Jump to content


Passport Validity Requirements


Recommended Posts

I am off to Europe until end of September.

My passport is valid until January 29, 2024.

My retirement extension ends at the same date and I have re-entry permit.

Will I be able to re-enter Thailand with less than six months passport validity?

 

Edited by lazygourmet
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Crossy said:

Yup, you will have no problem. Thailand's requirement is for the PP to be valid for the length of your stay.

 

Watch for restrictions on any transit countries if you are not flying direct.

 

Why do you give so wrong an advice? Thailand's requirements for entry DOES include at least 6 months of validity in your passport. And that rule is strictly enforced.

/baffled

  • Like 1
  • Confused 2
  • Sad 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Crossy and Sea Bee at odds with each other. Who to believe?

 

Neither, just verify. Call a couple airlines and they will all confirm they don't even let you board a flight with less than 6 months validity left.

Edited by SeaBee
  • Like 1
  • Confused 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Yup, you will have no problem. Thailand's requirement is for the PP to be valid for the length of your stay.

 

Watch for restrictions on any transit countries if you are not flying direct.

 

"Passport validity

Your passport must have at least 6 months’ validity remaining from your date of entry into Thailand."

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements

 

^^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, OJAS said:

No problems with re-entering Thailand with your existing passport at the end of September. However, assuming that you'll be staying in your home country, I would strongly advise you to take the opportunity of renewing your existing passport while you are there since this will probably prove a lot more straightforward than doing it from Thailand. That is most definitely the case IMHO if you're a Brit!

 

Then, upon your return to Thailand, you would need to show both cancelled previous and new passports to the immigration officer at BKK Arrivals, and they should stamp your new passport with a permission to stay date expiring on 29 January 2024.  There would also be no need for you to obtain a letter from your home country embassy in Bangkok, as part of the subsequent process of transferring existing stamps from old to new passports at your local immigration office.

 

I am Belgian but I have no plan at all to visit Belgium if I do not need to renew it.

My legal address is in Thailand and I am registered at my embassy in Bangkok.

More convenient for me to wait for a new passport while in Thailand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, SeaBee said:

Why do you give so wrong an advice? Thailand's requirements for entry DOES include at least 6 months of validity in your passport. And that rule is strictly enforced.

/baffled

 

If anyone can actually make the revised IATA travel site (which will be the airline's source of data) work with our OP's details I will stand corrected.

 

Once upon a time it simply stated the requirement which was validity for duration of stay.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Yup, you will have no problem. Thailand's requirement is for the PP to be valid for the length of your stay.

 

Watch for restrictions on any transit countries if you are not flying direct.

 

I don't think that's correct but I don't have time to find the link at the moment.  I renewed my passport early recently because when I checked, Thailand requires 6 months.

 

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements

 

EDIT - Found the link

Edited by KhaoYai
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, OJAS said:

The 6-month validity rule does, indeed, apply in the case of tourists planning to stay in Thailand visa-exempt for up to 30 days. However the OP is intending to re-enter Thailand on the basis of a non-immigrant extension of stay for retirement as supported by a re-entry permit, so this requirement would not apply in his case.

You're talking about something you don't know anything about. The requirement does apply in all cases. I personally learned that the hard way, trying to re-enter TH on a non-B with 5.5 months left on passport... I couldn't board my flight in KL and was only able to enter at land border after several hours of negotiation and a *big* fee.

  • Sad 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Crossy said:

People.

 

Rather than slinging the mud, why not try to access the IATA site which is the definitive source.

 

I failed to make it work with our OP's data but I'm on a slightly flaky connection at present.

 

Thanks Crossy.

I can also double check with immigration at Suvarnabhumi before leaving.

You can close this topic if needed.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The OP doesn't specify which country he is from, but the rules are the same for most of the countries that qualify for visa exempt entry so I have used the UK as an example. As Crossy mentioned your passport is only required to be valid for the length of your stay.

 

From IATA via KLM:

image.png.ba30107f48f7bd24c3471879ad318258.png

 

And as for the poster claiming that the rules are different when arriving visa exempt, they are not:

image.png.0d0c6fb8636b676d05847cd71f3cfe71.png

  • Thumbs Up 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SeaBee said:

No. The 6-month validity is strictly enforced everywhere, including by the airlines. You will simply not be able to board your flight.

(1st hand experience)

Not true. It may have happened to you but the the circumstances may have been different. Airlines follow IATA notices issued by countries they fly to. Thailand recommends a minium of 6 months but it's a recommendation for general entry. Since he has a valid permission to stay stamp and reentry permit he is fine.  If it were me I would renewmy passport and carry both on return. Then if he wants to renew at the end of his current permit he's good to go. Only caveat is the transit countries on his return trip. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, JackGats said:

Even if you read here and there that Thailand does not strictly enforce the 6-month rule, what about the airline? Airlines often prefer to err on the side of caution. 

No they follow IATA guidelines which pop up on their screen not every airline is a member but all the major international ones are 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Passport validity and expiry date is very important to be aware of, especially with an extension of stay. For example. My passport expires April 24 2025. My extension is renewed every May 24, currently valid until 2024. I realised the other day that I although my passport is valid until May 24 2025, that I will need a new passport before I apply for my next extension, otherwise I will only get an extension until the passport expiry date. This is no good for me as I always stay in Thailand until end of May for my yearly trip home.

I therefore will be getting a new passport on my return to the Uk in 2 weeks even though I will still have roughly 22 months remaining on it. I do not want to renew it via VFS whilst in Thailand.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/12/2023 at 12:33 PM, Crossy said:

 

Sadly, our real expert has left us ????

 

I'm no immigration guru, just reiterating what was the case in the past. I'm very happy to be proven wrong either by a Thai immigration site or IATA.

 

Note that non-Thai embassy sites are notorious for their less-than-accurate data ???? 

 

To be absolutely safe our OP should really renew his PP either before leaving or whilst out of the country.

At the end of the day with airlines it is dependent on the staff. I was refused boarding with 5 months left, I called the manager and asked if there was any way around the problem. She said all she could do was contact Thai immigration who agree to boarding on sight of a return ticket.

It is quite possible they would do the same with a re-entry permit.

I think there is little dispute that the six month rule does not apply at land borders. It would appear to be an airline issue with variable enforcement.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

A bit of update...

I asked immigration at Suvarnabhumi airport before flying out last weekend.

They said that I will not have any trouble to re-enter Thailand with my actual passport as soon as I am coming back before my extension expires.

They said, as well, that some airlines might be reluctant to let me board the plane ;  but if that happens, I just need to sign a form stipulating that if I am denied to enter Thailand I will have to pay for costs of repatriation.

Edited by lazygourmet
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, lazygourmet said:

but if that happens, I just need to sign a form stipulating that if I am denied to enter Thailand I will have to pay for costs of repatriation.

Definitely check this specifically and in advance with the airline you'll be flying back to Thailand with, if I were you.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, lazygourmet said:

but if that happens, I just need to sign a form stipulating that if I am denied to enter Thailand I will have to pay for costs of repatriation.

It is not 100% that the airline will allow you to sign a indemnity form as an alternative to having an onward flight ticket. That is up to the airline supervisor who needs to decide if it will be easy to enforce the terms of the indemnity agreement should the worst happen.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.