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What should I do about my son's visa overstay issue in Thailand?
Oct 2, 2025
7 months ago
Kelly ********
ORIGINAL POSTERMy name is Kelly Cusick, I am here on a DTV visa and I am trying to get my son a visa. He has been here on a tourist visa, I was scammed by an agent who I was using to get an education visa for my son. She held his passport for weeks and also scammed us out of 600 dollars, because she held his passport and did not return it my son Brennan has now overstayed his visa. He is 4 years old and enrolled at kings college. I want to know what should our next steps be. We went to immigration on the 29th to try and sort it out they said to come back today and they would do the visa stamp but the officer we went to said they can not do it because the visa needs 15 days left on it. What should I do?? They do not seem to know the answer either.
TLDR : Answer Summary
Kelly Cusick is trying to obtain a visa for her son, who is currently overstaying his tourist visa due to being scammed by an agent. The immigration authorities informed her that they cannot issue a new visa stamp because her son’s tourist visa has less than 15 days remaining. Community members suggest various actions including applying for a dependent visa by leaving Thailand, reporting the scam to police and banks, and confirming that her son may not need a visa until he is 12 years old.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
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Adrien ******
Reach out to
@Thai ************************
. I'm sure they'll be able to help.Kim **********
My kids school provided all the paperwork and the list of info the immigration would want I had to get separately like a tm 30 , a photo, and the correct form to transition from visa exempt to non ed. , photo copies of the passport including the info and photo page and any entries into Thailand. I made an appt online for immigration which was easy as there aren’t as many people trying to get the transition. We were in and out quite quickly and immigration gave us the extra forms we actually apparently needed. Unfortunatly the one year extension took an entire day of waiting around at immigration but the actual paperwork was super easy and provided by the school
Young ********
Leave
Ma *******************
Your son qualifies as a dependent on your dtv. His dtv approval should be quite easy.
Iliyan ***********
File a lawsuit against these scammers. then you can get a litigation visa for as long as the case lasts. I've done this for a civil case before and it works fine. Yours would be a criminal one so you and your son may very well get a couple of years visa
Dave *********
@Iliyan **********
that sounds pricey, or does payment happen after resolution?Iliyan ***********
@Dave ********
not really. Extensions are 1900 each and they depend on your next court date. These extensions are usually several months apart (excluding mediation stages) so the visa covers your next court date + about a week or so after it. You pay on the spot at immigration and you can extend depending on how long your court case takes (normally 1-5 years unless settled).Dave *********
@Iliyan **********
fascinating, thanks for the explanation.Reply to
Dave *********
Reply
Fra *****
Quick border run , new stamps , new entry , new game , good luck , no agents , and always keep deadlines in mind , sorry but here are deadlines ,
Kelly ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Fra ****
I knew the deadline, the issue was she kept his passport for three weeks. So it went past the deadline.Carol ****************
@Kelly *******
It’s illegal to hold anyone’s passport as a passport is government property. Keep this in mind when anyone (except an authorised body) takes your passport for several days.Kelly ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Carol ***************
yes and I got it back only after threatening the police for three days. She was only supposed to have it for two days to get it stamped. But then she kept holding it and promising to bring it back.Reply to
Kelly ********
Reply
Jason **********
I would leave the country and apply for a dependant visa for your son based on your dtv. It can't be applied from inside thailand anyway so use this time to visit an adjacent country, apply for your sons dtv dependant visa and wait.
Marcin *******
@Jason *********
are you sure his son can attend a school on DTV?Probably it doesn't matter, effectively, I guess.
I wonder if one can enroll onto a short language course on a DTV.
Stephen *****************
@Jason *********
spot on 👍Reply to
Stephen *****************
Reply
Colin **********
Your son is technically on overstay, but no action will be taken and because its a short time and your proactively trying to resolve the issue it will be fine.
Deniz **********
Hello. Go to the police station with your payment slips. The incident area police station I mean. Then get the report from the police, then take it to the bank. The bank will feeze her accounts.
Kelly ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Deniz *********
yes I’ve already done this and there in the process of getting everything done.Naja ***********
@Deniz *********
wow, imagine a Thai Bank actually freezing an account for a legitimate reason. 😮Reply to
Naja ***********
Reply
Brandon ************
You don't have enough time left on his stamp to do anything. Converting to another visa requires a minimum of 15 days.
You'll need to leave Thailand and re-enter to get your son a new stamp. Then you can work on getting the new visa. Or you can apply for the visa through a Thai embassy while you're outside of Thailand.
Why were you using an agent? Does his school not support education visa applications?
You'll need to leave Thailand and re-enter to get your son a new stamp. Then you can work on getting the new visa. Or you can apply for the visa through a Thai embassy while you're outside of Thailand.
Why were you using an agent? Does his school not support education visa applications?
Kelly ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Brandon ***********
his school gave me the papers but honestly offered no help even when I told them what happened. So I can leave and then come back in and reapply?? The issue with leaving and reapplying outside is he is in school and can’t miss too many days.Maxim ***********
@Kelly *******
Your son cannot legally be deported for overstaying until he's much older. He can overstay from 4 years old to almost 15 with 0 consequences.Moira *********
@Kelly *******
🤣4 years old and can't miss school😂 Oh my 'wot' pressure!!Kelly ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Moira ********
his school is quite strict with their policies. Sorry that you think it’s a laughing matter.Reply to
Kelly ********
Reply
Graham ******
@Kelly *******
The school gave you what was needed to take to Immigration to get the visa but you chose to go to an agent so that is why the school wanted no involvement. You have learned the hard way.Kelly ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Graham *****
no they wanted no involvement to begin with which is why I hired an agent as I wanted to make sure it would be handled smoothly. I have lived in 5 different countries used agents before and never had a problem. Being condescending to someone is not a good look.Graham ******
@Kelly *******
Your school's involvement ceased when they gave you what was required for ImmigrationReply to
Graham ******
Reply
Brandon ************
@Kelly *******
If your immigration office supports in-country conversions to ED visa then you can just leave and return and go to immigration with the proper paperwork.Reply to
Brandon ************
Reply
Eileen *******
Hi I thought children do not need visa until 12 anyway. My grandson goes to school here so no need to worry !
Dave *********
@Eileen ******
children do require visas but no action is taken against children it may affect them in later life if they want to reside in Thailand I know because I had to get one for my granddaughter to attend school here
Eileen *******
@Dave ********
thank u very much. My grandson has been at school 3 plus years here and doesn’t have visa.. maybe rules changed but we have Thai Elite 5 year visas and were told children under 12 didn’t need. We’ve asked the school also and they say the same. Time to recheck maybe 🤔John **********
@Eileen ******
@Dave ********
is correct. Everyone should have a visa BUT children under 15 do not get fined, although they will still get an overstay stamp in their passportReply to
John **********
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