Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing overstay specifically in the context of whether or not Thai Immigration is taking specific steps to try and find overstayers. We have done a number of videos here recently where we have talked about overstay and the sort of substantial impact that overstay can have on a foreign national's ability to re-enter Thailand most assuredly, but also on the fact that Immigration in a number of places seems to be actively trying to pursue people who are in Thailand on overstay. I got to thinking of making this video after reading a recent comment which was on our channel. Quoting directly: "What do you think about a serious crackdown on overstay? I think there are signs of it already but could it get to random checks at restaurants and/or night time venues?"

Okay well let's start off with ‘serious crackdown'. I would argue that serious crackdown occurred years ago when the Blacklist itself was created and all the rules regarding overstay were promulgated. Most notably, any overstay under 90 days it is a fine and then ostensibly one can be able to return later on. As a practical matter, we have seen circumstances where Immigration is very leery about letting people in that have overstayed in the past even if it is under 90 days. If you go over 90 days, then yeah you are looking at a minimum of a blacklisting and then as you go up from that number in terms of the amount of time you have overstayed, you can end up with 5, 10 years of overstay as that number progresses. Meanwhile, if you are caught in Thailand in overstay, even if it is one day of overstay, if you are caught in Thailand by authorities in Thailand, yes you are looking at a five year ban. So again, overstay is a major issue. Do I think that they are actively looking for it in night spots and things? No. Do I think that will happen anytime soon? Not really, but we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.