Whatever the OP decides the best strategy at immigration arrivals ( airports ) is to avoid the queues that lead to a female immigration officer . Real sticklers for the rules especially if you have had a lot of Ed visas or look like a monger.

 

Next avoid the younger male immigration officers trying to shine and make it up the promotion ladder.

 

Pick the queue that leads to a kindly looking old man who wears glasses and appears a bit slow on the uptake.

 

When your turn comes give him a big wai a big smile and talk about the weather and how hot it is in Thailand but the food is delicious and Thai people so kind and friendly.

 

You will get stamped in no questions asked.

On 3/9/2023 at 2:20 AM, Hal65 said:

@ThailandRyan Are you sure they can see the actual visa type, eg education, tourist, business, marriage, et cetera? Someone posted earlier that immigration can only see entry and exit date information, but not the type of visa attached to those entries.

Any immigration officer can get all of your Airport entries / exits, Visa information (entry type) going back to 2012 within minutes... 

In most cases they only need a few details (i.e. Name / Nationality) and can tie that in to your photo...  

22 hours ago, BritManToo said:

But they might not look for your name under different passport numbers and consider this your first trip to Thailand. Back in the UK if you wanted to avoid police database searches, you just reversed your first and middle names on the form, or dropped one completely.

Shady past ???

 

They don’t need to ‘look’.. the Name / DOB etc comes up automatically on the Immigration computers when your passport is scanned - IF you have a new / different passport its quickly linked unless key identifying information has changed (name / nationality / Passport) then, I suspect someone could slip through the gaps. 

 

 

 

57 minutes ago, Denim said:

When your turn comes give him a big wai a big smile and talk about the weather and how hot it is in Thailand but the food is delicious and Thai people so kind and friendly.

Better to know nothing about Thailand and be excited about your first trip here IMHO.

Immigration prefer lambs new to the slaughter.

5 hours ago, my friend I said:

If the OP had a ten year old passport  would the new passport with a new photo  still be recognised by the face scan? Some people change quite a lot as they age.

I think the scans measure the bone-structure using center to center on the eyes and whatnot.  

 

For example, an iPhone still recognizes you if you grow a beard or long hair. 

10 hours ago, Denim said:

Whatever the OP decides the best strategy at immigration arrivals ( airports ) is to avoid the queues that lead to a female immigration officer . Real sticklers for the rules especially if you have had a lot of Ed visas or look like a monger.

 

Next avoid the younger male immigration officers trying to shine and make it up the promotion ladder.

 

Pick the queue that leads to a kindly looking old man who wears glasses and appears a bit slow on the uptake.

 

When your turn comes give him a big wai a big smile and talk about the weather and how hot it is in Thailand but the food is delicious and Thai people so kind and friendly.

 

You will get stamped in no questions asked.

Great advice, thank you. How do you discern the kindly old man from the angry old man?

On 3/9/2023 at 11:12 AM, clokwise said:

I can answer this definitively. I am a dual passport holder. Usually travel in and out of Thailand on Passport #1. Due to misc visa and passport issues, I arrived using passport #2 which I had never used before in Thailand. Same name, DOB, etc, just different nationality. They immediately picked up on this, and confirmed after taking my fingerprints and face scan. They asked me several questions then stamped my passport and and sent me on my way. This didn't seem to cause any concern for immigration, they seemed prepared for this situation.

 

Long gone are the good old days when you could "lose" your passport and effectively start over.

Strange. I also have dual passports and have been switching them around for 15+ years. I have never - ever, been questioned about this by Thai immigration.

17 minutes ago, MajorTom said:

Strange. I also have dual passports and have been switching them around for 15+ years. I have never - ever, been questioned about this by Thai immigration.

I guess he had an inquisitive immigration officer.

 

My passports used to get full quickly... I’ve entered on numerous different (new) passports. I also carry two (UK) passports and have made a switch in the past (when reasons dictated) - I too have never been questioned. 

 

I’ve seen my full immigration history on a screen, every entry (each entry photo with it), the visa I entered with etc... 

The new passports / different passports were picked up without question and simply added to the system. I imagine this is the same for the vast majority of people who've entered on a new or different passport. 

 

 

6 hours ago, MajorTom said:

Strange. I also have dual passports and have been switching them around for 15+ years. I have never - ever, been questioned about this by Thai immigration.

I mentioned that this was the first time I had used my alternate passport to enter Thailand. First question the IO asked me was had I been to Thailand before. Seems their system, just based on my name and DOB had flagged me. I explained this was my alternate nationality passport, he seemed satisfied with my answer and then stamped me in.

 

I'm sure, like you, if I were to switch passports once in a while there would not be any more questions asked. But since my visa is based on just one of my passports, I will just keep using that one.

Ok so (thanks to kind posters here) we can conclude that entry i/o can easily link and see your previous passport's entry / exit history and entry visas used for the past 20 years... The only question remains, can they also see actual extensions issued inside Thailand (not just entry visas)?