Previous overstay and consequences?

[PaulusE]

Hi there,

I will arrive to Thailand later this week and was wondering if my previous overstay history has some consequences. I had roughly a year and a half ago (5/2015) about 300 days overstay which I cleared at the airport paying 20.000 baht fine.

Now I plan to stay only three weeks, have all return tickets and hotel bookings in place. I plan to visit Laos during my trip and then fly from Vientiane via Bangkok to Phuket and to my home country.

Does this Laos trip cause any extra difficulties...

My travel route will be: arrive to Phuket - Chiang Mai - Udon Thani - Vientiane - Bangkok - Phuket - back to home...

Thank you in advance..

Pauli.

[nikmar]

You ll be fine. I know from similar experience.

[elviajero]

I suggest you enter with a visa rather than using visa exempt entry. With a visa you should sail through. Without, you might face questioning but you should be let in.

[manfredtillmann]

and what ever happens, please do report on it.

this is an important issue to a lot of us.

thanking you in advance

mft

[ubonjoe]

I suggest you enter with a visa rather than using visa exempt entry. With a visa you should sail through. Without, you might face questioning but you should be let in.

I don't really think he will have a problem on entry with a visa exempt since he cleared his overstay last year. Not the same as leaving and immediately re-entering the country.

He will also have proof of his travel plans by way of tickets if needed.

[gilo]

Cleared a much longer overstay in 2014 and have left and entered many times since. The only time it was raised was at Nong Khai where I had inadvertently overstayed a day and on exiting at the overstay desk the i/o simply mentioned it and then asked for the 500 baht fine with no other comment. It was never raised on re-entry with both visa exempt and tourist visas. So in my experience so long as it was cleared in advance of the new rules being implemented immigration do not seem to raise it unless perhaps there is some other concern that they might have. That having been said I am now in possession of a shiny new British passport and it is nice not to have a stamp indicating a >4000 day overstay (although of course I am aware that it is a matter of permanent record on the immigration system) I also echo the earlier remarks that better to secure a tourist visa if possible in advance to minimise any possible questioning.

[PaulusE]

Immigration officer was very polite and no questions were asked when I arrived to Phuket airport.

[BritTim]

Did you enter with or without a visa?

[PaulusE]

Sorry, forgot to mention that: without visa.

[manfredtillmann]

Sorry, forgot to mention that: without visa.

thanks for letting us know.

[gilo]

I too was re-admitted visa exempt after a very long overstay. However I returned 4 days later but was questioned quite intently before being stamped in. So with hindsight it perhaps would have been better to have secured a visa. Although what a Thai consulate would have made of a new passport with only a recently added >4000 day overstay would itself not have been too thrilling a prospect. But I echo the IO remarks that immigration have been remarkably decent and have never made an issue of that overstay since. While some seem to have been hit with the ban following the new regulations, it would appear to be selectively enforced with no clear rules as to how or on whom they will in fact be imposed. Another example of the often disjoint between the de jure and de facto in practice. While such data is unlikely to ever make it into the public domain it would be interesting to see the match between those that have been barred and those on the list of countries that are required to apply for visas only in their home countries.