1-2 month overstay?

[P4K]

Hey so I was wondering if you were to 'hand yourself in' at the border with less than 90 days overstay and pay the 20k baht fine what would the other penaalties be? I'd have to do a visa run in a couple of days but overlooked that my passport expiry date just falls right under a 6 month period from when I'd apply for a new visa, so now I'm thinking if I should just leave the country now all together but if I were to risk it and wait for my passport renewal then go to the border on a 1-2 month overstay and pay the fine would I have an issue applying for a new visa? this would be in vientiane, and yes I got the 30 day extension already. I know this forum is against breaking the law so the general advice will probably be to just get out now, but if I were to choose to overstay then 'hand myself in' with less than 90 days would this have an effect on me re-entering?

[Crossy]

IMHO it would be extremely unwise to deliberately overstay because you cannot be bothered to get a new passport.

 

Whilst an overstay of under 90 days won't lead to an automatic ban if you 'hand yourself in' getting caught on overstay by a random check could lead to your arrest and deportation even if it's less than 90 days.

 

Having an overstay (without a ban) in your passport probably won't affect your getting a new visa or entering the country under current rules, but things can and do change, get an immigration officer on a bad day and he could deny you entry even if you have a visa.

 

Worth the risk for a few months of passport validity? As always Up2U.

 

I've never had a passport actually expire, apart from one which was stolen they always fill up after 5 or 6 years

 

[BritTim]

If I understand your situation correctly:

• Your passport already has less than six months remaining validity
• You are not currently on overstay, but will be if you do not take action within a few days
• You believe acquiring a new passport will take a month or two

Your nationality is unclear, and may affect your options.

 

First question: do you have the possibility of applying for an extension of your current permission to stay? If you have a tourist entry, and have not yet applied for an extension, you can get a 30-day extension of your permission to stay on payment of 1,900 baht at an immigration office. If you are married to a Thai, or have a child with Thai nationality, you have the option of applying for a 60-day extension to visit your spouse/child.

 

Second possibility: depending on your nationality, you may be eligible for a visa exempt entry by crossing at a land border and returning to Thailand. This would give you a fresh 30-day stay if you are from a G7 country (15 days otherwise) , with the option of a further 30 days by applying for an extension. Technically, you are supposed to have six months left on your passport when crossing borders into neighboring countries, but experience shows that they often do not enforce this when crossing by land.

 

Third possibility: a few countries allow entry by air with a passport of less than six months validity, and there is no trouble returning to Thailand under these conditions. The only one that would possibly make sense for you is probably Hong Kong. Thus, you could plan to apply for a visa in Hong Kong and apply for your new passport thereafter. The good news is that recent reports (and my own experience) is that Hong Kong is a good place to apply. This would cost more than places like Vientiane, but much less than a 20,000 baht overstay fine.

[F4UCorsair]

I find this difficult to believe.

[drjden]

Some countries will allow you to extend the validity of your passport at their embassy. Don't know what country you are from, but maybe worth to look into..

[Fithman]

2 minutes ago, drjden said:

Some countries will allow you to extend the validity of your passport at their embassy. Don't know what country you are from, but maybe worth to look into..

 

AFAIK America was the last who did that. Now not possible 

[jerome2]

Whatever youdo do it a monday or tuesday to avoid jail for the weekend

[JackThompson]

What country takes 1 to 2 months to get a new passport?  Usually they are expedited, when applied for overseas.

 

I'd suggest you leave on-time, and get your new passport in a neighboring country to avoid an overstay.  Then apply for a new Thai Tourist Visa from there, in your new passport.  Be sure the country you choose to visit does not have the 6-mo rule for entry, or accepts a "fee" to overlook it.

 

If they let you come back in on another visa-exempt, to spite being a bit short on validity-time, that might work too - but you'd need to apply for an extension of that with passport in hand in 30 days, to make it to 60 days total, which would not work if your country takes over a month to deliver.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, JackThompson said:

What country takes 1 to 2 months to get a new passport?  Usually they are expedited, when applied for overseas.

 

Countries can vary wildly in how long they take to process passport renewals. Many African countries take months. About 2 years ago, a UK passport renewal was taking typically three months, though now typically only 2-3 weeks.

 

2 hours ago, JackThompson said:

If they let you come back in on another visa-exempt, to spite being a bit short on validity-time, that might work too - but you'd need to apply for an extension of that with passport in hand in 30 days, to make it to 60 days total, which would not work if your country takes over a month to deliver.

 

Most countries allow you to retain your old passport until you receive your new one, though it is not valid for overseas travel. In Thailand, this is pretty much a requirement, as it is against the law to be without your passport. The old passport is then canceled when you pick up your new passport.

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Most countries allow you to retain your old passport until you receive your new one, though it is not valid for overseas travel. In Thailand, this is pretty much a requirement, as it is against the law to be without your passport. The old passport is then canceled when you pick up your new passport.

 

Good point on that - so he could use his old passport to get the extension, assuming they let him back in with less than 6-mo validity.

 

Note that the US Embassy offers to take your old passport, and mail you a new one.  In the interim, you have only your copy of the old one plus a letter explaining the situation.  I doubt one would be arrested with those in hand.  I never carry anything but a laminated color-copy of the main-page of my passport, plus color-copies of the visa and stamps.