Overstay question

[pratsku]

hi could someone advise me . is it possible to pay your overstay at freindship bridge crossing and go to vietiene embassy to get a new visa .. or is flying and paying fine at airport easier ?????? many thanks

Yes it is possible to pay the overstay at the bridge.

The only big different is a greater risk of getting caught on the way to the bridge. This can be reduced by flying to Udon Thani and going to the bridge from there,

is there no problem flying to udon >>?? joe

[Tomtomtom69]

Unless these checkpoints are maned by Immigration Officers I don't see the connection between the two. Checkpoints have a specific purpose and officers are focused on this purpose. Not having the passport with you could trigger further inquiries, if you are even asked for it, however there is no good reason for them to require you to present your passport unless they have found some reason to justify this - which again is likely to be related to the checkpoint's purpose.

Under most circumstances you will not face an immigration officer until you are on the way out of the country - or if you go to an immigration office and talk to one for whatever reason. If the overstay is long then expect some scolding by some officers, and they will definitely go to the computer to make sure there are no outstanding warrants against you in case you are leaving because of legal problems in the Kingdom. If you are on international warrants, well, that will pop-up too.

If there are no legal issues, I would not try to sneak out through some small border office, that only gives the locals more power to scrutinize and perhaps invent new laws on the fly. Large border checkpoints and international airports are just too busy to do more than the expected paperwork - pay the 20K, get a stamp on your passport stating your long overstay, and get on with your life. May be you have the charm to talk the officer out of putting that awful stamp on your passport.

Once you are out of the country, apply for the best visa you are able to qualify. There are plenty of legal firms that will give you the necessary paperwork to qualify for a multiple-entry non-immigration B visa - for a fee. I don't really know the level of scrutiny the embassy officials put into the submitted paperwork, and I am sure that things are more difficult under the regime, however I am of the strong belief that presentation and charm go a long long way in securing a positive outcome when submitting your visa application.

No matter the outcome, and yes, there is risk involved, the sooner you can get through the cycle and get a visa to return back to the Kingdom the better. There is no blacklist policy in place at this time, so even if you passport say maximum overstay paid, it is very likely that you will be allowed back into the Kingdom, especially if the only problem you have had in the country is to overstay your visa. But once the blacklist policy is in effect, all bets are off, and expect strict enforcement for the first several weeks or months.

ANY regular police can check your visa and if youre on overstay, youre toast

I think you are right to warn people about this possibility but NeutralVoice is right - most of these checkpoints are to check for drugs. Unlike in Myanmar they are not manned by immigration officers. For the most part, a westerner or Asian who appears to be Thai or from Japan, Singapore etc. won't be hassled at all. Most checkpoints near the border are, apart from checking for drugs, more interested in illegals from Myanmar or Cambodia (near their respective borders). Even near the Lao border there are few checkpoints which is a sign of better relations and fewer problems with Laos than with Cambodia and Myanmar.

Incidentally, out of those three Laos is the only one that is consistent when it comes to bringing your car across the border - there is a proper system and it's consistent, no need for a guide, permission or all this other rubbish that Myanmar (and occasionally Cambodia) demand. Lao cars are also allowed to go anywhere they want in Thailand on a reciprocal basis. Burmese cars can't leave the border areas and are stopped at checkpoints if they try, while Cambodian cars can only cross at some crossings and then may be told to remain in the border province but are allowed to proceed elsewhere if they wish - still, one only very rarely sees Cambodian cars driving far away from the borders with Cambodia or outside of the border province (such as Trat).

Case in point is when I drove to Mae Sot in a Lao registered car. The officers were curious about the steering wheel being on the opposite side, but quickly noticed it was Lao registered and I was under no further scrutiny - no interest was paid to me. On all other occasions, even driving late at night with some goods at the back the officers at those checkpoints took no notice of anything. A Lao driver from the same company traveling to meet me in Mae Sot was asked for his passport on the way down (only his passport front page was glanced at) but probably because they hadn't seen a Lao car there in a while. On another occasion I was driving from Bangkok to Mae Sot bound for Yangon in a BKK registered car when a Sri Lankan friend was assumed to be Indo-Burmese based on his physical resemblance. His passport was glanced at (only the front page) to make sure he wasn't Burmese, that's all. This was only at the last checkpoint coming INTO Mae Sot. On the way back from Myanmar, nobody paid him any attention.

Most checkpoints near the Lao border aren't even manned at times, and are not focused on illegal aliens like near the Myanmar border. Near the Cambo border now a lot of military, but they usually aren't interested in passports but more about contraband, drugs, weapons etc.

[Tomtomtom69]

hi could someone advise me . is it possible to pay your overstay at freindship bridge crossing and go to vietiene embassy to get a new visa .. or is flying and paying fine at airport easier ?????? many thanks

Yes it is possible to pay the overstay at the bridge.

The only big different is a greater risk of getting caught on the way to the bridge. This can be reduced by flying to Udon Thani and going to the bridge from there,

That's true but generally speaking the one "risky" checkpoint is the one around 13km south of Nong Khai at Nong Song Hong, which generally doesn't check anything but is out of all of the checkpoints coming out of Bangkok the one and only place you might, possibly be asked for ID because it's relatively close to the border. All other checkpoints further south are usually not even manned during the day and generally check for drugs only at night. Therefore, going by minivan from Udon only still exposes you to the same risk as driving all the way from BKK. Although driving yourself or travelling as a passenger in a private vehicle with friends is less likely to get you stopped than if you travel by public transport.

The Lao border is the least risky compared to going to the Cambodian or especially the Myanmar border though.

[pratsku]

hi could someone advise me . is it possible to pay your overstay at freindship bridge crossing and go to vietiene embassy to get a new visa .. or is flying and paying fine at airport easier ?????? many thanks

Yes it is possible to pay the overstay at the bridge.

The only big different is a greater risk of getting caught on the way to the bridge. This can be reduced by flying to Udon Thani and going to the bridge from there,

That's true but generally speaking the one "risky" checkpoint is the one around 13km south of Nong Khai at Nong Song Hong, which generally doesn't check anything but is out of all of the checkpoints coming out of Bangkok the one and only place you might, possibly be asked for ID because it's relatively close to the border. All other checkpoints further south are usually not even manned during the day and generally check for drugs only at night. Therefore, going by minivan from Udon only still exposes you to the same risk as driving all the way from BKK. Although driving yourself or travelling as a passenger in a private vehicle with friends is less likely to get you stopped than if you travel by public transport.

The Lao border is the least risky compared to going to the Cambodian or especially the Myanmar border though.

so would u say the easiest of routes well less risky is flying to lao from bangkok .. ??????

[ubonjoe]

The vans from the airport make the trip to Nong Kai on a scheduled bases so I suspect they would be less likely to be stopped than others.

Taking the train would be the least risky of all ground transport to Nong Kai. And also the most comfortable if if you get a sleeper. But I suggest you plan on arriving there the day before the date are going to apply for the visa. The trains are notoriously late arriving in Nong Kai.

[pratsku]

The vans from the airport make the trip to Nong Kai on a scheduled bases so I suspect they would be less likely to be stopped than others.

Taking the train would be the least risky of all ground transport to Nong Kai. And also the most comfortable if if you get a sleeper. But I suggest you plan on arriving there the day before the date are going to apply for the visa. The trains are notoriously late arriving in Nong Kai.

thanks 4 your advice joe.. a true gent

[shocky2004]

Just spent an hour talking with 2 different laywers.

From what i've understood whaty they recommended to anyone who has overstay for more than 90 days:

- Go out the country ASAP (preferably by any international airports in Thailand where you can safely pay your fines.
- Go in a country near with an embassy/consulate from your country (or you can directly go to your country)
- Re-Apply for a new passeport (Immigration don't have access to your old infos in your old passeport. I know this one seems hard to believe and i've repeated myself around 3-4 times to make sure they understood but they were 100% confident that when you change passeport and try to re-enter, they cannot see that you overstayed.)

I'll give you guys update on how it went next few days so maybe it can help some people in the same situation as my friend. Cheers

[shocky2004]

Does anyone know if it's still possible to get a student visa for Muai Thai courses full time?

[ubonjoe]

Changing passports does not help. Immigration has a database they can do a name and date of birth search on to find previous entries. This has been discussed and confirmed by posts in topics on this forum.

Most people will be able to leave and get a visa and re-enter without problem.

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post and a reply to it has been removed.

[shocky2004]

Changing passports does not help. Immigration has a database they can do a name and date of birth search on to find previous entries. This has been discussed and confirmed by posts in topics on this forum.

Most people will be able to leave and get a visa and re-enter without problem.

That was actually my thought. I can't really understand how can a country not be able to see your past activity based on different passeports with the same name/birthday. That's why i've contacted 3 different firms but they all told me that they wouldn't be able to see it. (Which is why they recommended to have a new passeport).

So you're telling me that the overstay stamp most likely won't (until the new rule take place) be a problem if one apply for the right visa in a different country and come back?

Cheers

[ubonjoe]

Changing passports does not help. Immigration has a database they can do a name and date of birth search on to find previous entries. This has been discussed and confirmed by posts in topics on this forum.

Most people will be able to leave and get a visa and re-enter without problem.

That was actually my thought. I can't really understand how can a country not be able to see your past activity based on different passeports with the same name/birthday. That's why i've contacted 3 different firms but they all told me that they wouldn't be able to see it. (Which is why they recommended to have a new passeport).

So you're telling me that the overstay stamp most likely won't (until the new rule take place) be a problem if one apply for the right visa in a different country and come back?

Cheers

i would guess many lawyers don't have any knowledge about immigration's capabilities.

Many have left and returned with a visa and some with only an exempt entry after an overstay. Things may change later but for now it should be okay.

[shocky2004]

Does one have to pay his fine INSIDE CMX Airport or at the Chiang Mai Immigration Center?

[Mario2008]

You pay when you leave. Unless you want an extra 7 days to leave the country, than you go to the immigration office. (But be sure to have the ticket out).

[biplanebluey]

Changing passports does not help. Immigration has a database they can do a name and date of birth search on to find previous entries. This has been discussed and confirmed by posts in topics on this forum.

Most people will be able to leave and get a visa and re-enter without problem.

I thought that data base information was not available in Thailand.We do not have it here as the reason the culprits over the MH370 found it so easy to cover up here

[ubonjoe]

Changing passports does not help. Immigration has a database they can do a name and date of birth search on to find previous entries. This has been discussed and confirmed by posts in topics on this forum.

Most people will be able to leave and get a visa and re-enter without problem.

I thought that data base information was not available in Thailand.We do not have it here as the reason the culprits over the MH370 found it so easy to cover up here

That is not the same database.

I was writing about Thai immigration's database where all entries and departure and etc are recorded.

[German Viking]

He could only do it at CNX if he was on direct flight out of the country and went through immigration there.

Air Asia having direct flights from CNX to Kl, Penang, Saigon, Yangoon etc.

[ubonjoe]

He could only do it at CNX if he was on direct flight out of the country and went through immigration there.

Air Asia having direct flights from CNX to Kl, Penang, Saigon, Yangoon etc.

You quoted me out of context of the discussion at the time.

That was in response to a question about clearing the overstay at CNX instead of Bangkok.