pappy1 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Dear Forum Users, There have been articles posted in recent months about possible jail terms for long overstays (over 42 days). I am very worried about the possibility of a hostile reaction to my overstay. Has anybody heard of these jail terms being enforced? Has anybody in a similar situation been to immigration recently, what exactly happened? Many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 It has not been enforced. Overstay continues not to be big problem, for now. Only very long overstay can be troublesome, as immigration will want to check when you entered the country and if that was legal. Old records are not always directly available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappy1 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 It has not been enforced. Overstay continues not to be big problem, for now. Only very long overstay can be troublesome, as immigration will want to check when you entered the country and if that was legal. Old records are not always directly available. Hi Mario2008, thank you very much for your fast reply. My overstay is about 9 -10 months, do you think this will be a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario2008 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 No, show up early at the airport with 20,000 baht and it will be all right, provided you have your passport and arrival card with stamps etc. Immigration will just send you to an officer, who will mark your passport as overstay and fine you 20,000 baht and you are on your way. So far the stamp in your passport has no consequence for returning to Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2oDunc Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Pappy1 Hi. Don't worry about it.I went out just before Xmas with a guy with 3.5 years overstay. They didn't bat an eyelid. He paid his 20,000 baht. Flew to Penang and got a 2+1 FREE tourist visa to return to Thailand the next day. The onlypeople who get upset about it are some posters here who seem to think you are effecting them by overstaying Yeah go figure The immigration people I talk to say it is good for Thailand as you have to pay 20,000 baht. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappy1 Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 No, show up early at the airport with 20,000 baht and it will be all right, provided you have your passport and arrival card with stamps etc. Immigration will just send you to an officer, who will mark your passport as overstay and fine you 20,000 baht and you are on your way. So far the stamp in your passport has no consequence for returning to Thailand. Thank you very much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2oDunc Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) I know how yoyu are feeling as the guy I went with had also been listening to the scare stories going around and was crapping it . As said he breezed out, got a free visa and breezed back in again 2 days later Edited February 4, 2011 by H2oDunc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanLaew Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 ^ Not wishing to rain on the parade... that was then, this is now. You have been around the block long enough to appreciate that things can and do change overnight in LOS. The assumption that it's OK to regularly overstay because it fits your personal needs and one can afford 20k baht isn't really a good excuse to flaunt the laws; not here and not in any country really. One Thai Immigration Officer's flip comment about one overstayer's fine payment doesn't mean it's the prevailing attitude and it certainly doesn't make it policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tod Daniels Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) It's not the breezin' out at the airport, payin' 20K baht as you leave and then breezin back in on a new visa that causes you grief. That only takes more time in line at the airport and 20K. It's gettin' caught inside Thailand , usually by something totally unrelated to your overstay, where you hafta produce your passport for the police . That can really mess up a person's day or nite depending on when it happens. Sorting out an overstay as quickly and trouble free is the key. I concur with the poster know as "NanLaew" just because at this moment in time, the rules regarding overstays aren't being enforced as they're written; doesn't mean they can't change their enforcement policy in the blink of an eye, without ANY warning to foreigners here. The Thai officers who staff the overstay part of passport control at the airport are some of the easiest going Thai officials Ive EVER met! Possibly because they already know youre leaving Thailand or you wouldnt be at their desk in the first place, lol. Hence their laid back attitude towards overstayers. I think their motto is "Pay and go", or it should be. Other Immigration Officials Ive had to deal with at Changwattana when assisting acquaintances sort out LONG overstays, lost passports, no departure card etc; have been much less laid back in their attitudes towards the offending person. I recently assisted two people sort em out and almost verbatim they both got the same speech about their overstays. It almost made me wonder if immigrations has it printed on a card somewhere and everyone had to memorize it. I mean it was THAT CLOSE to identical! A poster on this forum known as BadBanker; who helps far more people in a week than I do in a month, especially about unusual or tricky overstays, has had similar experiences out at Changwattana. FWIW: The airport is usually quite trouble free, and painless. If its the same stamp I saw them use last month; its so OLD and so clogged with lint that I doubt even a thai could read it. It was more like a smudged red blob. Edited February 4, 2011 by tod-daniels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badbanker Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Overstays for people that hold an original travel document with an original entry stamp usually go through the airport without any problem. It becomes complex when the TM card (Arrival Card) and original passport you entered on are no longer in existence. George the owner of this forum has asked me to continue to comment on issues of overstay as I live in this overstay world everyday. Overstay is illegal and people flout Thai Immigration Law by doing it with impunity. There will come a crackdown and when it happens it is not going to be nice! Court and Immigration Officials are frankly getting tired of overstay behavior that is not tolerated in other countries. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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