Portuguese woman arrested in Phuket after nearly five-year overstay, police say

PHUKET — 13 October 2026, Immigration police arrested a Portuguese woman in Phuket on Tuesday after biometric checks found she had allegedly remained in Thailand for 1,807 days after her permission to stay expired.

Investigators from Immigration Division 6 inspected a restaurant in Koh Kaew, Muang Phuket, at about 13:30 as part of a campaign targeting foreign nationals accused of immigration offences, according to police.

The woman was reportedly taking a cooking class at the restaurant. Police said she could not produce her original passport, showing officers only a photograph of it on her phone. They then used the Immigration Bureau’s biometric system to confirm her identity, nationality and passport details.

Authorities said she entered Thailand through Suvarnabhumi Airport on 20 March 2020 under the former 30-day visa-exemption scheme and later received an extension from Phuket Immigration. Her most recent permission to stay expired on 11 January 2021, police said.

She was charged with being a foreign national who entered and remained in the kingdom after her permission had expired. She was handed to investigators for legal proceedings and will be processed for removal from Thailand, according to Immigration Division 6.

Under Section 81 of Thailand’s Immigration Act, a foreign national who remains in the kingdom without permission, or after permission has expired or been revoked, faces up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both. Section 54 also empowers immigration officials to deport a person whose permission to stay has expired.

The arrest was carried out under instructions to intensify checks for foreign nationals suspected of immigration violations, police said.