Foreigners who stay in Thailand beyond the period prescribed in their d visas may now effectively be “blacklisted” from re-entering Thailand either temporarily or permanently, depending on the length of their overstay and whether the overstay is voluntarily admitted to by the visa holder or detected by the Thai authorities.

A summary of the potential “blacklisting” periods is as follows:

A.    Where the foreigner voluntarily reports the overstay to the Thai immigration authorities:

Overstay more than 90 days up to one year:             forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for one year

Overstay more than one year up to three years:      forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for three years

Overstay more than three years up to five years:    forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for five years

Overstay more than five years up to ten years:        forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for ten years

Overstay more than ten years:                                      forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for life

B.     Where the foreigner is apprehended by Thai authorities for the overstay:

Overstay for less than one year:                                   forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for five years

Overstay for more than one year:                                forbidden from re-entering the kingdom for ten years

Fines applicable to visa overstays will also apply and are not changed by the above “blacklisting” penalties.

Foreigners who apply for long term visa extensions will now be required to provide their written acknowledgement of the above “blacklisting” penalties.  This rule (including the requirement to provide written acknowledgement) also applies to businesspeople here who have long stay visas as well as their family members, but not foreigners who are permanent residents. For more on the rules that apply to visas and work permits, click here.