Anti-social Austrian man arrested for overstaying visa in Isaan

Police arrested an anti-social Austrian man for overstaying his visa by more than two years in the Isaan province of Buriram on May 8 after locals complained that the foreigner repeatedly harassed locals and behaved erratically.

Thai people in the Non Din Daeng district and nearby districts of Buriram filed a police report that the foreign man, later identified as 48 year old Austrian national named Harald Rothauer, was annoying residents in the areas.

According to locals, Rothauer frequently vented his anger on bystanders, damaged property, and engaged in other disruptive behaviour for a long time. They believed his actions stemmed from mental illness.

Immigration Bureau officers investigated and discovered that Rothauer frequently changed accommodations, typically staying at hotels. He reportedly had a Thai girlfriend but her identity was not disclosed.

Officers tracked Rothauer down and arrested him at a resort in the Isarn sub-district of the province. He was unable to produce his physical passport but showed officers a picture of it on his phone.

The Austrian’s entry information revealed he arrived in Thailand on February 9, 2017, and his visa expired on October 31, 2021. This means Rothauer overstayed his visa for 920 days, or approximately two years and five months.

Rothauer was taken to Mueang Buriram Police Station for legal proceedings and faces a 10 year entry ban.

In a related report, Immigration Bureau officers arrested a Syrian man and an Egyptian woman in Bangkok for overstaying their visas. The Syrian man had overstayed for 2,451 days (nearly seven years), while the woman had overstayed for 1,526 days (over four years).

In March, Phuket police arrested an Australian man for visa overstaying and evading a hospital bill. The man was injured in a car accident and hospitalised. However, he fled the hospital without paying his bill because he was the cause of the accident and did not want to compensate the victim.