Foreign national arrested for overstaying visa launching Crime Free Phuket year two
A foreign national was taken into custody at the weekend at Phuket International Airport for overstaying his visa by 80 days. This event marks the launch of the second year of the Crime Free Phuket initiative run by the local Immigration Bureau. The past year has seen the arrest of 188 individuals, with overstaying visas accounting for 66 of these cases.
The Phuket Immigration Bureau shared news of the arrest on its Facebook page dedicated to updates from the airport division. No additional details about the arrest were shared, and the identity and nationality of the man apprehended remain undisclosed. He was handed over to Sakhu Police for processing at approximately 12.30pm.
The Crime Free Phuket initiative, spearheaded by Colonel Thanet Sukchai, concluded its first year with the Saturday, November 4 arrest. This island-wide initiative targets various tourism-related offences, with a particular focus on the Immigration Act and the Emergency Decree on Foreign Labor.
Colonel Thanet, who remains in his position as Chief of Phuket Immigration, disclosed this information during a meeting with relevant officials on October 30. The details were later updated in a separate news release on the Phuket Immigration Facebook page.
The campaign’s first year, from November 1, 2022 (the date Thailand reopened) to October 31, 2023, witnessed several activities by Phuket Immigration. These included visa checks for a number of nationalities and 188 immigration-related arrests.
The Crime Free Phuket campaign largely operated in Patong during the high season and in Chalong, Rawai, and Wichit during the low season.
During the October 30 meeting, Colonel Thanet shared statistics about the number of foreign residents in Phuket. A snapshot from Phuket Immigration’s internal database showed that 31,222 foreigners applied for visa extensions as of October 30.
In terms of tourism, Phuket Immigration recorded 295,622 direct arrivals at Phuket Airport on international flights in October, a 21.8% increase from September’s 242,780 visitors.
The total number of address notifications in October reached 411,312, showing a 42.6% increase compared to September’s 288,522 registrations. This significant difference is partly due to Thailand Immigration relocating its online notification service to new servers, which required house owners to re-register.
Phuket Immigration activities
- Visiting 6,077 target locations for visa checks
- Checking 5,609 foreign nationals for visa violations
- Arrestubg 188 suspects on immigration-related charges
Top 5 nationalities for visa checks
- Russia – 1,167
- Myanmar – 931
- China – 542
- UK – 179
- France – 143
The 188 immigration-related arrests
- Immigration Act breaches – 146 (Overstay – 66, illegal entry – 14, other violations – 66)
- Decree on foreign labour breaches – 11
- Tourist Business and Guides Act breaches – 6
- Other criminal offences – 11
- Arrests on outstanding warrants – 14
Top Phuket foreign residents’ applications
- Russia – 9,650 (30%)
- UK – 2,410 (7.7%)
- France – 1,840 (5.91%)
- USA – 1,340 (4.3%)
Top foreign nationalities to arrive in October
- Russia – 62,086 (42,210 in September)
- China – 36,406 (37,343 in September)
- Australia 22,692 (21,108 in September)
- India – 19,828 (19,990 in September)
- Germany – 13,533 (13,086 in September)
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