Am I overstaying if I leave at 2am?

Question

In my specific case I’m in Australia but I think it is a generic question.

Let’s say that my visa “expires on the 1st of March”. (Why they don’t say “must leave not later than...”, would be much more clear!)

If I book a flight which leaves at 2am of the 2nd AND I GO THROUGH THE CUSTOM(PASSPORT CHECK) BEFORE MIDNIGHT to wait then for boarding at the gate, can the custom/immigration/whoever tells me something about overstaying?

For what I know, the international departures are considered a kind of “”foreign zone” so, technically, I’m leaving the country when I go through the passport check, then I’m leaving the country before my visa expiry so I’m not overstaying. Is it correct?

Answer 1

This feels too risky to try.

I'm afraid this is one of those "gray areas" which is very difficult to get hard information on and may be up to the discretion of any individual agent or officer you encounter along the way. Since this situation can easily be interpreted as a "violation of your visa" the only safe way to travel would be with a written confirmation from an Australian government entity that this is acceptable. I doubt you would be able to get one.

This may be checked multiple times along the way. I've once been asked to present my exit ticket from Australia when checking in for a one way flight. The immigration officer in Australia (if you get to see one) might ask you for an exit ticket during arrival. Of course, you may be able to talk your way through this but there is a non trivial risk that they reject you. Especially airlines are highly incentivized to be conservative.

I don't think anyone can tell you what the likelihood of this happening is, but given the potential serious consequences these feels overly risky to me.

Stating the obvious. Best practice is to leave a few days of "headroom" in your travel plans. Flights can be cancelled, reschedule or delayed and its YOUR responsibility to leave in a timely manner. While most countries do have provision to manage these types of exceptions, it will always take significant amount of work and time to deal with an accidental overstay, even if its not your fault.