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Thailand Immigration Blacklist Implications of Overstaying

Transcript of the above video:

One of the major areas that we have to deal with in multi facets of our practice here, that our Thai attorneys have to deal with and even I have to deal with from time to time are matters that pertain to Thai immigration. we do have a lot of foreign Nationals doing business here in Thailand or just being present in Thailand for various reasons retirement, marriage to a Thai and immigration touches on pretty, touches pretty heavily on any expat or visitors' circumstances here in it's going to touch on their lives in fact. understanding of recent changes, fairly recent changes to the immigration rules with respect to overstay and blacklisting is going to be something that people are going to go ahead, it's going to be of Interest. Basically, basically the way that blacklisting and overstay works over here the new program that's been implemented in Thailand called Good Guys in bad guys out and basically the immigration orsara fees have determined that one of the he coming out at ease between various Bad actors who are physically present in Thailand seems to be a high percentage of overstay in the country. In the past the way that overstay worked was if one of us stayed there Visa, it was 500 THB a day as a fine and that fine topped out at 20,000 so in theory if one had overstayed for 30 years in Thailand and had just simply not been caught then that individual would be subject to the 20,000 Baht fine. That would be it. Okay? Now today in about the past 18 to 24 months, the recent changes to blacklisting and overstay have been implemented and basically they are as follows, and you can see the breakdowns of the different types of overstay, or of the different penalties for overstay in the Kingdom of Thailand. Basically what should be noted for anybody here, is if you overstay more than 90 days, if you stay in Thailand outside of proper Visa status for 90 days or more you will be blacklisted for a period of time, 90 days you'll be placed on the black list for that period of time. So be aware of that when operating here, another thing to think of and I guess it should just simply be noted if one is found to be in overstay and this status was discovered as a result or in connection with an arrest here in Thailand the penalties are stiffer as can be seen from the graphics shown. So the penalties can be significantly stiffer if you are arrested here in Thailand even on a small charge it could be a petty loitering citation or something, or one's brought into the police precinct and lo and behold it's determine that overstay exist that could result in at least a year of blacklisting. So be aware of this it's never encouraged to cause any problems when you in the Kingdom of Thailand in a criminal sense but that being said this stuff can be compounded onto something that is otherwise post of trivial and result in significant barring of an individual from returning to the kingdom. So something to think about with respect to overstay is the fact that in the past yes it was fairly easy to overstay; simply pay the fine and leave the country. These days that's not the case. The other thing is there are certain kinds of blacklisting that result from, you know, criminal behavior in Thailand which could result in the individual not being able to get off the black list for the entirety of their natural life. That's a different thing from blacklisting due to overstay but it's something that should be kept in mind. So the only thing I would urge the viewer to go ahead and keep in mind with respect to overstay this is General stuff, is 90 days is the key point in which overstay blacklisting kicks in. That's not to say that one is urged, or that one is encouraged to overstay between 1 and 9 today point because as I said if one is, even a routine citation a traffic ticket could result in the discovery of an overstay and that Discovery as a result of interaction with the police could result in a significant blacklisting which otherwise would not have occurred if that individual had just left the country. Paid fine whatever but had left the country and avoided The Blacklist that way. So something to think about again there's a video on this channel with respect to the end to border runs. That's Beauty and combination with this video is just designed it's just meant to give this message, convey this message very clearly. Immigration in Thailand is not something to be taken lightly. The system in Thailand looks remarkably like most any Western Nation as far as the immigration apparatus operates so bad that's in mind when coming to Thailand. There's another video on this channel titled "things to think about before moving here".  Visa issues are serious here now so one should actually get their ducks in a row from an immigration standpoint prior to coming here because simply thinking that one can arrive and sort of play it by ear and figure it out as you go that's really not so much the case anymore. staying long-term in Thailand requires rather a significant reason to in order to get a visa to stay here long-term and then on top of that even maintaining that Visa can be an issue so think long and hard before coming to Thailand. It's probably a good idea to go ahead and perhaps contact someone like us to figure out one's options the situation to lay the land so to speak with respect to immigration because of these recent changes. One could end up falling afoul of the immigration system really sort of inadvertently and frankly in more seriously with any sort of malicious intent one could fall afoul of the system and be barred from returning for a significant. Of time. So these are all things to keep in mind before moving here but it should be noted that The Blacklist system once really only existed for those who had committed serious criminal acts in the Kingdom black listing for overstay is now in effect, it's taken seriously and it is significantly enforced so bear that in mind before traveling to the country.