Passport 6 months? Do they enforce it?

[EdSize]

For any reason I just discovered that my passport is only valid till 20th of Oct. this year, I remember the 6 month rule and try to get a new passport today (in Germany) they could not deliver, and they don t know if I can get it tomorrow - but my flight will be tomorrow evening. So do anyone has real exprience with this in the last couple of days/weeks/month?

 

All oficial informations say it won t work, some people say it works - so would you try to get in? I will coming from Hongkong and only stay for 9 days.

 

Any thoughts?

[evadgib]

You'll probably be prevented from boarding in HK.

[Phuket Man]

There is no 6 month rule for entering Thailand.

Your passport has to be valid for the length of your stay.

So don't worry.

[EdSize]

9 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

There is no 6 month rule for entering Thailand.

Your passport has to be valid for the length of your stay.

So don't worry.

The rule is there for sure, the information is on any official website.

 

Like here

 

http://www.royalthaiconsulate.org.au/ufaqs/can-i-enter-thailand-with-less-than-6-months-validity-left-on-my-passport-it-will-expire-within-6-months-stay-in-the-country/

[BritTim]

It is not ideal, but (as stated) Thailand only requires a passport valid for the duration of your intended visit. You may have trouble convincing your airline of that. Also, if you are not taking a direct flight to Thailand, the rules in the country you are connecting through might prevent you traveling (even though you do not intend passing immigration in that country).

[BritTim]

5 minutes ago, EdSize said:

The rule is there for sure, the information is on any official website.

There is a six month rules for getting visas, but not for entering Thailand (whether with an existing visa or visa exempt).

[EdSize]

This is from the website of the Thai Embassy in Germany:

 

Mein Reisepass wäre bei der Einreise nach Thailand nur noch 5 ½ Monate gültig. Darf ich trotzdem einreisen?
Nein, Sie müssen entweder einen neuen Reisepass oder einen vorläufigen Reisepass beantragen, anderenfalls wird Ihnen die Einreise verweigert sodass Sie den sofortigen Rückflug antreten müssen.

 

The Question: Can I get into the country if my passport is only 5,5 month valid?

 

The answer is a clear NO. you have to take the next flight home.

 

I know this is Thailand an written rules are not too important, thats why ask for real experinces.

[pontious]

5 minutes ago, EdSize said:

This is from the website of the Thai Embassy in Germany:

 

Mein Reisepass wäre bei der Einreise nach Thailand nur noch 5 ½ Monate gültig. Darf ich trotzdem einreisen?
Nein, Sie müssen entweder einen neuen Reisepass oder einen vorläufigen Reisepass beantragen, anderenfalls wird Ihnen die Einreise verweigert sodass Sie den sofortigen Rückflug antreten müssen.

 

The Question: Can I get into the country if my passport is only 5,5 month valid?

 

The answer is a clear NO. you have to take the next flight home.

 

I know this is Thailand an written rules are not too important, thats why ask for real experinces.

 

That is wrong - you only need validity for the duration of stay.

[EdSize]

5 minutes ago, pontious said:

 

That is wrong - you only need validity for the duration of stay.

Is this published on any offical thai goverment website? I could find no information on here

 

https://www.immigration.go.th/content/immigration_regulation

[EdSize]

This is what it says to VOA

 

The Visa on Arrival must be used only on the date of issue 
• Must be the citizens of nationalities accordance with Ministry of Interior’s announcement 
• Passport must be genuine and over 30 days validity. 
• Purpose of touring not more than 15 days. 
• Must have confirmed return ticket within 15 days. 
• Must notify the address In Thailand that can be verified. 

 

But Germans do not qualify for this

[Phuket Man]

Passport has to be valid for the length of stay.

 

That is a fact. so no problem.

Do not listen to anyone who says otherwise.

They are wrong.

[Phuket Man]

57 minutes ago, EdSize said:

The rule is there for sure, the information is on any official website.

 

Like here

 

http://www.royalthaiconsulate.org.au/ufaqs/can-i-enter-thailand-with-less-than-6-months-validity-left-on-my-passport-it-will-expire-within-6-months-stay-in-the-country/

Rubbish.

[Two Plus Two]

Valid for the length of stay is correct.

I entered several times this year with less than six months to expiry. (Aus passport)

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm

[rwdrwdrwd]

 

32 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

Rubbish.

You sound very sure, but the Thai MFA states it twice on their Q&A page

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15380-Questions-&-Answers-on-Thai-Visa.html
 

Quote

However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family. Otherwise, you may be inconvenienced upon entry into the country.

 

Quote

With the Visa on Arrival, you would be granted a stay of a period of not exceeding

15 days. But you must have a passport valid for at least 6 months, a round-trip

air ticket where date of departure from Thailand is within 15 days of the date

of entry, and adequate finances equivalent to at least 10,000 Baht per person.

Also Thai Airways recently posted a notice on their Indian site https://www.thaiairways.com/en_IN/news/news_announcement/news_detail/passport.page

You may be correct, but I certainly wouldn't like to be arguing this point with checkin staff, nor at immigration.

[BritTim]

42 minutes ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

 

1 hour ago, Phuket Man said:

Rubbish.

You sound very sure, but the Thai MFA states it twice on their Q&A page

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15380-Questions-&-Answers-on-Thai-Visa.html
 

Quote

However, please make sure that you are in possession of a passport valid for at least 6 months, a round-trip air ticket, and adequate finances equivalent to at least 10,000 Baht per person or 20,000 Baht per family. Otherwise, you may be inconvenienced upon entry into the country.

 

Quote

With the Visa on Arrival, you would be granted a stay of a period of not exceeding

15 days. But you must have a passport valid for at least 6 months, a round-trip

air ticket where date of departure from Thailand is within 15 days of the date

of entry, and adequate finances equivalent to at least 10,000 Baht per person.

Also Thai Airways recently posted a notice on their Indian site https://www.thaiairways.com/en_IN/news/news_announcement/news_detail/passport.page

You may be correct, but I certainly wouldn't like to be arguing this point with checkin staff, nor at immigration.

Edited 28 minutes ago by rwdrwdrwd

Sigh! The rules on this changed long ago. When he sees this thread, @ubonjoe will be able to provide a link to the announcement that changed the rules. It has been covered on ThaiVisa many, many times.

 

EDIT: This part of the same answer is also long no longer true:

Quote

Furthermore, foreigners who enter the Kingdom under this Tourist Visa Exemption Scheme may re-enter and stay in Thailand for a cumulative duration of stay of not exceeding 90 days within any 6-month period from the date of first entry.

 

[rwdrwdrwd]

5 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Sigh! The rules on this changed long ago. When he sees this thread, @ubonjoe will be able to provide a link to the announcement that changed the rules. It has been covered on ThaiVisa many, many times.

Whether they did or not, given

- There are official Thai gov websites that still state 6 months
- There are Thai consulates that still state 6 months
- The national carrier recently ran a notice that states 6 months

I wouldn't like to be arguing legal minutiae with [insert carrier here] check-in staff or at the immigration desk when they have the power to prevent boarding / deny entry.

[EdSize]

2 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Sigh! The rules on this changed long ago. When he sees this thread, @ubonjoe will be able to provide a link to the announcement that changed the rules. It has been covered on ThaiVisa many, many times.

So calling for @ubonjoe  -  my flight leaves tomorrow

[BritTim]

10 minutes ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

Whether they did or not, given

- Official thai gov websites out there that still state 6 months
- Thai consulates are out there that still state 6 months
- The national carrier recently ran a notice that states 6 months

I wouldn't like to be arguing legal minutiae with checkin staff or at the immigration desk when they have the power to prevent boarding / deny entry.

All the major airlines follow the advice provided by IATA. A simplified version of the Thai page for the system they use is available to travelers at https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/TH-Thailand-passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm. When in doubt, I recommend you use that site (which is reliably updated) rather than relying on the frequently wrong consulate, MFA and agent websites.

[drjden]

10 minutes ago, EdSize said:

So calling for @ubonjoe  -  my flight leaves tomorrow

Would it not be possible to extend the validity of your passport? I did that once, but not a German passport though.

[BritTim]

13 minutes ago, EdSize said:

So calling for @ubonjoe  -  my flight leaves tomorrow

Check using https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/TH-Thailand-passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm

[insass]

Thailand is making so much trouble that I think it's not worth flying directly to BKK anymore, too risky.

Better fly to Cambodia and cross by land.

Just my idea.

 

[Sheryl]

22 minutes ago, insass said:

Thailand is making so much trouble that I think it's not worth flying directly to BKK anymore, too risky.

Better fly to Cambodia and cross by land.

Just my idea.

 

Won't work. Cambodia requires 6 month passport validity.

 

I was once refused boarding a flight to Camb for this reason.

 

Thailand AFAIK does nto require 6 months.

[EdSize]

2 hours ago, drjden said:

Would it not be possible to extend the validity of your passport? I did that once, but not a German passport though.

No, you need a new passport every 10 years - strict. 

[wwest5829]

Its been a couple of years but...We took my Son to the border of Loas to go to the Thai Embassy in Vientiene to get a Visa. At the Thai Immigration station to exit, my Son was told he could exit but would not be allowed back into Thailand because he had less than 6 month’s validity left on his Passport. We drove back to Chiang Mai, got his new Passport from the American Consulate, then back to the border at carried out the original plan .....

[Phuket Man]

This is the site that all airlines use to check passport/visa requirements.

https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm#

[ubonjoe]

This is what you will see if you enter the required info here with a passport only valid for a little over 4 months. https://skyteam.traveldoc.aero/#input It is the same info an airline can access by checking the IATA database.

 

It confirms that you only need a passport valid for your length of stay to enter the country. Some countries must have 6 months of validity but most countries that qualify for a visa exempt entry only need one for their length of stay.

[Kerryd]

I was denied boarding on a flight from Canada to Thailand a few years ago, as my passport would have been ONE day under the 6 month limit, when I arrived in Thailand. (My passport had 6 months and 1 day remaining when I went to check-in, but it was a late evening flight and then there was the Date Line crossing. As a result, I was leaving on a Tuesday but not arriving until Thursday, which would have left me 1 day under the 6 month cut-off). (I had planned on arriving and then applying for a new passport from the Embassy the next day as I had done with the current passport a few years earlier.)

The Airline (China Air) refused to let me board because if Thai Immigration refused entry (due to my passport being 1 day under the cut-off) they (China Air) would be required to fly me back at their expense. Rather than take that risk, they simply refused to let me check-in.

I checked the sites noted in posts above and gave a (fictional) passport validity date of just 3 months and none of them gave any indication that I would be denied entry to Thailand (assuming I was coming for just 30 Days and only getting the 30 Day Visa Exempt stamp on arrival).

However, you can argue until you are blue in the face and can cite all the "I know a guy who did this, that and the other thing" stories and show them all the internet sites you like but if the airline refuses to let you board, you are hooped. 
Things may be different now but you could still run into problems if the airline policy says you need "x" number of months of validity remaining. Some of them could have a simple, blanket policy that says "no boarding if any passport is under 6 months of validity". That would cover any country they operated in and cover their butts so that they wouldn't end up having to fly people back at their expense.
Much easier to have a policy like that then to have to research and check every passenger on every flight going to every country to see if "those" countries would accept people from "these" countries if their passports had only "this" amount of validity remaining.

Remember, the problem probably won't be with Thai Immigration, but with the airline you will be travelling on.

The best idea of course is to simply make sure you renew your passport well ahead of time. (In Canada you can renew it anytime when it has less than a year of validity remaining.)
 

[Phuket Man]

39 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

I was denied boarding on a flight from Canada to Thailand a few years ago, as my passport would have been ONE day under the 6 month limit, when I arrived in Thailand. (My passport had 6 months and 1 day remaining when I went to check-in, but it was a late evening flight and then there was the Date Line crossing. As a result, I was leaving on a Tuesday but not arriving until Thursday, which would have left me 1 day under the 6 month cut-off). (I had planned on arriving and then applying for a new passport from the Embassy the next day as I had done with the current passport a few years earlier.)

The Airline (China Air) refused to let me board because if Thai Immigration refused entry (due to my passport being 1 day under the cut-off) they (China Air) would be required to fly me back at their expense. Rather than take that risk, they simply refused to let me check-in.

I checked the sites noted in posts above and gave a (fictional) passport validity date of just 3 months and none of them gave any indication that I would be denied entry to Thailand (assuming I was coming for just 30 Days and only getting the 30 Day Visa Exempt stamp on arrival).

However, you can argue until you are blue in the face and can cite all the "I know a guy who did this, that and the other thing" stories and show them all the internet sites you like but if the airline refuses to let you board, you are hooped. 
Things may be different now but you could still run into problems if the airline policy says you need "x" number of months of validity remaining. Some of them could have a simple, blanket policy that says "no boarding if any passport is under 6 months of validity". That would cover any country they operated in and cover their butts so that they wouldn't end up having to fly people back at their expense.
Much easier to have a policy like that then to have to research and check every passenger on every flight going to every country to see if "those" countries would accept people from "these" countries if their passports had only "this" amount of validity remaining.

Remember, the problem probably won't be with Thai Immigration, but with the airline you will be travelling on.

The best idea of course is to simply make sure you renew your passport well ahead of time. (In Canada you can renew it anytime when it has less than a year of validity remaining.)
 

"A few years ago" being the key point.

The rule was changed.

 

[Lee4Life]

12 hours ago, Phuket Man said:

There is no 6 month rule for entering Thailand.

Your passport has to be valid for the length of your stay.

So don't worry.

My American wife was denied entry to Thailand at the NongKhai crossing because her passport had less than six months left before expiring. I pleaded with the IO because it was five months and two weeks and we were on our way back to America soon....but no way, she had to go back into Laos and get a new passport. Laos didn't want to let her in because she had a Laos exit stamp but no Thai entry stamp so for a tense moment it looked like she was stuck on the bridge but Laos finally showed mercy.

[sometimewoodworker]

20 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

"A few years ago" being the key point.

The rule was changed.

 

Some airlines currently enforce a 6 month validity requirement to all countries AirAsia is one. So the "Few years ago" is not necessarily a key point.