Third foreigner arrested in Phuket anti-overstay campaign

[bangarang]

Its nice to see some kind of authority doing their job. The only problem I have is that it seems like they are less likely to sit on their ass when it comes to the opportunity of kicking out a foreigner.

Edited July 5, 2013 by bangarang

[alanferdi]

Overstay??? Beats me. Why it happens. It beats me also why they want to over stay in a corrupt country like Thailand? Foreigners only have the right to shut up and pay. There are many Chinese and Burmese in this country, but the immigration do not go after them.... Why? I hope they get rid of most Europeans. The Chinese will build this land.

[iancnx]

If you want to excoriate me for overstay due to not leaving my wife's side as she lay in hospital near death, go ahead.

They'd just changed the visa rules and embassy staff in Laos that week and were claiming you needed proof of onward travel, no exceptions. We'd dumped all the cash on hospital bills.

Once the medical drama was over, I sorted my overstay.

You are aware that you could have gotten a medical extension for taking care of your wife.2.25 In the case of medical treatment or convalescence or to look after a patient:

Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 90 days at a time.

(1) Confirmation and request has been made by a physician responsible for the treatment. The Physician must describe the details of treatment and advised that the illness is a barrier for travelling.(2) In the case of looking after a patient, confirmation and request has been made by the physician responsible for the treatment or by an embassy or consulate.

(3) Patient Carer, except parents, spouse, children, adopted children or children of spouse, shall be granted no more than 1 extra person.

You have to look at this in a different light.

When you arrive in Thailand you must immediately assume that because you are from Europe then all these 'silly' laws about visas' and the law of Thailand doesn't apply to you as a white officer with black privates to Kow-Tow you.. Then when you are back in UK you can join in with all the other lot complaining about the number of people in UK who are there without legal visas or reasons to stay.

In all honesty these sad losers really p-ss me off with the attitude they have regarding overstay.

Thailand does not need them or want them and rightly so. The end end result of the actions of these f--kwits serves only to cause the people who, want to and do do it propery, hassle from the Thai Authorities who are only doing their job.

As in UK, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

These guys know exactly what law they are breaking and then illicit sympathy from other posters on the forum who are most likely in the same situation but haven't been caught yet.

No sympathy.

I agree, its because of these f-wits that the honest conforming farang population have to jump through more and more hoops to stay here ! Catch them wherever they come from and chuck them out.

Another question that no one seems able to answer, Just how do prostitutes (show girls) mainly from the ex eastern block countries get work permits. They are everywhere, i was propositioned only last week in a Koh Samui bar by a Russian girl.

Can you share the nature of the proposition?

[iancnx]

Amazing..the BS that you lot write....absolute conjecture and crap...I was with Andy the evening prior to this incident...I know/knew the plan for the following day which in part included the Phuket immigration office....there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned, the reason for his appearance, his questions and those individuals that called the officer..(these were scooter rental people by the way !)..so much is missing from this story but reading what you morons have to say is far more amusing than what exactly did take place and why it took place....dream on you TV sad people......you know who you are....

Was he an overstayer or not?

[runningfree73]

these overstayers give us law abiding , tax paying farangs a bad name

out with the lot of you

I wonder how many supposedly "law-abiding" farangs have, in one way or another, paid bribes to corrupt officials to protect their legal status or otherwise gain some advantage?

[tolsti]

Immigration are simply picking off the ''low hanging fruit''. Muppets who have decided that overstaying and 'living the life' is more important than protecting your liberty and livelihood.

Edited July 6, 2013 by tolsti

[Cuban]

Amazing..the BS that you lot write....absolute conjecture and crap..

I was with Andy the evening prior to this incident...I know/knew the plan for the following day which in part included the Phuket immigration office....there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned.....

Don't let us stop you giving the Andy's side of events, you have free reign here to explain the whys and whats of the situation, and so dispel all the BS and conjecture.

Unless it's a open and shut case which at the moment it appears to be.

The rules on staying in Thailand are pretty clear, even this web-site's name is Thai Visa, got to be a clue to the bigger picture surely?

[Carioca]

these overstayers give us law abiding , tax paying farangs a bad name

out with the lot of you

these overstayers give us law abiding , tax paying farangs a bad name

out with the lot of you

Doesn't help the image of us tax-dodging, law-ignoring chaps either

[bkkdawg]

They look like they have about half a brain between the four of them

[ericthai]

Amazing..the BS that you lot write....absolute conjecture and crap...I was with Andy the evening prior to this incident...I know/knew the plan for the following day which in part included the Phuket immigration office....there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned, the reason for his appearance, his questions and those individuals that called the officer..(these were scooter rental people by the way !)..so much is missing from this story but reading what you morons have to say is far more amusing than what exactly did take place and why it took place....dream on you TV sad people......you know who you are....

What BS are you talking about? Fact is he is on over stay. fact is he was arrested. So if there is a big story here please give us the story.

Still does not change the facts so don't know what you are talking about conjecturing up crap.

[ericthai]

Overstay??? Beats me. Why it happens. It beats me also why they want to over stay in a corrupt country like Thailand? Foreigners only have the right to shut up and pay. There are many Chinese and Burmese in this country, but the immigration do not go after them.... Why? I hope they get rid of most Europeans. The Chinese will build this land.

Guess you are not up and out that much. I see immigration deporting Cambodians on a regular basis. They fill up the truck and take them back. Of course 2 days later they are back!

[up-country_sinclair]

there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned, the reason for his appearance, his questions and those individuals that called the officer..(these were scooter rental people by the way !)

It really doesn't matter if it was a motorcycle rental shop who notified immigration. The fact remains that he broke the law by overstaying his visa by 3 months. You'll never be able to convince me this was an accident caused by forgetfulness or confusion about policy.

I'd like to point out that I'm generally not a rigid law and order type, but as has been pointed out by others on this thread, the overstayers put the rest of us in a bad light, and will possibly make staying legal more cumbersome.

Edited July 6, 2013 by up-country_sinclair

[dighambara]

why do these dills get themselves into the overstay scenario, got me beat

IMHO - Because the punishment has always been at the airport when leaving - 20,000 Baht fine.

I will state the obvious; Thai Police do not work at their jobs - primarily because the pay is so low. Most sign in in the morning then go to their real jobs, returning after work to sign out. When payday rolls around, a group is sent out to trap drivers and collect enough money to pay wages.

What they don't realize is that if they actually enforced the law, enough fines would be collected to double or triple police salaries.

[timewilltell]

there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned, the reason for his appearance, his questions and those individuals that called the officer..(these were scooter rental people by the way !)

It really doesn't matter if it was a motorcycle rental shop who notified immigration. The fact remains that he broke the law by overstaying his visa by 3 months. You'll never be able to convince me this was an accident caused by forgetfulness or confusion about policy.

I'd like to point out that I'm generally not a rigid law and order type, but as has been pointed out by others on this thread, the overstayers put the rest of us in a bad light, and will possibly make staying legal more cumbersome.

Maybe the motor cycle renters had his passport and wouldn't give it back because they were trying to scam him so he couldn't leave the country.

Who knows the real reasons!

[up-country_sinclair]

there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned, the reason for his appearance, his questions and those individuals that called the officer..(these were scooter rental people by the way !)

It really doesn't matter if it was a motorcycle rental shop who notified immigration. The fact remains that he broke the law by overstaying his visa by 3 months. You'll never be able to convince me this was an accident caused by forgetfulness or confusion about policy.

I'd like to point out that I'm generally not a rigid law and order type, but as has been pointed out by others on this thread, the overstayers put the rest of us in a bad light, and will possibly make staying legal more cumbersome.

Maybe the motor cycle renters had his passport and wouldn't give it back because they were trying to scam him so he couldn't leave the country.

It's hard to keep all of these different stories straight, but if I remember correctly, this guy overstayed by 3 months.

Edited July 6, 2013 by up-country_sinclair

[hellodolly]

there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned, the reason for his appearance, his questions and those individuals that called the officer..(these were scooter rental people by the way !)

It really doesn't matter if it was a motorcycle rental shop who notified immigration. The fact remains that he broke the law by overstaying his visa by 3 months. You'll never be able to convince me this was an accident caused by forgetfulness or confusion about policy.

I'd like to point out that I'm generally not a rigid law and order type, but as has been pointed out by others on this thread, the overstayers put the rest of us in a bad light, and will possibly make staying legal more cumbersome.

Maybe the motor cycle renters had his passport and wouldn't give it back because they were trying to scam him so he couldn't leave the country.

Who knows the real reasons!

I do it was because he was three months over stayed. There is no justification for it. If they had his passport and would not return it he should have immediately gone to immigration even if his visa was still active.

He could have told them what happened and worked it out from there. The fact that this was his second time denotes that he had no intention of leaving the country.

As for the posters who did not read the article and their are many of them. It was the immigration police that arrested him not the traffic police or other departments of the police department. Immigration police you know the ones who work in the immigration office.

[Monkeyrobot]

How about those Phuket police come up to BKK and arrest all those Nigerians hanging around selling drugs and email scaming. While they are here they can also lock up you lucky man indian as well.

[Cuban]

Passport with the motorbike renters preventing Visa renewal (?) or immigration tipped off by the rental shop seeing the lack of valid leave to remain, either way the guy is disorganised and I would be interested when we hear the real story behind this scam, cover-up injustice or whatever BS we are mistakenly assuming.

Would be amusing in some way if it turned out to be a dispute over a motorbike rental, damage or return of deposit.

Is that the truth?

[JetsetBkk]

Have to love the goons and their crass photoshoot.

But, but... nobody's pointing.

Edit:

OMG, 5 pages? That'll teach me to get here late.

Edited July 6, 2013 by JetsetBkk

[Secondmouse]

I missed the birth of my son because I did nt want to overstay for a single day. Long story, would neve happen again though.

Wow...and you're his mum...?

[Secondmouse]

there is so much more to this story including the very first contact with the officer concerned, the reason for his appearance, his questions and those individuals that called the officer..(these were scooter rental people by the way !)

It really doesn't matter if it was a motorcycle rental shop who notified immigration. The fact remains that he broke the law by overstaying his visa by 3 months. You'll never be able to convince me this was an accident caused by forgetfulness or confusion about policy.

I'd like to point out that I'm generally not a rigid law and order type, but as has been pointed out by others on this thread, the overstayers put the rest of us in a bad light, and will possibly make staying legal more cumbersome.

Maybe the motor cycle renters had his passport and wouldn't give it back because they were trying to scam him so he couldn't leave the country.

Who knows the real reasons!

You are so much closer to the truth but I'm not going to say 'Who, What Where & How' all those involved played their games....

[JulesMad]

I am glad to read that Phuket has sorted their priorities

[robertson468]

We had an Aussie staying in one of our houses and I discovered he was nearly a year into an overstay. He was quite frightened and kept postponing going on a Visa Run. I told him the worse that would happen is he would have to pay for his overstay and a new visa (and maybe a little tea money). Finally I frog-marched him onto the Office for the Visa Run Bus and buy a ticket to go and do the deed. When he got back visa in hand, he was quite elated, well once he got over the terror of the bus ride, which apparently was something else! He had to pay the fine, fair enough, plus the cost of the visa, fair enough, plus a little bit of tea money, fair enough and was put to the back of the queue and scowled at a bit by the officials, which worried him a bit, fair enough. He had no acceptable excuse for not getting his visa on time, but once it was out of date and the more out of date it became, the more frightened he became to go and get it renewed. The problem was all in his mind. So, if anyone has over run their visa, go and do the sensible thing and get it renewed as soon as possible. The longer you leave it, the less loved you will be by Immigration, but most cases are "fixable".

[Cuban]

You are so much closer to the truth but I'm not going to say 'Who, What Where & How' all those involved played their games....

Indeed that is a BS excuse if ever there was one.

Bit like saying you didn't do your homework vs the dog ate it !

It is the Immigration Police that would have helped to resolve the issue .

[IMA_FARANG]

I suggest there be no overstay fine for anyone staying over 1 month or more.

Instead we will start a public flogging display each week where such over stayers are stripped naked and flogged 50 lashes with a bamboo cane.

Somewhere nice and public in Phuket.

I suspect, once that program is started, the number of over stayers in Phuket will drop immediately.

Question: did this latest Brit doo_dah ever have a Work Permit when he was "employed" or not?

[IBoldnewguy]

My wife sorted out my overstay after her friend introduced us to a retired immigration officer.

If you want to excoriate me for overstay due to not leaving my wife's side as she lay in hospital near death, go ahead.

They'd just changed the visa rules and embassy staff in Laos that week and were claiming you needed proof of onward travel, no exceptions. We'd dumped all the cash on hospital bills.

Once the medical drama was over, I sorted my overstay.

The retired officer escorted me to the Nong Khai border police office (friendship bridge). It's on the far left-hand side before you exit.

I paid the 20K THB because of how long I had overstayed, and that was it.

I then went into Laos and got another visa ("O" based on parent of Thai-born child) & 2.5 months afterward extended it for a year following the normal rules.

You don't need anyone to escort you. You just have to make it there and pay up.

I chose to have her come with because with a familiar face, having a former superior there, they all seemed to carry on as normal and it reduced the drama to nothing.

The overstay aspect was all literally sorted in under 20 minutes.

Me and my family are fine now.

PM me if you need to.

It would be a cheap shot to harrass a man for having a caring heart - best to you and the wife - she's a lucky lady!

[hellodolly]

I suggest there be no overstay fine for anyone staying over 1 month or more.

Instead we will start a public flogging display each week where such over stayers are stripped naked and flogged 50 lashes with a bamboo cane.

Somewhere nice and public in Phuket.

I suspect, once that program is started, the number of over stayers in Phuket will drop immediately.

Question: did this latest Brit doo_dah ever have a Work Permit when he was "employed" or not?

I so wanted to tag this I like it.

but unfortunately there are posters here who would mistake it as I really like the idea.

Satire is not always appreciated on TV.

[biplanebluey]

iF YOUR WIFE WAS HOSPITALISED YOU WOULD HVE HAD NO PROBLEM GETTING AN EXTENSION UP TO 90 DAYS SO WHY THE OVERSTAY?

Alright, no need to shout at the guy... Maybe he just had more important things on his mind at the time. It's sorted and it's a nice wee story and he offered anyone else help. Like I'd offer to help as well and show you where the caps lock key is on the keyboard... lol...

And he couldn't find it til he got to the first "F"-------- HaHa

[Tboy928]

Another major criminal arrest. Amazing.

Sorry, but I live in Southern California and they catch hundreds of Mexican illegals per day. This would hardly be newsworthy.

Obviously they are just trying to scare people into not overstaying.

Can't see why they would parade a farang before the cameras like this as though they just busted a major narcotics ring

Let's not forget about the thousands upon thousands of Thai staying in the West illegally.

When a policitic figure travel to west, they should fingerprint him, charge him 400 euros, and make a headacke out of their stay, and welcome as mutch as possibble. so they can feel it themselfs how stupid their moneysucking system is.

[kimamey]

why do these dills get themselves into the overstay scenario, got me beat

I suppose it was always easier than doing the right thing. hey know how much it will cost them when they leave which they accept and little else happens to them so no problem. Now it appears the rules might be being enforced.