Thai authorities have apprehended a 60-year-old British man who overstayed his tourist visa for an unprecedented 25 years, marking the longest known case of visa overstay in the country.
The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, originally arrived in Thailand in early 2000 on a 30-day tourist visa but never left. For over two decades, he managed to evade authorities by claiming he was in the process of extending his visa.
His luck ran out on Monday when immigration officials conducting an enforcement operation in Chiang Mai discovered he had no valid travel documents. A routine check revealed he had overstayed for an astonishing 9,135 days—far exceeding the previous record, held by a Pakistani man who overstayed for 10 years.
A life built in Thailand
Authorities reported that the Briton spent 13 years in Bangkok before relocating to Chiang Mai with his Thai partner and their child about 12 years ago. Despite living in the country illegally, he managed to renew his passport in 2018, though immigration stamps were conspicuously absent from the new document.
During questioning, he admitted to misleading officials over the years by claiming he was in the process of visa extensions, a matter that only immigration authorities could verify. He was found to be unemployed and financially dependent on family members in the UK.
Facing deportation
Following his arrest, Thai authorities confirmed that the man will be deported back to Britain. His case underscores the Thai government's ongoing efforts to crack down on foreigners who overstay their visas, particularly amid recent enforcement operations targeting long-term overstayers. Photo by Highway Patrol Images, Wikimedia commons.