BANGKOK — A Filipino national had entered and exited Thailand 26 times. Thai police have just found that she had been overstaying in the kingdom for four years.
As part of the policy to prevent and suppress crime, especially immigration-related offenses, Police Lieutenant Colonel Suriya Phuangsombat, Deputy Superintendent of Investigation at Immigration Division 1, led the team to investigate and gather information in areas where foreigners congregate in Bangkok.
On June 16, while inspecting a religious place, a church, they found a suspect acting suspiciously upon seeing the officials. The officers then introduced themselves as immigration officers and asked to check her passport, which she didn’t have.
Later, the officials found that Miss Mary, 42 years old, a Filipino national, had entered and exited the kingdom 26 times. Her most recent entry was in early 2020 when she was granted a 30-day visa exemption on March 2, 2020, allowing her to stay until March 31, 2020. After that, there was no record of her applying for a temporary stay extension in the kingdom. Her permission to stay had expired for over 4 years.
Initially, the officers charged her with “being a foreigner staying in the kingdom after the permission had expired,” informed her of her rights, and then sent her to the investigating officer at the Immigration Office for further legal proceedings and repatriation.
Pol. Lt. Col. Suriya said that all foreigners entering the kingdom must not only enter through legal channels and obtain the correct visa, but they also have a duty to report their residence to the immigration officer under Section 37 of the Immigration Act of 1979. If they wish to work in Thailand, they must apply for a work permit correctly according to the law.
If an employer hires a foreigner without a work permit, they will be guilty under the Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers’ Employment 2017, with a maximum fine of 100,000 baht. Homeowners or occupants of a dwelling also have a duty to notify the Immigration Bureau when a foreigner comes to stay at a place under their supervision.
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