Visa Rules Change Frequently
Quick Answer
What is the Thailand Overstay — Fines, Risks & What to Do?
Fine: ฿500/day (max ฿20,000). Overstays of 90+ days trigger re-entry bans of 1–10 years. Detention for long overstays.
Overstaying a Thai visa or entry stamp — even by a single day — is a violation of Thailand's Immigration Act and carries consequences ranging from fines to deportation and multi-year re-entry bans. Thailand tracks entry and exit dates carefully, and attempting to exit with an overstay is the standard way it is discovered: you pay the fine at the departure immigration counter before being allowed to leave.
The fine structure is simple: ฿500 per day overstayed, with a maximum cap of ฿20,000. However, for overstays exceeding a certain threshold (generally 90 days or more), the consequences escalate dramatically — from a blacklist that bans re-entry for 1–10 years, to potential detention at the immigration detention centre (IDC) while deportation is arranged, and in extreme cases criminal prosecution. This guide explains the exact thresholds, what happens at the airport, and what to do if you realise you have overstayed.
Required Documents
| Document | Required |
|---|---|
| Passport | |
| Cash in THB to pay overstay fine |
Fees
| Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
| Overstay fine (under 90 days) | ฿500 |
| Maximum fine (40+ days overstay) | ฿20,000 |
Step-by-Step Process
If you have not left yet: act immediately
If you have just realised you have overstayed, do not panic. Small overstays (1–7 days) are very common and resolved simply by paying the fine when departing. The sooner you depart, the smaller the fine.
Calculate your overstay period
Count the number of days from your 'permitted to stay until' date to today. Multiply by ฿500. If the total exceeds ฿20,000 (40+ days), the fine is capped at ฿20,000.
Go to an immigration office (for longer overstays)
For overstays of 30+ days, it is wise to visit an immigration office before attempting to depart. Officers can clarify your situation, and going voluntarily is treated far better than being caught by immigration police.
Pay the fine at airport departure
At the airport departure hall, before passport control, find the immigration overstay counter (usually near the main immigration booths). Present your passport, they confirm the overstay, and you pay the fine in cash. You will receive a receipt.
Complete departure
After paying, you proceed through standard passport control and depart. Your exit will be recorded in the immigration database.
Expert Tips
- Always use a countdown app or calendar reminder set to alert you 7 and 3 days before your 'permitted to stay until' date.
- If you are unable to leave Thailand due to a genuine emergency (serious illness, natural disaster, family emergency), visit an immigration office immediately. Officers have discretion to waive or reduce fines in genuine cases.
- Minor one or two day overstays, while technically a violation, are generally handled at the departure counter with just the fine payment — no additional consequences for first-time, short overstays.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Misreading the 'permitted to stay until' date — it is the LAST day of legal stay, not the first day of overstay. You must depart on or before that date.
- Assuming the '90-day rule' means you can stay up to 90 days on any entry — this is different from the 90-day reporting obligation. Your actual permitted stay is whatever is stamped in your passport.
- Trusting a third party who says they can 'fix' an overstay without departing — there is no legal way to resolve an overstay while remaining in Thailand.
Important Warnings
When entry can be refused
Holding a valid visa is not the same as a right of entry. The Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979) sets out eleven grounds on which an immigration officer may refuse a foreigner at the border.
- 1
No genuine valid passport, or a valid passport without a visa — unless you meet the visa exemption requirements. The terms of both visa issuance and visa exemption are set by Ministerial Regulations rather than by the Act itself.
- 2
No appropriate means of living after entering the country.
- 3
Entering to work as an unskilled or untrained labourer, or to work in breach of the Alien Work Permit law.
- 4
Being mentally unstable, or having any of the diseases listed in the Ministerial Regulations.
- 5
Not vaccinated against smallpox or otherwise inoculated as required, and refusing vaccination by the Immigration Doctor.
- 6
Having been imprisoned by a Thai court, or by a foreign court — except for petty offences, negligence, or cases the Ministerial Regulations exempt.
- 7
Behaviour that could endanger the public, or being subject to an arrest warrant from a foreign government.
- 8
Reason to believe entry is for prostitution, trafficking of women or children, drug smuggling or other smuggling against public morality.
- 9
Not holding the money or bond the Minister prescribes.(Section 14)
- 10
Being a person the Minister has prohibited from entry.(Section 16)
- 11
Having been deported by Thailand or another country, had a right of stay revoked, or been expelled from Thailand at the Thai government's expense — unless the Minister grants an individual exemption.
Summarised in plain English from the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979), published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand and read on 2026-08-12. This is a summary, not the statutory text — read the source document if anything here affects your travel.
Thai bank holidays, 2026
Banks, government offices and immigration are closed. Visa extensions and 90-day reports cannot be filed on these dates, and the days either side are the busiest of the month.
- H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great Memorial Day
- H.M. King Chulalongkorn the Great Memorial Day
- Substitution for H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great’s Birthday, National Day and Father’s Day (Saturday 5th December 2026)
- Constitution Day
- New Year’s Eve
Source: Bank of Thailand. Financial-institution holidays; some government offices keep different hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Thailand Visa Exemption
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Thailand Re-Entry Permit Guide
Leaving Thailand temporarily? Protect your visa extension with a re-entry permit.
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