3 Months Tourist Visa On Arrival

[F1 Visa Runner]

I would like to share an experience with all you visa runners that I had at the end of last year.

What happened was when I was in Poi Pet to get a new tourist visa on the border. Everything went as usual untill I got back to the thai immigration.

The officer here handling my passport was obvious an officer straight from the school and didn’t understand a to much about this. He needed help 3 times from a superior officer and this only when issuing a tourist visa on arrival.

I didn’t think to much about that and just put my passport in my pocket when finished. When home I checked my passport and saw that the officer had given me a 3 month stay. Every stamp showed that.

In the last years I have had several different tourist visas and due to changes around immigration procedures and other things related my first thought was that this was something also changed. Maybe if from Europe or similar they now issued 3 months on arrival.

I was happy and went on with my daily life.

After Bkk and back in Phuket an some days before the 3 months expiering I talked with some friends and did some checkings. I got certain that something was wrong and to be sure I went to Immigration one day before the expiry date. At the officers desk and in his computer it showed almost 60 days overstay.

What happened then was that they wanted 12000 bath in overstay and to that I said, no way you gonna get that.

I then realised that I had a problem but the stamps in my passport was there as a proof so I deceided to fight back in a way of playing upset and ignorant

.

What then happened was that they got on the telephone with the superior ranking officer at Poi Pet. First he was nice and urged me to come back to Poi Pet to settle this matter the right way. I had no plans to go all that way to fix this and I also got suspisious about the whole thing.

I told him that it was out of the question and that this thing had to be fixed in Phuket.

He then changed to be very angry and after some time I refused to talk with him. I just gave the mobile phone back to the quiet officer that gave it to me.

We then talked one more time as he promised a higher ranking officer at Phuket to talk good to me.

That didn’t last for about more than one minute as where he changed to threatening me quite bad. He said he knew where I lived and that he would personally come to Phuket to get me and that I would not want that to happen. He then threatened me that the police in Phuket would lock me up from todays afternoon.

I just gave the telphone back one more time and said I refused to ever talk to this man again.

I then just sat inside the immigration for about 2 hours without anything happening. They had actually closed the immigration 1 hour already so when they turned off the light and it was kinda dark inside and only one officer sometimes being there, I figured it was about time to do something about this overstay.

I asked to see the supreior officer at Phuket as they where in the middle of a meeting. 2 minutes later and in I went. I said I was not to happy about how this had turned out. They were nice and said don’t worry we will fix this.

The only thing that I must except is a 60 day overstay in my passport and the rest will be taken care of.

I earlier had mentioned to the officer at the desk that I was not to happy about my passport showing 60 days of breaking the law in Thailand. The superior said that this was no problem and if I could accept the overstay stamp we would settle this matter here and now. If not, he advised me to go to the immigration in Bangkok and settle the matter there. They could not do anything more then.

I said ok so lets do it now.

What then happened was that they got on the telephone with the superior in Poi Pet where he had to transfer the ovstay amount of 12000 B. I heard the officer in Phuket give him the account number after getting the acount number from some Immigration archive.

I received the bill on 12000 B from the same book as all the other bills comes from but didn’t pay a dime.

I then asked the desk officer what was behind this. He said that if one officer is doing something wrong and that triggers something like in my case overstay and an amount to be paid, the officer or the place where the mistakes has been done must pay.

If the system was not like this you could just imagine how many “wrong” stamps that would appear in peoples passport for some money under the table.

Now this is not possible to do as it triggers overstay and the only way to fix this is to pay.

This thing I have tripple checked and it is actually the procedure, belive it or not.

What would happen if I went to Poi Pet to settle this matter I don’t want to know. I just don’t think Poi Pet immigration is the best place to be after sunset and closed border.

F1 visa runner

[thaiflyer1]

Always ... always.... always......check your date stamps before you leave Immigration and if you have left and the stamped date is incorrect get it rectified immediately.

[desmond]

It would be best to pay the 12,000 bht and settle the problem. Don't argue with them, it is not worth it

[The Dude]

Desmond is correct there dude. You tried to fight city hall. Bottom line is that no one you are dealing with has the authority to do anything about your loss of 12K. Going to Poi Pet wouldn't solve anything at all. This is a simple case of "you can't get away with mistakes in your favor" here. These people have checks and balances and are on top of everything. It was one man's mistake that no one can cover. It's a bum trip and a powerful lesson on Thailand

Edited April 3, 2006 by The Dude

[visarunner]

As thaiflyer1 said , check it yourself immidiate and in doubt get it solved right away.

You can't win and you are the one that have to pay for their mistake.

I have found that , so far, all Immigration officials which I had to contact were very polite , understanding and helpfull.

[Thaiquila]

If I got a three month stamp when I KNOW that I was only due a one month stamp, I would NOT assume I legitimately really have three months.

It is ethically the same thing as getting handed a large amount of extra change and not speaking up about the mistake.

[sabaijai]

If I understood the story correctly, and he's telling the truth, then the OP did win. Record of overstay, yes, but he didn't have to pay.

The story sounds plausible.

If it were me I'd feel rather guilty about the rookie immigration officer having to pay 12,000B however ...

[F1 Visa Runner]

Of course my story is true and I did not pay the overstay amount. I only got the receipt.

What would be the point of lying about not have to pay the 12000 B. Its not like I won 12k. It is obvious that the immigration did wrong here and as my friends thai lawer said; There is no way that they would ever get away with this in court. They made wrong and thats it.

My point is that no matter how obvious things are it doesnt matter. They will hazzle you around as they like. As I was lucky to be at Phuket immigration office and that being so far away from Poi Pet its more likely to belive that this is the reason why it was solved this way.

A scenario of me beeing at Ban Leam Daung border facing the same problem, and the case would probably not be solved the way it was. I can tell you guys that this superior officer in Poi Pet is not the guy to mess with. More likely I belive he would have showed up himself if I was not so far away. I think solving my problem with this offcer in Poi Pet myself being there and I would never have gotten away without paying. I just wonder how late in the night hours it could have been in that office before case solved..

I am not taking the trip to Poi Pet for some time. You never know..

About the rookie if he was the one to pay for the misstake (which I dont think is the case as the superior will take that responsability).. so then be it. If you are behind that counter on an international border crossing representing the Kingdom of Thailand and can not issue a simple tourist visa on arrival in the correct way, then you are just not ready for the job. Learn it this way and you will learn.

[Maestro]

I am not taking the trip to Poi Pet for some time. You never know..

Seeing that you got the erroneous 90-day stamp on arrival at the end of last year, you must have done a new border run again towards the end of March. What border crossing did you use for this new exit and entry? Did everything go smoothly?

--------------

Maestro

[simcity]

do not go to poipet , if you not ready to paid the fine , they will put you in no man land !

best advise as other said :

paid the fine

check your stamp

[LaoPo]

What then happened was that they got on the telephone with the superior in Poi Pet where he had to transfer the ovstay amount of 12000 B. I heard the officer in Phuket give him the account number after getting the acount number from some Immigration archive.

I received the bill on 12000 B from the same book as all the other bills comes from but didn’t pay a dime.

I then asked the desk officer what was behind this. He said that if one officer is doing something wrong and that triggers something like in my case overstay and an amount to be paid, the officer or the place where the mistakes has been done must pay.

I'm not sure if I understood the whole story correctly, but are you saying that the officer who gave you -by mistake- the 'wrong' stamp has to pay now personally the full overstay-amount of Bht 12.000.-- ?? A guy who gets a minimum lousy salary?

Maybe he made a mistake, yes.

But.......wasn't it your mistake, at least for 50%, as well by checking your passport properly right on the spot?

If so....be a man and pay at least 50% to the guy, one way or another.

If you don't.....one bad day in your life it will bounce back on you........always!

If I understood incorrect... please let me know.

LaoPo

[Tolley]

What then happened was that they got on the telephone with the superior in Poi Pet where he had to transfer the ovstay amount of 12000 B. I heard the officer in Phuket give him the account number after getting the acount number from some Immigration archive.

I received the bill on 12000 B from the same book as all the other bills comes from but didn’t pay a dime.

I then asked the desk officer what was behind this. He said that if one officer is doing something wrong and that triggers something like in my case overstay and an amount to be paid, the officer or the place where the mistakes has been done must pay.

I'm not sure if I understood the whole story correctly, but are you saying that the officer who gave you -by mistake- the 'wrong' stamp has to pay now personally the full overstay-amount of Bht 12.000.-- ?? A guy who gets a minimum lousy salary?

Maybe he made a mistake, yes.

But.......wasn't it your mistake, at least for 50%, as well by checking your passport properly right on the spot?

If so....be a man and pay at least 50% to the guy, one way or another.

If you don't.....one bad day in your life it will bounce back on you........always!

If I understood incorrect... please let me know.

LaoPo

Visa runner you are a first class scumbag.

You knew that you were not entitled to a three month visa.

You should have paid the 12000 baht and left it at that.

But not only did you not pay the 12000 baht you were quite happy to let a rookie immigration officer foot the bill. This might take him a year to pay off.

I feel confident however that you will get what is coming to you should you stay in Thailand long enough.

[Noel]

I received the bill on 12000 B from the same book as all the other bills comes from but didn’t pay a dime.

I then asked the desk officer what was behind this. He said that if one officer is doing something wrong and that triggers something like in my case overstay and an amount to be paid, the officer or the place where the mistakes has been done must pay.

If the system was not like this you could just imagine how many “wrong” stamps that would appear in peoples passport for some money under the table.

Now this is not possible to do as it triggers overstay and the only way to fix this is to pay.

This thing I have tripple checked and it is actually the procedure, belive it or not.

Mistakes are not uncommon, but in every incident I have read of the passport holder has always been deemed responsible for checking the validity of any stamp put in his passport and has been personally liable for any resultant fine even if it was caused by an officer's error.

Where did you 'tripple' check? Please quote a reference.

[astral]

What then happened was that they got on the telephone with the superior in Poi Pet where he had to transfer the ovstay amount of 12000 B. I heard the officer in Phuket give him the account number after getting the acount number from some Immigration archive.

I received the bill on 12000 B from the same book as all the other bills comes from but didn’t pay a dime.

I then asked the desk officer what was behind this. He said that if one officer is doing something wrong and that triggers something like in my case overstay and an amount to be paid, the officer or the place where the mistakes has been done must pay.

You were very lucky here.

I am surprised they agreed to cover your fine, though it is the reasonable thing to do,

but who said Thai Immigration was reasonable.............

The philosophy of "The Customer is Always Right" does not apply in Thailand.

Always check your stamp in the passport before your leave the airport or border area.

Edited April 6, 2006 by astral

[h90]

What then happened was that they got on the telephone with the superior in Poi Pet where he had to transfer the ovstay amount of 12000 B. I heard the officer in Phuket give him the account number after getting the acount number from some Immigration archive.

I received the bill on 12000 B from the same book as all the other bills comes from but didn’t pay a dime.

I then asked the desk officer what was behind this. He said that if one officer is doing something wrong and that triggers something like in my case overstay and an amount to be paid, the officer or the place where the mistakes has been done must pay.

I'm not sure if I understood the whole story correctly, but are you saying that the officer who gave you -by mistake- the 'wrong' stamp has to pay now personally the full overstay-amount of Bht 12.000.-- ?? A guy who gets a minimum lousy salary?

Maybe he made a mistake, yes.

But.......wasn't it your mistake, at least for 50%, as well by checking your passport properly right on the spot?

If so....be a man and pay at least 50% to the guy, one way or another.

If you don't.....one bad day in your life it will bounce back on you........always!

If I understood incorrect... please let me know.

LaoPo

Visa runner you are a first class scumbag.

You knew that you were not entitled to a three month visa.

You should have paid the 12000 baht and left it at that.

But not only did you not pay the 12000 baht you were quite happy to let a rookie immigration officer foot the bill. This might take him a year to pay off.

I feel confident however that you will get what is coming to you should you stay in Thailand long enough.

what is that! If he got 3 month, he got 3 month. The immigration officer is representing the Kingdom of Thailand. If the Kingdom of Thailand garant you a 3 month visa than you have one. How Thailand is fixing some mistakes internal is not F1 problem.

What would be if the tourist must pay if the immigration officer is drunk today?

So in short form, if the Kingdom of Thailand makes something wrong, it must repair it.

The Tourist should see a country he can belive in.

What the kingdom is doing internal to keep things straight is not a tourists problem.