What are the consequences of overstaying a visa in Thailand?

Feb 2, 2024
a year ago
Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Perhaps time to post this here again.

Overstaying your “admitted until” date in your passport is breaking the law.

Many times on here people ask is it ok to overstay - 1, 2, 5 days etc. The fine at the immigration exit desk is 500 baht per day of overstay. Some airport immigration officers will waive the fine if it is only 1 day, but you’ll still get a small stamp in your passport in Thai saying “overstay fine waived as under 24 hours”. 100% you’ll be fined at a land border

HOWEVER if you are stopped inside the country for any reason - like at a police check point - even on your way to an airport or border crossing then be prepared for a whole lot of trouble.

The police may arrest you as you have broken the law. If they do you’ll be fined in court and then sent to the nearest Immigration Detention Centre, where you will be kept until you buy a one way ticket back to your home country. If you don’t have the funds for that you will be kept there until you find some means of raising those funds. Once you have your ticket, you will be deported and blacklisted from entering the country for up to 5 years.

Sounds dramatic but it sometimes happens. 500 baht a day sounds cheaper than an extension for 1900 baht at a local immigration office but in the overall scheme of things it is never wise to overstay.

For those who want to argue that “I’ve never had an issue on overstay - so you’ll be fine” Is akin to saying “I got away with breaking the law - so you will too”.

There have also been reports of some having issues with getting visas or entries to other countries because of their overstay stamp in Thailand. Russia and Singapore spring to mind. It may not affect you coming back to Thailand but it could potentially be an issue going somewhere else.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
Overstaying your visa in Thailand is illegal and can lead to serious consequences, including fines of 500 baht per day. While some airport officers may waive fines for short overstays, incidents at police checkpoints can lead to arrest and detention. Individuals may be deported and blacklisted for up to 5 years. Overstaying can also affect future visa applications to Thailand and other countries such as Japan and Australia.
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William ****
How is you bro
Bart **************
Or visas to Australia or China.

Fully agree with the story. Just never plan on overstaying.
Kool *******
Most people this won't affect in the future, but for some it might, and can. As of rules now, you will be refused an Elite/Privilege visa if you have any overstay, even one day. Just something to consider.
David ********
I can verify that my Sister in law, overstayed one day in South Korea, her next stop was to visit Japan for a week … the overstay in South Korea got her refused entry into Japan and she had to book a flight out immediately.

Nope … If I somehow get an overstay stamp in my passport I will purposely damage it and apply for a new one. Maybe I am being paranoid, but why take chance?
Kool *******
@David *******
don't underestimate how advanced the computer systems are in South East Asia, and how elements are connected. As soon as any country scans the barcode on your passport everything is available, especially your entry, and exit from other countries in the same timeframe since you returned to your home country last. Don't damage your passport. Everything you think you will prevent is all computerized now, and shared, including facial recognition, that identifies you even though you change passport numbers.
David ********
@Kool ******
Oh, I agree … in fact I would classify much of Thailands technology on par, or even better than Western technology. But that being said, I trust Thailand given its legal traditions of civil law and more libertarian, real libertarian, not the Western bastardization of it, to stay out of your business unless necessary (about 3 years ago the new national ‘police chief’ outlawed checkpoint traffic stops for a while, believing they were too much a violation of privacy.) As for more ‘Westernized’ countries? I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them … not after seeing how the Canadian government (I’m Canadian) treated the Trucker’s protestors (or watching how the laws are abused by gov in the USA & Europe in terms if weaponizing speech and abusing legal powers.)

Sorry, I guess that was a minor rant … point is, I wouldn’t worry so much about Thailand or SEA, but Westernized countries might decide that you’re not just a forgetful tourist … it may be that a minor overstay wold not flag the computers, whereas an immigration cop having a bad day might notice the stamp and decide you need further scrutiny.
Stephan ***********
It's actually a kind of cardinal rule... the most important thing here is to keep your visa status clean...
To**
Well said, some people will make a mistake of 1 day but more than that is not acceptable. Change your ticket or pay for extension
Rene ******
they also drive around with camera's.

**********************************************************************************************
Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Rene *****
Yes. And local immigration officers visit “known” types of places where they may stay and check for overstays. For the long term overstayers it’s getting harder to do so. For the short term overstayers it’s usually a miscalculation of dates for their flight or exit out and generally not a problem. But it can be. This is just meant as a warning to those that think overstaying is not an issue. For most it won’t be. For some it could be.
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