Drink all night... CHEAP!

[stogie bear]

I have overstayed about 10 times and there has never been a stamp in my passport to indicate this.

[simon442]

I overstayed once and they put a stamp in my passport. I think it said how long and how much I was fined. This was when I was travelling by road to Penang though. Maybe some borders do and some dont, depending on whether the fine money ends up in their back pocket or not.

[tonio2]

Beware, the Thai's are clamping down on 30 dayers and now it's 6 consecutive stamps and that is your lot.
You will be forced to then apply for a proper visa and apparantly places like Singapore won't be issuing them either.

[stogie bear]

Beware, the Thai's are clamping down on 30 dayers and now it's 6 consecutive stamps and that is your lot.
You will be forced to then apply for a proper visa and apparantly places like Singapore won't be issuing them either.

Yawn... I have been hearing this same story for years! Utter rubbish and the kind of melodrama I would expect to see on that ThaiVisa site NOT here!

[BAM]

However if you get to the airport or the border then it is simply a case of paying a fine.

That's all because once you're at the airport or a border crossing they consider it that you're "surrendering yourself and volunteering to exit" which you are in a way.

It also depends on who you are... yes they do discriminate. Thai Visa site claims that the immigration jail is full of darker looking people if you know what I mean.

[Looker]

I heard it's possible to apply for a ONE YEAR MULTI-ENTRIES VISA. Most country allow that. China too! You can have 6 months or one year multi-entries visa in China..how about in Thailand?

[stogie bear]

Thai Visa site claims that the immigration jail is full of darker looking people if you know what I mean.

More ridiculous nonsense from the Thai Visa site!

This site is little more than a "I heard that my friend of a friend..." site. I pay more attention to the hairs in my nose than I do the rubbish they allow on that site.

Actually the fact is that the immigration holding cell is full of long stay blacks and chinese and burmese etc who can't afford the fines to get out and fly home so it's true of course that there are not so many 'whites' in there.

The farang overstays can afford to have their fines paid immediately and be on a plane home much quicker.

Actually the holding cell is nothing like a 'jail' as previously mentioned. A lady comes in each day and you can get real food from the local corner shop.

It's very brightly lit all the time, so you never know when it's night or day. Most of the 'inmates' are really friendly and you can learn a lot from talking to some of the long stay residents who are basiclly housed here till the Thai authorities give up hope that their fines will ever be paid and simply expel them.

Unlerss it's a holiday in Thailand then most people who can afford it spend no longer than about 36 hours in these places.

[BAM]

Thai Visa site is now saying this is the Immigration jail


Inside view of Immigration Detention Center, Suan Plu, Bangkok.

[Tomcat]

I think Stogie should volunteer himself forward to enter this holding prison in the interest of human knowledge and understanding. The record can then be set straight for all time.

All the best Stogie....

[tonio2]

Actually it was a friend who was at a Pattaya Expats Club meeting who told me.
Agreed I've heard it before but maybe the times are a changing and I wouldn't want to turn up at immigration and not be allowed in if my home was in Thailand.
BTW why don't you get a proper visa ?

[stogie bear]

BTW why don't you get a proper visa ?

That's an excellent question and one I am very often asked!

My answer is always the same...

When you're not on any books - you're not in any trouble!

That's the short answer and it's simply a nightmare to get legal in this country. I'd just as soon do the 30 day visa run and keep my name out of their computers.

[Guest]

I wish I'd talked to the guy, but when I was in Sakon Nakon, 2 English guys were sitting beside me, and apparently they'd found some way of getting Visas extended by DHL'g their passports to some embassy in Cambodia or Laos, where they would be DHL'd back with the visa done. They were talking about how safe it was and one guy said he'd done it many times with no issues. Now, I think I have this right, but if anyone has heard of a scheme like this it would be good info.

[BAM]

I wish I'd talked to the guy, but when I was in Sakon Nakon, 2 English guys were sitting beside me, and apparently they'd found some way of getting Visas extended by DHL'g their passports to some embassy in Cambodia or Laos, where they would be DHL'd back with the visa done. They were talking about how safe it was and one guy said he'd done it many times with no issues. Now, I think I have this right, but if anyone has heard of a scheme like this it would be good info.

There was a Bangkok Travel agency that was doing that... you gave them your passport and they would take them to Cambodia get them stamped "Entry and Exit" then they would somehow get a Thai Entry stamp and visa put it in like you really entered again. Turns out the Thai stamps they were using were fakes and they got busted by immigration.  Obviously giving someone else your passports to take out of the county and bring back in with stamps is committing an act of fraud... think of what if they lost your passport??? I would stay away from anything like this... best to just do the passport run yourself & legally.

This site has some good info: http://www.pattayaexpatsclub.com/visainformation.htm

See what they warn about: *DO NOT SEND YOUR PASSPORT UNACCOMPANIED TO ANOTHER COUNTRY FOR A NEW VISA, IT IS ILLEGAL - THE CONSEQUENCES ARE DIRE*

Read this too: http://www.hobotraveler.com/083whyvi...uptinsert.html

[stogie bear]

I read the article linked above and all I can say (without being too rude) is that the bloke is high!