Switching passports

[Kristofferson]

I have been in Thailand for almost 2 years. I arrived on my Argentina passport and received 90 days on arrival. I did a few visa runs to KL with no problems. I have been working with a work permit for the past 8 months. I'm not sure if I'm going to renew my work permit but would like to stay after it expires for maybe 3-6 months of travelling.

I have dual nationality with Canada, my idea is to fly to KL or Singapore and then return to Thailand on my Canadian passport which has no Thailand stamps versus my Argentina one which is quite heavily stamped now with a few visa as well. I tried once to change passports at a land crossing heading to Penang last year but it caused a bit of trouble. 

Has anybody done anything like this before? How advanced is the Thai immigration, will they catch on to what I'm doing?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[elviajero]

You shouldn't have a problem switching passports by air. It's only at land borders that it's difficult.

 

If your passports have the same name and date of birth the immigration system will pick that up and alert the IO. if the passports get linked by the IO they will see your previous history.

 

I doubt it would make much difference/advantage which passport you use. But it would be better to re-enter with a tourist visa than try for visa exempt/bilateral entry which could attract unecessary attention/questioning.

[Kristofferson]

Thanks for the info Elviajero, maybe I'm better just staying with the same passport. If they can link them via name/ birthday,  it might seem suspicious if I switch them.

 

Just out of curiosity why do think a tourist visa would be better than just going for another 90 days visa exempt? I thought officially you can fly in and out unlimited times.

[acenase]

12 hours ago, Kristofferson said:

 

 

Just out of curiosity why do think a tourist visa would be better than just going for another 90 days visa exempt? I thought officially you can fly in and out unlimited times.

 

You get more time with a Tourist visa

 

Tourist Visa is 60 days plus 30 day extension (90 days).  

 

Visa Exempt stamp is 30 days plus additional 30 day extension (60 days)

[Kristofferson]

With my passport from Argentina I get 90 days on arrival. No tourist visa necessary. A few South American countries plus south Korea have this special arrangement with Thailand.

[elviajero]

15 hours ago, Kristofferson said:

Thanks for the info Elviajero, maybe I'm better just staying with the same passport. If they can link them via name/ birthday,  it might seem suspicious if I switch them.

 

Just out of curiosity why do think a tourist visa would be better than just going for another 90 days visa exempt? I thought officially you can fly in and out unlimited times.

I don't think you'll have a problem with another 90 day visa exempt entry as it's following a non-immigrant entry. However, for sometime immigration have been clamping down on the overuse of visa free entries, and may question you at length about what you are doing in the country if you enter without a visa. They could also question you with a visa, but the chances are greatly reduced. If questioned they would still likely let you in as long as you could convince them your visits was for tourism.

 

You could try for a new 90 day entry. The worst case would be that they send you back to KL/Singapore. You wouldn't be banned from entering in the future. If that happened you could get a Tourist Visa and try entry again.

 

I'm not trying to worry you, but with immigrations radar on visa exempt entries I feel it's better, whenever possible, to enter with a visa. There is no limit, by air, on visa exempt entry as it's left to the discretion of the IO.

[midas]

16 hours ago, Kristofferson said:

Thanks for the info Elviajero, maybe I'm better just staying with the same passport. If they can link them via name/ birthday,  it might seem suspicious if I switch them.

 

Just out of curiosity why do think a tourist visa would be better than just going for another 90 days visa exempt? I thought officially you can fly in and out unlimited times.

I also have dual citizenship and it's not uncommon at all to switch passports. For example if I travelled to Vietnam using one passport I can get in visa free (like the Visa exemption in Thailand) whereas with the second passport I need to get a Visa for Vietnam in advance. So as an example I would always switch passports for that journey.

You are fully entitled to use one passport versus another depending on the benefits that apply in which ever other country you are visiting outside Thailand.

[Kristofferson]

1 hour ago, midas said:

I also have dual citizenship and it's not uncommon at all to switch passports. For example if I travelled to Vietnam using one passport I can get in visa free (like the Visa exemption in Thailand) whereas with the second passport I need to get a Visa for Vietnam in advance. So as an example I would always switch passports for that journey.

You are fully entitled to use one passport versus another depending on the benefits that apply in which ever other country you are visiting outside Thailand.

My Argentina passport benefits me in Thailand with 90 days visa free, but as it has many pages full of entry/exit stamps I thought maybe switching would somehow hide my history from the past couple of years. But as Elviajero mentioned since my name/birthday are the same my travel history will most likely be known when they scan the passport.

So in the end I'll probably just keep using the same passport I've been using and hope it all goes smoothly.

 

 

 

 

[midas]

1 hour ago, Kristofferson said:

My Argentina passport benefits me in Thailand with 90 days visa free, but as it has many pages full of entry/exit stamps I thought maybe switching would somehow hide my history from the past couple of years. But as Elviajero mentioned since my name/birthday are the same my travel history will most likely be known when they scan the passport.

So in the end I'll probably just keep using the same passport I've been using and hope it all goes smoothly.

 

 

 

 

But the Thai consulates and embassies where you apply for visas don't keep records of you being a dual citizen

[Kristofferson]

47 minutes ago, midas said:

But the Thai consulates and embassies where you apply for visas don't keep records of you being a dual citizen

That's true. I was planning on flying out and then back into Thailand. I'm just thinking now if I fly to KL, arrive on my Canadian passport then head to Penang, get a tourist visa and cross overland back into Thailand. 

 

Do you know if that at the land crossing's they have as thorough checks as at the airport?