Is overstaying my tourist visa in Thailand by one day a big deal, and do I need to transfer my extension to my new US passport?

Mar 17, 2021
4 years ago
Todd ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Hello all. I have 2 questions:

1. I successfully extended by 30 days, my Tourist (TR) Visa. It now expires on April 20, 2021. I'm scheduled to depart Thailand on April 21, 2021. I understand that there is 500 THB fine, for a 1 day overstay, which I can pay at BKK, when I'm going through the exiting process. Is this no big deal, or does it somehow "tarnish" my status in the eyes of Thai Immigration...?

2. I'm currently renewing my US Passport through the US Embassy in Bangkok. I understand that I'm required to take my new passport to Thai Immigration to transfer my extension/admitted-to-stay stamps to my new passport. Is this really necessary or, since I'm leaving Thailand anyway, can I simply show up at BKK on April 21 for my flight, and show the Immigration officer there both my passports (old and new)...?

Thanks in advance for you thoughts/suggestions!
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user inquired about two issues: first, the implications of overstaying a tourist visa in Thailand by one day and whether it would affect their immigration status; second, whether they must transfer their visa extension to a new passport before departing Thailand. Responses indicate that overstaying by one day typically incurs a 500 THB fine, but it is often waived, and while the overstay is noted in the passport, it generally doesn't affect future entries unless it becomes habitual. For passport transfers, it's not mandatory to transfer visa extensions from an old passport to a new one when leaving; showing both passports at departure is usually sufficient.
Alessio *******
One day overstay they probably won’t charge you the 500baht and below 10days they won’t put you on any “black list”.

At point 2 I would say better transfer the visa at the immigration to be safe. Cause the old passport it’s null and all the visa on it as well. Get new passport and go to the immigration it shouldn’t take too long and no costs
Tod *********
Okay, let's sort this out. You CAN just show up at the immigration check point at the airport with BOTH passports and you'll get stamped out of the country just fine.

They will waive the 500baht overstay fine on overstays of less than 24 hours but you WILL get a stamp in your passport stating you overstayed.

OR

You can take the two passports, a filled out "transfer stamp" request form, the appropriate copies to the immigration office where you got your last extension and they will move the stamps to the new passport for you. THEN when you go to the airport you only show that passport.
Todd ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Tod ********
When I go to the same Immigration office where I got my extension, do I go to desk "J" again?
Tod *********
@Todd *******
yep same place
Frédéric ******************
Strange that the embassy didn't requested a new passport before issuing your tourist visa. Passports are supposed to be valid 6 months after intended stay.
Tod *********
@Fréd****
that is totally INCORRECT. A passport has to be valid only for 6 months from the date a visa is issued

AND

believe it or not there is no requirement for a passport to be valid even a single day longer than you're going to be stamped in to thailand
Todd ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Frédéric ****************
it's not due to expiration. It's due to running out of pages
Lionel ********
@Todd *******
: it's the responsability of the traveler to check his passport has enough blank pages before applying for visa...
************************************************************************************
Todd ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Lionel *******
Thanks for your reply, but I did have enough pages to extend my Visa. As I said, I successfully extended my visa. My question relating to my new passport was, do I really need to have Thai Immigration transfer my extension stamps to my new passport before leaving Thailand, or not...?
Andrew ********
Run out of pages??
Frédéric ******************
John *********
Go through before midnight , on date . Sorry dont know your flight times .
Kool *******
I will cost you bt500 at the airport, or bt1900 to get an extension. You decide as one day overstay is no problem, unless by some strange circumstance you get stopped by police on that day before you get to the airport, and arrested for overstay. Then it gets serious, but the chances of that are slim. To be safe get your visa extension transfered into your new passport, and you should have gotten a letter from the embassy with your new passport to do this with. Technically your old passport has been cancelled by the embassy so you could run into problems. Not saying you will, but you could.
Andrew ********
I went to immigration to move my visa to my new passport. I was informed it is not necessary you just have to present both passports. You CAN have the visa transferred as I did as It was required by the Chinese embassy to get a visa for China. However its generally not required. Also best to avoid fines at the airport.
Steve *******
@Andrew *******
You CANT transfer a visa only extention/admitted to stay stamps. If your visa is still valid you need to carry both Passports.
Todd ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Steve ******
my mistake when I said transfer visa. I should have said transfer my extension stamp.
Todd *********
It’s no big deal. They may or may not waive the one day fine. Will be marked in your passport. No problem.
Haydn *******
1. If you overstay by 1 day they don't usually bother to fine you, but it's noted in your passport.. But as long as you don't make it a regular thing its not important
Stuart *********
It’s not advisable to overstay if you can avoid it. It won’t tarnish your reputation in the eyes of Thai immigration for your next entry, but it could be an issue if you were either trying to get a tourist visa in Penang or wanting to get an elite visa (I think the rule is max 2 overstays for that - but happy to be corrected). You can’t transfer a visa (as in the sticker) in your passport. You just use the old and new passport on leaving.
Todd ********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Stuart ********
An Elite visa application might be in my future, so your comment about a max of 2 overstays has my attention!...! Can anyone else confirm what Stuart is saying?
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