Should Overstay By 2 Days Or It Will It Count Against Me?

[MaiChiang]

I'm on a double entry tourist visa and plan to use both extensions (so 180 days total). Problem is, I made a mistake when booking my flight back to the U.S. and my flight leaves 2 days after my visa expires. A few questions, if anyone can answer these it'd be much appreciated.

1. If I pay the overstay fine at the airport, could this possibly count against me when coming back to Thailand later (like if I were to come back next year). I'm worried that this may prevent me from getting approved for a visa in the future if they somehow see that in a database or see a stamp in my passport saying I overstayed. Anybody know? I can spend another $300 and get my plane ticket moved to the day it expires, but that's a lot of money to me at this point and if it's not necessary I'd rather not do it.

2. Should I take a train to Malaysia on my last day and then cross back over 2 days later to get 15 more days and catch my flight? Or would this also count against me since it would be back to back with the 180 day visa? Even if it wouldn't count against me for visas in the future, could they possibly deny me entry at the border when trying to come back from Malaysia?

I'd like to one day come back on an education visa or a tourist visa again and am wondering what the best course would be here to avoid any problems in the future when I apply for those.

Thanks

[NHJ]

It all comes to money and risks you can :

1) extend your current permission of stay for 1900 at immigration and show them the flight ticket(requirement)

2) pay an overstay of 1000 baht at the airport, no problem to get a visa later but if you are caught on the way to the airport, you might be arrested, jailed, fined and deported.

3) cross the border and come back.

[lopburi3]

1. At this time it would not count for anything against you. But will be 1,000 baht fine on departure.

2. You can cross any border and return for 15 day stay. No need to stay longer than turn-around time if you don't want. This would be fine. And for some travel not more than paying overstay and no chance of any police stop while on overstay.

[RoryG]

I'm pretty sure on a double entry tourist visa you can only get one 30 day exstenstion from immigration? So 150 days in total but not exactly sure.

[necronx99]

A freind was recently in this situation and asked immigration what he should do.

They told him to overstay and pay the fine.

It's possible that with just 2 days and proof of onward travel you may even dodge any troubles if you were stopped.

[Mario2008]

I'm pretty sure on a double entry tourist visa you can only get one 30 day exstenstion from immigration? So 150 days in total but not exactly sure.

Each entry on a double entry toruist visa can be extended by 30 days, so one could get 180 days out of a double entry tourist visa.

[lopburi3]

Any 60 day tourist visa entry can be extended 30 days - perhaps you are thinking that a 90 day visa validity may not allow completion of the first 30 day extension before you need to exit return from the second entry? You can still extend 30 days but leave after 28/29 for the return in that case. And you can still extend the second entry for the full 30 days.

[rkidlad]

I'm pretty sure you get a day's grace at the airport too. If you were fined it might just be 500 Baht.

I was a day late out and the immigration guy just gave me my passport and said 'don't worry'.

[Mario2008]

I'm pretty sure you get a day's grace at the airport too. If you were fined it might just be 500 Baht.

I was a day late out and the immigration guy just gave me my passport and said 'don't worry'.

Only the first day is waived at the airport, but if you overstay more then 1 day you have to pay for the first day too. Only when you leave on the first day of overstay there is no fine.

The procedue is that your passport will be stamped with overstay, also on the first day. So depending on your nationality and other countries you want to visit an overstay is not always without consequences.

[rkidlad]

Well I was two days over for sure. Maybe it was the way I was dressed or my beautiful passport, but I was sent on my way with no bother at all.

[QED]

Mario and Lopburi may be able to help with this one, but I am pretty sure you could get 7 days from local immigration for 1,900 baht. This would save any overstay stamps in your passport, and you have to pay 1,000 already anyway, so only 900 baht for peace of mind.

[QED]

I'm pretty sure you get a day's grace at the airport too. If you were fined it might just be 500 Baht.

I was a day late out and the immigration guy just gave me my passport and said 'don't worry'.

Well I was two days over for sure. Maybe it was the way I was dressed or my beautiful passport, but I was sent on my way with no bother at all.

So was it one day or 2 days?

[lopburi3]

Yes as listed in post 2 he can obtain a 7 day to leave using an extension of stay application for 1,900 baht at any immigration office - but also as said they may just tell him to pay on exit. But safe thing is to do the extension one way or another.

[ubonjoe]

Mario and Lopburi may be able to help with this one, but I am pretty sure you could get 7 days from local immigration for 1,900 baht. This would save any overstay stamps in your passport, and you have to pay 1,000 already anyway, so only 900 baht for peace of mind.

An extension would be a good option but OP chose to overstay instead.

[MaiChiang]

Ok thanks for all the responses everyone, I appreciate it. I'll go to immigration and try to get this 7 day extension if that's possible. If not, I guess I'll try to cross over somewhere and come back in to get the 15 days because I really want to avoid having any overstay stamps in my passport as someone else mentioned. Thanks again, much appreciated.

[rkidlad]

I'm pretty sure you get a day's grace at the airport too. If you were fined it might just be 500 Baht.

I was a day late out and the immigration guy just gave me my passport and said 'don't worry'.

Well I was two days over for sure. Maybe it was the way I was dressed or my beautiful passport, but I was sent on my way with no bother at all.

So was it one day or 2 days?

2 days as said in my latest posting. I checked my passport.

[reefsurfah]

Is the date of overstay based on the day you get stamped out of immigration at the airport or the date of the flight? Let's say you pass immigration on Aug. 10 at night but your flight isn't until Aug. 11 like 12:30 AM.

[Mario2008]

Based on passing immigration.

You can't pass immigration without your boarding pass, with airline check-in most times open 3 hours before departure.

1 day overstay at the airport is waived, but overstay is noted in passport.

[jamesbrock]

Is the date of overstay based on the day you get stamped out of immigration at the airport or the date of the flight? Let's say you pass immigration on Aug. 10 at night but your flight isn't until Aug. 11 like 12:30 AM.

The time & date you clear immigration is what counts, not when your flight departs. Unless you have to go through immigration twice...

Last year, I arrived at the airport for a 10:15pm flight, one day after I was due to leave (as per my passport). As noted above, I was waved through with no overstay fine (nor was there an overstay stamp placed in my passport). After a very lengthy delay, our flight was cancelled and, at 4:30am we were told we had to de-clear immigration so we could be ferried to a hotel.

When we got back to Suvarnabhumi at 4:20pm, and I went through immigration again, I was given a 1000 baht overstay fine for overstaying two days.

[reefsurfah]

Thanks for the info everyone. Sorry to hear about your delay jamesbrock.

Edited August 7, 2012 by reefsurfah

[jamesbrock]

No problems, that was a year ago and, although it was frustrating at the time, I'd forgotten all about it until your question (although I still have a note on my phone with the timing of the whole farce). I mainly wanted to mention that my initial one day overstay wasn't noted in my passport, so it must depend on the officer.