Myanmar Embassy threatens fines, re-entry bans for migrants overstaying visas in Thailand

By Admin 09 Nov 2024

DMG Newsroom
9 November 2024, Sittwe

The Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok announced Friday that illegal Myanmar migrants in Thailand would be fined and barred from re-entering Thailand, with the embassy threatening to target Myanmar migrants who have overstayed their visas with legal action.

“This is just a move to milk Myanmar migrant workers,” said a Myanmar migrant worker in Thailand. “Even if you apply for renewal of your visa before it expires, [embassy officials] just hand your visa to agents. And, they will cite this and that reason to put off [renewing it] until your visa expires. Then, they will ask for the amount of money they want.”

According to the embassy’s statement, individuals overstaying their visas will face fines of 500 baht per day, up to a maximum of 20,000 baht, and could face re-entry bans ranging from one to 10 years depending on the duration of the overstay.

The embassy said those who overstay three months to a year will be barred from re-entering Thailand for one year. If they overstay more than one year, they will be barred from re-entering Thailand for three years. If they overstay more than three years, they will be barred from re-entering Thailand for five years and overstayers of more than five years will be barred from re-entering Thailand for 10 years.

“The new Thai government has introduced legal changes. As a result, there have been delays in renewal of documents for migrant workers. In some cases, Thai employers refuse to take responsibility. It is costly to renew your visas through agents,” said a labour rights activist.

It costs up to 10,000 baht to renew a visa, and the Myanmar Embassy is unhelpful, said labour rights activists.

One undocumented Myanmar migrant in Thailand said: “I have been living here quite a long time without any document. I have to exercise caution as people arrested for overstaying their visas are either fined or sent back to Myanmar.”

Myanmar people can officially live and work in Thailand as legal workers under government-to-government memoranda of understanding, or by applying for a certificate of identity or pink card. They can also enter Thailand with a border pass, which they need to renew monthly, as well as so-called “police cards,” which cost 300 baht a month.

The new Thai government has said it will grant citizenship to nearly 500,000 migrants including many Myanmar expats who have stayed in Thailand for 17 to 25 years.