for the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police.

...We are not saying there has been a change in the rules...

Thank you for clarifying this misunderstanding on my part. I was led to believe that there had indeed been a change in what the English translation of the Immigration Act calls the “settlements rules” and the Pattaya Times calls the “enforcement rules” because I had seen posts by ThaiVisa members saying that they were only fined but not arrested when they turned up at the airport with an overstay of many months, whereas the original post in this topic says “Anybody who has overstayed a valid visa in Thailand beyond a period of six weeks (42 days) is no longer permitted to simply turn up with the cash and an air ticket and leave the country after filling in a few forms and handing over the wedge.”

I mistakenly assumed that this meant that with an overstay of over 42 days the foreigner would from now on be arrested but upon re-reading the OP I see that this is not so. The article says “With a change in the command at the top of the Immigration Department ladder this has now altered and anyone whose overstay is 42 days or longer is likely to be arrested”. Everything is now clear to me. The rules have not been changed, they have merely been altered and everything remains the same as it was before, ie with an overstay of over 42 days an arrest is not mandatory but remains at the discretion of the immigration officer, as has always been the case.

I acknlowledge my mistake in the interpretation of the OP and am glad this has now been clarified. I have now added a note to my earlier post to correct my error.

[Eff1n2ret]

Just a heads up..

My buddy was on 7 month overstay and left to KL yesterday. Paid his 20k baht fine at the airport immigration and 10 mins later he was off to catch his flight.

He returned back to thailand the same evening on a 30day on arrival visa stamp..

So much for jail time..

No more to say really. We've had 20 pages and nearly 500 posts about the square root of s0d-all.

[DP25]

What are your feelings on your own countries immigration policies? Are they tough enough? What does your country do with people who are on overstay? Have a think about it, and maybe you may answer some of those questions.

For all of us except our North Korean members, our countries do nothing to those on overstay except make them leave. Australia places a ban on travel to the country for a few years for overstayers but certainly doesn't put them in jail. No normal country places overstayers with money to pay for their tickets home and any fines in to the already over crowded jails