Thai authorities have arrested a 60-year-old British man for overstaying his tourist visa by an unprecedented 25 years, making it the longest-recorded case of visa overstay in Thailand.
According to AFP, the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, entered Thailand in early 2000 on a 30-day tourist visa and never left. He evaded police checks for over two decades by repeatedly claiming he was in the process of extending his visa.
The man was apprehended on Monday in Chiang Mai, during a targeted operation against foreigners overstaying their visas. Police discovered him in an area frequently visited by expatriates, where he failed to present his passport upon request.
“After checking our immigration system, we found that he entered Thailand in 2000 and never had any further stamp. He overstayed for 9,135 days—setting a record,” a senior officer confirmed.
The previous record for overstaying a visa in Thailand was 10 years, held by a Pakistani man.
Despite living illegally in Thailand for 25 years, the Briton managed to renew his passport in 2018, but authorities noted that the document contained no immigration stamps.
Police reports reveal that the man lived in Bangkok for 13 years, where he started a family with a Thai woman, and later relocated to Chiang Mai 12 years ago for economic reasons.
The man reportedly has no job and has been financially supported by his family in Britain. He admitted that he had previously evaded arrest by falsely claiming he was in the process of extending his visa—a procedure that only Thailand’s immigration bureau can verify.
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Authorities confirmed that the man will be deported to the United Kingdom following his arrest. The case underscores Thailand’s ongoing crackdown on visa overstayers, with immigration officials intensifying efforts to monitor foreign nationals violating residency laws.
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