Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the possible changes it just with regard to overstate protocols here in Thailand. Ostensibly when I first read the piece I am going to cite here, I just kind of glossed over it and then I really got to thinking about it, about a minute later, after I was done with reading it and I said "oh wow, this actually is something that may seem rather trivial but is actually pretty darn important." Let me get into it here. 

Quoting directly from the Phuket News, that is thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: Phuket Airport arrests: American caught on overstay, illegal Krabi tour guide nabbed. Quoting further: "Immigration Officers at Phuket International Airport have reported two more foreigners arrested, one for overstay and the other for working illegally as a tour guide." Quoting further, and this is key. I think people really need to keep an eye on this. "Officers arrested a 40 year old American man at about 5:30 a.m. yesterday November 9th." Now first of all let's note, it's 5:30 a.m. Quoting further: "after he was caught staying in the country illegally for 79 days after his permit to stay had expired (overstay)." Quoting further: "The man, unnamed in the report by Airport Immigration, was arrested at the International Departures Hall. The report noted that the arrest was made by an investigation team led by Pol Lt Col Akkhaphon Kaewkiat and Officers of the Crime Suppression Investigation Team. The American was taken to Sakhu Police Station for further legal action, the report noted."

Now a couple of things. 5:30 a.m. and this is in the International Departures Hall. Why do I think that this is important? Because in the past, I have often advised folks when they have come to us and said "hey I am in overstay, what do I need to do?" In some cases, I would just say "look you need to go to the airport and you need to get out of here because if you don't, you are in overstay and you can have some problems." Now I had always looked at it sort of like touching base or something in to hide and seek or in the game of tag where once you got to the airport, generally speaking you just paid the fine and you left. It's also notable in here that it says he was on overstay for 79 days meaning, he did not break the 90-day threshold which would have resulted in an automatic Blacklisting. In the past, a person like this generally speaking would be able to just leave the country - pay their fine, they would have a fine, it maxes out at 20,000 Baht depending on the number of days of overstay, 500 baht per day up to 20,000 Baht. In the past, a person like this would have just sort of been told "okay bye", and their overstay would have been noted, the person might have had a problem with the system in the past. The fact that this person was apprehended in Thailand, as we discussed in other videos, means that he is going to be stuck with an automatic 5-year blacklisting now, and again this is a major change to prior protocols associated with overstay especially arrest of overstayers because in the past, there was this kind of unspoken, unwritten rule, it wasn't even a rule but notion if you will, if you made it to the airport and you paid your fine “goodbye, but we are not going to put you on any kind of a Blacklist”. Clearly Thai Immigration is taking a much more proactive approach especially in Phuket as regards overstay and as we discussed in other videos what happens in one place can often times move broadly throughout the nation with regard to how these kind of rules are applied.

So the thing to take away from this video is don't fall into overstay. Be assiduous in maintaining your status because look in the past I get it, I've lived in Thailand long enough to remember the pre-blacklist era, the automatic blacklisting era for overstay of a certain amount of duration; I remember those years and look it was pretty lax, in my opinion kind of pleasant if you will. You know, okay you are a couple days on overstay; go to the airport, pay your fine, leave the country, whatever. Now 79 days is a lot. It is a lot more than a couple but where is the line? Again, does somebody who shows up with 7 days of overstay get apprehended at the airport? Again this is 5:30 a.m. too. This isn't like ‘prime 9 to 5, cops doing their job’ time. Clearly there is some policy change I think behind this just from the underlying circumstances of the situation involved in this citation. So what to take away from this video? Keep yourself out of overstay, and don't presume that the same kind of laxness that may have applied in the past is going to be applying in the future.