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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat misskit's Avatar
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    Heavy new penalties await visa overstays

    AUTHORITIES will bar visitors who overstay their visas from returning to Thailand for between one year and a whole decade. The longer the overstay period, the longer will be the re-entry ban.

    Starting from August 29, the ban will be imposed on any foreigner found to have overstayed his or her visa or visa-exemption period.

    The Immigration Bureau decided to mete out such tough punishment after the current penalty, a maximum fine of Bt20,000, had apparently failed to serve as a sufficient deterrent.

    Last year, a total of 70,715 foreigners were charged with overstaying their visas. Between January and June this year, the number of visa overstayers reached 30,359.

    More here: Heavy new penalties await visa overstays - The Nation


    Snip.....A Chinese woman arrested on charges of overstaying said she had come to Thailand to make a living, not to commit any crime.

  2. #2
    Thailand Expat terry57's Avatar
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    Not exactly heavy penalties is it .


    Still only a fine if under 90 days. Quite lenient I'd say.

  3. #3
    Thailand Expat

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    Nail 'em up, nail some sense into them!

  4. #4
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    2 yrs jail, 20k fine for foreigners not carrying passport.

    From August 29th.

    He added that starting from August 29, foreigners who failed to produce their passports would be fined up to Bt20,000 and jailed for up to two years.
    Heavy new penalties await visa overstays - The Nation

  5. #5
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    JayZee's Avatar
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    "...failing to produce a passport..." is not the same as "... not carrying a passport ...", though I will concede that something could be lost in translation. Bear in mind that Thailand is one of the few countries in the world with its own language, at least according to the new re-education programme:

    Gen. Prayuth also urged Thai people to be proud of their language because very few nations have a language of their own.

    "I would like to stress to the people and youths of the nation to always remember: Thailand is one of few countries in the world that has its own language, both written and oral," Gen. Prayuth said. "It is a precious heritage handed down for more than 700 years. Everyone should be proud." (Khaosod)

  6. #6
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    Thormaturge's Avatar
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    I do hope tourists are being told they face a ThB 20,000 fine and two years in prison if they fail to take their passport to the beach.

  7. #7
    RIP pseudolus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thormaturge View Post
    I do hope tourists are being told they face a ThB 20,000 fine and two years in prison if they fail to take their passport to the beach.
    More made up sensationalism from you, Fishman.

    If they are at the beach, they will then have to PRODUCE their passport. This in the past has meant being accompanied to their hotel / residence and PRODUCING their passport. What is wrong with that? How can they check if you are overstaying or not if they have no mechanism to check if you are kosha, and nothing to back that up?

    Immigration cop "Let me see your passport"
    Farang "No"
    Immigration cop "Ummm ok, well you better not be overstaying, or else"
    Farang "Or else what?"
    IC "You'll get banned and put in jail and fined"
    Farang "How will you know?"
    IC "We can check your passport"
    Farang " Go on then - try"
    Immigration cop "Let me see your passport"
    Farang "No"
    Immigration cop "Ummm ok, well you better not be overstaying, or else" .....


    How can you get it so wrong? Maybe you have an agenda.....

  8. #8
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    Anecdotal evidence from Hua Hin claims that foreigners were stopped on the street yesterday and fined on the spot for not carrying their passports, and that police were hanging around golf courses waiting for unsuspecting expats and nabbing them.

    Surely even the idiots at immigration could come up with some kind of renewable ID card for foreign residents and long stayers so that we dont have to carry our passports around all the time.

  9. #9
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    I think you will find it was a typo and it should read 2000 baht fine

  10. #10
    Thailand Expat Fondles's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Big Fella View Post
    I think you will find it was a typo and it should read 2000 baht fine

    It is defo a 20k fine.

  11. #11
    Thailand Expat

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    After they have actually agreed on the wording and the penalties of this new legislation it will then take around 90 days before it is put on the statute books and as such becomes LAW. So how can they now come out with a date of 29th ? The last I read was the end of Sep at the very earliest ?
    Treat everyone as a complete and utter idiot and you can only ever be pleasantly surprised !

  12. #12
    I am in Jail

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    Isnt there already a law in Thailand that says foreigners must carry their passports at all times?

  13. #13
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    Why don't they just insert a computer chip into all farangs, then they can just scan us?

  14. #14
    I am in Jail

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    Quote Originally Posted by misskit View Post

    Last year, a total of 70,715 foreigners were charged with overstaying their visas. Between January and June this year, the number of visa overstayers reached 30,359.

    .
    Although that figure probably includes all the people who overstayed by just one day and had to pay the 500 B fine

  15. #15
    Thailand Expat
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    Quote Originally Posted by rickschoppers View Post
    Why don't they just insert a computer chip into all farangs, then they can just scan us?



    A yellow armband, emblazoned with a swastika, date stamped with indelible ink at visa renewal time, to be worn at all times by all non thai nationals would be simpler and cheaper.

  16. #16
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    or a tattoo on the forehead

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by JayZee
    Thailand is one of few countries in the world that has its own language, both written and oral
    As do neighboring Laos, Burma & Cambodia. Thailand seems intent on copying them.

  18. #18
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    Is a Thai driving licence ok as a substitute for a passport?
    It always works in hotels etc.

  19. #19
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    ^^ I wonder myself. There are a number of long term expat residents here, and it seems just ridiculous to have to carry your passport everywhere when you've got ID in the form of a local driving license. The messages coming from the junta seem quite apparent to me- farang not welcome here. Might just consider Laos if it continues to deteriorate.

  20. #20
    RIP pseudolus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fluke
    Isnt there already a law in Thailand that says foreigners must carry their passports at all times?
    It says Photo ID. But you must PRODUCE a passport for checking if requested to do so.
    Quote Originally Posted by taxexile
    fined on the spot
    If people are paying cops in the street it means they are paying bribes. All they have to do is say that they are prepared to produce their passport and would they like to come with them. Failure to produce ID with a photo on it might mean a fine though.

  21. #21
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    It leaves things ripe for outright extortion, depending on the dodgy cop or mood of the junta. They would do well to clarify matters with regards to both visitors & resident expats.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by taxexile View Post
    Anecdotal evidence from Hua Hin claims that foreigners were stopped on the street yesterday and fined on the spot for not carrying their passports, and that police were hanging around golf courses waiting for unsuspecting expats and nabbing them.

    Surely even the idiots at immigration could come up with some kind of renewable ID card for foreign residents and long stayers so that we dont have to carry our passports around all the time.
    It's all about the money when it comes to farang. Not even the dumbest Thai believes this silly country is at risk from farang. But we do have the money and comply with this rubbish whereas the immigrants that do pose a threat, the slopes, the sinks, the Koreans, Taiwanese, Africans, Indians and Banglas will ignore it and be left alone to their own nefarious devices.

    In the end it'll all fizzle out. The Thai have no stomach for organisation, planning or actually working to implement a system that makes any sense. The 90 day reporting is a farce which achieves nothing but in their little heads it seems to make them think they are more secure. That's about the sum total of their capabilities. Anything else would be a balls ache and we all know how much they don't like hassle for themselves. It would be a simple task to issue a resident card with a unique number containing bio data that could be swiped at any terminal in any immigration office. But ultimately it would achieve little since all it will tell the authorities is that you are here, not what you are doing.

    They simply do not have any coherent strategy and confuse pointless activity with action.

  23. #23
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    For those who are ignorant of the other thread, the scheme piloted, and I use the term loosely here, in Hua Hin is to be rolled out elsewhere.

    Three documents are acceptable as evidence of ID: a Thai DL or a passport or a photocopy passport endorsed as authentic by the local immigration office.

    The Singaporeans issued all expats with an ID card in the 1960s. Given the Thai as yet do not have a functioning pedestrian crossing system in their capital city, one is not surprised that they have not thought to introduce such a basic identity system for those foreigners that evidently pose such a risk to national security e.g. foreign spouses and geriatrics.

    Sometimes, Thailand really does resemble a trip on some bad acid.

  24. #24
    Hangin' Around cyrille's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thegent
    one is not surprised that they have not thought to introduce such a basic identity system for those foreigners that evidently pose such a risk to national security e.g. foreign spouses and geriatrics.
    It's mad that they don't have such a thing, I agree.
    Instead they have laws and sanctions that everyone knows are a joke.

    It's like the speed limits. So ridiculously low that they're never taken seriously.

    But I guess it looks (to a moron) like speeding / not carrying your passport is seen as serious offence, and/or provides an opportunity for extortion, and that seems to be all that counts.

  25. #25
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    According to a statement by Hua Hins immigration head, the ONLY document accepted is ones passport, and this must be carried at all times.

    He specifically stated that a Thai driving licence is not acceptable, and immigration offices have no authority to guarantee a photocopy of the original.

    Here is the cut and paste from Thai Visa.

    HUA HIN:-- Following yesterday’s news regarding the requirement for foreigners in Thailand to carry ID with them at all times, Thaivisa.com and local Immigration offices have been inundated with messages and comments from foreigners concerned about how they may be affected by this news.

    In order to seek fruther clarification about this, Thaivisa.com has today met with Pol.Col. Thanasak Vongluekiat, Superintendent of Prachuap Khirikhan and Phetchaburi Immigration.

    Pol.Col. Thanasak confirmed the following:

    1. By law, all tourists and expats nationwide are required to carry their original passports with them at all times. There is no exception to this. Failure to carry your original passport may result in a 2,000 THB fine. The reason behind this is that Immigration needs to keep track of overstayers and foreign criminals who may be staying illegally in the country.

    2. The information provided at an Immigration meeting yesterday was unclear. The correct information, which has always been the case, is that no other forms of identification are acceptable. This includes any other form of photo ID, such as a Thai/foreign driving license or a photocopy of your passport.

    3. Immigration does not provide any kind of ‘stamp’ verification on a photocopy of a passport as announced at the meeting yesterday. Therefore, you are required to keep your original passport with you at all times as per point #1 above.
    Last edited by taxexile; 31-07-2014 at 11:17 AM.

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