THAILAND – New Measures to Counter Visa Overstay

, 14/03/2016

Effective 20 March 2016, new stricter regulations introduced by the Interior Ministry will punish visa holders more harshly than previously for overstaying their visa.

New Penalties

A foreign national who has already overstayed their visa but surrenders to the authorities at an immigration checkpoint and leaves the country before 20 March 2016 will be fined 500 baht per day of overstay, up to a maximum of 20,000 baht.

A foreign national who has overstayed their visa but does not leave the country before 20 March 2016 will be liable for the same fine but also banned from entering Thailand as detailed below:

• Those who overstay more than 90 days will be banned from re-entering the country for one year;
• Those who overstay more than one year but less than three years will be banned form re-entering Thailand for three years;
• Those who overstay more than three years but less than five years will be banned from re-entering Thailand for five years;
• Those who overstay more than five years will be banned form re-entering Thailand for ten years.

There are even harsher re-entry bans for foreign nationals who overstay their visas and do not surrender but are caught by the authorities.

Action Items

• Visa holders in Thailand must be sure to leave Thailand before the last permitted date of their visa, to avoid these new penalties.