Greetings to all TV forum members.

I have over the years found this forum to be a good source of useful information, and it is with respect to that fact, and the various contributors that have over time added to this worthwhile resource, that I now am publishing this report of my recent 7 year overstay clearance.

I do realise that there will be the usual critical remarks from the “no excuses” hang ‘em high brigade,.. who with all due respect, are most welcome to their opinions and remarks.

For the record, whilst I would confess to there being at least one or two prior occasions when I was able to clear the overstay and leave, those both came well after several years had elapsed and so I was just waiting for the most suitable opportune moment, which happened to coincide with the rumblings of the current 1 – 10 year ban legislation that has been applied.

March 14^th 2016: Arrived Chiangmai International Airport late afternoon. After booking my bags onto outbound flight CNX/SIN, I was directed to the Immigration desk to pay the overstay fine and get processed out.

That process took a little over an hour as the immigration officers (all female) wanted to know the ins and outs of my reason for overstaying so long. I was with my Thai wife, who was able to convince them of the extenuating circumstances (primarily centered around having suddenly gone very broke some years earlier), which they appeared to be sympathetic to, and after paying the 20,000bht fine and having the 7-year overstay entered in my passport (in black,.. not red), I was ushered through the barrier and into the departure lounge and subsequently boarded my flight without issue. Worth noting here, is the fact that the female Immigration officers were all keen to pull out the "Overstay Ban Penalty" information charts that indicated bans of between 1-10 years and which they indicated were NOW in force. Of course, those charts did not reflect the most recent notification from The Thai Immigration Dept which clearly stated that the relevant order (Order of Ministry of Interior #1/2558) would only come into force 90 days from notification issue date of Dec 21st 2015 (that date of enforcement being March 20th 2016). Section 3/3.2 of that order clearly stated that the new rules would “not apply to any alien who departs the country prior to the enforcement date”.

Fortunately, I had had the foresight to print out that order, both in English and Thai, which we presented to the officers and suggested that this in fact was the only real current and relevant official order which was signed off on by the prime minister, General Chanocha himself! That seemed to hit the spot as they did seem to be unaware of its existence or relevance until the attendant details were pointed out. They did however; make a point of getting me to sign a document that acknowledged an understanding of the new ban law provisions (i.e. bans of 1-10 years applicable).

Upon arrival in Sydney, I went to the Thai Consulate the following day and submitted my application for a 12 month Multiple Entry visa. After jumping through a few hoops (relating to required paperwork and notarized original copy documents) and having a friendly chat with the attendant officer, I was told that I could submit all the relevant documents as the application should be able to be processed without any problems. In due course, the visa was granted, but I was told that the final authority for re-entry into Thailand would reside with the attendant Immigration official when I re-entered Thailand. Worthy of note once again; the old "Overstay Ban" chart was produced, and was again countered by me pulling out the most recent and legally relevant order which after a little chat and checking with "the boss" in the back office, was duly accepted as being relevant and valid.

2 weeks later on April 1^st 2016: I arrived at CNX International airport. My wife and kids waiting for me on the other side. I stood in line and waited to see whether I’d get the 3^rd degree and 20-questions once more,.. as my passport clearly showed an overstay of 7 years (no ban… just a clear overstay and paid fine of 20,000bht). The officer took my passport and after punching on his keyboard and fiddling around a bit, asked me to look at the camera, and then I heard the glorious double pounding sound of the rubber stamp upon my passport, and with a smile he handed my passport back and ushered me on my way. 90 day stay approved,.. all good till end of June!

Needless to say I was VERY relieved and delighted to have been granted a reprieve and a clean slate to start over in the land that I have come to love so much in the past 10 years.

Interestingly, and worthy of noting; I did not see any notices upon entry (at the immigration counter) that pointed to the new overstay ban laws. I was most surprised at that!

Moral of the story:

1) Be careful who you entrust your investments and financial interests with, and with whom you partner in business. A lifetime of work and effort can disappear in an instant if you take your eye off the ball for even just a moment!

2) Don’t tempt fate and leave things to the last minute when you could attend to them earlier and avoid a lot of hassle, and even more serious, life affecting scenarios that you and your family just don’t need.

Conclusion: I am very grateful for having been able to clear up this long 7 year overstay. That gratitude extends to the very helpful and forgiving officials at CNX airport Immigration, and to the wonderful and very helpful young man at Sydney Thai Consulate. Furthermore I am most grateful for all of the helpful information and valuable reports I found here on Thaivisa forum and in particular to moderator Ubonjoe for his in depth knowledge and tireless support to people such as I that have on more than one occasion had questions answered without even having to ask!

Final thanks go to my lovely wife, who of course had the golden opportunity of kicking me to the curb once I’d exited Thailand,.. but decided I was a decent enough bloke to give another shot to, in a new and hopefully much more prosperous chapter in our lives together!

Edited April 4, 201610 yr by brainfart

Happy it went as smooth as this for you, good to read.

I guess you have learnt your lesson, now a second chance has been given to you.

Good luck in the future.

Very glad it worked out for you. Well done for getting it sorted and being back with your family.

They could not have banned you even if they wanted to regardless of whether you had a copy of the law or not.

good job, i'm sure you feel better.

curious: how much did you save (including all the traveling, food, motels, etc....)? no way to know exactly.

AND i'm sure the mental anguish was extreme and outweighed the cost savings....still curious

i know it can't be replicated

Nice !! I know what it feels like overstaying for years.

Sometimes it's just out of our control with so many things happening at the same time and Visa will be the last thing we consider.

Good that you're back now! I believe with this much of relief now you'll never overstay your visa again!! Good Luck

Nice !! I know what it feels like overstaying for years.

Sometimes it's just out of our control with so many things happening at the same time and Visa will be the last thing we consider.

Good that you're back now! I believe with this much of relief now you'll never overstay your visa again!! Good Luck

Actually your Visa and Immigration status should be the first thing you consider.

Without it you cannot stay here legally or take care of your family etc.

It certainly is my number one priority.

A shame others do not think the same.

Some inflammatory posts and replies to them have been removed.

It's lucky for you that your 2nd/3rd chance to clear the overstay coincided with the new rules kicking in. It must be a huge relief to be legal again and I wish you and your family all the best.

In case you are unaware; any of your future 90 day stays can be extended, at immigration, by 60 days (1,900 baht) for the reason of visiting your wife. A good option if you want/need to delay a border hop. If you utilise the visa/extension of stay fully you can stay nearly 17 months before needing a new visa. A multiple non 'O' on the basis of marriage is, currently, available from Savannakhet, Laos without any financial proof required. Obviously no one knows if it will be available when you next need one, but it's worth checking local availability as it could save an expensive trip to Oz.

Found your post very interesting and very clearly written.

Thanks for sharing it and glad it turned out so well.

Good luck in the future and your advice about not trusting money/investments to anyone is excellent.

It can never end well for you.

Edited April 5, 201610 yr by Patong2

20,000 Baht to stay for 7 years. No visa runs, no 90 day reports. no paperwork etc. The system was flawed and you played it. No judgement from me. TIT.

Found your post very interesting and very clearly written.

Thanks for sharing it and glad it turned out so well.

Good luck in the future and your advice about not trusting money/investments to anyone is excellent.

It can never end well for you.

Yes -- very interesting and clearly written. Unfortunately, the outcome of his adventure may not be one available to those who are still as of today on overstay of any similar length.

Edited April 5, 201610 yr by JLCrab

Nice !! I know what it feels like overstaying for years.

Sometimes it's just out of our control with so many things happening at the same time and Visa will be the last thing we consider.

Good that you're back now! I believe with this much of relief now you'll never overstay your visa again!! Good Luck

Actually your Visa and Immigration status should be the first thing you consider.

Without it you cannot stay here legally or take care of your family etc.

It certainly is my number one priority.

A shame others do not think the same.

Then i think you have not been through the worse. Or maybe you started off well but that's a good thing and i agree Visa is something very important.

Just that sometimes people have to lose something to realize the value of it. I believe now OP with cherish the 2nd chance given to him. But for those who are still out there on Visa overstay these people i really don't understand. The immigration has given enough time to prepare & clear it, Well maybe they just don't care.

Nice !! I know what it feels like overstaying for years.

Sometimes it's just out of our control with so many things happening at the same time and Visa will be the last thing we consider.

Good that you're back now! I believe with this much of relief now you'll never overstay your visa again!! Good Luck

Actually your Visa and Immigration status should be the first thing you consider.

Without it you cannot stay here legally or take care of your family etc.

It certainly is my number one priority.

A shame others do not think the same.

Sometimes taking care of yourself and others are what makes us not think about our visa!

During the 2011 flood I managed to get a 44 day overstay (I know it's just a "short" overstay) as I was more concerned about taking care of family and friends then to think about my visa. The house I was living in was flooded for more than 5 weeks and we had over 10 cm water for over a week... on the second floor.

Good job none us know what cards we will be dealt with .........

If you are arrested, or imprisoned, or deported and banned you cannot take care of anybody,

Staying legal is number one in my book.

Even if it means going without for a while so you have enough money for visas, extensions, border runs.

I am of no use to my Wife in prison or getting kicked out of the country.

Edited April 5, 201610 yr by Eclipse

A inflammatory post and replies to it has been removed. Such posts will removed without notice from now on.

@OP: Glad all went well for you...

You should take a picture of the page showing your 7 year over stay. Interested to see it.

Thanks, and good luck, hope you find a job.

You should take a picture of the page showing your 7 year over stay. Interested to see it.

Thanks, and good luck, hope you find a job.

Why?

How about this one that is over 17 years that was recently sent to me.

^ Hero.

You should take a picture of the page showing your 7 year over stay. Interested to see it.

Thanks, and good luck, hope you find a job.

Why?

How about this one that is over 17 years that was recently sent to me.

photo 1.JPG

you should clip part of the electronic id for the passport (not the passport number, but I believe it is a unique number for the electronic id for the epassport stuff) off the top of the picture

17 years???? Blimey. How could he do anything?

I needed my passport on an almost daily basis when in Thailand for everything from travel to banking. One time when travelling to P'hiloke I forgot it and my missus had to fax a copy to the hotel so I could check in! I was staggered at how the two over-stayers I knew managed.......

17 years???? Blimey. How could he do anything?

I needed my passport on an almost daily basis when in Thailand for everything from travel to banking. One time when travelling to P'hiloke I forgot it and my missus had to fax a copy to the hotel so I could check in! I was staggered at how the two over-stayers I knew managed.......

You don't need to show the visa page of the passport for anything, I overstayed years and checked into hotels fine, no issues banking, flying domestic, nada.

You should take a picture of the page showing your 7 year over stay. Interested to see it.

Thanks, and good luck, hope you find a job.

Why?

How about this one that is over 17 years that was recently sent to me.

photo 1.JPG

please hide passport number

March 14th?? Nothing like waiting until the last few days left before your overstay benefit was about to expire.

Anyway... I do feel your relief that it's all over..

You should take a picture of the page showing your 7 year over stay. Interested to see it.

Thanks, and good luck, hope you find a job.

Why?

How about this one that is over 17 years that was recently sent to me.

photo 1.JPG

This guy sure was not a frequent traveler! Bet they had fun calculating the number of days, bearing in mind allowing for leap years and such. Did they know the rule for determining whether 2000 was a leap year or not? Lucky about the 20,000 baht limit on the fine. With no limit it would have been 3,131,000 baht (payable in cash only).

You should take a picture of the page showing your 7 year over stay. Interested to see it.

Thanks, and good luck, hope you find a job.

Why?

How about this one that is over 17 years that was recently sent to me.

photo 1.JPG

you should clip part of the electronic id for the passport (not the passport number, but I believe it is a unique number for the electronic id for the epassport stuff) off the top of the picture

Why?

It is reversed and incomplete. I cannot read it.

^ Hero.

Why?

Well done sir, this information may be of help to some poor souls.