Thai Police Arrest British Man for Overstaying Tourist Visa by 25 Years

A British citizen has been arrested in Thailand for overstaying his 30-day visa by a record 25 years.

The 60-year-old man arrived in Thailand on a short-term tourist visa on January 9, 2000, and managed to evade authorities for the next 25 years.

Thai police described it as a “record” visa overstay, surpassing the previous record held by a Pakistani man who overstayed his visa by 10 years.

On Monday, the unidentified man was arrested by the immigration division in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand’s largest city, where he had lived for the past 12 years, as stated in a Facebook post by the city’s immigration authorities.

During his first 13 years in Bangkok, the man built a life with a Thai woman, with whom he has a child, according to police. They relocated to Chiang Mai 12 years ago for economic reasons, but the man does not have a job and relies on financial support from his family in the UK.

He managed to evade arrest by Thai authorities for 9,135 days before being apprehended. He will now be deported back to the United Kingdom as part of a crackdown by immigration police.

His name is being withheld as authorities investigate how he was able to remain in the country for so long.

The man admitted that he did not apply for a visa extension after his initial permit expired, according to the Facebook post. However, he successfully renewed his passport in 2018, police confirmed.

“The individual was taken to the investigation officer at Chiang Mai City Police Station for legal proceedings and awaiting deportation back to the country of origin,” a post on the Chiang Mai Immigration Facebook page said.

He has been charged with “being a foreigner who entered and stayed in the Kingdom after the permit expired”.

Police in Chiang Mai discovered the man during inspections of locations in the city that are at risk of hosting foreigners without legal permits.