2016 overstay child 1yr ban

[jasonaustralia123]

Hi.

My Thai wife and I live in Australia where she is a resident.

She will be traveling back to Thailand with our 18mth old baby girl in a week (jan 2016 ) for 35 days.

My baby was born in Australia and has an Australian passport, she has an Australian and Thai birth certificate.

We did not take into account that my child would only get the 30 day tourist visa upon arrival in Thailand at the time of booking flights, So we called the thai embassy in Australia about the unavoidable overstay that was going to happen and where told the following....

If my child overstays she could/would be refused re-entry to Thailand for 1 year.

my wife was instructed that before my childs visa expires in Thailand, a visa exstension must be applied for at the city Embassy (1500b) or the 1yr ban could be imposed under Thai law.

Perhaps there will be a crackdown on overstays this year ? even for children.

in the past kids 14 and under have been waved through and no fine can be charged to them even though it is breaking the law to overstay.

So just a heads up,

when we are able to get my baby a thai passport it wont be a problem but I am sure there are plenty of ozy dads out there with ozy/thai babys going home to Thailand with mum for more then 30 days.

Is it possible to get a visa for the 35 days prior to traveling to Thailand or upon arrival at the airport, we were told no.?

thanks.

[Sheryl]

The 30 days on arrival is not a visa, it is a visa exempt entry available to people from certain countries including Australia. It cannot be extended for more than a maximum of 7 days.

A tourist visa is valid for a stay if up to 3 months, and can be applied for at the Thai Embassy or Consulate (will be stamped in for just 60 days but can extend for the additional 30). Another option is a non-immigrant "O" visa which unlike a tourist visa can receive a one year extension of stay (which can be renewed annually) if certain conditions are met, the applicable one in your case being as a dependent of a Thai national. Of course if you are going to obtain a Thai passport for the child then not necessary.

I don't know why the Embassy said you could not get a tourist visa, makes no sense to me unless it has something to do with being an infant and the accompanying parent not also being issued a visa (If your Thai wife also has an Australian passport, then could simply apply for the two of them).

Our Visa gurus should be along soon to advise further.

[chrisinth]

Normal visa exempt stamps can now be extended at the immigration office for an additional 30 days. See no reason why your child would not be able to do so.

Would chase up getting her name on a house book and getting her a Thai passport when you are here to avoid any further panics.

First i have heard about children beeing banned for overstay, the banning laws have not been enforced yet for anyone.

Edited January 7, 2016 by chrisinth

[ubonjoe]

There will no ban for the 5 day overstay. She will not even be fined for the overstay since she is well under the age of 15 when overstay fines would have to be paid.

It has been in the news about a possible ban for an overstay of 90 days or more after March sometime but I don't think it will be applicable to children.

[Eclipse]

The 30 days on arrival is not a visa, it is a visa exempt entry available to people from certain countries including Australia. It cannot be extended for more than a maximum of 7 days.

Wrong. It can be extended by 30 days at Immigration. 1,900 Baht.

You will have no problems whatsoever.

It is pointless contacting Embassies as they have no clue about Immigration procedures.

Edited January 7, 2016 by Eclipse

[ubonjoe]

The 30 days on arrival is not a visa, it is a visa exempt entry available to people from certain countries including Australia. It cannot be extended for more than a maximum of 7 days.

A tourist visa is valid for a stay if up to 3 months, and can be applied for at the Thai Embassy or Consulate (will be stamped in for just 60 days but can extend for the additional 30). Another option is a non-immigrant "O" visa which unlike a tourist visa can receive a one year extension of stay (which can be renewed annually) if certain conditions are met, the applicable one in your case being as a dependent of a Thai national. Of course if you are going to obtain a Thai passport for the child then not necessary.

I don't know why the Embassy said you could not get a tourist visa, makes no sense to me unless it has something to do with being an infant and the accompanying parent not also being issued a visa (If your Thai wife also has an Australian passport, then could simply apply for the two of them).

Our Visa gurus should be along soon to advise further.

Since August of 2014 a visa exempt entry can be extended for 30 days at immigration.

A returning Thai national can also get a one year extension at immigration.

[elviajero]

As said, even if your child overstays there will be no fine.

• If you want to ovoid an overstay the options would be to enter with visa exempt entry and extend that 30 day stay by 30 days at immigration for 1,900 baht, or get a single entry tourist visa (SETV) before leaving Australia that will give a 60 day stay on entry.

[jasonaustralia123]

The 30 days on arrival is not a visa, it is a visa exempt entry available to people from certain countries including Australia. It cannot be extended for more than a maximum of 7 days.

A tourist visa is valid for a stay if up to 3 months, and can be applied for at the Thai Embassy or Consulate (will be stamped in for just 60 days but can extend for the additional 30). Another option is a non-immigrant "O" visa which unlike a tourist visa can receive a one year extension of stay (which can be renewed annually) if certain conditions are met, the applicable one in your case being as a dependent of a Thai national. Of course if you are going to obtain a Thai passport for the child then not necessary.

I don't know why the Embassy said you could not get a tourist visa, makes no sense to me unless it has something to do with being an infant and the accompanying parent not also being issued a visa (If your Thai wife also has an Australian passport, then could simply apply for the two of them).

Our Visa gurus should be along soon to advise further.

thanks for your info.

we didn't apply for a tourist visa, the baby will just be getting the ( visa exempt entry ) for the arrival into Thailand.

my wife has a Thai passport.

my problem was that we where told that we couldn't extend it at the airport.

The holiday is 35 days only.

thanks

[jasonaustralia123]

As said, even if your child overstays there will be no fine.

• If you want to ovoid an overstay the options would be to enter with visa exempt entry and extend that 30 day stay by 30 days at immigration for 1,900 baht, or get a single entry tourist visa (SETV) before leaving Australia that will give a 60 day stay on entry.

So are you saying that it is possible to pay the 1,900b on arrival at the airport for the exempt entry extension ?

that would be great.

where or to who do we pay for that?

Is it a separate office, or is it to the immigration officers checking passengers passports on the incoming flights.

thanks.

[elviajero]

As said, even if your child overstays there will be no fine.

• If you want to ovoid an overstay the options would be to enter with visa exempt entry and extend that 30 day stay by 30 days at immigration for 1,900 baht, or get a single entry tourist visa (SETV) before leaving Australia that will give a 60 day stay on entry.

So are you saying that it is possible to pay the 1,900b on arrival at the airport for the exempt entry extension ?

that would be great.

where or to who do we pay for that?

Is it a separate office, or is it to the immigration officers checking passengers passports on the incoming flights.

thanks.

Unfortunately not. You can only get the extension of stay at an immigration office and within the last 7 days (maybe 14) of the admitted until date.

[Eclipse]

Yes. Visit your local Immigration Office for extensions. 1,900 Baht.

[jasonaustralia123]

Normal visa exempt stamps can now be extended at the immigration office for an additional 30 days. See no reason why your child would not be able to do so.

Would chase up getting her name on a house book and getting her a Thai passport when you are here to avoid any further panics.

First i have heard about children beeing banned for overstay, the banning laws have not been enforced yet for anyone.

thanks for your comments.

when my wife organised for our daughter to get a Thai birth certificate, she had to register the baby to her thai house certificate to be able to get it.

So, my baby is registered to my wifes house, but because I am not going to Thailand this time and wont be there to go and do all the forms, we will have to do it here in Australia or next time in Thailand.

Seems like the new overstay laws are coming in around March, where re-entry bans will apply to some.

I know it seems unlikely an infant would get a 1yr ban for overstaying 5 days, but to be technical, an overstay is an overstay I guess,and breaking the law, so I would rather my wife pay the 1900b for the exempt entry extension at the airport on the way in, (as mentioned by another here), then be the first dad to have a child refused re entry for a year.

The Thai embassy here in Australia should provide correct information and not go around saying that an overstaying baby could get a 1 yr no re-entry ban if overstaying.

Hopefully the lady was wrong and no child has this happen, even after March 2016.

Thank you all for your input and in finding a solution for us

[jasonaustralia123]

Yes. Visit your local Immigration Office for extensions. 1,900 Baht.

ok, thanks for the info.

would the VFS office handle these extensions ?

[sunnyjim5]

Yes. Visit your local Immigration Office for extensions. 1,900 Baht.

ok, thanks for the info.

would the VFS office handle these extensions ?

No!

As said "extensions" are applied for at a local Thai Immigration Service office.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

After entering Thailand and getting the 30-day VISA EXEMPT stamp, the next step will be to get it extended by 30 days. This cannot be done at the airport. As others have noted here, it must be done at a Thai Immigration office here in Thailand.

If your wife will be staying in Bangkok, the office is out at Changwattana Road:

http://www.globaltravelmate.com/asia/thailand/bangkok/bangkok-useful-info/362-bangkok-immigration-office.html

Mac

[maprao]

Get a tourist isa.

Failing that children do not get "overstays".

I forget the age but it is either below 18 or below 16 years old you will be fine.