How much space in passport does Visa exempt stamp take

[hapark]

Running out of free pages, so want to make sure a whole fresh passport page is not used for this.  Is the 30 day exempt entry a half page stamp and at Suvarnabhumi can you politely ask immigration officer to  stamp it on a specific half page if it will fit.?

Edited February 16, 2022 by hapark

[ubonjoe]

It is only takes about one quarter of a page for the arrival stamp that you will get. It the same stamp you get for all entries to the country.

Most of the time the officer will use a page with some stamp on it already.

 

[aussiexpat]

My passport has 4 visa exempt stamps and their associated exit stamp all on one page

[sandyf]

30 minutes ago, hapark said:

Is the 30 day exempt entry a half page stamp and at Suvarnabhumi can you politely ask immigration officer to  stamp it on a specific half page if it will fit.?

The stamp has changed format in recent months, a bit wider than previous but about the same depth, you would still get 4 entry/exits on a single page.

The immigration officer will put it where he sees fit, a lot will depend on what is on the last used page and space available for both entry and exit stamps.

[Tropicalevo]

As an aside, but with a connection :-

Most countries have a 'must have x empty pages in a valid passport and at least six months before expiry' rule.

I was caught out once as I has less than six empty pages. I ended up 'lifting' some visas that were the 'stuck on' types ie not stamped. (Cambodia and Laos.)

[Woof999]

3 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

As an aside, but with a connection :-

Most countries have a 'must have x empty pages in a valid passport and at least six months before expiry' rule.

I was caught out once as I has less than six empty pages. I ended up 'lifting' some visas that were the 'stuck on' types ie not stamped. (Cambodia and Laos.)

You need to be very careful doing that. Most visas like that (certainly my numerous Cambodia and Laos visas) have a stamp on them that is purposely positioned to ink both the visa and the page it's stuck too. You remove the visa and some of the stamp is still visible, which shows anyone that you've removed something from the passport. That alone is a reason for refusal at immigration.

[hapark]

43 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

As an aside, but with a connection :-

Most countries have a 'must have x empty pages in a valid passport and at least six months before expiry' rule.

I was caught out once as I has less than six empty pages. I ended up 'lifting' some visas that were the 'stuck on' types ie not stamped. (Cambodia and Laos.)

I have never heard of this rule of "x empty pages" rule before.  Can anyone confirm what is the case for Thailand?

 

According to the link below which was googled, the guy says 1 or 2 blank pages for most countries, which would make more sense than 6 pages.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/6-very-important-things-to-know-about-your-passport/

Edited February 16, 2022 by hapark

[ubonjoe]

21 minutes ago, hapark said:

Can anyone confirm what is the case for Thailand?

One empty page would be enough.

But you might want to have more if you going to apply for a extension of stay or a visa at immigration.

[aussiexpat]

36 minutes ago, hapark said:

I have never heard of this rule of "x empty pages" rule before.  Can anyone confirm what is the case for Thailand?

Thai Embassy in Aus says minimum of 2 empty pages for all Thai visa's.

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, aussiexpat said:

Thai Embassy in Aus says minimum of 2 empty pages for all Thai visa's.

Was that to apply for a visa or entry to the country.

The 6 months requirement is not correct for those from many countries. The actual rule is valid for your length of stay in the country.

[Woof999]

10 minutes ago, aussiexpat said:

Thai Embassy in Aus says minimum of 2 empty pages for all Thai visa's.

I think that's so that the embassy can apply the full page visa and you still have a page free for the entry / exit stamps.

[Greenwich Boy]

Personally have not had much luck asking Thai I.O's to use a specific page even with a post it note saying 'please stamp here' in Thai. Have found Singapore to be the most helpful when it comes to 'filling in the gaps'

[MajorTom]

Also be aware that Thai immigration does not like to stamp backwards in a passport. I dont know if this is a rule or just a guideline. Say if you have some blank page in the beginning they will not want to use that. They always go to the back.

Also, every time i start on a fresh passport they will jump start on page 6 or 8.. So that means the first pages are wasted for use in Thailand.

[aussiexpat]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Was that to apply for a visa or entry to the country.

The 6 months requirement is not correct for those from many countries. The actual rule is valid for your length of stay in the country.

It was to apply for a visa.

[aussiexpat]

13 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

Also be aware that Thai immigration does not like to stamp backwards in a passport. I dont know if this is a rule or just a guideline. Say if you have some blank page in the beginning they will not want to use that. They always go to the back.

Also, every time i start on a fresh passport they will jump start on page 6 or 8.. So that means the first pages are wasted for use in Thailand.

Haha, I just checked mine. I've only used it for Thailand and first 6 pages are all full of Thai stamps. All other pages blank so they've kept it neat, in order and maximized page use arrivals/exits

 

Note to OP: the 30 day extension stamps take up a third of a page

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by aussiexpat

[hapark]

16 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

Also be aware that Thai immigration does not like to stamp backwards in a passport. I dont know if this is a rule or just a guideline. Say if you have some blank page in the beginning they will not want to use that. They always go to the back.

Also, every time i start on a fresh passport they will jump start on page 6 or 8.. So that means the first pages are wasted for use in Thailand.

You seem to imply that blank pages at the beginning or middle parts of a passport are somehow invalid and cannot be used. If they are blank then surely, they can still be used.  Never heard of any such rule...anyone else?

[MajorTom]

17 minutes ago, hapark said:

You seem to imply that blank pages at the beginning or middle parts of a passport are somehow invalid and cannot be used. If they are blank then surely, they can still be used.  Never heard of any such rule...anyone else?

I don't imply its a rule. Probably just how they like to do things.. I have been to most corners of the world and Thailand is the only country that does this. 

They will stamp on a random blank page in the beginning if there is no option. Has happened to me once or twice. That is usually accompanied with a remark of "get new passport!"

The point is, if this is so important to them: Why do they never start stamping on the first page when i give them a new passport? I have gone through 13 Passports in the past 18 years and it has never happened.

[BritTim]

There is no special stamp for a visa exemption. You just have the same kind of entry stamp that is used for every foreigner entering Thailand (with or without a visa). Just think of the visa exemption as allowing you to enter without a visa in your passport.

[rickudon]

Just checked my passport. My first visa in it was put on the 4th blank page, although the previous page was then later used for 6 exit and entry stamps. Also, all the visa stickers (both Thai and Lao) were on right hand pages; maybe a coincidence? Pages 5 and 7 were filled in later with extension stamps.

 

Even though i only usually leave Thailand once a year, have on average used up 4 pages a year, which means a standard 32 page passport just isn't big enough, have to get a 48 page one.

[Enoon]

OP:

My visa exempt stamp, that I got on the 8th December 2021, is 42mm wide x 27mm high.

 

When you get stamped out of the country they will put the departure stamp next to it and overlap it slightly so that they fit the width of the page.

 

You only get four rows top to bottom if all IOs play the game.

 

So far I have one page of four rows and six pages of three rows in my passport.

 

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by Enoon

[NoshowJones]

21 hours ago, hapark said:

You seem to imply that blank pages at the beginning or middle parts of a passport are somehow invalid and cannot be used. If they are blank then surely, they can still be used.  Never heard of any such rule...anyone else?

There is no such rule, probably an immigration officer making the rule up on his own, which is not uncommon.