Do Not Overstay Your Visa!
Last updated 2007-10-15
Warning - please note that 'over-staying' (staying in Thailand beyond the 'admitted until' date which is stamped in your passport when you pass through Thai Immigration on your inward journey to Thailand) is breaking the law.
Some so called 'experienced travelers' to Thailand will tell you this is not a problem and that it can be sorted when you arrive at the airport on your homeward journey by paying an over-stay fine. However, it can be a very different story if you are stopped by the police for no apparent reason at any stage during your stay in Thailand and are asked to show your passport. Also, if during your journey back to the airport by taxi or bus, there was an accident you could be asked to show your passport. If then, for whatever reason, you are found to have over-stayed, no matter for how long, you may well find yourself being detained in one of the feared Immigration Detention Centres for a few days while your case is processed. Needless to say, this is an experience you can well do without as you would probably find conditions inside to be cruel and degrading and seriously over crowded.
To be a 'persona-non-grata' in Thailand is a very serious matter. Your name is recorded in a secret confidential List, popularly known as the 'black list' and you will be banned from entering Thailand permanently. It is extremely difficult to have your name removed from the list. Overstaying a visa can leave you stuck in prison and later deported from Thailand. The maximum over-stay fine in Thailand is 20,000 baht (approx £250.00). Foreign children are subject to fines for over-staying in Thailand only when over the age of seven years.
If you accidentally overstay (how can this be an accident, you really should be on top of this) and you surrender yourself at the airport, you can quickly resolve the issue by paying a fine. However, as already mentioned above, if the police check your passport and arrest you, you're in big trouble and if you cannot pay the fine, buy an onward ticket etc you will likely be detained until you can. You will likely be trapped in a never ending circle of paperwork, bureaucracy and bad prison food.
In summary... DO NOT overstay.
Need advice? Got a question? Go to our Thailand Forum