Section 269/15: Unlawful use of a genuine visa seal, seal impression or visa sticker
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดใช้ดวงตรา รอยตรา หรือแผ่นปะตรวจลงตราอันแท้จริงที่ใช้ในการตรวจลงตราสำหรับการเดินทางระหว่างประเทศโดยมิชอบ ในประการที่น่าจะก่อให้เกิดความเสียหายแก่ผู้อื่นหรือประชาชน ต้องระวางโทษสองในสามส่วนของโทษที่บัญญัติไว้ในมาตรา ๒๖๙/๑๓
English translation
Whoever unlawfully uses a genuine seal, seal impression, or visa sticker used in issuing a visa for international travel, in a manner likely to cause damage to another person or to the public, shall be liable to two thirds of the penalty prescribed in Section 269/13.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 269/15 closes the Chapter and addresses the case the preceding provisions do not: the genuine seal, seal impression, or sticker, used by someone with no right to use it. The elements are use of a genuine instrument of the kind used in issuing a visa for international travel, unlawfully, in a manner likely to cause damage to another person or to the public. The obvious application is the official or contractor with legitimate access to the visa apparatus who applies it outside the proper process, which is why the provision sits in the Code at all: a forgery offence cannot reach conduct where nothing has been counterfeited. The penalty is expressed as a fraction, two thirds of that prescribed in Section 269/13, which is a drafting technique used sparingly in the Code. Applied to Section 269/13's range of one to ten years, that produces roughly eight months to six years and eight months, with the fine reduced in the same proportion. Where the person misusing the seal is a public official, Sections 147 to 166 on offences of officials may also apply and will normally be heavier.
Why this matters in practice
This is a corruption provision in substance, and the typical defendant is an insider rather than a traveller. For a foreign resident its relevance is that a visa or extension obtained through an insider who applied a genuine stamp outside the proper process is invalid, even though the stamp in the passport is authentic and will survive physical examination. The holder in that situation is not charged under Section 269/13, which requires a forged instrument, but the permission itself is void and the consequence on discovery is overstay, cancellation, and removal. Because the penalty is a fraction of another Section's, always compute it from Section 269/13 rather than reading a figure off this provision, which states none of its own.
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 269/15 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 269/15. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-269-15/ (accessed 8 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 269/15 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-269-15/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-269-15/"><p>Whoever unlawfully uses a genuine seal, seal impression, or visa sticker used in issuing a visa for international travel, in a manner likely to cause damage to another person or to the public, shall be liable to two thirds of the penalty prescribed in Section…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 269/15 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-269-15/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.