Hi there,

For myself and also as a reference for the school I teach at, if you are a foreigner living here, does your school aged child have a visa?

Apparantly there are no penalties when you leave if your child has overstayed?

Thanks

Yes. My son needed one even though he was only 6 months when he came here.

guardian

Thanks. Could you please clarify what visa your son has and if you know what would happen if you didn't get him one?

my 2 year old has a visa he has had one since we arrived and he was 6 months then. I think all foreign nationals need a visa but am no expert

Notionally Immigration waive overtstay fines for minors, but alas, one cannot rely on that to be the outcome

The regulations say that all foreigners require the appropriate visa. There is nothing to say that children are exempt.

However, the experience of many has shown that children under 14 are unlikely to be fined for overstaying. But it's a concession that applies to visitors. I suspect that if the overstay was a matter of a few days or even weeks then no fine, but if longer then you may have a problem.

Better to get the appropriate visa, IMHO.

Better to get the appropriate visa, IMHO.

That is the problem, can't find visa info for children anywhere...

That is the problem, can't find visa info for children anywhere...

You are asking for visa information for children as one would ask for visa information for dogs or cats. Aren’t children human, too? Why should one expect different visa requirements for different age groups?

For visa requirements for humans, see Thailand’s Immigration Act.

For tourist visa exemption based not on age, but on nationality, see here.

---------------

Maestro

Better to get the appropriate visa, IMHO.

That is the problem, can't find visa info for children anywhere...

Maybe that's because there is NO special lawful arrangements for children.

Usually, children follow the parents' visa.

Let's say the father comes on a non-imm B to take up a job, child(ren) and wife would apply on non-imm O to join father/husband.

Extensions of stay are on the same basis, father extents for business, children/wife follow the fathers entention.

Of course, doing the extention one presents all p/ports/aplications together.

...for the school I teach at...

I just remembered that you said you were a teacher, yet you do not understand that “any foreigner” includes children.

Interesting! But perhaps it’s not the English language you teach.

---------------

Maestro

About 6 years ago my Thai wife and our children entered on 30 (or 28 ) day visas with western passports.

The wife only had her western passport and hadn’t bothered to renew the Thai one. The children were not registered as Thai citizens. They were born outside Thailand.

They overstayed a couple of extra days

On departure, immigration noticed the overstay and called her aside.

They explained she should inform them of her Thai citizenship (proof required) on arrival next time and they would stamp the children’s passports allowing them to stay as long as my wife was in kingdom with them. She would also be treated as a Thai citizen not requiring a visa.

I was there when the immigration were explaining it to her.

They waived the overstay fine for all of them.

As it turned out she and the kids haven’t had the need to try this and I can’t confirm it.

Has anyone else heard of this or maybe the rules have changed?

About 6 years ago my Thai wife and our children entered on 30 (or 28 ) day visas with western passports.

The wife only had her western passport and hadn’t bothered to renew the Thai one. The children were not registered as Thai citizens. They were born outside Thailand.

They overstayed a couple of extra days

On departure, immigration noticed the overstay and called her aside.

They explained she should inform them of her Thai citizenship (proof required) on arrival next time and they would stamp the children’s passports allowing them to stay as long as my wife was in kingdom with them. She would also be treated as a Thai citizen not requiring a visa.

I was there when the immigration were explaining it to her.

They waived the overstay fine for all of them.

As it turned out she and the kids haven’t had the need to try this and I can’t confirm it.

Has anyone else heard of this or maybe the rules have changed?

There is a desk at the airport where 'former' Thai citizens can go. I've never gone there myself, as I have two passports, but I believe if you can prove your rights to Thai nationailty, they will provide a visa which will let you enter for up to a year on your 'other' foreign passport.

I guess it helps in your situation where the old passport wasn't renewed, which can be hard to do if you don't live in a capital where the embassies are.

Thanks samran. Hopefully this helps other in a similar situation.

I recall a sign at immigration upon leaving specifically states that children under xx (14?) years of age will not be fined for overstays. Can anyone confirm this?

We left the country with my small children last december. Both had overstayed by more than 6 months. On processing our exits we had to go to the counter to be recorded but there was no fine.

Same when we went to get my daughter a visa for education (so that my wife could get an O visa as a caretaker). The immigration office just laughed when she saw that my child was way over her stay.

I appreciate the 'rules are the rules' folks here but the reality is children are not fined for overstays.

Thanks. Could you please clarify what visa your son has and if you know what would happen if you didn't get him one?

Sorry, did not log in for the past one week, so did not see your query. I have a non-immigrant O 1 year visa. So, both my wife and son have a dependant visa. I don't remember the exact visa category for them, but I'll try to find out from somebody if you have not yet got your answer. Right now, both of them are back home in India, so I cannot refer to their passports.

Guardian

A friend of mine had a child who overstayed past the 14th birthday. They paid almost 20,000 baht in overstay fees. My friend understood that if they had corrected the overstay prior to the birthday, there would have been no fine.