Overstay guides

Visa overstay penalties by country

What an overstay actually costs in the places travellers get caught out most. The per-day fine, the ban that follows it, and the rule that caused the whole thing.

What is the penalty for overstaying a visa?

Countries punish an overstay in one of two ways. Some bill you by the day and hold your departure until you pay. Thailand charges 500 THB per day, Indonesia 1,000,000 IDR per day and the UAE AED 50 per day. Others take no money at all and take your future access instead. The United States bars entry for three or ten years, Japan for five, Australia for three. The second kind is the expensive one. Each guide below gives the current figure, the ban that follows and the rule people break to get there.

Last checked

Country guides

How overstay penalties usually work

There are two models, and it is worth knowing which one you are standing in.

Some countries charge an overstay fine per day and refuse to let you board until it is settled. Thailand, Indonesia and the UAE all work this way. Annoying, expensive, survivable.

Others skip the money and go straight to an entry ban. The United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Australia do this. The cost is not measured in cash. It is measured in years you are locked out.

The overstay itself almost always starts the same way. A permitted stay that was shorter than you assumed. A rolling window counted from the wrong date. An entry stamp that gave you fewer days than the published maximum. Count from your entry stamp date, treat entry and exit days as full days, and most of those disappear.

Travl tracks your border crossings automatically and warns you before a limit closes in, so the count is never something you reconstruct from boarding passes at 2am. For a one-off check, use the Schengen calculator or the 183-day rule calculator.

These guides are for planning. Immigration rules and penalty amounts change, and border authorities make the final call. Confirm current figures with the relevant immigration authority before you rely on them.

Stop counting by hand

Travl detects your border crossings automatically and keeps this calculation current for every country you visit — with alerts before a limit closes in.

Download on the App Store