Overstay confusion and immigration mistake at airport

[Rankie]

So I got a double entry TV back on July 2nd. I entered Thailand straight away and did the norm by extending it by 30 days after the 60 were up to total 90. I then made the mistake of going away to another country for 4 weeks on the 25th September (5 days before the 90 were up) in the transition between the first and second entry. This was my own mistake because I was unaware that the 'enter before: 1 october' on the TV referred to the second entry. I had been under the impression it simply referred to the original entry which I made on july 2nd and the second entry could be activated at my own discretion...

So, still unaware of the mistake, I came back to Thailand on 25th October, 24 days after the visa 'enter before' date. However, the immigration officer at the airport somehow missed it and he gave me the normal 60 days on the re-entry stamp! So basically, he failed to see the 'enter before 1 october' and so I had no charges or problem for being 24 days late. Of course, this came back to bite me hard in the ass when I went to immigration to extend my second entry. The officers told me the situation (which I was still blissfully unaware of) and said my only option was to report to the immigration at the airport with some proof of onward travel, suggesting I might not have to pay the full fine because of the mistake by the officer.

Now I'm confused and unsure of what to do. Here I am with what I'm assuming is an overstay of 60 days but with a stamp saying '25 october - 23 december'. I'm wondering how to approach this. Obviously I need to book an onward flight before going to the airport, but how soon will I be told to leave by and will I be able to fly anywhere? My plan is to fly out to Laos for a new visa but I'm reluctant to book it now because I do not know when I will be expected to leave by. I'm also wondering how much money I will be charged. Do you think I'll be charged for the entire 60 days or just the 24 days I was originally late by?

Thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

[darrendsd]

I can't help with most of your questions however the maximum you can be fined is 20,000 Baht which equates to 40 days at 500 baht a day

You would not be charged for the 24 days you were late by, it doesn't work like that

You need to get this sorted ASAP, the longer you overstay the more your chances of you being arrested

Edited December 23, 2015 by darrendsd

[elviajero]

• If the immigration office didn't correct the error stamp then the IO at the airport might not notice the mistake and only charge you overstay from the 23rd onwards.
• If it has been corrected, or he notices the error, you will be charged depending on the IO. You would have qualified for a 30 day visa exempt entry so that should be deducted from the overstay. But even with that you will be charged the full 20k once the net overstay exceeds 40 days. The fine is 500 p/day up to the 20k limit.
• You can fly anywhere.

[Rankie]

If I get an air ticket to Vientiane, will my passport be stamped going through immigration at the airport? I've been told by NokAir that it's an international flight, not domestic, but I'm aware that the flight only goes to Nong Khai and the rest of the journey is by bus.

[DogNo1]

My suggestion is to be prepared to pay the maximum fine of 20,000 and hope to negotiate for less. The sooner you fly out, the better. I can't say about the flight to Vientiane through Nong Khai. Why not book a flight that you're sure will leave the country? The less complication and confusion, the better. Leave ASAP and fly to another country. You should have no problem returning on a visa-exempt entry. Good luck.

[BritTim]

If I get an air ticket to Vientiane, will my passport be stamped going through immigration at the airport? I've been told by NokAir that it's an international flight, not domestic, but I'm aware that the flight only goes to Nong Khai and the rest of the journey is by bus.

The Nok Air fly-ride service is by air to Udon and then by minibus to Vientiane via the friendship bridge at Nong Khai. You are stamped out of Thailand just prior to crossing the bridge.

My gut feel is that, once they know you are on overstay, they are likely to fine you the full amount, Even if you explain you tried for an extension, not realizing the stamp was in error, I do not think they will be sympathetic enough to help you. Immigration are notoriously reluctant to help in cases of errors by other offices. If you had tried to leave by December 23, you would have had a decent chance.

[JackThompson]

Did they put any note in your passport when you tried to extend? If not, I would exit at the same border point where the error was made (giving you 60 days instead of 30). To save face, they may "not notice" their earlier mistake, and you will only be fined for the 23rd through your departure date. Even if they do notice, you can honestly say you were under the impression their stamp was legitimate.

As others noted, this all would have gone much better if you high-tailed it out before the 23rd. Now you are legitimately "on overstay," regardless - so be sure to have 20K Baht on hand to pay, in the worst-case.

[ubonjoe]

Your mistake is a common one. The enter before date is when the visa expires. If you think about it a bit you would realize that a visa has to have an expiration date they would not issue one that is valid forever.

I think the immigration could of been a little kinder to you since it was one of their officers that also made a mistake. They could of changed you original entry to 30 days and then allowed you get a 30 day extension.of that entry.

All you can do now is to leave and be prepared to pay the 20k baht fine if they don't give you a little leeway.

[gandalf12]

If I get an air ticket to Vientiane, will my passport be stamped going through immigration at the airport? I've been told by NokAir that it's an international flight, not domestic, but I'm aware that the flight only goes to Nong Khai and the rest of the journey is by bus.

Vientiane is not in Thailand therefore it is International

[ubonjoe]

If I get an air ticket to Vientiane, will my passport be stamped going through immigration at the airport? I've been told by NokAir that it's an international flight, not domestic, but I'm aware that the flight only goes to Nong Khai and the rest of the journey is by bus.

Vientiane is not in Thailand therefore it is International

As written earlier the Nok Air flight is a fly/ride service to Vientiane via Udon Thani and is not a true international flight. The departure from Thailand is done at the bridge in Nong Khai.

[IMA_FARANG]

Yes you are technically on overstay.

Be prepared to pay the fee on leaving Thailand.

You also need to do this before March 2016

in March (not sure exactly what date) new rules with PENALTIES for overstay will start....which includes being banned form returning to Thailand for a period (exactly how long a ban depends on the overstay period you have).

So you need to sort out your overstay before March 2016 when the new rules go into effect.

Now, before Mach 2016, the maximum fine is 20K Baht and no penalty ban for overstay time.

After March 2016, that will change.

So it is definitely to your advantage to sort this overstay out as soon as you can....before the new rules go into effect in March 2016.

P.S. it is also possible to fly direct to Vientiane from Bangkok. with Lao Air

That way you just pay your overstay fee, and board the plane.

Edited December 24, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[technologybytes]

I totally agree with JackThompson and Ubonjoe, it would have been much more likely that you could have exited with no fuss at all if you left before the 23rd, leave asap and if you go via the airport that stamped you in then you may have a better chance of paying less.. but make sure you have the 20k and of course don't get angry and argue with an immigration officer. Best results are obtained when you keep smiling and act confused, do not let on that you already know there is a bigger problem than a couple of days overstay.

[NoshowJones]

If I get an air ticket to Vientiane, will my passport be stamped going through immigration at the airport? I've been told by NokAir that it's an international flight, not domestic, but I'm aware that the flight only goes to Nong Khai and the rest of the journey is by bus.

The Nok Air fly-ride service is by air to Udon and then by minibus to Vientiane via the friendship bridge at Nong Khai. You are stamped out of Thailand just prior to crossing the bridge.

My gut feel is that, once they know you are on overstay, they are likely to fine you the full amount, Even if you explain you tried for an extension, not realizing the stamp was in error, I do not think they will be sympathetic enough to help you. Immigration are notoriously reluctant to help in cases of errors by other offices. If you had tried to leave by December 23, you would have had a decent chance.

Another "guest" in Thailand, seriously, I hope you get sorted out OK, we can all make mistakes, even "guests".

[Rickard]

The exact thing happened to me a few years ago. The local immigration office that I went to for my 30 days extension told me that I was on a 60 days overstay. They told me to pay the overstay fine and they would give me a week extension or something like that. I refused and pointed out that Immigration have granted me a visa. They told me it was my fault and that I should know the rules. I took my passport and went to see a friend with connections at Immigration to check the facts.

The officer at Immigration advised me to get an air ticket and leave the country. When arriving at the airport I should contact immigration and let them identify the officer that gave me the stamp by checking his/her signature. The immigration officer should then pay my overstay?!?!?!

I got a ticket and went to the airport the next day. I decides to just go through the normal procedure and see what happens. According to my stamp in the passport, I was just on one day overstay and not 61 as the local office said.

Because of my one day overstay I was called in to the office for processing, but they didn't mention any overstay and there was no fine because of the one day rule.