Visa Overstay In Thailand

Don’t expect any special treatment, sympathy, or leniency when breaking immigration laws.

People can find themselves overstaying in Thailand for a number of different reasons. Some foreign nationals do so by mistake, by miscalculating their given visa days against the length of their stay, or by simply forgetting their visa expiration date.

What is overstaying?

Overstaying is basically the act of staying in Thailand beyond the given permission to stay period on your visa. For example, if you entered Thailand on September 1st on a 60-day tourist visa you will be given a permit to stay or admitted until the date of October 29th. If you continue to stay in Thailand after October 29th without successfully renewing or extending your Thai Visa, or leaving and re-entering Thailand, you will be deemed as overstaying.

You are solely responsible for leaving Thailand or extending your visa when in Thailand. If you are caught failing to do so you will face penalty or legal sanctions which can end in imprisonment and deportation.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU OVERSTAY YOUR PERMIT TO STAY IN THAILAND

It is illegal to overstay your visa or permit to stay in Thailand and it is seen as breaking Thai laws, even if you overstay by only 1 day. If you are caught overstaying in Thailand you will face a fine and the probability of being detained in a Thai immigration detention center, after which you will be deported or face imprisonment in Thailand.

If you are caught in Thailand as an overstaying foreigner you will be detained and face punishment. However, if you leave Thailand as an overstaying foreigner without being caught you will only face a fine and possible ban from re-entering Thailand, depending on the length of your overstay, when exiting through immigration control at the airport or land border, and will not face any imprisonment or detainment.

As you can face detainment and imprisonment even when overstaying by just one day, it is important to avoid getting caught or being questioned by police, and resolving your overstay issues as soon as possible. On occasions, immigration police will do random checks on foreign nationals on entertainment centers, on the street and some checkpoints.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET CAUGHT OVERSTAYING IN THAILAND

If you are caught before reaching an international airport or if you are caught during a random checkpoint, you will face detainment in an immigration detention center. Just like any Thai prison, these places are dirty, unsafe, and very unpleasant places to be in. In order to get out of an immigration prison and leave the country, you will have to rely on help from friends, your embassy, and/or a lawyer; and even with this help the process can take days, weeks or even months.

If you make it through to an immigration checkpoint at the airport, your fine will be based on the length of your overstay and you will face the possibility of being banned from re-entering Thailand. If you have overstayed in Thailand by a considerable amount of time, or repeatedly overstayed, you may receive a red stamp signifying that you have violated Thai Immigration Law; not only will this affect any future visa applications or visits to Thailand, but it can impact visas and travel to other countries.

In the case of more serious overstaying you can receive a status of “Persona Non-Grata” which means you can be banned from re-entering Thailand for the rest of your life. You may even end up on the infamous travel ‘Black List’, which can mean making future international travel more difficult. 

Thai Immigration can be very strict and difficult to deal with, typically sticking to the rule book in all cases, so don’t expect any special treatment, sympathy, or leniency when breaking immigration laws.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES

The fine for overstaying is 500 Baht per day, reaching a maximum fine of 20,000 Baht (when overstaying 40 or more days).

When overstaying for a significant amount of time (90 days or more days), it is a serious offense that you could face deportation and ban from entering Thailand. Here are the current guidelines for overstaying and entry ban.

SURRENDERING AT AIRPORT IMMIGRATION WHEN LEAVING THAILAND: