Long overstay = blacklisting

[Gulfsailor]

I just noticed this message in visa run's company Facebook page;

"News from the Immigration Office in Bangkok - new rules for people that overstay their visa. If you have 90 or more days overstay you will not allowed back into the kingdom for 1 year. 1 year overstay = 3 years blacklisting, 3 years overstay = 5 years blacklisting, 5 years overstay = 10 years blacklisting and 10 or more years overstay = blacklisting for life.

This order was published yesterday and is valid for all entry points to Thailand."

[ubonjoe]

No confirmation of this on immigration website.

And no source of info posted on that Facebook page,

Until then we have proof this can just be considered one of many baseless rumors going around.

[PiPiFFS]

Just more hearsay and scaremongering. You pay the fine and are free to return with a valid visa or visa exemption on arrival

[Soutpeel]

Just more hearsay and scaremongering. You pay the fine and are free to return with a valid visa or visa exemption on arrival

You hope

[TerryLH]

It does seem like a reasonable plan, though.

[CiaranO]

it will eventually happen - and a ban would be more than right

[wordchild]

Sounds plausible but overly lenient IMHO, if they are coming down hard on self defined permanent tourists (who at least do border runs ) then they need to come down even harder on those who flaunt the law and stay illegally in the country for extended periods.

[Pattszero]

Maybe the OP could post a link to the Facebook page?

[Gulfsailor]

Maybe the OP could post a link to the Facebook page?

I read it here;

https://m.facebook.com/hdvisa?_rdr

Don't kill the messenger...

[MJCM]

^ we dont shoot the messenger but you posted something from a Facebook page without even bothering to post a link to the Facebook page.

This is how rumours start, but as you now posted the link, we will have to wait and see for Official confirmation (if it is True) on this and not rely on some Facebook posting from a Visa Run company.

Respect

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

Edited July 5, 2014 by MJCM

[Pattszero]

Maybe the OP could post a link to the Facebook page?

I read it here;

https://m.facebook.com/hdvisa?_rdr

Don't kill the messenger...

I'm not shooting the messenger - thanks for the link - now lets see if it can be verified.

There are far too many opionions being posted on this forum based upon past knowledge. Some people seem to think its a mortal blow to their pride that what they 'knew' is no longer current.

It's up to the forum management to make the calls - and a call to BKK immigration on Monday will prove or disprove.

[ukrules]

That facebook page is interesting. They also post some things about changes to the Education visas on that page.

I noticed that one of the language schools in Hua Hin was sold recently - a coincidence ?

[MJCM]

^ but also some stuff like

URGENT VISA INFORMATION: Starting IMMEDIATELY the Immigration at Thailand borders does not issue visa on arrival entry stamps anymore. On arrival you need to have a valid visa in your passport (Tourist, Non B, Non O, aso.) or you will not be able to enter Thailand. You will not get 30 days on arrival without a valid visa!

Please share this information.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

Edited July 5, 2014 by MJCM

[ukrules]

^ but also some stuff like

URGENT VISA INFORMATION: Starting IMMEDIATELY the Immigration at Thailand borders does not issue visa on arrival entry stamps anymore. On arrival you need to have a valid visa in your passport (Tourist, Non B, Non O, aso.) or you will not be able to enter Thailand. You will not get 30 days on arrival without a valid visa!

Please share this information.

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

Yes, that's a little strange. They do post this in a more recent entry :

Some clarification: Our information is not about all Thailand borders in general but about the Satun border for border runs and the border post in Sungai Kolok for visa runs.

This could be a local issue.

[MJCM]

Agreed as they wrote "The Immigration at Thailand Borders" and that could have been written by someone who is not that proficient in writing English

But then again Im guessing

Sent from my iPad so Please excuse any typos

Edited July 5, 2014 by MJCM

[Maestro]

Maybe the OP could post a link to the Facebook page?

I read it here;

https://m.facebook.com/hdvisa?_rdr

Don't kill the messenger...

I'm not shooting the messenger - thanks for the link - now lets see if it can be verified.

There are far too many opionions being posted on this forum based upon past knowledge. Some people seem to think its a mortal blow to their pride that what they 'knew' is no longer current.

It's up to the forum management to make the calls - and a call to BKK immigration on Monday will prove or disprove.

No. It is for the person who posts on Facebook or anywhere else that something "was published yesterday" to say where and in what form it was published, and if I was published on a website to give a link to the corresponding web page. It is for us readers to ignore posts that do not give this information.

[MYKTHEMIN]

Sounds fair and reasonable to me, get a visa/extention or go now there is NO excuse to overstay in my opinion.

[Pattszero]

Maybe the OP could post a link to the Facebook page?

I read it here;

https://m.facebook.com/hdvisa?_rdr

Don't kill the messenger...

I'm not shooting the messenger - thanks for the link - now lets see if it can be verified.

There are far too many opionions being posted on this forum based upon past knowledge. Some people seem to think its a mortal blow to their pride that what they 'knew' is no longer current.

It's up to the forum management to make the calls - and a call to BKK immigration on Monday will prove or disprove.

No. It is for the person who posts on Facebook or anywhere else that something "was published yesterday" to say where and in what form it was published, and if I was published on a website to give a link to the corresponding web page. It is for us readers to ignore posts that do not give this information.

So if its not on a website its not true? Don't talk soft.

A simple telephone call will confirm or deny.

You could start by calling the visa company.

[ukrules]

Perhaps there's going to be a whole new bunch of regulations unleashed next week sometime. This would not surprise me.

There's a new head of immigration so changes are to be expected.

I heard these things can take a while to get published in English properly.

[PomRakBKK]

Isn't it convenient for a VISA COMPANY to post something like that to drum up business?

Just my 2 cents..

[PiPiFFS]

Just more hearsay and scaremongering. You pay the fine and are free to return with a valid visa or visa exemption on arrival

You hope

I don't need to hope anything as I have a perfectly valid visa and work permit

[Suradit69]

There's some blather on Stickman about "the new policy," but I don't see the date of the piece so I'm not sure if this reference was to something the writer had heard recently or if he's talking about some old urban myth making the rounds.

I overstayed my Thailand tourist visa by more than 9 months.

Any way, when I saw the recent news that they might start throwing people like me in jail when we go to the border to pay our fines and exit the country, I was obviously quite concerned

Link removed.

Google if you want the info

Astral

Edited July 6, 2014 by astral

[sootybrown]

Isn't it convenient for a VISA COMPANY to post something like that to drum up business?

Just my 2 cents..

I think you will find that they will loose a lot of business not gain.

[monkey4u]

To overstay your visa by more than a couple of days you deserve what you get.

What excuse is there for a 1 year overstay????/

The dog ate my visa stamp

[Suradit69]

Isn't it convenient for a VISA COMPANY to post something like that to drum up business?

Just my 2 cents..

I think you will find that they will loose a lot of business not gain.

"I think you will find that they will loose a lot of business not gain."

Depends on how you look at it. If people are on overstay, they haven't been using the visa company anyway, so whether or not they get blacklisted or continue to stay in the country without getting a proper visa/extension, the company would not LOSE any business since these people never used their services in the first place.

On the other hand, if all the miscreants and scofflaws who are here on overstay suddenly feel compelled to put things right, they might think the visa company would be the answer to all their problems and the queue outside their office would stretch as far as the eye can see.

Edited July 6, 2014 by Suradit69

[IsaanAndy]

Let's hope they do this and get rid of all the whingers and moaners who can't be bothered to live by the rules, do it by the book and you've nothing to fear.

[impulse]

There's some blather on Stickman about "the new policy," but I don't see the date of the piece so I'm not sure if this reference was to something the writer had heard recently or if he's talking about some old urban myth making the rounds.

I overstayed my Thailand tourist visa by more than 9 months.

Any way, when I saw the recent news that they might start throwing people like me in jail when we go to the border to pay our fines and exit the country, I was obviously quite concerned

Thanks for the link. But the post isn't dated. And the URL seems to indicate a submission from 2010? Or did I miss it?

[jimn]

Let's hope they do this and get rid of all the whingers and moaners who can't be bothered to live by the rules, do it by the book and you've nothing to fear.

Agreed if you overstay without valid reason you should be barred from entry. In my opinion indefinite. Play by the rules we are guests in Thailand remember that.

[lopburi3]

There's some blather on Stickman about "the new policy," but I don't see the date of the piece so I'm not sure if this reference was to something the writer had heard recently or if he's talking about some old urban myth making the rounds.

I overstayed my Thailand tourist visa by more than 9 months.

Any way, when I saw the recent news that they might start throwing people like me in jail when we go to the border to pay our fines and exit the country, I was obviously quite concerned

Thanks for the link. But the post isn't dated. And the URL seems to indicate a submission from 2010? Or did I miss it?

Indeed there was a crackdown a few years ago for several months when people were returned in custody until a formal police check for outstanding warrens could be run. A few spent a night or two in lockup waiting for this. But it ended quickly as the tourist season began.

[Arkady]

If this does prove to be true, it would be quite sensible. There is no reasonable justification for overstaying 90 days or more. Delays in leaving caused by being sick or missed connections etc are not normally more than a few days. Capping the maximum fine at B20,000 with no further penalty for overstayers of more than 100 days makes no sense and actually encourages long-term overstaying. Bigger fines for people without money just force them to rot in jail at the Thai taxpayers' expense paying it off at B100 a day in prison. Western countries impose 10 year blacklistings on people for relatively minor visa violations, while the Singaporeans blacklist them and cane 'em for good measure.

I am not sure that any rule change is required for this. While the maximum fine and prison sentences for immigration offences are fixed by law, I think that blacklisting is up to the discretion of the courts, director general of the Immigration Bureau and/or the Interior Minister. Historically it has been mainly imposed by the courts after a foreigner has been convicted of a serious offence but I heard of a case from a Thai lawyer where one of his clients, a farang, was blacklisted for life for overstaying by a couple of weeks and working illegally, despite having a Thai wife and newborn Thai baby. Apparently he went home and changed his name but I am not sure, if he got back in again after that.