With only weeks left before Thailand begins blacklisting foreigners who overstay their visas for up to 10 years, the Immigration Bureau has stepped up efforts to find people here illegally.
A day after a Russian and Briton were arrested for a combined four years in overstay, Chonburi Immigration officers captured two Vietnamese and a Syrian on visa and work permit offenses.
Syrian Alla Mzeal, 30, was found walking near Soi 18 and Second Road on Feb. 25. He had overstayed 487 days.
Officers checking the Por U-Yen Restaurant in Naklua encountered a couple they initially assumed to be Thai but grew suspicious due to their accent.
It turned out the couple – Huy Thinh Nguyen, 28, and Thi Duong Tlan, 36, were charged with working illegally without a work permit.
The Immigration Bureau will begin blacklisting foreigners who overstay their visas starting March 20.
Penalties also vary depending on whether the overstaying foreigner voluntarily turns himself in or is arrested.
For those who surrender, foreigners overstaying up to one year will be banned for a year from coming back to Thailand. Three-year bans await overstayers of 1-3 years while those who have lived here without a visa for 3-5 years will be banned for five years. Overstayers of more than five years will be banned for 10 years.
For those whose overstay is found upon arrest, the bans begin at five years for up to a year of overstay. Those here longer will be blacklisted for 10 years.
