Passport - Validity When Entering

[glegolo18]

Hi guys,

 

Can I please ask you who knows, what is the rules when entering Thailand with a EU (swedish) passport) into Thailand...

 

Are there any special conditions regarding validity? Does it differs if I have a VISA or not??

I am very grateful for any input.

 

Thank you,

glegolo

[ubonjoe]

It does not matter if you have a visa or not. Your passport only has to be valid for the length of stay you will get when entering the country. If longer than your passport validity your permit to stay will only be stamped to the day your passport expires.

A few countries must have a passport with at least 6 months of validity to enter the country.

 

[DrJack54]

In addition to Thailand many countries use the rule that pp valid for length of stay. Oz being one example.

IMO anyone with under a year validity on pp is best to obtain new pp.

Think now many are valid for 10 years. 

[glegolo18]

OK thank you so much guys

 

glegolo

[sometimewoodworker]

While different from the actual question, in many  cases to actually get a visa you must have 6 months or 1 year remaining, from the U.K. Thai embassy 

Quote

The applicant's passport/travel document must have at least 6 month validity on the date of application for single entry visa, and at least 1 year for multiple entry visa, and has at least 2 blank pages.

 

[expat_4_life]

The rules vary by country, but 6 months is safe for any destination.

 

The airlines will check the date when issuing a boarding pass as they don't want to get caught up in a passenger denied entry for passport validity.

 

I got caught out by this when I returned to the US a few years ago.  I had 6 months on my passport when I departed Thailand, and was a few days under when I came back.

 

When returning, boarding the Bangkok flight, I was initially denied boarding. Eventually they allowed me to board after I signed some documents taking personal responsibility for any costs if I was denied entry.  I was on a re-entry permit and annual extension. Immigration on arrival did have a few words with me alright, advising me of passport validity, but let me in.

 

Here is a link

https://visaguide.world/tips/passport-6-month-rule/

 

Best advice is do not travel with under 6 months of remaining validity.

 

Edited April 1, 2022 by expat_4_life

[wwest5829]

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It does not matter if you have a visa or not. Your passport only has to be valid for the length of stay you will get when entering the country. If longer than your passport validity your permit to stay will only be stamped to the day your passport expires.

A few countries must have a passport with at least 6 months of validity to enter the country.

 

Ram into the issue here in Thailand in 2016. Son was going to Vientiane to ask for a Tourist Visa. Thai border immigration said, well you can exit but you will not be allowed back in as you will not have 6 months remaining on the US Passport. We drove back to Chiang Mai, secured a new Passport at the Consulate and then back to Nong Kai for the Tourist Visa.

[ubonjoe]

Just now, wwest5829 said:

Ram into the issue here in Thailand in 2016. Son was going to Vientiane to ask for a Tourist Visa. Thai border immigration said, well you can exit but you will not be allowed back in as you will not have 6 months remaining on the US Passport. We drove back to Chiang Mai, secured a new Passport at the Consulate and then back to Nong Kai for the Tourist Visa.

That was more for entering Laos than entering Thailand. Laos does require 6 months of passport validity like about all ASEAN countries do.

Thailand does not have a 6 month rule for those from most countries.

[ubonjoe]

40 minutes ago, expat_4_life said:

Here is a link

https://visaguide.world/tips/passport-6-month-rule/

Thailand is not on any of the lists on that site.

[LukKrueng]

[expat_4_life]

23 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Thailand is not on any of the lists on that site.

Thailand is listed under, "The countries listed here require you to have a passport with a period of at least 6 months upon arrival"

[ubonjoe]

15 minutes ago, expat_4_life said:

Thailand is listed under, "The countries listed here require you to have a passport with a period of at least 6 months upon arrival"

I missed it it seems but it is wrong unless you are from certain countries.

Check here for passports from a few countries for a flight to Thailand with less than 6 months of validity.

 https://skyteam.traveldoc.aero/

 

[expat_4_life]

57 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I missed it it seems but it is wrong unless you are from certain countries.

Check here for passports from a few countries for a flight to Thailand with less than 6 months of validity.

 https://skyteam.traveldoc.aero/

 

We all miss odd bits here and there.

 

Using the Skyteam website:

For my own purposes, US Passport, the 6 month rule still applies.

I tried it with a Swedish passport, without the benefit of knowing the OP's travel or passport details, it also says 6 months.

Edited April 1, 2022 by expat_4_life

[ubonjoe]

19 minutes ago, expat_4_life said:

Using the Skyteam website:

For my own purposes, US Passport, the 6 month rule still applies.

 Were you entering a stay of longer than 6 months? 

I check it with a stay less than 6 months in it accepts a passport with less than 6 months of validity. Your stay cannot be longer than the passport validity you enter.

 

[expat_4_life]

42 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

 Were you entering a stay of longer than 6 months? 

I check it with a stay less than 6 months in it accepts a passport with less than 6 months of validity. Your stay cannot be longer than the passport validity you enter.

 

No - short stay, 4 Apr 22 - 15 Apr 22 (arrival/departure) SFO/BKK, with passport expiration 01Sep22

[ubonjoe]

20 minutes ago, expat_4_life said:

No - short stay, 4 Apr 22 - 15 Apr 22 (arrival/departure) SFO/BKK, with passport expiration 01Sep22

I don't see a departure date on what you posted.

It states your passport must be valid to October 4th.

[expat_4_life]

6 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I don't see a departure date on what you posted.

It states your passport must be valid to October 4th.

Didn't all fit on one screenshot here is full itinerary without the expanded details for the unable to board

[ubonjoe]

13 minutes ago, expat_4_life said:

Didn't all fit on one screenshot here is full itinerary without the expanded details for the unable to board

It has been some time since I checked that site for the info. Maybe they have changed it.

I personally have entered with a passport that was only valid for about 5 months with a return ticket 3 weeks after the day I arrived.

[expat_4_life]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It has been some time since I checked that site for the info. Maybe they have changed it.

I personally have entered with a passport that was only valid for about 5 months with a return ticket 3 weeks after the day I arrived.

Yeah, like in my original post, I re-entered Thailand in possession of a re-entry permit and a still valid permission to stay date - also with less than 6 months on my passport.  It was touch and go at the airport though, I initially got denied boarding.

 

At any rate, Immigration let me in without 6 months remaining even though the airline did not want to board me.

 

It sort of like, we're both right, airlines don't want to let you board, but Immigration might be OK, depending on visa etc.

 

I'll still stick to my don't travel with less than 6 months passport validity "advice" to avoid problems even though exceptions and success stories can be found (mine for example).

[glegolo18]

Thank you guys, this was REALLY good information, and as you conclude, best to stick to 6 months validity of our passports when trying to enter Thailand and also boarding the plane....

 

glegolo

[ubonjoe]

19 hours ago, expat_4_life said:

Yeah, like in my original post, I re-entered Thailand in possession of a re-entry permit and a still valid permission to stay date - also with less than 6 months on my passport.  It was touch and go at the airport though, I initially got denied boarding.

I just checked the IATA travel site and got a green light with a passport expiration date less than 6 months (US departure to here). https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/passport-visa-health-travel-document-requirements.htm