Foreigners who exceed their visa by more than 90 days will be banned from Thailand for a year.
Those who stay in Thailand without a visa for more than a year will receive a 3-year ban, more than 3 years a 5-year ban and more than 5 years a 10-year ban.
The new regulation, which is expected to take effect on August 25, targets foreigners who enter Thailand as tourists and work illegally in Thailand.
Now get so-called overstayers a fine of up to 20.000 baht and/or imprisonment of up to 2 years, regardless of the length of their illegal stay in Thailand. In practice, Immigration charges 500 baht per day.
Visa runs
Another abuse that is being addressed is the visa runs. A visa run is used by foreigners to stay in the country for another 15 to 30 days. They cross the border in one day and come right back. There are several companies that offer these visa runs.
Most visa runners go to Nong Khai. Other popular border posts include Friendship Bridge in Mukdahan and Nakhon Phanom and Chong Mek in Ubon Ratchathani. Most visa runners in the Northeast come from Vietnam, South Korea and Russia.
Tourists from Laos and Vietnam are given a 30-day visa exemption at the border; tourists from South Korea and Russia 90 days. Westerners are typically given 15 days when crossing the border by land.
(Source: Website bangkok mail, July 9, 2014)
There is also now the possibility to extend your “visa exempt” at immigration with 30 days instead of 7 days. Effective date according to Thai Visa Forum August 29.
See: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/744440-longer-visa-exemption-extensions-begin-august-29-2014/
Editor: Other text removed. It's confusing.
Initially, the visa changes were to take effect on August 12, does this now mean that this will change to August 25 or does the previously mentioned date involve other changes? Appreciate your advice.
@ Rene Martin Reports about this are constantly contradicting each other in the media. I cannot answer your question. (Dick van der Lugt)
Thanks for your reply. I hope that it will soon become clear to everyone what the visa rules will be and we will just wait and see.
Dear Rene,
That you read different dates is because it is about different rules.
Visa running through the airport will end on August 12.
The new overstay rules come into effect on August 25.
The one-off extension of the visa exemption (30 days instead of 7 days) will take effect on August 29.
I agree with you that 1 date would be simpler, but it is actually no different in Be/NL.
They are different laws and they must be voted on and published before they come into effect.
Therefore different dates.
Thanks Ronny this information is clear.
It's a good thing that those illegal visa runners with their illegal stays are being dealt with here.
The general does that very well.
It is indeed positive that real tourists can extend their visas for only 1900 thb mt 30 days.
Dear Dirkphan
You have always been able to extend a Tourist visa for 30 days. That is not new.
New is the one-off extension of the Visa Exemption by 30 days, instead of 7 days.
What are we concerned about? Tourists and/or expats who possess the correct documents for a stay in Thailand actually have nothing to fear.
Visas that have expired should be dealt with, rightly so, because we do not want illegal immigrants in the Netherlands.
You often encounter them, especially in Pattaya in front of a 7/11, who approach you supposedly wanting to have a chat or sit on a bench on Beach Road and in the course of the conversation it turns out that they are staying illegally and are angling for a drink due to a lack of money. .
It is also those people who go to the (bear) bars that are filled with balloons where a buffet is displayed, yet again scored a free meal ...
hello, it is understandable that those visa runs are ending or have ended, but I read that you can now get a 1900 day extension for 30 baht, is this a one-off 30 days or can you get 12 days 30 times in a row. So much always changes in a short time.
@ Eduard The 7-day extension was only possible once, so that will also apply to the 30-day extension. By the way: all information about the changes regarding visas is given with reservations because information is contradictory and individual officials can deviate from the rules.
Dear Edward,
One-time.
Have a look here as I already wrote that in an earlier question.
https://www.thailandblog.nl/lezersvraag/thaise-visa-regels-toerist-nog-hetzelfde/