British Embassy Warns Of Detention For Overstayers Exceeding 42 Days

[mochafan]

So anyone heard of any arrests of foreigners that showed up with 20k and a ticket at the airport?

Anyone blacklisted...?

I paid the 20K as I was 9 months over but they let me stay in the country and accepted my application for a new non immigrant O without me having to leave the country. I'm by no means rich but earn more than 40000B a month so my visa was reissued. They're not all bad!

Shamefull. 9 months over your stay and just laughing at the face of the law, Hopefully this new law will put a stop to this.

i disagree. Not shameful at all. If you don't want to overstay that's your choice. This guy isn't you. Everyone is different and everyone breaks the law to some degree in every country. there is no shame in overstay. i'm here legally.... i just don't think if a person overstays, it's really nobody's business as long as he can support himself/herself. A girl's gotta do what she's gotta do. Look at all the gogo bars in Thailand and people selling fake items...but that doesn't seem to be illegal.

[MyFriend You]

So anyone heard of any arrests of foreigners that showed up with 20k and a ticket at the airport?

Anyone blacklisted...?

Well, three years ago August 6th, I was 1087 days overstay. I went to the airport with my Filipino GF and our 3 year old son. I had my 20,000 baht in and ticket in hand. The ticket counter gave me all kinds of problems. They would not check me in until I cleared immigration. I went to the immigration desk (near the passport control/terminal entrance). They asked for my boarding pass. I told them that the ticket counter would not check me in until I cleared immigration. The immigration officer then proceeded to fill out some papers, I signed, they took my picture, I paid the fine, they stamped my passport, and off I went to get my boarding pass. No problems.

I went to Vietnam. I stayed there for about two months. I came back to Thailand by bus from Phnom Phen. I checked in at the Aranyapathet immigration checkpoint. They let me in with no problems. I have gone through several immigration checkpoints with zero problems even with the overstay stamp in my passport. By the way, they wrote the number of days I overstayed in my passport. So all immigration officers were able to my prior misdeed.

Granted this was three years ago.

Dudeinthailand

Edit: I had a 30-day visa from the Aranyapathet immigration check-point that I overstayed. I received the same when I returned. I have since had a 15 day stamp, several tourist visas, and an education visa.

1087 days overstay ? No wonder they bought in this law. Shocking that you can get away with ignoring the law for so long and you seem proud of it. I guess if I rob someone and don't get caught for 45 days I should also get away with it ?

I find it interesting that you are comparing a non-violent immigration violation to a violent act of robbery. In my book it is not even close. Also, the policy in effect at the time of my overstay was followed by the airport immigration officers. I agree illegal immigration and immigration violations should be dealt with. I also believe that some people that overstay are good people and have their own reasons for overstaying. Does it make an overstay okay? No. The individual should be punished according to the current policy. Putting them in jail for an extended period of time or treating them the same as a violent criminal is not what an intellectual society accepts as justice. It is over-reactionary and an emotional punishment.

Well, Thailand screwed themselves by putting a limit of 20,000 baht your 1097 would have cost almost 550,000 baht had they not limted the fine............consider yourself lucky.:annoyed:

[goonerone]

Excluding hospital treatment or a family emergency there is really no excuse for overstaying more than a day or two. I would suggest that a fair proportion of those who overstay are the sort of expat that the kingdom wants rid of and most decent expats want rid of.

I'm not sure about banging people up for this but I'm all for blacklisting those without a valid excuse and making them pay their own way home. US and Australia to name but a few wouldn't stand for this crap, so why should Thailand. Play the game straight and you don't get into bother

I Have a friend that is on a 2 years overstay he has a Thai wife and a child an is working and looking after them, If he returns to the UK and if he is very lucky he may get a min paid job and be able to send a bit of money back but will never be able to save the money to return to see his wife and child if he cannot find work which will probably be the case then his wife and child will go hungry so if that is a crime the I think the law stinks, I am amazed at the compassion you senior member's show its about time you lot got of you golden high horse.

Not everyone that overstays if a criminal

[mrchips377]

There are so many high minded people in this forum forever complain and critizing other visitors to Thailand for their so called criminal actions ! This is so ridiculous especially here in Thailand. Firstly there are laws and there are laws. If you park illegally anywhere in the world you are breaking the law, are you therefore a "criminal". Secondly in Thailand, there are plenty of laws which are never properly applied and which will never be properly applied. Thailand is not a Westernized Christian Democratic country and the law is very rarely applied here as it would be in Europe or the USA, so please just remember the culture here. Rich and influential Thai people can usually bend the law here when they want to, does that make them all criminals ?

[hungryhippo]

I just don't get it. There is a HUGE stamp in your passport which tells you when you came here and when you must leave.

If you don't do that, then you are breaking the law and a criminal ?

Why would people brag about how long they have "got away with it" ?

You would not do that in the UK but it's fine to do that here in Thailand ?

Great people !!!!!! Not !

That's not always the case. It's very easy to look at people like the guy above who overstayed for 1000+ days and think all foreigners do that but it's simply not the case. I've been at the immigration department uncountable times and seen lots of people overstay simply by mistake. I blame the stupid rules for it too.

Lots of people on non-imm visas go to immigration and report their address thinking they've done their visa and then get a horrible surprise next time they come again. I've seen it over and over. Yes, these people are stupid and don't properly understand what they're doing. Are they bad people that deserve to be arrested / deported? No.

The stupid reporting your address thing is an unnecessary waste of time for everyone on 90 day visas. If they made it part of the visa process instead there would be a lot less offenders; i'm sure of it.

I don't think anyone is going to complain too much about them doing this.

After all, 42 days isn't something you overstay by accident usually, but you'd have to hope that immigration would give, as a minimum, the following exemptions.

Like I said above. Go to Immigration, report your address thinking you've done your 90 day visa re-stamp. It's VERY EASY for someone who has never done it all before to get arrested.

Edited October 2, 2010 by hungryhippo

[Tanaka]

It is not right that people should show no respect for the law. It cost me about 4000 bts to do my visa run,so I think the missed visa runs should be calculated and added to the 20,000 bts fine, say at 5,000 bts a run or maybe 10,000 to make people think twice. We all need to respect the law, without law what do we have.

Thailand?

[Basil B]

Given the amount of stick Thai Visa (and Pattaya One) received for publishing this story in the first place, you guys must be feeling quite pleased with yourselves today.

I am sure Howard knew all along he was right. But for you, with more of a reputation to preserve than his paper has, it must have been an uncomfortable week, given some of the angry/exasperated/abusive comments I was (ahem, enjoying) reading in the other thread that ran on this story.

Moral - don't overstay, although I would be interested to hear if anyone IS here on months or years overstay and what they think about this?

Many thanks,

Sharecropper.

Well Yes...

I see nothing new in any statement other than that posted by "Pattaya One" last week which .

What the British Embassy posted is true but there have been no changes in the law since 1979 nor do I see or hear of a any change in policy of enforcing immigration law with mass arrests of "Over-stayers" arriving at Swampy who have valid air ticket and money to pay fine.

[pattayabuggy]

How much is an air ticket, 35,000B average? Add another 20,000B for overstay, 55,000B, plus travel to BKK, plus airport fees, etc, etc, let's say minimum 60,000B. So where will you get that if you are broke? The only way might be to commit a crime, hoping you don't get caught so you can clear the visa problem......mmm, better overstay I think, in the hope luck turns in your favour. That's exactly what people do. Most people don't want to break the law, it's just circumstance.

Many do go the crime route, scam and cheat other people, and this case is typical, the guy finds himself a victim of crime, and then has to break the law himself by overstaying.

I admit there will always be an element that indeed just disergard the requirements, can't be bothered, too lazy, time could be better spent propping a bar up.  I don't have any sympathy for those people either, but there really are genuine hardship cases, don't forget that.

The week before the visa expires, there is no need to pay overstay fine nor buy an air-ticket. A couple of hundred baht will take you to the nearest border.

So your assumption that people overstay because they cannot pay the imaginary cost of 55k baht is incorrect.

That might bed the reason they continue to be on overstay after already being on it for 3 months or more...

Get your point, I was thinking of the cost of returning to their home country, there is the option of a visa run before the overstay occurs, I stand corrected on that one.

I don't know, the guy who had to sell scrap sounds as if he had no money at all, not even to go to the border, even went without food he said.

I just don't like the way other people are dammed on here, any of us can have problems, that's the way life is.

[Aquanaut]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but riding a motorcycle without a crash helmut is against the law in Thailand

So is prostitution!

I would wager 5000 baht (if gambling wasn't illegal too) that most of the 'holier than thou' subscribers here have indulged in one or the other, or both.

Ahhhhhhh, the hypocracy!

[TAWP]

So is prostitution!

There is no law against paying a girl for being with you at your or her home...the provision is when the selling is done in public etc.

[sirchai]

So anyone heard of any arrests of foreigners that showed up with 20k and a ticket at the airport?

Anyone blacklisted...?

I paid the 20K as I was 9 months over but they let me stay in the country and accepted my application for a new non immigrant O without me having to leave the country. I'm by no means rich but earn more than 40000B a month so my visa was reissued. They're not all bad!

Shamefull. 9 months over your stay and just laughing at the face of the law, Hopefully this new law will put a stop to this.

Agreed. Because of people like this guy laws are always changing, the process to receive a visa's getting ridiculous and people who had an accident or similar circumstances that they couldn't fly out are having big troubles. Only because of some fools.

[powderpuff]

Excluding hospital treatment or a family emergency there is really no excuse for overstaying more than a day or two.

What if terrorists take over & close the airport?

[powderpuff]

It's amazing all the wailing and gnashing of teeth over this issue.

And there was I thinking all ThaiVisa board members were holier than thou types, married to "good" women, never go to beer bars and observe all the rules.

Seems I may have been wrong all this time.

As for damaging Thailand's reputation abroad, do me a favour and get real. All they would be doing, if they do in fact go this way (and I would hope that they do), is enforcing existing legislation that has been allowed to slip. There are many in Europe who would look enviously at a country that can make and enforce it's own rules.

Yes, many may say they think jail time for such an offence is overkill. Okay, stamp them PNG and escort them to the plane in cuffs as humiliation.

Phil. It's been a nice little money spinner for the Immigration Cops for decades.

You overstayed - you left voluntarily - you paid the fine.

It was overstayers who got in trouble with the law that had problems.

The British Embassy can't help their nationals in jail but they can interpret Thai law.

Jobs well done BOYS (pun intended) Gov't parasites.

[GM1955]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but riding a motorcycle without a crash helmut is against the law in Thailand

So is prostitution!

I would wager 5000 baht (if gambling wasn't illegal too) that most of the 'holier than thou' subscribers here have indulged in one or the other, or both.

Ahhhhhhh, the hypocracy!

ThaiVisa members are different.

[Seanextra]

So let me get this straight its only UK overstayers going to jail ??? LOL gotta love all this crap about nothing must be no news in Thailand Again if this is whats hitting the top of the pops this week , How bout some stodgy monks buying mercedes benz or mahouts being band or rip off taxis oil spills in fuket or nuclear power plants the hub stuff or top ten ??? Surely Thailands not the hub of arresting Poms at the border as well:rolleyes:

[jesselv]

Third world country with third world mentality. If foreigners quit going there all together their tourist industry will shriivell up and die.

In this case they won't have to worry about imposing their 20k fine. My wife wants me to go there to live but it's really too much of a

hassle with their immigration laws. You can't get a visa yo stay there any real lenght of time even if your married to a thai person and

have children. My wife got her green card in the U.S. easily which gives her ten years. the thais want no permanent foreign residents,

they just want your money and then get the hel_l out. I say just STAY out in the first place.

Real consequences would be blackballing the person for a 3 or 5 year (or maybe longer) period of time from returning to Thailand. Does not make sense to prevent an overstay from leaving but from returning - get rid of the deadwood. Now if you catch them way overstaying as a result of on interaction with law enforcement and this is discovered (not by immigration sweeps to pocket baht) then this is the grey area where LE and immigration have to figure out and standardized (good luck with this in Thailand) a relatively equal and fair consequences.

Bottom line for me is play by the rules = no worries.

[Badbanker]

I will be visiting the person that wrote the original post for the British Embassy website on Monday. This is because of another matter! I will discuss its validity and his experience of its enforcement to date.

BB

Edited October 3, 2010 by Badbanker

[Naam]

The law is the law, Why would you think that "just because you got away with it" is OK ?

If you decide to live in adifferent country then you also agree to abide to live by the laws in that country. If you have a 30 / 60 / 90 day stamp, then thats how long you are legally given to live in the country. Who are you to decide that that is a joke and stay beyond that ?

I just don't get your point ? It's ok to break the law if your a or b but not c ?

What kind of world do you live in ?

true! that's why the Pilgrim Fathers who arrived in the year 1620 on the "Mayflower" in Massachusetts got their passport duly stamped and received a residence permit from "them Injuns in charge"

[futureexpat]

So anyone heard of any arrests of foreigners that showed up with 20k and a ticket at the airport?

Anyone blacklisted...?

The only people to report back here with first hand knowledge about this are people who overstayed, paid the fine and had no problems. As I stated in the other thread, I was well past the 42 day mark and had no problems. No questions asked, paid my fine and was allowed back into Thailand. I know two other people who were also past the 20,000 baht point, read the news report here and cleared their overstays without any problems or questions asked.

I'm not going to overstay again because it's just not worth the risk to me but the situation seems to be business as usual. If it turns out that the report was true and the policy will soon change (it hasn't yet) I will be thankful for the warning. If it was a false report, I won't really care.

[najman]

People that choose to overstay their visa's should face the consequences of their actions, and flagrant disregard of another countrys law. So an overstay of 42 days, which is more than most people's trips might lead to detention, deportation, black-listing does not sound unreasonable.

I totally agree, What are these people thinking that they can come to Thailand and just laugh at the law, Shamefull.

what were they thinking you ask? The same things that humans have thought since the start of our history.

It is a basic human instinct to travel, move, relocate and seek a better life. No government can ever quash that instinct. No law can redefine what makes us humans. This instinct caused the spread of humans all over the far corners of the earth, do you really think it will just disappear from our souls because an institution passes a law?

Personally I have never broken an immigration law, I am not even saying that overstaying is the right thing to do, but it is easy for me to understand the motivation. Jumping through bureaucratic hoops to pursue life gets boring quick, and beyond that it can sometimes completely prevent you from staying in the place you have made your home.

The freedom of movement has a much longer history than any immigration law.

I agree completely. Spot on.

[najman]

The law is the law, Why would you think that "just because you got away with it" is OK ?

If you decide to live in adifferent country then you also agree to abide to live by the laws in that country. If you have a 30 / 60 / 90 day stamp, then thats how long you are legally given to live in the country. Who are you to decide that that is a joke and stay beyond that ?

I just don't get your point ? It's ok to break the law if your a or b but not c ?

What kind of world do you live in ?

true! that's why the Pilgrim Fathers who arrived in the year 1620 on the "Mayflower" in Massachusetts got their passport duly stamped and received a residence permit from "them Injuns in charge"

Exactly. Western countries have always followed the local rules when they see a country they like for whatever reason. Take the USA for example. I'm sure they all got their passports stamped at Iraq immigration when they invaded for their oil control.

[Hawk]

Laws are set in place to aid the ruling elite and are not made to help the common folk.

There are so many laws in place these days its nearly impossible not to break some man made law at sometime in one's life, so we are all or will be criminals in the eyes of the law sooner or later.

The immigration make laws that earns them a guaranteed source of revenue.

The police use the law for their own benefit, to make money for themselves.

The government use laws to make money through unnecessary over taxing of the ordinary folk.

All that money taken does not go back to the common folk , it goes to the ruling class, some of those ill gotten gains now being spent over at Krispy Kreme.

Edited October 3, 2010 by Hawk

[mochafan]

It is not right that people should show no respect for the law. It cost me about 4000 bts to do my visa run,so I think the missed visa runs should be calculated and added to the 20,000 bts fine, say at 5,000 bts a run or maybe 10,000 to make people think twice. We all need to respect the law, without law what do we have.

it's not always right to respect the law. How can you respect something or someone that doesn't respect YOU?

[Arkady]

So anyone heard of any arrests of foreigners that showed up with 20k and a ticket at the airport?

Anyone blacklisted...?

[/quotes

Seems like a great opportunity to request informal fines and bail money. Anyone who is shown the inside of the Immigration jail in Suan Plu usually tries to raise whatever is requested pretty quick. It is surprising they have taken such an uncommercial attitude for so long and just meekly accepted the receipted 20k fine. As for blacklisting, why not? Another opportunity to increase the margin per customer. There is no point in letting the poverty stricken who can't stump up to avoid being blacklisted back in the country anyway.

Thais who overstay in a farang country are not only blacklisted by that country but are effectively blacklisted by all other farang countries that have tough visa laws. Perhaps they are going to go for some payback for the arrogance of farang embassies.

[BWPattaya]

Excluding hospital treatment or a family emergency there is really no excuse for overstaying more than a day or two.

What if terrorists take over & close the airport?

There are other airports to fly out from. There are land border crossings.

[IAMSOBAD]

Mods can we link or whatever it is called this thread and Georges other thread about Pattaya One and overstay.

Actually it is the OP on this topic.

Badbank I am dying to hear about your visit and how this mess started.

We all need the truth about these very important issues.

[geriatrickid]

Exactly. Western countries have always followed the local rules when they see a country they like for whatever reason. Take the USA for example. I'm sure they all got their passports stamped at Iraq immigration when they invaded for their oil control.

You may wish to consider a different example as the US interest in Iraqi oil was and is significantly less than that of Russia, China and several EU countries. Maybe if several large EU based commodity brokers had not busted the UN imposed sanctions that were imposed to prevent a war, the Russians not laid the framework for the breaches, and the banks of Syria and Lebanon not laundered the money, things would have been different.

The USA's largest energy provider is its NAFTA partners Canada and Mexico with Canada providing 100% of all foreign sourced electricity, 95% of all gas imports and twice as much crude oil as any other nation. Iraq doesn't even make the top 5 of energy exporters to the USA. (Nigeria and Venezuala export more.) In fact, Iraq exports to the USA are in the same range as Angola and Columbia. So the next time you want to cite Iraq, please get your facts right.

[mojo80]

Just cleared 5 months overstay.........i did it intentionally and will continue to do as i see fit! it all a load of balls!

[Buchholz]

Just cleared 5 months overstay

With no detention? 5 months exceeds 42 days. So much for vindication of the overstay story.

[boredinbangkok]

Just cleared 5 months overstay.........i did it intentionally and will continue to do as i see fit! it all a load of balls!

Some more details please.

Did you fly out of the country and came back the same day, or did you go the immigration in changwatana and cleared it there?

More info would be useful..