In Hospital - Visa Up - No Money

[Neeranam]

I took a European man to a rehabilitation hospital this morning. He needs to stay for some time to recover but his visa is overdue in a couple of days. Is it ok to be overstayed when in hospital?

He has no money to even get out the country, but will have in a couple of months.

Has anyone ever experienced being unable to get a new visa because of sickness?

Do the immigration ever accept doctors notes?

When he leaves the country he'll be unable to pay the overstay and will end up in jail.

[Oleg_Rus]

Perfectly normal to get extension

1. Letter from patient - blah, i'm sick. Have to overstay

2. letter from doctor - blah, I'm super doctor - he is sick and need to make me rich for next 3 months, I envy J.Kevorkian

3. Certif of the doctor - blah, this paper shows he is a Doc, not a crook as he looks

4. What Hospital he admitted and doctor works at - Charles Manson Sisters Of Mercy Hosp.

5. Nice to have #1 stampted by Embassy, but not nes'ry

No joke, can extend up to 1year

Edited November 27, 2006 by Oleg_Rus

[VBF]

I took a European man to a rehabilitation hospital this morning. He needs to stay for some time to recover but his visa is overdue in a couple of days. Is it ok to be overstayed when in hospital?

He has no money to even get out the country, but will have in a couple of months.

Has anyone ever experienced being unable to get a new visa because of sickness?

Do the immigration ever accept doctors notes?

When he leaves the country he'll be unable to pay the overstay and will end up in jail.

I may be wrong but this sounds like a very good time to involve his Embassy. They are, after all, there partly to assist their nationals in distress. On this occasion the particular Embassy might even have a set procedure to follow. No harm in trying.

Edited November 28, 2006 by VBF

[Neeranam]

I took a European man to a rehabilitation hospital this morning. He needs to stay for some time to recover but his visa is overdue in a couple of days. Is it ok to be overstayed when in hospital?

He has no money to even get out the country, but will have in a couple of months.

Has anyone ever experienced being unable to get a new visa because of sickness?

Do the immigration ever accept doctors notes?

When he leaves the country he'll be unable to pay the overstay and will end up in jail.

I may be wrong but this sounds like a very good time to involve his Embassy. They are, after all, there partly to assist their nationals in distress. On this occasion the particular Embassy might even have a set procedure to follow. No harm in trying.

I did that actually and they can help by contacting his relatives back 'home', if he makes the request. They did say however that if he can't get money, which I think he can't, they can't help until he's in IDP - then they can help with a ticket home.

[corkscrew]

I took a European man to a rehabilitation hospital this morning. He needs to stay for some time to recover but his visa is overdue in a couple of days. Is it ok to be overstayed when in hospital?

He has no money to even get out the country, but will have in a couple of months.

Has anyone ever experienced being unable to get a new visa because of sickness?

Do the immigration ever accept doctors notes?

When he leaves the country he'll be unable to pay the overstay and will end up in jail.

It doesn't sound like your friend is in Bumnrungrad Hospital....but if he was Thai Immigration has a desk on the 3rd floor.

[VBF]

I did that actually and they can help by contacting his relatives back 'home', if he makes the request. They did say however that if he can't get money, which I think he can't, they can't help until he's in IDP - then they can help with a ticket home.

Ouch! I will bale out because this is beyond my experience except to suggest that the Embassy may be able to either offer a loan as opposed to just giving the guy money. Or maybe they can get the relatives back home to gaurantee some money and expedite it that way. Good luck to you both.

Edited November 28, 2006 by VBF

[mapletree]

I had dengue fever about three years ago and ended up in the hospital for five days and unable to leave the country for maybe a week after that (and 5 months from then to full recovery). I only had a VOA at the time--fun vacation, huh?--but the hospital took care of the visa extension for me. That was Bumrungrad, so now I know how it was so easy for them. I don't remember signing anything but at the time I was incapacitated for days so they must have somehow handled it all without me. I remember they asked details about my change of flight and date of departure, but that was all.

[pumpuiman]

I was able to get an extension with a short letter of explanation from the doctor. No additional documents were needed in my case. Perhaps things have changed? I did this in 2003 and I was being treated at Bumrungrad, but I was not aware of an immigration desk at that time. I wish I had been, waiting for hours, and traveling, was not easy with a herniated disc!!

[farangene]

Some of the other big name hospitals in addition to Bumr. Hosp (ie Bangkok Hosp.) will take care of visa extensions for your friend.

Let the administration know that your friend needs an extension and they will arrange it.

They have people who will take his passport to Immigration for the proper stamps and you do not have to be involved.

[brahmburgers]

My experience with Immigration - mostly Mae Sai in northernmost Thailand, is they're perfunctory and unyielding on overstays. I hope that's not the case for the bloke in hospital - and I wish him all the best. I once lost my passport on the day before Songkran. I went to Mae Sai Imm. and asked for a voucher that I had, indeed, showed up with good intentions - to renew my visa. They laughed at me and refused to acknowledge that I was standing in front of them with a simple request. In the north, Songkran is 10 days of water throwing and therefore 10 days delay getting a new passport - and 2 round trips to a Chiang Mai - 200 Km away. Even when I returned with new passport and official note from my embassy to pardon the delay, the Thai imm. authorities waved it away with a scowl and wouldn't even looking at it. The icing on the cake was an outsider (Thai) was called in and commenced to yell in my face in broken English about "rules are rules and cannot be bent!" ...because no one at the imm office could speak English (he was their proxy).

The moral of this story is, Thai Imm authorities are callous and would rather laugh at your misfortune and discomfort than find ways to assist - especially if it's anything that might involve 'thinking outside the box'. They're products of a rote education that rewards strict conformity. ...many are probably among the ranks of the hundreds we read about every week that are 'transferred to inactive posts'

[Thaddeus]

The moral of this story is, Thai Imm authorities are callous and would rather laugh at your misfortune and discomfort than find ways to assist - especially if it's anything that might involve 'thinking outside the box'.

A water pistol incident and a hospital stay for something far more serious are not treated the same way,,, they are not demons you know...... get a letter from the attending physician stating that the patient was incapacitated and therefore it was impossible to abide by the rules.... all will be well