Overstay fixed

[lopburi3]

Troll post removed.

[Cheapcharly]

they could simply ban people to come back to Thailand.

like in USA.

[rinteln]

There is so much scaremongering on here its funny to read. Expats thinking that people that overtstay somehow effect immigration policy and rules. How many times have i seen someone say "its because of you overstayers that we have such a hard time with visas". You are letting the politicians of the hook too easily and giving them too much credit. Do you really think they are all sitting around in their offices saying to eachother well we would have a radical reform of our immigration act if those overstayers would just stop overstaying....................errr......no !!! The whole immigration system is setup to make money in the short term and keep foreign influence to a minimum. Overstaying and being able to pay it off is just part of that ideology.

This needs to be put into context and looked at by the numbers. I had an overstay once of 2 days. Went to the smaller border crossing in Sa Dao. While I was doing the paperwork and paying the money I asked the policeman how many overstay people he had already had at that time, which was about 14.00. He said I was the 5th that day so far. So this is a small and quiet border crossing which has already had 5 that day and you would imagine at least another 2. So my point here is this is a daily occurrence which you would probably guess has 10's of people everyday going through checkpoints with varied durations of overstay. How often do we here of arrests or detentions ?!!! Maybe 1 every month in the news. Granted there could be more we don't hear about but for sure out of hundreds that go through there cant be anymore than a few arrests a month so this is such a small percentage.

The other point we have to remember about overstay is that overstaying a visa is actually not a burden to the Thai state at all. In fact if for example someone has overtstayed for a year then the 20,000 fine is more to the Thai government than if that person actually got visas for the year. Plus its impossible for an alien to be a burden on the state in any way during their illegal stay. There is no social. If someone is living while here then its all their own money and money going into the Thai system. My point here is that unlike with Western countries there is not actually an undercurrent of politics and burden to the state involved when someone overstays. Its really just the stamp and the paperwork. Now im not saying this make overstaying right but it does take the heat off of the crime when it comes to policy on what the procedures should be.

So when you have a situation where a foreigner arrives at the airport with the 20,000 cash and a ticket out what policeman is going to say no we would rather go through loads of paperwork, use our jail resources, get less money from you in the end and blacklist you so you cant come back and spend more money. No policeman will do that unless you have not got the cash there and then. Why would they want to put you in jail. Thai justice is not based on morality or principle its based on money. Pay the money your ok, dont pay your not ok.

Bottom line is more than 90% of the time if you arrive at the airport early, smart and with the cash then by doing so you are offering the police an easy life to get you through and more money than the government would get if they sent you to court. You have to look at the numbers. If we were talking about any other subject with these percentages then there wouldn't even be a debate.

Scaremongering about low chance scenarios is not helpful and really older more experienced expats here should know better.

[lopburi3]

You probably are not going to be arrested and jailed for overstay just as you most likely will not be arrested or jailed for speeding if you drive 100k in a 50k zone. But they are both illegal and could have unpleasant consequences and if caught by authorities will require payment of fines. And in the case of overstay is a permanent status until settled More than a short overstay can be reason to suspect factors other than memory loss - some of which may involve activities that would indeed be detrimental to the government/people/economy so it can raise suspicions and thus become a burden on the state.

[Totster]

You probably are not going to be arrested and jailed for overstay just as you most likely will not be arrested or jailed for speeding if you drive 100k in a 50k zone. But they are both illegal and could have unpleasant consequences and if caught by authorities will require payment of fines. And in the case of overstay is a permanent status until settled More than a short overstay can be reason to suspect factors other than memory loss - some of which may involve activities that would indeed be detrimental to the government/people/economy so it can raise suspicions and thus become a burden on the state.

I thought if a person was caught on overstay (not at an immigration checkpoint) then they are sent to the IDC and put before the court - is this not the case then?

totster

[lopburi3]

Normally they would be held in local jail for court wait (if wait required).

[ubonjoe]

You probably are not going to be arrested and jailed for overstay just as you most likely will not be arrested or jailed for speeding if you drive 100k in a 50k zone.  But they are both illegal and could have unpleasant consequences and if caught by authorities will require payment of fines.   And in the case of overstay is a permanent status until settled  More than a short overstay can be reason to suspect factors other than memory loss - some of which may involve activities that would indeed be detrimental to the government/people/economy so it can raise suspicions and thus become a burden on the state.  

I thought if a person was caught on overstay (not at an immigration checkpoint) then they are sent to the IDC and put before the court - is this not the case then?

totster

It all depends upon the situation and whether the person has enough money to pay the fine quickly and probably1900 baht for a 7 day disapproved extension to leave the country.

Most of those locked up also have other legal problems besides overstay.

[Totster]

Normally they would be held in local jail for court wait (if wait required).

You probably are not going to be arrested and jailed for overstay just as you most likely will not be arrested or jailed for speeding if you drive 100k in a 50k zone. But they are both illegal and could have unpleasant consequences and if caught by authorities will require payment of fines. And in the case of overstay is a permanent status until settled More than a short overstay can be reason to suspect factors other than memory loss - some of which may involve activities that would indeed be detrimental to the government/people/economy so it can raise suspicions and thus become a burden on the state.

I thought if a person was caught on overstay (not at an immigration checkpoint) then they are sent to the IDC and put before the court - is this not the case then?

totster

It all depends upon the situation and whether the person has enough money to pay the fine quickly and probably1900 baht for a 7 day disapproved extension to leave the country.

Most of those locked up also have other legal problems besides overstay.

Thanks both for the clarification.

totster

[rinteln]

You probably are not going to be arrested and jailed for overstay just as you most likely will not be arrested or jailed for speeding if you drive 100k in a 50k zone. But they are both illegal and could have unpleasant consequences and if caught by authorities will require payment of fines. And in the case of overstay is a permanent status until settled More than a short overstay can be reason to suspect factors other than memory loss - some of which may involve activities that would indeed be detrimental to the government/people/economy so it can raise suspicions and thus become a burden on the state.

"and thus become a burden on the state"

What burdens are they ?..... other than what the illegal person will eventually pay for anyway. The most burden an overstay has on the Thai state is the paperwork and some stamps, hardly a killer considering the illegal will pay 20,000 baht which is likely to be more than the equivalent visa charges the Thai state lost for the overstay period anyway. Plus during their illegal stay it would be impossible to be a burden on the state, infact can only be a positive or at least no loss.

More unnecessary scaremongering !!

Edited September 19, 2013 by rinteln

[Bender]

claiming that IDC is worst than a thai jail, is just plain rubbish and useless scaremongering.

Few years ago, i have a friend who did "visit" the IDC at Suan Plu, to meet another foreigner.

His words: "they run it like a guesthouse"!

[Old Croc]

I notice two Brit overstayers were arrested on Phuket today.

[bubblegum]

As a follow up; Today I went to Immigration in Phuket because in 3 days time my exemption finishes.

First they transferred my exemption stamp into my new passport (free) and after gave me a regular non O vise, stamped "USED" and gave me a non O Retirement (this with just a letter from my consul stating my income is high enough, a copy of my ATM card and copies of passport) this is valid till dec. 28 this year ( cost 2.000 thb). After 45 days I can come back and get a 1 year extension based on retirement.

[Cheapcharly]

We are all citizen of this word...

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Bender

Posted 2013-09-19 17:54:17

claiming that IDC is worst than a thai jail, is just plain rubbish and useless scaremongering.

Few years ago, i have a friend who did "visit" the IDC at Suan Plu, to meet another foreigner.

His words: "they run it like a guesthouse"!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Bender. If the IDC is run like a guesthouse, I'd certainly move out. I've been to the IDC, 5th floor, I think it is, seen a number of unhappy foreigners there. It's a bullpen, sleeping on the floor, communal crapper and bathing, eating sitting on the floor. Don't know what the food was like but probably not all that great. While I was there a Thai lady showed up with two young luk kungs to visit a farang behind the bars. No contact, but space for her to slide a few bowls of food under to him.

Best to avoid the IDC. Might be "better" than being in a Thai jail, but the comparison is weak.

Mac