How long is the ban if I overstay in Thailand more than 90 days?

Ninety days is the line where a Thai overstay stops being only a fine. Below it, leaving voluntarily costs 500 THB a day up to the 20,000 THB cap and nothing else. Above it, the Ministry of Interior order attaches a re-entry ban to your departure, and its length depends on two things: how far over you went, and whether you surrendered or were caught.

The ban, if you surrender

The Samut Prakan Immigration Office states that bans run from the date you leave, not from the day the overstay began. Every extra month spent out of status therefore adds to the overstay and pushes the end of the ban further away.

The ban, if you are arrested

Being picked up changes the numbers. An overstay under one year discovered by arrest brings a five-year ban, and more than a year brings ten. On top of that, Section 81 of the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 allows up to two years of imprisonment, a fine of up to 20,000 THB, or both. ThaiLawOnline adds that once a removal order is made, officials may keep you in detention for as long as necessary, at your own expense, before deportation.

What the difference is worth

For an overstay of six months, the gap between one year and five years comes down entirely to who started the exit. Presenting yourself at an immigration office or the departure counter is the version that ends with a stamp and a flight. Waiting to be stopped at a checkpoint is the version that ends with a file.

Before you get anywhere near it

Long overstays nearly always start as short ones left alone. For what happens with a few days over, the fine at the airport and the stamp it leaves, read our post on overstaying by three days in Thailand. Check which permission fits a longer stay with Visa Check, and the full set of staying legal rules is in our guide to arriving and staying legal in Thailand.