What is a Canadian to do?

[iLuvThai]

Good morning. This is a long story I felt like I needed to include great details to avoid unnecessary questions. I'm trying to get to the point quickly, here goes. 

 

I am aware of the fact that I waited to long (December 26th) to send my passport and Thai visa application to the Royal Thai Embassy in Ottawa for processing before my trip begins. (January 7th) Unfortunately that is what I have to do because I am a long haul trucker that travel to the USA weekly and needs to present my passport to the border every time. 

Also last year I used UPS because Canada Post was threatening to strike. With UPS it was there and back in less than a week. Unfortunately UPS outlets were closed on the 26th so I had no choice but to hand everything over to Canada Post 2 day delivery service with of course a 2 day return envelope for the Thai embassy to return the passport and visa. 

 

Yes I understood that there were holidays and weekends all in the mix. Worst-case scenero was I should receive it Monday the 6th. 

Today is the 4th and according to Canada Post tracking feature which states delivery would be on the 31st of December, it still has not been delivered to the Thai embassy. 

 

There has been a ticket issued by Canada Post to try to locate my package and tell me what went wrong. 

Thai embassy told me that even if they received it Friday it wouldn't be returned to Canada Post until Monday. 

 

So I went to the passport office in Winnipeg to apply for a new passport and paid for the urgent service. I will be collecting that passport on Monday. 

 

I said all that to ask you folks this. 

 

Should I get my sister to FedEx my passport/visa to my girlfriend home in Thailand? (has anyone delt with FedEx UPS to deliver something from your country to Thailand is it reliable?) 

Or

Should I just leave it at home and then apply for a extension once I'm in Thailand? 

 

I'm kind of nervous that FedExing the visa may not be a good idea in the event it doesn't make it to small village in Chiang Rai province. Plus the added stress of carrying 2 passports, I signed a affidavit to return the new one when I get back to Canada in May. 

FedEx ing my visa to Thai won't have the entry stamp from Thailand on it so did I just answer my own question? 

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance on this issue. 

 

[tjo o tjim]

I think you might be making your life difficult.  What type of visa did you apply for, and how long will you be in Thailand?  What was the justification for the new passport in Canada— were you honest about the reasons or did you say it was missing?

 

Some people can get two active passports in situations like yours where it is needed for work constantly, but generally only one can be active.  This would make the passport with the visa in it no longer active.  You might be able to transfer it to the new passport, but I am not sure.

 

Fedex has worked well for me in Bangkok over the years, although I think DHL has been slightly more reliable.  In the sticks I would focus on just DHL.  (That said, I did get a fedex package to Koh Tao nearly 20 years ago!)

[iLuvThai]

4 hours ago, tjo o tjim said:

were you honest about the reasons or did you say it was missing?

I'm assuming you didn't notice that I provided an attachment showing the tracking information from Canada post with the important information on it. Thanks for the tip about DHL. 

[ubonjoe]

Your passport and application could not of been delivered on the 31st due to the embassy being closed. It should of been delivered on the 2nd.

What kind of visa were you applying for?

Since you will have a new passport and will be entering Thailand without a visa you will be getting a 30 day visa exempt entry that can be extended for 30 days.

I don't think it would be worth the cost and effort of sending you old passport to here. If you decide to do it I think the best way would be to have it sent it by international express mail since you will be sending it to a address outside a large city. 

[tjo o tjim]

2 hours ago, iLuvThai said:

I'm assuming you didn't notice that I provided an attachment showing the tracking information from Canada post with the important information on it. Thanks for the tip about DHL. 

No, I get that part; was your justification for a new passport that the old one was missing before your trip, or that it would not be returned on time?  If it was the former then the old one was almost certainly cancelled, but the latter there is a chance the old passport is still active. Entering on a cancelled passport would likely fail, and as you state without an entry stamp you cannot use the visa.

[ThaiBunny]

3 minutes ago, tjo o tjim said:

Entering on a cancelled passport would likely fail, and as you state without an entry stamp you cannot use the visa.

How would the Thais know it was cancelled if the passport appeared to be still within the expiry period?

[Pravda]

Don't use DHL. They might transfer your passport to the local post office for final delivery. 

 

I would just mail it to Canadian consulate in Bangkok for a pickup. 

 

I have recently posted here about damaging my passport. The rules are you must return the damaged passport before getting a new one. However if you do have a valid visa you can submit a written request and they may return your passport. They did it for me. 

[iLuvThai]

2 hours ago, tjo o tjim said:

No, I get that part; was your justification for a new passport that the old one was missing before your trip, or that it would not be returned on time?

Like I mentioned in the first post, I spoke with the Thai Embassy and they said even if they received the application on Friday the 3rd they wouldn't get it back to Canada Post office to be returned to me until the Monday the 6th. My flight departs at 8:30 am on the 7th. That was my motivation for getting a new passport. At least then I can fly. I was applying for a visitors visa. Last year that was 6 months, I'm assuming it would be the same this year. BTW, they are not canceling the older passport because like I mentioned earlier, I signed a affidavit stating that I will return the new passport to the passport office when I return from Thailand in May. 

Edited January 5, 2020 by iLuvThai
Forgot to answer the whole question

[iLuvThai]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

What kind of visa were you applying for?

I applied for a visitors visa. Same as last year which was good for 6 months. 

[iLuvThai]

2 hours ago, Pravda said:

 

I would just mail it to Canadian consulate in Bangkok for a pickup

That's a great idea thanks I'll look into it. 

[iLuvThai]

2 hours ago, ThaiBunny said:

Entering on a cancelled passport would likely fail, and as you state without an entry stamp you cannot use the visa

It not a Canceled passport. It would not have a stamp because it is not the passport that I'm entering Thailand with. It is the passport with visa stamp that the Thai embassy in Ottawa Canada is not going to be able to get back to me before I depart. I guess I should just leave it alone so as not to confuse things unless I can get the Thai Embassy in Ottawa to send it to the Canadian embassy in Bangkok with a explanation. I will call them Monday and find out. Thanks 

[DrJack54]

9 minutes ago, iLuvThai said:

I applied for a visitors visa. Same as last year which was good for 6 months. 

What's a visitor's visa? A non o to visit 'family and friends"?

6 month? Didn't know they existed. Certainly not in AU at least.

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, DrJack54 said:

What's a visitor's visa? A non o to visit 'family and friends"?

6 month? Didn't know they existed. Certainly not in AU at least.

LOL - the SETV and METV are available from all Thai consulates in Australia

[iLuvThai]

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Your passport and application could not of been delivered on the 31st due to the embassy being closed. It should of been delivered on the 2nd.

I understand, but the lady at Canada Post office said that she "thought" it would be delivered on the 30th, that's why I took the risk. 

[DrJack54]

1 minute ago, ThaiBunny said:

LOL - the SETV and METV are available from all Thai consulates in Australia

Yes of course bain fade.

Thing is years and years back there used to exist a non o based on "visit friends". Some folk referred to it as "visitor's visa".

Back then METV did not exist. 

Thanks for clarification.

[iLuvThai]

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

What's a visitor's visa? A non o to visit 'family and friends"?

6 month? Didn't know they existed. Certainly not in AU at least

On the application there was a few different types of visa with discription for each. I know I chose the visitors visa and it was probably what you said a non o. I didn't want to say incorrectly so I just called it a visitors visa. And yes it was good for 6 months total but I did have to leave Thailand before 60 days. We spent February in Vietnam and then returned to Thailand for the next 60 days. If I came for the whole 6 months instead of the 5 last time I would have had to leave Thailand twice. Hope that explains it well enough. Thanks. 

[dluek]

If I were you, having already obtained a new passport, I'd chalk up the old passport (and visa) as a loss and simply move on with my life. With the new passport you'll get 30 days free upon entry, could extend again for 30 more days in country or could take a spin over to Laos to get whichever visa you had applied for to begin with. You might want to try and contact the embassy in Ottawa and tell them to cancel that visa application. Then when you get back to Canada, toss that old passport in a drawer and consider it a lesson learned, i.e. don't use Canada Post. 

[dluek]

Okay sounds like you applied for a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa based on your last description, but I'm still not sure. In that case you can't re-apply for that one in Laos because you can only apply for it at an embassy or consulate in your country of residence.

[SoSoCNX]

Should sent FedEx prepaid return envelope.

Get 60 days tourist visa and if desire extend visa at any Thai immigration for 30 extra days

 

[DrJack54]

4 hours ago, dluek said:

If I were you, having already obtained a new passport, I'd chalk up the old passport (and visa) as a loss and simply move on with my life. With the new passport you'll get 30 days free upon entry, could extend again for 30 more days in country or could take a spin over to Laos to get whichever visa you had applied for to begin with. You might want to try and contact the embassy in Ottawa and tell them to cancel that visa application. Then when you get back to Canada, toss that old passport in a drawer and consider it a lesson learned, i.e. don't use Canada Post. 

I don't follow one bit of that. First up it seems OP applied for METV. He did not explain it clearly at start. Anyway that visa he can ONLY obtain in Canada. Pretty sure he is waiting for new pp. 

[xr399]

20 hours ago, tjo o tjim said:

I think you might be making your life difficult.  What type of visa did you apply for, and how long will you be in Thailand?  What was the justification for the new passport in Canada— were you honest about the reasons or did you say it was missing?

 

Some people can get two active passports in situations like yours where it is needed for work constantly, but generally only one can be active.  This would make the passport with the visa in it no longer active.  You might be able to transfer it to the new passport, but I am not sure.

 

Fedex has worked well for me in Bangkok over the years, although I think DHL has been slightly more reliable.  In the sticks I would focus on just DHL.  (That said, I did get a fedex package to Koh Tao nearly 20 years ago!)

Hi. A fair few years ago I sent a bank book from Victoria B.C. to Hua Hin via DHL. Luckily it got there, and DHL's tracking app showed it had arrived BKk 2 days later. Eventually in 3 more days, it arrived in HH but via the normal Thai Postman!!!! <deleted> paid $100 CAD to COURIER an important document and they give it to the freaking Thai Post office for final delivery! Went back and asked for a refund or reduction of the cost from Victoria office but got nowhere. I then checked DHL out on the net and found hundreds of complaints about their service. Would never use them again.

[Just Weird]

On 1/5/2020 at 9:20 AM, Pravda said:

Don't use DHL. They might transfer your passport to the local post office for final delivery. 

That's not going to happen if the sender pays for DHL courier service.  It's door to door, couriers do not pass their items to the Post Office for delivery!

 

Edit:  Seems that maybe they did (years ago) according to xr399, although I find it very hard to believe they'd do that now, especially when DHL are all over the country.

Edited January 6, 2020 by Just Weird