Paul listed the most regular possible options above.
It depends who you catch in Immigration and on what day.
The minimum will be a 20,000 baht fine, because that is the maximum amount that can be fined for overstay. As well as this they may also stamp the passport as undesirable in Thailand - so no return
They could, also, actually incarcerate him well they actually decide what to do.
The last would be unusual if he was already at the airport with a ticket out of Thailand, but not impossible.

jackspratt wrote:

trubrit wrote:My understanding on this. If he can get to the airport without being detained, he will be charged the 20k and allowed to depart. His passport will be endorsed accordingly. What affect this will have on future applications I do not have a clue.The problem of detention comes in if you are detained outside the airport. The possibility of being detained in jail, especially if its a weekend or holiday awaiting a court appearance are not to be under estimated. So get inside the departure lounge as fast as you can. Don't forget to leave plenty of boarding time before flight departure as it may take a few hours for officialdom to do the paperwork. Don't try any back door methods. Remember the airline is also going to do a thorough check on you, not just immigration. After all. They have to pay if your caught on their flight.
Good luck.

Agree with above, except I doubt that an airline check-in chick is going to be too worried about your status in Thailand - they are only (or should be) interested in whether you have the correct documentation for your next port of call.

They may be or may not be 'worried' about your status in Thailand - but believe me - they check.
Only last month I left from Bkk and on checking in - was 'reminded' that my visa had expired and I was on overstay, and asked me if I was aware of that fact. I replied I was (I knew what I was doing) was allowed to proceed to immigration. This was at 5am in the morning and my visa had technically only expired 5 hours earlier - so yes, they do check.

Zidane wrote: If he wants to come back I think its possible to get a Multi Entry Non-Immigrant O Visa from Kuala Lumpur which should last him up to 15 months if he wishes to return to Thailand.

I wouldn't pen my hopes on that.
I believe that 1 year multi entry visas must be obtained in your home country. A neighboring country (i.e. Malaysia will not issue one) - But of course it depends on his status and type class applied for.
Even a simple tourist visa application must now be accompanied by an air ticket showing you are leaving when the tourist visa will expire.

But,
This thread is about how to get OUT of the country - not in.
As long as he gets out safely - he could return on any kind of visa (even the free 15/30 days stamp on arrival). This then lets him breathe a sigh of relief and then with a clear head = plan the next move to secure a longer term visa - assuming of course he wishes to come back !

efxg wrote:thank Ye Wise Men of the Forum. I passed this along to my friend, I think he is somewhat relieved.
Aardvark, somewhat harsh, but I am in agreement. to an extent anyway . So, he is planning to go to Singapore I believe, stay there a while and return to LOS. Bandung_Dero, it seems as though this has happened to you. Get to Airport, have plane ticket, pay the 20,000 baht, get Red stamped in Passport, leave and then come back. That sound about right? I think by the time he leaves, he will have over-stayed his Visa by about a year, I think thats what he said. Is that going to be a problem? Or anything over the max. fine of 20,000 the same?

thanks Ye Wise Men =D>

I replied to your PM. I was more specific about one case where the overstay was 521 days by a guy who many of us on this forum knew. Paid the 20K, little red stamp, and free to return. My overstay was only 4 days but the procedure was the same, I or should I say my company, paid 800 Baht (200 per day back then).

I've overstayed a couple of times, last week by 20 days, small stamp, not red either, paid the OS thats it. I had a mate OSed for 7 yrs, just paid the 20 k when he left, no big deal.

fatbas***d wrote:I had a mate OSed for 7 yrs, just paid the 20 k when he left, no big deal.

so, an important lesson to be learned here - if you are going to overstay, make sure it's a long one and get your money's worth........

old-timer wrote:

fatbas***d wrote:I had a mate OSed for 7 yrs, just paid the 20 k when he left, no big deal.

so, an important lesson to be learned here - if you are going to overstay, make sure it's a long one and get your money's worth........

I suppose technically if you time it right and come here on a brand new passport,generally 10 yrs before expiry, then may as well go for the full 10 year stretch here in LOS.Presumably Fat bastarde's friend had to scarper before his passport expired.

With the cost of the annual visa extensions and all the associated hassle of obtaining photocopies, maps, pictures bank statements etc. - surely it would be more economical simply not to bother and just save up the twenty thousand baht for if and when you decide to leave the country. !

By the way - you would be in the country illegally (Technically an illegal immigrant)

I certainly wouldn't like that hanging over my head every single day

And it means you can't apply for a driving licence, a car purchase, open a bank account or even (should you feel really brave) a re-entry permit. LOL

Even WITH the correct visa - life here can be precarious at the best of times - being here intentionally illegally must be pretty un-nerving ?

While at Nong Khai immigration yesterday I had an interesting talk with one of the officers about overstays as the wife had overheard a discussion in Thai among the officers. It was a slow day there.

There is a coming change in overstay rules that would automatically blacklist anyone who overstays more than 40 days. That means they can never return to Thailand. She did emphasize this is a future change and not in effect yet. She did not offer when it would become effective, not did I ask. Apparently there are too many people who ignore the rules because the fines are not significant enough to get their compliance. Hence, get rid of them.

It is always good to take such talk with a grain of salt, but if I was your friend I would not delay departing.

old-timer wrote:

fatbas***d wrote:I had a mate OSed for 7 yrs, just paid the 20 k when he left, no big deal.

so, an important lesson to be learned here - if you are going to overstay, make sure it's a long one and get your money's worth........

That could be intepteted as saying 'If your going to commit a crime make sure its a big one' Not really a course of action I would expect to see from you OT.

I do not think it even requires a change in the rules in order for them to do this UdonExpat. The rules already permit the officer to do this if he feels it is the correct action. It probably would require some sort of 'nod from above' that this should be standard practice, rather than an exceptional event though.

Simple. Go to Immigration, confess, pay the fine, and hope they don't deport him for stupidity.

I would guess that the fear of incarceration and deportation is his biggest worry!If it were me,this being Thailand,I would seek out an intermediary that has a friendship with someone in immigration,to ''test'' the water ahead of reporting!because if his greatest fears are now a reality,then he should extend his overstay as long as possible!
It is a ridiculous decision to do a massive overstay to begin with,but that is not the issue here.If the ''test'' relieves his immediate concerns,then report and pay the fine!
If incarceration is inevitable,I would seek options for ''sneaking'' out of the country,then return to my own country.I have no idea if there are any viable options,but I would explore the possibilities!

BKKSTAN wrote:If incarceration is inevitable,I would seek options for ''sneaking'' out of the country,then return to my own country.I have no idea if there are any viable options,but I would explore the possibilities!

Without wishing to encourage anyone to break the law....
I would think it would be perfectly possible to catch a boat across the Mekong into Laos (this may be a little 'hairy' now that wet season is with us), make your way back to the Friendship Bridge & then 'enter' Laos as if you had just exited Thailand. I am not sure how bothered the Lao immigration officials are about ensuring that people have 'correctly' exited Thailand, but I suspect they are not - just as Thai officials do not check that you have correctly exited Laos.

BobHelm wrote:

BKKSTAN wrote:If incarceration is inevitable,I would seek options for ''sneaking'' out of the country,then return to my own country.I have no idea if there are any viable options,but I would explore the possibilities!

Without wishing to encourage anyone to break the law....
I would think it would be perfectly possible to catch a boat across the Mekong into Laos (this may be a little 'hairy' now that wet season is with us), make your way back to the Friendship Bridge & then 'enter' Laos as if you had just exited Thailand. I am not sure how bothered the Lao immigration officials are about ensuring that people have 'correctly' exited Thailand, but I suspect they are not - just as Thai officials do not check that you have correctly exited Laos.

Not very well thought out Bob. You've got a guy who is illegally leaving Thailand having overstayed Then you suggest he commits a further offence of illegally entering Laos.If that boat was stopped, as they often are, for smuggling, then he could face prosecution in two countries. I hear the Laos jails are worse than Thai ones.
What if he wants to come back to Thailand some day? "Oh I see you haven't got an exit stamp in your visa sir" Never mind , off to the clink.rattle, rattle of chains.

As I said Val, I was NOT recommending anyone to break the law. However it is possible to enter Laos this way, as I know people who have done so. The chance of detection is there, for certain, but it is not a huge one.
As you point out, re-entry into Thailand would be an impossibility....

I've also known people who had a 2 year overstay and as their passport had not expired
were able to purchase a departing flight ticket and when processing through immigration
at the airport, paid the 20k fine and left. If you're that anxious I'm sure it's possible to
retain an attorney to check the waters as it were but only if you're fearful of having some
outstanding charge, which would be the only thing I can see tripping you up. Probably the
most sensible thing to do would be procrastinate further pretend the problem doesn't exist.

rickfarang wrote:Simple. Go to Immigration, confess, pay the fine, and hope they don't deport him for stupidity.

I assume you are saying the immigration counter at departures of an airport. Walking into a processing office eg Nong Khai is not an option, your in the slammer for sure.

DON'T even consider an illegal entry into Laos or the like, if I had a choice I think I would prefer the deportation cells in BKK rather to who knows what in the neighboring countries.

A friend of mine met with this guy who said works with the immigration which is true with Interpol. The guy took money from him and promised to make a non-immigrant visa for him. It was not yet over stay. The guy stayed with the passport and later brouhaha back without the visa. already over stay. what can he do and what action can he take against the officer? name of the officer and address is as below.


Immigration division 1
General Florian Grote
Interpol Division Commander Asia

Suggest walk into immigration, and sit and talk to the boss he will be interested. The outcome may not be what he want as he tried to circumnavigate the procedures here, but in this case honesty will always be the best policy.