An Iranian man with an expired visa was arrested on Saturday, March 25th, after he had been avoiding police radar in Pattaya for over eight years.
The tourist, Mr. Khalid Majeed Ali Ali, was nabbed by Pattaya Police while hanging out on his front porch in Pattaya’s Map Yai Lia Community on Saturday. Police found that the 52-year-old man had overstayed his visa for over eight years and had no occupation. It was unclear how he had funds to sustain himself.
The arresting police told local media that Mr. Khalid evaded the police radar by keeping a low proflie and avoiding interaction with the locals. The authorities said the foreigner suddenly fainted when the police showed up at his house. He was treated by medical personnel and then taken to the police station.
Mr. Khalid entered the kingdom on November 17th, 2014, via Suvarnabhumi Airport with a tourist visa, according to police data. He was allowed to stay in Thailand for 60 days before his visa expired on January 15th, 2015. However, the man did not leave the country or extended his visa and had overstayed his visa for 8 years or 2,993 days.
The Iranian tourist was charged with overstaying and would later be deported. The maximum penalties for overstaying are a fine of up to 20,000 baht or a 2-year imprisonment or both.
Overstayers will also be blacklisted from entering Thailand for 10 years.
