My wife, NZ passport is currently in NZ, and had to renew her passport since it was full. She asked the Thai embassy to transfer her retirement visa, they replied it would take much longer then the time she has available. They said do it in Thailand. Now she is returning in a couple of days and a bit uncertain how to enter. Does she enter on a tourist visa, then go to immigration to transfer, or does she try to get in on her returning residents permit by showing her old passport.
Anyone had this experience?

 

While she will need to show both passports, she should use the re-entry permit in the old passport.  Thai Immigration should stamp the permission to stay (up until the permitted to stay date on her latest extension of stay) in her new passport.  

She should later go to the Thai Immigration office to get the details of her extension of stay and re-entry permit transferred from her old to her new passport.  This is a free service, done while you wait.  (Some Thai Immigration Offices ask to see a letter from your Embassy requesting Thai Immigration's assistance in transferring stamps from the old to new passport.  Hopefully, they will not insist on that in this case because it sounds like your wife may not have such a letter.  Had she renewed her passport at the New Zealand Embassy in Thailand she would probably have been given such a letter.).  After the information has been transferred to the new passport she can thereafter use that passport alone.

Edited November 16, 20187 yr by skatewash

She can just take her passport no matter where it is being issued and go to her embassy, ask them to issue that letter of transferal and all will be fine.

 

glegolo

Edited November 16, 20187 yr by glegolo

4 minutes ago, glegolo said:

She can just take her passport no matter where it is being issued and go to her embassy, ask them to issue that letter of transferal and all will be fine.

 

glegolo

Good to know.  And there's always the possibility that the Thai Immigration Office won't even need to see the letter.  But nice to know it could be obtained if necessary.

54 minutes ago, Kees1948 said:

My wife, NZ passport is currently in NZ, and had to renew her passport since it was full. She asked the Thai embassy to transfer her retirement visa, they replied it would take much longer then the time she has available.

She will need to use both passports on entry to use her valid visa or re-entry permit if she actually has an extension of stay (it not a visa).

Visas, extensions and re-entry permits within a cancelled passport remain valid for use.