Thailand bans Ugandan visa overstayer for 5 years

Immigration police arrested a woman from Uganda yesterday morning in Pathum Thani province for overstaying her visa by 90 days. She is banned from entering Thailand for the next five years.

At 9 am yesterday, Superintendent of Pathum Thani Immigration Pol. Col. Charoenpong Khantilo reported the arrest of a foreign visa overstayer.

Pathum Thani Immigration Police arrested 40 year old Mrs. A (pseudonym), of Ugandan nationality, under suspicion of “staying in the kingdom of Thailand without permission.” Mrs A overstayed by 90 days.

Mrs A came to Thailand to work as a language teacher but continued working in the kingdom despite her visa expiring, said police.

Police said Mrs A’s name has been placed on a blacklist and she is barred from entering Thailand for the next five years, following orders set by the Minister of Interior.

Mrs A is one of several visa overstayers busted by Thai police in their nationwide crackdown on foreign criminals this month. The crackdown was ordered by the Deputy Police Chief and former Chief of Immigration Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn.

Phuket Immigration recorded 138 violations in Phuket province alone during the first two weeks of December. Six foreigners in the province were arrested for overstaying their visas and 117 were fined for not registering their accommodation according to the law.

A further 19 people on the island were also reprimanded for “misusing their visas.” While their stay in Thailand was legal, they had not been following the terms and conditions of their respective visas, said police.

It is not uncommon for foreigners to stay in Thailand on an education visa and then violate the rules by not attending classes.

Earlier this month, police arrested a Polish man in Koh Samui wanted on an Interpol red notice for assault and illegal possession of firearms. He overstayed his student visa by 36 days.

His visa was initially valid until 2023 but was voided by immigration on November 3 after he stopped attending language classes in Chiang Rai province.

A British man was also recently banned from Thailand for five years for overstaying. He said he loves Thailand so much that he didn’t want to leave.