A British woman has issued a warning to other travellers after landing herself in a spot of bother with police in Thailand.
Taking to TikTok, Georgia Vines explained how an innocent mistake with her visa resulted in an embarrassing fine at the airport ahead of her flight home. “Do not make the same mistake as me,” she said, in a clip that has been viewed more than 500,000 times.
Detailing her faux pas, she explained: “So I thought I had done exactly 30 days in Thailand – I arrived on May 2 and I am leaving today, which is June 1 – but apparently that means I’ve done 31, not 30.”
She added that her mistake was the result of “Googling 30 days from June 1”, however, as “including the day [of travel] made it 31”. After being told she had “overstayed her welcome”, Georgia said she attempted to explain the reason for her error, but to no avail.
“I was told I had to pay the fine,” she continued, revealing it was 500 Baht – the equivalent of around £11. However, she added: “Every time you take cash out in Thailand it charges you 220 Baht [£4.90] so not only have I been fined, I’ve also had to take more cash out.”
She concluded: “So technically I’ve been fined 720 Thai Baht – so do not make this same silly mistake if you’re in Thailand because it’s just annoying. It’s not the end of the world, but things like this just put me in a bad mood.”
A travel blogger was quick to respond, claiming her fine was much more excessive. “This happened to me last week except I was charged 3,000 Baht,” admitted Chloe Thomas. Asked by Georgia how long she had overstayed, Chloe added: “Six days. We saw a TikTok saying Brits can stay for 60 days but it comes into effect July 1. Thought we were off to Thai prison!”
Others who made the same mistake, however, revealed police had been more lenient in their cases, as one detailed: “I did that – went to Thailand October 6 and left November 6 so I over stayed one day, but they just put a note in my passport and didn’t make me pay so I suppose who you get on the day.”
Adding to Georgia’s advice, a third person said: “Thailand include the day you arrive as day one, whereas a lot of other countries start from the day after you arrive.”
The UK government advises on trips to Thailand: “You can visit Thailand without a visa for up to 60 days, twice in one year, under the visa exemption scheme. You can make one extension of up to 30 days.”
It adds: “If you overstay the period of your visa, you will get a fine of 500 Thai Baht a day up to a maximum of 20,000 Baht. You risk being: held in detention, deported at your own expense, banned from re-entering Thailand for up to 10 years […] Conditions in detention centres can be harsh.”