Immigration policy revision sends a wave of panic across the Thai Kingdom

Thailand’s Immigration Bureau provided an update on its continuing reformation of the country’s visa regulations on July 24, clarifying the current situation for overstay penalties. The information is the latest update in a process that became public in early May, when the immigration police announced that they would clampdown on people repeatedly using visa-exempt entries, known as “visa runners”.

Still under consideration
Thursday’s update was published on the popular expat and tourist online forum, Thaivisa.com, and explained that a revision of Thailand’s overstay regulations is still with the Ministry of the Interior and has not yet been approved. If approved, the stricter regulations in the revision will mean that people who violate Thailand’s Immigration Act by remaining in the country for more than 90 days after their visa has expired will be forbidden from returning to Thailand for between 1 and 10 years—an earlier version included a permanent ban, but this was later retracted.

According to the new regulations under consideration, the duration of the overstay penalty is dependent upon the length of time that a person has overstayed their visa. Between 90 days and 1 year, the penalty is 1 year, while a 10-year ban applies to any overstay period that is longer than 5 years. The regulations have been devised for individuals who volunteer themselves to the immigration bureau, and 3- year and 5-year bans are also options under the proposal. A separate set of harsher regulations has been written for those people who are apprehended by officials, with any period less than 1 year resulting in a 5-year ban and any period over 1 year leading to a decade-long restriction.

Pre-crackdown
Prior to the 2014 crackdown, the procedure for anyone who had overstayed their visa, irrespective of the length of time, involved a payment of 20,000 Thai baht (US$627) to immigration officials at Suvarnabhumi international airport. Even an infrequent visitor to the Thaivisa.com forum would have seen at least one inquiry from someone who was attempting to leave the country after a visa infringement. Inquirers—or a friend who had asked for advice on their behalf—would typically leave the forum relieved after receiving a series of swift replies, including those from members with personal experience, reassuring them that the departure process was quick and trouble-free if the payment was made. One response from 2013 recalled laughing immigration officers who allowed the person to re-enter Thailand the following day.

Pre-crackdown, visa-exempt entries were rarely discussed on the forum, with the most significant news being an extension, from 15 to 30 days, for holders of UK, US, Japanese, German, French, Canadian and Italian passports who entered the country at land borders. Announced in November of last year, the change was welcomed by many.

A new era
The forum, which has been in direct communication with the Bureau since the start of the review, is a very different place in July 2014. Moderators continue to respond to the influx of questions regarding the full spectrum of visa topics, including retirement, marriage and families. Travelers who previously perceived their tourist visas as certified keys into Thailand now await the latest news, as reports of people being turned away at entry points have emerged.

On May 8, the Superintendent of Ranong Immigration, in the south of Thailand, explained to Phuket News that the crackdown is actually a more stringent enforcement of existing regulations due to an increasing number of infringements. Colonel Ekkor informed the newspaper that a major issue is the number of people entering the country as tourists to specifically commit crimes, such as ATM theft. By May 10, a number of Thavisa.com members reported that they were stranded at the northern Mae Sai border, unable to re-enter the country.

August 12 deadline
At present, the overstay issue appears to be the most urgent, as foreigners anxiously await the August 12 deadline that was announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late June—from this date forward, the Immigration Bureau will strictly enforce all new regulations. Some Thaivisa.com members have expressed concern about new measures that may be introduced prior to, or on, August 12, while others have dismissed such concerns as an overreaction.

Overstay inquiries have been varied and admissions of periods as high as four years have been posted on Thaivisa.com. However, the advice from both forum members and Thai officials has been consistent: anyone whose visa has expired should deal with the matter immediately. While no further updates have been provided about what else will be announced on August 12, Thursday’s warning is a confirmation that the new overstay rules are not yet in effect.