Seven foreign nationals have been arrested for overstaying their visas during a crackdown on foreigners staying illegally on Phuket.

Immigration officers conducted random visa inspections at locations where foreigners suspected of visa infractions were known to stay, as part of the 10-day crackdown operation that started on July 23.

The officers arrested seven foreign men: one Pakistani, two Egyptians, three Nigerians and one Myanmar national. Five of them were found to have overstayed their visas by 46 to 213 days. A Nigerian man had overstayed by 20 months and a Pakistani by 3 years and 9 months. All were handed over to local police.

The fine for a visa overstay is 500 baht per day to a maximum of 20,000 baht. An overstay of more than 90 days can result in the person being banned from the country for one year or more.