August 29 - heavy new penalties await visa overstays: Thai Immigration

[ratcatcher]

Last month I was stopped 3 times driving Udon Thani - Khon Kaen and at one road block had to go to the ' payments table ' manned by a Major and a Sub-Lieutenant.

 

The major was quite happy with the photo-copy of my passport but did ask why I didn't carry the original so I explained my fear of losing it and the resulting ball ache of a hassle.  He was amazed that my current document was obtained via the Hong Kong route and had cost over Bt.8,000 and his amazement grew when I told him about the new system which would require me to go to BKK twice.

 

All he could say was " Crazy " and when driving away I had quite a chuckle at the thought of a Thai official describing another country's bureaucracy in such terms.

Incidentally I never did find out why I was sent to the table other than possibly the language problem. Ii didn't have a licence but the Major said he wasn't gong to fine me !

The biggest problem was everyone freaking out because I have a vinyl cover on the flatbed of my pickup and needing to have a peek to see what I was carrying,  only boring emergency equipment I'm afraid.

This visa/overstay subject has been done to death in the Thai visas section above.

I would imagine the reason you were 'released' without problems NKK was the fact that you were probably polite, smiled and produced a photo copy of your passport and visa and gave a credible explanation why you did not have your actual passport at hand. Much depends on attitude in this country and becoming belligerent only exacerbates any problems.

I have only lived here 14 years and never been asked for my passport. Whenever stopped by police road checks, I have never been asked for my Thai drivers license either.

A lot of people are panicking or angry and in some cases that is justified, but for the large majority of people who are legally resident in Thailand on proper visas and  extension of stay, being polite and co-operative when stopped by the authorities will go a long way to saving any hassles.

[tomyummer]

Seems like more punishment for over staying foreigners than corrupt Thai politicians. Straight out of the Thai hospitality book.

Sucks if you have a Thai family without the proper legal protocol. Edited July 31, 2014 by tomyummer

[cacruden]

I believe the passport carrying allows for a photocopy to be carried AS LONG AS it is a certified copy (my guess is getting it stamped on entry at Immigration).  Anyone familiar with what qualifies as certified?

[kingstonkid]

A serious question  if I have  government ID card from my country with everything but mypassport number on it will that be accepted as ID it has more than a drivers licence and is a legal id?

[flyingdoc]

The trouble with a 'catch-all' piece of legislation, is that it does exactly that, and does not cater for genuine cases and an innocent overstay of just a few days.

[Zonka]

I also don't see Thailands problem either.  Out of that 70,000, how many are a burden to the state?  Do they pay them unemployment benefit? Do they have to house them? Do they have to pay their medical fees?

 

The answer to all of the above is NO.  Some people overstay here because they want to make a life here with their Thai girlfriend or wife.  But because Thailand has so many stupid visa laws and makes it so difficult to stay here long term, some are forced to bend the rules.

 

I would be happy if Thailand was dragged kicking and screaming into the 19th century let alone the 21st!

(oh and for the, record I work here and am on a 2 year BOI visa/work permit)

[Tokay]

20k and prison for not having your passport...

 

I hope they alert EVERYONE in EVERY LANGUAGE as they arrive at every border and airport.

 

Just think guys, this is all just getting started. Wait until they start taking your condos from you.

[Farma]

The biggest problem was everyone freaking out because I have a vinyl cover on the flatbed of my pickup and needing to have a peek to see what I was carrying,  only boring emergency equipment I'm afraid.

 

They probably had intel of an illegal shipment (drugs, wood etc) and were checking all pickups and trucks. It happens over near Ubon too.

[coma]

Exceeding one's permit to stay in the kingdom for more than 90 days is just snubbing one's nose at the law and the authorities. A 10 year ban for such actions is inadequate. Life long blacklisting would be much more fitting for these unsavouries.

Edited July 31, 2014 by coma

[laurentbkk]

Thailand is not unique , many other countries are nice to live in .. let see how it goes when the tourists number will fall because of this witches hunt ...Unless the junta is happy with huge chinese tourists group. 

[Suradit69]

Please, falang. Only money is accepted. YOU are not. 

 

Thailand is not a refugee camp for unemployable scofflaw farangs. 

 

Of course Thailand wants farang who have money to spend and who actually spend it. Are you so childish as to assume they would want foreigners here because their mere presence is an inspiration and joy to Thai nationals?

 

Most countries have ad campaigns trying to attract foreigners as tourists and in some cases as retirees because it puts money into the economy. And every country does whatever it can to boot out foreigners who don't follow the laws and who contribute nothing to the economy.

 

This depressing farang obsession with being loved wears thin pretty quickly. If you were such a beloved, valued member of Farang Land, why did your friends and neighbors ever let you leave?

 

              Isn't being a  farang enough??

Edited July 31, 2014 by Suradit69

[crazykopite]

It appears the Kingdom no longer want tourists who overstay that will reduce the income in overstay penalties as well as income that these overstayers payout whilst they are living in Thailand the Malays will be loving all of this " Welcome to Malaysia"

[Zonka]

Exceeding one's permit to stay in the kingdom for more than 90 days is just snubbing one's nose at the law and the authorities. A 10 year ban for such actions is inadequate. Life long blacklisting would be much more fitting for these unsavouries.

 

Dont be such a god damn snob!  You and your ilk are one of the main reasons I refuse to drink in the Thai Visa Bar!

[NongKhaiKid]

 

Last month I was stopped 3 times driving Udon Thani - Khon Kaen and at one road block had to go to the ' payments table ' manned by a Major and a Sub-Lieutenant.

 

The major was quite happy with the photo-copy of my passport but did ask why I didn't carry the original so I explained my fear of losing it and the resulting ball ache of a hassle.  He was amazed that my current document was obtained via the Hong Kong route and had cost over Bt.8,000 and his amazement grew when I told him about the new system which would require me to go to BKK twice.

 

All he could say was " Crazy " and when driving away I had quite a chuckle at the thought of a Thai official describing another country's bureaucracy in such terms.

Incidentally I never did find out why I was sent to the table other than possibly the language problem. Ii didn't have a licence but the Major said he wasn't gong to fine me !

The biggest problem was everyone freaking out because I have a vinyl cover on the flatbed of my pickup and needing to have a peek to see what I was carrying,  only boring emergency equipment I'm afraid.

This visa/overstay subject has been done to death in the Thai visas section above.

I would imagine the reason you were 'released' without problems NKK was the fact that you were probably polite, smiled and produced a photo copy of your passport and visa and gave a credible explanation why you did not have your actual passport at hand. Much depends on attitude in this country and becoming belligerent only exacerbates any problems.

I have only lived here 14 years and never been asked for my passport. Whenever stopped by police road checks, I have never been asked for my Thai drivers license either.

A lot of people are panicking or angry and in some cases that is justified, but for the large majority of people who are legally resident in Thailand on proper visas and  extension of stay, being polite and co-operative when stopped by the authorities will go a long way to saving any hassles.

 

 You have raised an very pertinent point and I agree completely.

 

Several years ago I was stopped just outside Nong Khai and was involved in a nice conversation with an English speaking Sgt about the ridiculous 80 KPH speed limit for pickups and I explained ' dual purpose ' classification in Britain,  if it still exists.  A Colonel came over thinking there was a problem and became interested in the conversation but quite tellingly he explained the problem of foreigners with ' attitude ' who resent being stopped and can become aggressive.

 

Not a wise policy !

[coma]

 

Exceeding one's permit to stay in the kingdom for more than 90 days is just snubbing one's nose at the law and the authorities. A 10 year ban for such actions is inadequate. Life long blacklisting would be much more fitting for these unsavouries.

 

Dont be such a god damn snob!  You and your ilk are one of the main reasons I refuse to drink in the Thai Visa Bar!

 

 

Haha. Are you serious. Sounds and looks like you're having a few there now.  

[Suradit69]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

It appears the Kingdom no longer want tourists who overstay that will reduce the income in overstay penalties as well as income that these overstayers payout whilst they are living in Thailand the Malays will be loving all of this " Welcome to Malaysia"

 

 

 

Exceeding one's permit to stay in the kingdom for more than 90 days is just snubbing one's nose at the law and the authorities. A 10 year ban for such actions is inadequate. Life long blacklisting would be much more fitting for these unsavouries.

 

Dont be such a god damn snob!  You and your ilk are one of the main reasons I refuse to drink in the Thai Visa Bar!

 

 

It always amazes me how inflated some egos are, whether in over-estimating the economic value of a handful loser over-stayers or in thinking their absence from some bar is a grandiose social statement with devastating consequences to those snubbed.

 

Sad how the farang fear of losing face seems to take over their lives.

Edited July 31, 2014 by Suradit69

[Zonka]

 

Please, falang. Only money is accepted. YOU are not. 

 

Thailand is not a refugee camp for unemployable scofflaw farangs. 

 

Of course Thailand wants farang who have money to spend and who actually spend it. Are you so childish as to assume they would want foreigners here because their mere presence is an inspiration and joy to Thai nationals?

 

Most countries have ad campaigns trying to attract foreigners as tourists and in some cases as retirees because it puts money into the economy. And every country does whatever it can to boot out foreigners who don't follow the laws and who contribute nothing to the economy.

 

This depressing farang obsession with being loved wears thin pretty quickly. If you were such a beloved, valued member of Farang Land, why did your friends and neighbors ever let you leave?

 

              Isn't being a  farang enough??

 

Who said the overstayers are unemployable scofflaw farangs?  I think you will find that a large proportion of those overstayers are English teachers at government schools and have to do visa runs/overstay a bit because THAI Schools will not get them a work permit and pay them a pittance to do a job they cannot do.  Just wait till ASEAN kicks in. Thailand will be the runt of the pack.

[Zonka]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

It appears the Kingdom no longer want tourists who overstay that will reduce the income in overstay penalties as well as income that these overstayers payout whilst they are living in Thailand the Malays will be loving all of this " Welcome to Malaysia"

 

 

 

Exceeding one's permit to stay in the kingdom for more than 90 days is just snubbing one's nose at the law and the authorities. A 10 year ban for such actions is inadequate. Life long blacklisting would be much more fitting for these unsavouries.

 

Dont be such a god damn snob!  You and your ilk are one of the main reasons I refuse to drink in the Thai Visa Bar!

 

 

It always amazes me how inflated some egos are, whether in over-estimating the economic value of a handful loser over-stayers or in thinking their absence from some bar is a grandiose social statement with devastating consequences to those snubbed.

 

Sad how the farang fear of losing face seems to take over their lives.

Oh God looks like you drink there to then!

[Zonka]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

 

It appears the Kingdom no longer want tourists who overstay that will reduce the income in overstay penalties as well as income that these overstayers payout whilst they are living in Thailand the Malays will be loving all of this " Welcome to Malaysia"

 

 

 

Exceeding one's permit to stay in the kingdom for more than 90 days is just snubbing one's nose at the law and the authorities. A 10 year ban for such actions is inadequate. Life long blacklisting would be much more fitting for these unsavouries.

 

Dont be such a god damn snob!  You and your ilk are one of the main reasons I refuse to drink in the Thai Visa Bar!

 

 

It always amazes me how inflated some egos are, whether in over-estimating the economic value of a handful loser over-stayers or in thinking their absence from some bar is a grandiose social statement with devastating consequences to those snubbed.

 

Sad how the farang fear of losing face seems to take over their lives.

Arent' you Thai?

[jacko45k]

I believe the passport carrying allows for a photocopy to be carried AS LONG AS it is a certified copy (my guess is getting it stamped on entry at Immigration).  Anyone familiar with what qualifies as certified?

 

Well not in Hua Hin, that is for sure.....for now.......

[GAZZPA]

In before the 29 pages of "but my case is different than the hundreds of others asking about the same thing with the same details as me" posts that are sure to follow.

 

Of those 70k over-stayers last year (and 30k so far this year) I wonder how many are for over-stays of less than 2-3 days ? TAT claims 26.7 million tourist arrivals in 2013, so 70,000 over-stayers would represent about .0026% of that total (a quarter of 1% of the total). Doesn't seem quite the massive problem requiring draconian measures as it sounded before.

thanks for posting those statistics, brings it to light.

 

This stinks of an attempt to create a populist policy when people in Thailand are struggling. The economy is not good right now, perhaps we don't hear much about it but it is certainly true. In the no too distant future the current military rule may lose support if the economy doesn't start heading in the right direction.

 

So, what do they do, well try and divert blame.

 

I might be wrong but 20,000 baht fine or 2 years in jail,, that's completely ridiculous. How does that punishment fit the crime?

 

I said it before but it might be time to start looking at other options..

[Tokay]

 

 

Thailand is not a refugee camp for unemployable scofflaw farangs. 

 

 

 

You assume all 70,000 overstayers are unemployable?

 

Not leaving on time doesn't mean you are broke and unemployable. It simply means you didn't leave on time.

 

You should try laying off the sauce at 8am, it's clouded your head.

[DerringDo]

Why is it that some people think the crack down is only aimed at westerners?

Other threads and news articles quite clearly point out that the largest overstayers by far come from, in no particular order, China, India, Burma (Myanmar) and Cambodia.

For many of those nationalities the penalties would indeed be harsh but it may be worth it compared to the poverty they may have experienced before.

[coma]

 

 

Sad how the farang fear of losing face seems to take over their lives.

Arent' you Thai?

 

 

 You wasted your 59th post on this comment ? Dude .......

[oneday]

This country is becoming a police state.  Carrying a passport at all times for an EXPAT is ridiculous especially since many of us have real Thai driver's licenses which are just as good as a passport.  It is definitely time to head home.

 

[muratremix]

Harsh punishment for tourists, no punishment for people responsible for rice scam and loss of billions of dollars.

This is Thailand indeed!

[GAZZPA]

Thailand is not unique , many other countries are nice to live in .. let see how it goes when the tourists number will fall because of this witches hunt ...Unless the junta is happy with huge chinese tourists group. 

toutrism is already way down,, 46% down in China's case.

 

It's when people coming here on holiday hear the rules that things will start to effect Thailand. I mean if you were planning to go to Thailand and the travel agent said, "please remember that you have to carry your passport with you at all times,, or you could go to prison in Thailand for 2 years"

 

People will be terrified about forgetting their passports, it will not look good for "Amazing Thailand".

 

 

[tesolguru]

Not everyone who overstays is an idiot - some are forced to overstay because of other laws.  I changed jobs and my visa got cancelled at 2pm on a Friday.  There is no way possible to exit the country from where I live in that amount of time = unavoidable overstay.  If they would give you 3 days or so to exit the country after having your work permit cancelled this would not be an issue, but as it is now, overstays will be unavoidable for some people.

[binjalin]

I believe the passport carrying allows for a photocopy to be carried AS LONG AS it is a certified copy (my guess is getting it stamped on entry at Immigration).  Anyone familiar with what qualifies as certified?

 

important point... can carrying a colored photocopy suffice?  if certified how to do it?  don't want to carry my original around obviously

 

will a Thai driving Licence do???  

[thrilled]

I don't carry the passport,just copies of it.Never had A problem.