A Vietnamese tourist was arrested at a Thai airport for allegedly faking a visa stamp to dodge overstay penalties.

Nguyen, 24, was detained by immigration officers while preparing to board a flight at the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 30.

He was bound for Hanoi, Vietnam on AirAsia flight FD642 but officers flagged him when they found a suspicious visa type change stamp on his passport.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Ratthaphon Suwanrat, superintendent of the Don Mueang Immigration Checkpoint, said the tourist had arrived in Thailand on August 26 last year on a tourist visa that expired on October 24.

He had presented a fake visa extension stamp claiming a change to a 'Non-LA' visa supposedly valid until March 31 this year.

The bogus stamp was allegedly issued by an officer at the Trat Immigration Office. However, officials confirmed the document was fake and that no such officer existed in their records.

Nguyen was detained and his passport and an iPhone 11 Pro Max were seized as evidence. He was charged for overstaying in Thailand for 249 days and blacklisted from re-entering for five years.

When questioned, he claimed a Vietnamese friend had invited him to work in a Thai restaurant and that his employer had handled the visa arrangements. He said he could not provide any name or details.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Chatmet said: 'We brought the suspect to the inquiry officer of Don Mueang Police Station to proceed with legal action.

‘Foreigners who forge visa stamps to avoid overstaying charges, if they overstay for over 90 days, they will be blacklisted from entering Thailand for one to ten years depending on each case.'