Overstay

[DannyDakota]

What's the best course of action with a 4 week overstay on a 1 year, multi entry Non Imm 'O' visa valid until April next year?

A. Go to the airport tomorrow pay the fine and do a 1 day round trip to a neighboring country

B. Wait until Immigration office opens on Monday and go to see them before doing a visa run either by air or land

C. Go back to home country ASAP and pay fine at airport

thanks in advance for any help

[ubonjoe]

A. Is is best choice. It is 500 baht per day. Be sure you have enough money.

[Mc3103]

And as far as I know they put a 20 000baht cap on the amount an overstay can cost you.

[SteveB2]

Erm - Permit me to suggest that you 'hide' on the way to the airport. If you get picked up on the way things might not turn out good for you...

Clarification - You only get the chance to pay the THB500/day when you are physically inside the airport building - if you are picked up by police at any other outside location such as a roadside check point on your way to the airport, and the police discover your 1 month overstay status during a routine passport check - then you have been caught illegally residing in Thailand. That is not good...I mean really not good at all, and your life has just changed.

1 month is quite a long overstay, and will not be overlooked. - if caught outside the airport, You will likely be arrested and held in jail pending due process. After which you will be finally sent (& jailed) at the IDC (Immigration Detention Center) in Bangkok. Pending deportation at your own expense. In which case you have to hope you have friends who can bring you an air ticket, because you won't be going anywhere without it!

Do not overstay in Thailand. It is a very serious offence.

[DannyDakota]

A. Is is best choice. It is 500 baht per day. Be sure you have enough money.

That's what I was thinking too. Cheers UJ

[Travelman868]

DannyDokota. You thank Joe for his advice but make no comment about Steve's comments.

If you have a Multi O visa you should be bright enough to keep to the rules. If you are picked up and chucked in jail you will not have a nice time.

[ChokDeeMak]

I heard either at the airport or closest land border. Immigration is a no no but I met a german girl who had no problem with her overstay of a couple of days. (probably because she was a girl and mainly dealing with female officers.) If you have been here awhile e.g. been here for awhile or multipule times do show you cared to learn some Thai or you will be treated more like a "dog" or "khee nohk."

[Suradit69]

DannyDokota. You thank Joe for his advice but make no comment about Steve's comments.

If you have a Multi O visa you should be bright enough to keep to the rules. If you are picked up and chucked in jail you will not have a nice time.

He asked which would be the best of three posed options. Ubonjoe answered his question without offering unsolicited advice about the remote possibility he would be "picked up" en route to the airport or about demonstrating that he spoke some words of Thai to impress Immigrations officers, as if that had anything to do with reality.

Edited November 30, 2013 by Suradit69

[82addi]

Go to your embassi now

[umbanda]

Go to your local immigration office, and tell them that you overlooked the date by mistake, apologize and ask them what to do. If they ask for a fine, smile and ask for a "deal" with some sense of humor. You never know...If do not work, just pay the fine and do not forget to say thank you.

[Sceptict11]

Go to your embassi now

embassi ? where does one find one of those !

[ubonjoe]

Go to your embassi now

Go to your local  immigration office, and tell them that you overlooked the date by mistake, apologize and ask them what to do. If they ask for a fine, smile and ask for a "deal" with some sense of humor. You never know...If do not work, just pay the fine and do not forget to say thank you.

Why would he go to his embassy. They can do nothing.

Immigration might just tell him to go to airport pay the fine and leave. They have done it before. There never will be a deal.

[nithisa78]

don't know all the facts. So, C.

can get lawyer. BKK. trustworthy, reasonable.

i did overstay. there were health issues in new family. 33 days. paid the max. fine in baht from airport, Suvarnbhumi, atm's. Was escorted.

they took my word as reason for overstay. which was true. low drama. just pay money, cash -baht. receipt. passport stamp. bon voyage.

Edit: Removed name of lawyer. PM member if you want it. Ubonjoe

[Sceptict11]

don't know all the facts. So, C.

can get lawyer. BKK. trustworthy, reasonable.

i did overstay. there were health issues in new family. 33 days. paid the max. fine in baht from airport, Suvarnbhumi, atm's. Was escorted.

they took my word as reason for overstay. which was true. low drama. just pay money, cash -baht. receipt. passport stamp. bon voyage.

This is a relatively minor case of over stay.

NO need for lawyers or indeed any other drama!

[ubonjoe]

A lawyer should never be needed for an overstay unless caught with it. If you have the money to pay the fine it is seldom if ever a problem.

The max fine is 20,000 baht which is 40 days of overstay at 500 baht a day. If you paid 20k baht somebody put some money in their pocket if you had a 33 day overstay.

[sfbandung]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

[Nana Cowboy]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

done to death? no truer words have ever been spoken

[scubascuba3]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

done to death? no truer words have ever been spoken

You people who are always banging on about threads being done to death, why don't you not even bother using TV. Most topics have been done. Things change so for important questions like this its worth asking again

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[sfbandung]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

done to death? no truer words have ever been spoken

You people who are always banging on about threads being done to death, why don't you not even bother using TV. Most topics have been done. Things change so for important questions like this its worth asking again

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Every week? And the replies are always the same.

[sydneyjed]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

Yes..just front up at the airport a good hour earlier than you normally would to satisfy immigrations paperwork etc..It's not like you will be the first or last person this has happened to.Just be polite and show respect pay the fine...and don't make a habit of doing it again..that's taking the pi.s! Edited December 1, 2013 by sydneyjed

[Loles]

I guess there are around 1000 topics in overstay case.

Embassy ? Why ? You only waste your time for nothing.

Immigr. Office ? Why ? Do you think they will praise you cause you are come? Or do you think you have to pay less if you are come?

You go to airport with Kuala Lumpur ticket, pay the 14 000 Baht (for 4 weeks), and say good bye, or visit your mother at home.

I have visited many times the airport, picked up or sent friends but I have never seen these bloodthirsty team who is on the jump to catch you.

May be they are there. But where? On Nut road? Lat Krabang road? Kingkaew road? Rhom Klao road? Rama IX. roador where?

Or do you think the traffic police will check your passport reason of overstay? Our you have seen before an Immig. Off. minivan with headquarter computer system inside for check the local mass transit ?

Please tell me only one sample, like this: my friend ....

But paranoids please be spared me, because when you are walking may fall a brick to your head, or you may attacked by a bloodthitsty cockroach too.

[phycokiller]

Erm - Permit me to suggest that you 'hide' on the way to the airport. If you get picked up on the way things might not turn out good for you...

Clarification - You only get the chance to pay the THB500/day when you are physically inside the airport building - if you are picked up by police at any other outside location such as a roadside check point on your way to the airport, and the police discover your 1 month overstay status during a routine passport check - then you have been caught illegally residing in Thailand. That is not good...I mean really not good at all, and your life has just changed.

1 month is quite a long overstay, and will not be overlooked. - if caught outside the airport, You will likely be arrested and held in jail pending due process. After which you will be finally sent (& jailed) at the IDC (Immigration Detention Center) in Bangkok. Pending deportation at your own expense. In which case you have to hope you have friends who can bring you an air ticket, because you won't be going anywhere without it!

Do not overstay in Thailand. It is a very serious offence.

if you are on the way to the airport or border or immigration then legally you are ok

[Mario2008]

You might be OK if you are on the way to the airport and have a ticket out for that day, as there is little point in arresting you, but otherwise they cannot check that you are on the way to the border or an immigration office.

[96tehtarp]

In nearly 100% of cases the police will catch an over-stayer committing another crime first: possession of narcotics, sale of narcotics, working illegally, assault, robbery etc. Then when they discover the overstay they will throw the book at the over-stayer.

The last case I heard was it takes 200 baht per night spent in a regular Thai Prison i.e. Prathum Thani to work off the fine. Then transfer to the immigration detention center awaiting deportation. This happens most to unfortunate people who have no funds for bail, fine, and ticket out of Thailand.

Get the money together to pay the fine, go to a border or airport and pay the fine, apologize and promise not to do it again.

It is advisable to avoid getting arrested for something else before reaching the airport/border.

Edited December 2, 2013 by 96tehtarp

[lazygourmet]

Go to your local immigration office, and tell them that you overlooked the date by mistake, apologize and ask them what to do. If they ask for a fine, smile and ask for a "deal" with some sense of humor. You never know...If do not work, just pay the fine and do not forget to say thank you.

You might even be able to get a seven days extension at the cost of 1,900 baht.

That happened to me end of 2011 ; and I did not even had to show an airline ticket to prove that I will leave Thailand within that lapse of time.

But my local immigration (Nonthaburi) was very lenient due to the previous three months of flooding.

[DannyDakota]

DannyDokota. You thank Joe for his advice but make no comment about Steve's comments.

If you have a Multi O visa you should be bright enough to keep to the rules. If you are picked up and chucked in jail you will not have a nice time.

I thanked Joe for his advice because it was useful, as always, and he is one of those contributors to TV that make it worth while. He passes on his knowledge/experience without adding unnecessary hyperbole.

In a nutshell, Steve said that overstaying is wrong and prison is bad. Both of which I know and neither had anything to do with my question.

Out of interest, why do you think having a Multi O visa makes a person bright?

[DannyDakota]

DannyDokota. You thank Joe for his advice but make no comment about Steve's comments.

If you have a Multi O visa you should be bright enough to keep to the rules. If you are picked up and chucked in jail you will not have a nice time.

He asked which would be the best of three posed options. Ubonjoe answered his question without offering unsolicited advice about the remote possibility he would be "picked up" en route to the airport or about demonstrating that he spoke some words of Thai to impress Immigrations officers, as if that had anything to do with reality.

Exactly.

[DannyDakota]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

Clearly it hasn't been. As someone who doesn't have any experience or acquaintances in this matter a simple question seemed appropriate and potentially very helpful.

As it turns out, the rest of your comment was accurate and would have been very helpful if you hadn't preceded it with the unneccesary bitchy comment at the start.

[Sceptict11]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

Clearly it hasn't been. As someone who doesn't have any experience or acquaintances in this matter a simple question seemed appropriate and potentially very helpful.

As it turns out, the rest of your comment was accurate and would have been very helpful if you hadn't preceded it with the unneccesary bitchy comment at the start.

In fact the question of "overstay" is frequently raised here as a search would have revealed.

In your case I suspect if you arrive at the airport, in good time, with enough cash and ticket out that will be the end of the matter.

[DannyDakota]

This has been done to death. Just go to the airport. I have not heard of anyone who is at the airport with a plane ticket who hasn't simply had to pay the fine and been allowed to leave.

Yes..just front up at the airport a good hour earlier than you normally would to satisfy immigrations paperwork etc..It's not like you will be the first or last person this has happened to.Just be polite and show respect pay the fine...and don't make a habit of doing it again..that's taking the pi.s!

That's pretty much how it went.

Bought a return flight to Malaysia, checked in, went through security, queued up for the passport check.

The immigration officer just said "you have overstayed, you have to pay, do you have money?"

She went off to get a couple of forms and a receipt book, sat me down at a desk to fill out the forms, take the money and write out a receipt.

Never asked why I overstayed.

By the end, we were chatting about pros and cons of being married to a person from another country and the difficulties of getting a visa for UK.

Flew to Malaysia, entered, exited, flew back to Thailand an hour and a half later and got 90 days stamp.

An expensive day out but good to be back on the straight and narrow!