Thailand’s IB busts 1,272 foreign overstayers in just 9 days

Thailand’s Immigration Bureau (IB) reported a dramatic increase in cases of foreigners overstaying their visas, uncovering a substantial 1,272 overstayers in their latest nine-day crackdown.

High-ranking IB officers held a press conference on Friday to report the fruitful rewards of their latest crackdown on illegal foreigners in the kingdom, reports ThaiRath.

Between May 4-13, the IB caught 1,272 foreigners residing in Thailand with an expired visa. Comparatively, the IB found 785 cases of foreigners overstayers in their previous crackdown which spanned the entirety of October and November 2022.

Despite cracking down for nine days rather than two months, cases of overstaying increased by over 62%. The IB attributes this shocking jump to their improved approach. The data reflects the IB’s success in streamlining its strategies in tackling the seemingly perennial issue of foreigners residing in Thailand illegally.

The IB might be getting more efficient in catching illegal foreigners, but the overall goal is to deter them. The IB says they have started implementing stricter measures to deter potential overstayers, such as banning them from re-entering Thailand for certain periods depending on the severity of their overstay.

Last month, Phuket Immigration ran a week-long crackdown that found a total of 186 foreigners overstaying their visas on the island.

From April 28 – May 4, 2023, 120 police officers inspected the documents of 216 foreign targets on the island under orders from Phuket governor Narong Wunsiew, Chief of Phuket Police Pol. Maj. Gen. Sermpan Sirikong, and Chief of Phuket Immigration Pol. Col. Thanet Sukchai.

Of the 186 found to have overstayed their visas, 182 paid their respective fines while five foreigners were arrested, according to Phuket Immigration statistics, reports NaewNa.

Police arrested one Egyptian national, one Danish national, one Burmese national, and one Chinese national. Of the 182 foreigners who surrendered, 41 were from Russia, 16 were from Kazakhstan, 15 were from the USA, 15 were from China, 10 were from the UK, and 85 were from elsewhere in the world.

Aside from overstaying, Phuket Immigration officers arrested a Burmese national and a French national for evading the immigration authorities.

Four Thais were also arrested by immigration police, one for a traffic violation and three more under arrest warrants, according to Phuket Immigration.