Related: Overstay penalties guide · Tourist extension
What counts as overstay
Section 81 of the Immigration Act translation published by Immigration, reopened on 1 August 2026, covers an alien staying without permission or after permission has expired or been revoked. Check the permitted-until date recorded by Immigration, not only the visa's validity date.
Official fine
The Immigration Bureau's bilingual public handbook, reopened on 1 August 2026, publishes a fine of THB 500 per day for an overstay under 90 days, capped at THB 20,000. Section 81 separately states the statutory exposure: imprisonment not exceeding two years, a fine not exceeding THB 20,000, or both. Outcomes are determined by the authorities on the actual facts.
Re-entry bans when the person surrenders
Form STM.9 in an Immigration Bureau publication, reopened on 1 August 2026, gives this surrender schedule under the Minister of Interior order:
- Overstay of more than 90 days: prohibited from entering for one year.
- Overstay of more than one year: prohibited from entering for three years.
- Overstay of more than three years: prohibited from entering for five years.
- Overstay of more than five years: prohibited from entering for ten years.
Re-entry bans when the person is apprehended
The same bilingual STM.9 form gives a different schedule for apprehension: an overstay of less than one year produces a five-year prohibition, while an overstay of more than one year produces a ten-year prohibition. Do not treat surrender and apprehension as interchangeable.
What to do now
If your permission has expired, contact the Immigration Bureau and an independent Thai immigration lawyer promptly for instructions tailored to your location, travel status and any other legal issue. If detention, arrest, a lost passport, illness or inability to travel is involved, contact your embassy or consulate as well. This page cannot tell you where an officer will direct you to report or whether departure, an extension request or another procedure is available in your case.
Temporary emergency measures are not general rules
An Immigration checkpoint notice reopened on 1 August 2026 describes limited relief for foreign nationals unable to depart because of specified Middle East airspace closures affecting permissions that expired from 28 February 2026. It says the measures last until the situation returns to normal or an amending or revoking order is issued. Do not assume that notice applies outside its stated facts; verify directly with Immigration.
Claims withdrawn in this update
The official sources reopened for this review do not establish a universal office-versus-airport procedure, a same-day resolution, a preferred office by overstay length, automatic treatment of future DTV or Non-O applications, a guaranteed exception, a ban reduction through counsel, or the earlier Pattaya anecdotes. Those claims have been removed.
Official sources reopened
- Immigration Division bilingual public handbook — reopened 1 August 2026.
- Immigration Bureau STM.9 acknowledgement (Thai and English) — reopened 1 August 2026.
- Immigration Act translation published by Immigration — reopened 1 August 2026.
- Immigration checkpoint notice on limited airspace-closure measures — reopened 1 August 2026.