Overstay

[Darnig]

Hi,

I wonder if anybody can help me, most of you will most propably heard all of this before.

I came to Thailand on a toursist visa, with the promise of a job,visa and work permit, started work for them, but they went bust, hence no visa or work permit. I have just received my passport back off them, but I have overstayed by 3 months, I have been offered a permanent job over here working for a furniture store in Bang Na, but they have told me i have to get my visa sorted first. I am very worried if i go to a border crossing I will be arrested. Please can somebody help me as to what I should do, I have been informed there is a 20000 baht fine, and I can go to immigration, but I have been told so many different stories i do not know what to believe.

I hope somebody can help me.

Many Thanks

[webfact]

Moved to Visa Forum which is the right place

/Admin

[Lite Beer]

Safest way is to leave at BBK airport and pay the 20,000 Baht fine when leaving.

Sort out a Visa in another country and return to Thailand.

[Pseudolus]

Oh, and as you seemed to have missed this on your first entrance into the country, you will need to enter on a non imm b visa as well. Search the forum for details of this.

[IMA_FARANG]

Yes, leave via air. Do NOT go tothe immigration office in Bangkok, just fly out of Thailand like a regular tourist, and pay the overstay fine at the airport. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia might be a good choice for the place as the Thai consulate there is relatively friendly and for Americans or British I believe you can enter Malaysia without a visa required.

Before you go try and get at least a job offer letter from that furniture company for that job. If not possible get all the details you can including the contracr address and telephone number of someone the Thai consulate can contact (if they want to) to verify the details of that job offer. Try for a non immigrant B visa based on employment in Thailand. They may not want to give you that visa...if so, your backup is another 60 day tourist visa. Even if they do issue you the non immigrant B visa, it will very likely be valid for only 90 days. Whatever visa you do get you can change or extend it in Thailand for a B visa when you do get your work permit with the help of the Thai company you intend to work for.

The more documentation you can get from that job offer, the more willing the Thai consulate will be to give you that B visa. So get all that you can, you're trying to prove your case.

As for the overstay... the maximum fine is that 20,000 Baht mentioned. I believe the amount is 500 Baht a day...but if you have 3 months overstay you will be at the maximum 20,000 anyhow....so that's what they will want. They will write a remark in your passport about the overstay in Thai...but there won;t be any other problems and there is no problem with re-entry to Thailand after the fine is paid. They may give you a lecture about overstaying...don't do it again...but that's all.

Once you're back in Thailand start immeadiately on that Work Permit (your company should help) and extending your visa based on that work permit.

Of course, this will cost you money, so be prepared to pay. It can be done however, and it's been done before.

Just curious, but did the original company that you came to Thailand to work for actually go bust...or did they just eliminate your job?

The reason I ask is that I've heard of this scam before...where a foriegner is brought in on a tourist visa, and then after 2 or 3 months their job is eliminated.

The fact is....it's illegal to work on a tourist visa....and some companies prey on unsuspecting foriegners not knowing that fact.

That way they get a foriegner for 2 or 3 months...but don't have to do the work of actually applying for the Work Permit.

Hopefully you at least got a resonable wage during the three months you worked here?

Edited March 7, 2012 by IMA_FARANG

[Gone]

Oh, and as you seemed to have missed this on your first entrance into the country, you will need to enter on a non imm b visa as well. Search the forum for details of this.

The OP entered on a tourist visa with a "promise" of work. Why he gave his passport to "them" (whoever them are) makes no sense.

Seeing his knowledge of visas etc. in Thailand he might have only entered on a 30 day exempt unless he is correct and had the 60 day tourist visa.

Either way, when it was getting close to his 30 days or 60 day mark he should have made a move to rectify the situation. As passport holding adults who are traveling to other countries we are supposed to have some knowledge of that countries immigration/visa rules etc.

I would like to know who and why he gave his passport to anyone?

Anyways, he does NOT need a Non-B to leave and return. He can just pay the 20k, leave, return on a 60 day TV and when he has a solid offer then the company will give him all the required paper-work to leave again and get his Non-B visa then start the work permit application process.

PS: Son, NEVER leave your passport with anyone but an immigration officer anywhere in the world.

[Gone]

Another thing to make sure of is if you really can work making furniture. According to Thai law you cannot:

Prohibited types of work

Updated by Sunbelt Asia Legal Advisors’ licensed Attorneys in December 2010

Under Thai Law BE2522 foreigners are prohibited to engage in any of the following types of work in Thailand:

Manual work;

Work in agriculture, animal husbandry, forestry or fishing excluding specialized work in each particular branch or farm supervision;

Bricklaying, carpentry or other construction works;

Woodcarving;

Driving a mechanically propelled carrier or driving a non-mechanically propelled vehicle, excluding international aircraft piloting;

Shop attending;

Auction;

Supervising, auditing or giving services in accounting excluding internal auditing on occasions;

Cutting or polishing jewelry;

Haircutting, hairdressing or beauty treatment;

Cloth weaving by hand;

Weaving of mats or making products from reeds, rattan, hemp, straw or bamboo;

Making of Sa paper by hand;

Lacquer ware making;

Making of Thai musical instruments;

Nielloware making;

Making of products from gold, silver or gold-copper alloy;

Bronze ware making;

Making of Thai dolls;

Making of mattresses or quilt blankets;

Alms bowl casting;

Making of silk products by hand;

Casting of Buddha images;

Knife making;

Making of paper or cloth umbrellas;

Shoemaking;

Hat making;

Brokerage or agency excluding brokerage or agency in international trade business;

Engineering work in a civil engineering branch concerning designing and calculation, organization, research, planning, testing, construction supervision or advising excluding specialized work;

Architectural work concerning designing, drawing of plans, estimating, construction directing or advising;

Garment making;

Pottery or ceramic ware making;

Cigarette making by hand;

Guide or conducting sightseeing tours;

Street vending;

Typesetting of Thai characters by hand;

Drawing and twisting silk thread by hand;

Office or secretarial work;

Legal or lawsuit services.

[CharlieH]

He says nothing about MAKING furniture just working for the store, presumably sales although I see "shop attending" is on the list too.

Edited March 7, 2012 by lopburi3
needless quote of previous post removed

[necronx99]

sales being Shop attending; ??

Edited March 7, 2012 by lopburi3
needless quote of previous post removed

[PoorSucker]

furniture store in Bang Na

IKEA?

[Pseudolus]

Oh, and as you seemed to have missed this on your first entrance into the country, you will need to enter on a non imm b visa as well. Search the forum for details of this.

The OP entered on a tourist visa with a "promise" of work. Why he gave his passport to "them" (whoever them are) makes no sense.

Seeing his knowledge of visas etc. in Thailand he might have only entered on a 30 day exempt unless he is correct and had the 60 day tourist visa.

Either way, when it was getting close to his 30 days or 60 day mark he should have made a move to rectify the situation. As passport holding adults who are traveling to other countries we are supposed to have some knowledge of that countries immigration/visa rules etc.

I would like to know who and why he gave his passport to anyone?

Anyways, he does NOT need a Non-B to leave and return. He can just pay the 20k, leave, return on a 60 day TV and when he has a solid offer then the company will give him all the required paper-work to leave again and get his Non-B visa then start the work permit application process.

PS: Son, NEVER leave your passport with anyone but an immigration officer anywhere in the world.

....which is what I was saying - coming for a job, then get a non imm b visa (which he did not the first time). Never thought he would need to get a non imm b visa to leave Thailand

Edited March 7, 2012 by AdamBanks

[koolbreez]

Get on a bus to Nong Khai, and cross the border to Vientiane. Laos. Pay your fine at the border, and keep your mouth shut about why you overstayed other than you liked the country so much ,and lost track of time.

Go to the Thai embassy in Vientiane, and get two tourist visas at bt1000 each. This will give you plenty of time (with extensions 90 days on each visa) to get your real job sorted out.

From the sound of it the company that will hire you is not going to give you the paperwork you need for a non-immigrant visa before you come back into Thailand legally, and NEVER GIVE YOUR PASSPORT TO ANYONE. Employers do not keep your passport under any circumstance as you've I hope learned. That is the scam used to keep immigrants here working paying off their indentureship to their employers.

It is already going to cost you bt20k, and jail if they catch you before you leave. Get out of Thailand, and get tourist visas as fast as you can. A 3 month overstay if caught will land you in jail for deportation on the paying of your fine, and one-way plane ticket back to your home country. Just remember that part of overstaying that long.

[Danielsiam]

It was not automatically a minimum a jail & deport to the Court, after a 42 days overstay ? with the new rules..

[lopburi3]

No the is no such new rule.

[DavidB4]

Hello, my friend just spoke to a Thai Women at the Cambodian border who does visa runs and reported to me that she claims I would be jailed for 1-3 weeks for my overstayed retirement visa when I went to pay the fine either at the airport or border. I have overstayed 2 1/2 years and now have an opportunity to get a work permit but know I need to pay the fine first. Needless to say the prospect of jail time is not attractive, anyone have current experience/knowledge of how they really handle this? Thanks!

[Mario2008]

As long as you pay the fine, there will be no jail time. But it is advised to leave by air and not at a land border. The last carries greate risk of being checked before you arrive at the border.

[SailingHome]

As long as you pay the fine, there will be no jail time. But it is advised to leave by air and not at a land border. The last carries greate risk of being checked before you arrive at the border.

Please expand on, "checked".

[lopburi3]

If you are detained by police in a normal ID card check you could spend time in jail before being sent to court to be finned and then deported. Does not happen often but is a small risk.

[Mario2008]

If sentenced by a judge, they will even detain you not only till the fine is paid but also till you have bought a ticket to a country that will allow you entry.