Serious Immigration Problem?

[sbaker8688]

THE BACKGROUND:

I have been living here for years on non-immigrant o visas. I always get the 12 month variety, which means I have to leave the country every 3 months, get a stamp on my passport, and then I come back. It's the same routine for years: stay 3 months, book a flight to [insert nearby country name here], fly back, stay 3 more months, rinse, repeat.

THE PROBLEM:

The last time I had to leave was around 22 July. I flew to Malaysia from BKK, stayed in the airport overnight, then flew to Chiangmai because I wanted to stay there a while. I entered in Chiangmai, got my passport stamped, stayed a month there, then headed down to Bangkok where I am now. Well, it's now October, which is around the time to start planning another trip. So I grab my passport today to figure out the last day I can be in Thailand before I must leave. Then I discovered THEY ONLY STAMPED ME FOR A MONTH when I flew into Chiangmai back in July. I had no idea. I am now 2 months or so overstayed.

I am always stamped for 3 months. I have never been stamped for less than 3 months. I have never heard of being stamped for only a month if you qualify for being stamped for 3 months. Call me crazy, dumb, whatever, but after being up all night in a Malaysia airport and after arriving at 6am in Chiangmai and standing in a long line with people waiting behind me to get their passport stamped, and with bags in my hand and a backback and laptop computer slung over my shoulders, I just didn't find the time to stand there and scrutinize my passport when the officer stamped it and shoved it to me. I grabbed it with whatever free hand I had, slipped it into my pocket, and walked away. Then I forgot about it.

My main questions above anything else are "how much trouble am I in?" and "what the hell do I do now?" If it makes any difference, I have no criminal record anywhere, whether it is Thailand or my home country of the USA. Also, I have no previous immigration violations. Something tells me I am in a lot of trouble, so the last thing I want to do (unless someone tells me otherwise) is just walk into a Thai immigration office and throw them my passport and ask them to sort this out. Some options I thought of were 1) go get an immigration lawyer (if they exist here) or 2) walk into the American embassy and ask for assistance. But I have no idea what help I qualify for, or what help I can get.

So, 1) Does anyone know how much trouble I'm in? 2) Does anyone know what I should do? 3) Does anyone have any experience with this, i.e. it happened to them, or it happened to a friend, and if so, what did you (or the friend) do? 4) Does anyone know the law in regards to this? Yadda yadda.

Anyone know why I would have just been stamped for 1 month? Was it just a mistake by the immigration officer? Or is it just totally up to their discretion how long they want to give you, even if you can be stamped for 3 months?

Thanks.

[beano2274]

What did you put on the arrival card as the visa number?

It is easy to do, just go to Immigration show them the multi entry visa and the departure card, if the visa has not expired they will change the stamp accordingly

[TommoPhysicist]

You go along to you nearest immigration office and pay the 20k fine.

They will let you buy another week for 1,900 then you leave and re-enter the country.

or

Head for any boarder then pay the 20k fine, and re-enter getting your new 90 day stamp.

@OP

They will point out to you that checking your Visa is YOUR personal responsibility, not theirs.

Once you leave the original booth that made the mistake, your problem not theirs.

Personal experience.

Met a tourist last month who had exactly the same problem ........ he paid 21,900 at CM immigration + Visa run.

Another friend, on re-entry stamped 7 days, noticed immediately, please correct, they did.

@Beano ....... like f* they will.

Edited October 5, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[lopburi3]

If he had a valid visa on the entry date he should have received the 90 day stay but he provided no visa information so we can not even confirm that. But he will not be going directly to jail. And such stamps can be corrected.

You appear to have been stamped for a 30 day visa exempt entry. That may have just been because he used the wrong stamp and computer shows the full 90 day stay. At any rate there is a desk located at Chiang Watanna dedicated to correcting such errors. But you must have had a valid visa for entry at the time you entered and you did not provide any information. Below is the official policy for such action:

The aliens who wish to correct the Immigration

entry stamp in their passport or Document Substitute

to the Passport to match the type of visa they have,

must submit the application personally by using the

Passport Correction Form.

In Bangkok - Submit the application at Immigration

Division 1

Other provinces - Submit the application at the

Immigration office under Immigration Division 3-6

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=175582

[SteeleJoe]

OP: Since nobody has explicitly said so (though hopefully you've worked it out), allow me to: Relax. It's NOT a "serious immigration problem" and you're not in big trouble.

Edited October 5, 2012 by SteeleJoe

[TommoPhysicist]

Yep, it's not a 'go to jail' problem, at worst it's a '20k fine' problem.

[fstarbkk]

This happened to me a while ago in Phuket. Luckily I discovered the mistake within a few days. Contacted immigration in town and they made me go back to the airport. There, a supervisor (the kind of charmless inividual they have such a knack for recruiting) wordlessly took my passport, fixed the stamp and more or less tossed it back at me. I got the impression he would not have made the change if he didn't really have to. But hey...

[sbaker8688]

Thanks for all the help. I was under the impression that a couple of days was no big deal, but months would earn you a stay in jail or prison or whatever. Still, 20K baht is something that will hurt.

To answer questions - yes I had a perfectly valid visa when I entered. My visa doesn't expire until November sometime. It is a 1 year non-immigrant O visa.

Someone asked what I put as the visa number on the arrival card. Naturally, I assume that I put my visa number. Unless I got it wrong somehow (I will check).

Again, thanks for all the advice. I suppose I will try to have this corrected. But I don't have high hopes that I won't get slapped with a fine regardless (still - much better than jail).

[noob7]

This happened to me a while ago in Phuket. Luckily I discovered the mistake within a few days. Contacted immigration in town and they made me go back to the airport. There, a supervisor (the kind of charmless inividual they have such a knack for recruiting) wordlessly took my passport, fixed the stamp and more or less tossed it back at me. I got the impression he would not have made the change if he didn't really have to. But hey...

What I was about to write: Do a trip to Chiang Mai Airport and ask them, to correct it.

Edited October 5, 2012 by noob7

[54321]

not the same situation and no doubt not the official policy, but I overstayed by just 2 days once (misread the stamp in my passport) and I was a little concerned and asked the official about it, the very happy smiling immigration official told me "If you can pay, you can overstay"

[noob7]

not the same situation and no doubt not the official policy, but I overstayed by just 2 days once (misread the stamp in my passport) and I was a little concerned and asked the official about it, the very happy smiling immigration official told me "If you can pay, you can overstay"

ya,sure. And I do think, that is the official policy !

But why pay 20k, if the problem is from a 'misunderstanding' at the entry point?

I would rather ask the guy's from Sunbelt Asial, where to go. They charged 3500 for a 'serious' overstay, with 2 day and taxi rides. So it can be assumed, that this is even cheaper, as going by bus to Chiang Mai.

But Chiang Mai: In case, OP would like to give this a try, leave from Chiang Mai Airport, for the next visa run.

Edited October 5, 2012 by noob7

[sbaker8688]

So it is recommended to deal with the same immigration dept. (Chiangmai airport) that committed the error, instead of going to Survanahbhumi (can't spell that word) or another place? Any particular reason?

Thanks.

[beano2274]

CM would have a record of the arrival card, whereas Swampy would not

[noob7]

CM would have a record of the arrival card, whereas Swampy would not

A record of the arrival card is maybe not really an advantage. In case, OP forgot to mention the visa number.

But I think, the immigration dept., issuing the visa, is as closest, to be responsible for the wrongdoing!

Less resistance, to change it!

btw: I doubt, they will check the arrival card. They don't wanna find out, who did the mistake, in the first place. The 'playing' with the passport pages has a reason. Things like this shouldn't happen.

But also I think, as long OP is not 'seeing it' on departure, at the immigration at the airport, there should be a option at other immigration posts (in Bangkok), to change this. But that is a logical thought of me. And we all know, how that works, sometimes. If I had this problem and don't wanted to go back to Chiang Mai, I would give it a shot, with asking sunbelt (nope, no connection, only reading about them, in the forums) for advice.

Edited October 6, 2012 by noob7

[Dork]

The same thing happened to a colleague of mine. According to the stamps in his passport he had overstayed more than a month and went to the airport prepared to pay the fine. However the immigration officer simply smiled and said no problem. He was referred to another officer that took him to a desk, corrected the stamp and sent him on his way.

Even so, if it was me I would follow Lopburi's advice. As he says there is a desk at CW specifically for this problem. If you have done everything properly, why wouldn't they correct their error?

[lopburi3]

You do not correct at airport unless directed to do so. You go to immigration headquarters for the region. If in Bangkok now I would go to Chiang Watanna first and do as they advise.

[ubonjoe]

So it is recommended to deal with the same immigration dept. (Chiangmai airport) that committed the error, instead of going to Survanahbhumi (can't spell that word) or another place? Any particular reason?

Thanks.

As per LopBuri3's post (#4) you should go to Chaeng Wattana immigration office where there is a special desk that takes care of incorrect stamps.

Map: http://bangkok.immig.../location1.html

Edited October 6, 2012 by ubonjoe

[sbaker8688]

If I get this corrected, and if I leave just before my visa expires, and then come back (again just before it expires), I should get a new 3 months which would carry me over past when my visa expires, is that correct?

[lopburi3]

Correct for any multi entry visa.