Passport Validity Requirements

[lazygourmet]

8 hours ago, OJAS said:

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

 

I will... I am cruising around Mediterranean sea until end of September and have no time -and no envy- to go back to Belgium for a new passport. 

I am flying out with Turkish Airlines from Istanbul where I am going to stay for a few days before departure.

Just in case I realize that I will not be allowed to board their flight, Belgian consulate will issue me, within a day, an emergency one-year temporary passport which will do the trick.

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

On 5/12/2023 at 6:21 PM, SeaBee said:

"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

 

^^

It's incorrect but 'safe', advice.  Thailand does not have a 6-month validity rule as has already been pointed out, but many airlines either don't know this or have their own rules!  I went through this in detail with the UK Embassy who were insisting my son needed a new passport or wouldn't be allowed to enter Thailand, as he had 4 months remaining.  Fortunately I took advice from this Forum and he was admitted without issue.

[BritTim]

6 hours ago, lazygourmet said:

I am flying out with Turkish Airlines from Istanbul where I am going to stay for a few days before departure.

In my experience, Turkish is a highly professional airline that is well up on the rules. Also, I am confident that, worst case, they will allow you to sign an indemnity form. I once did this with Turkish when planning to enter visa exempt with no onward flight. (I assume your flight is direct from Istanbul to Bangkok.)

[OJAS]

7 hours ago, lazygourmet said:

Just in case I realize that I will not be allowed to board their flight, Belgian consulate will issue me, within a day, an emergency one-year temporary passport which will do the trick.

@BritTim - if they were to cancel his existing passport as part of this process, though, might this lead to problems with Immigration upon his return at BKK Arrivals?

[BritTim]

3 hours ago, OJAS said:

@BritTim - if they were to cancel his existing passport as part of this process, though, might this lead to problems with Immigration upon his return at BKK Arrivals?

If the old passport is physically marked as cancelled, I expect this could lead to some lengthy questioning on arrival, but I doubt it would lead to a denied entry.

 

A bigger question I would have is over Belgium's policies on emergency passports.  Most countries have fairly strict policies on the itineraries they allow with emergency travel documents. I think he should double check that the Belgian embassy will issue an emergency passport for travel from Turkey to Bangkok, and also any other conditions attached to the issuing of the document.

[lazygourmet]

On 6/1/2023 at 12:08 PM, BritTim said:

If the old passport is physically marked as cancelled, I expect this could lead to some lengthy questioning on arrival, but I doubt it would lead to a denied entry.

 

A bigger question I would have is over Belgium's policies on emergency passports.  Most countries have fairly strict policies on the itineraries they allow with emergency travel documents. I think he should double check that the Belgian embassy will issue an emergency passport for travel from Turkey to Bangkok, and also any other conditions attached to the issuing of the document.

Belgian consulates are delivering two types of short term passports :

- Emergency passport only valid to travel back to Belgium

- Temporary passport with one year validity

[KhunBENQ]

On 5/12/2023 at 6:10 PM, 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.

 

Bumping this older thread while searching for a friend about passport validity and extension of stay.

 

From the official source that airlines use (TIMATIC) it is clear that there is NO 6 month validity rule for entering Thailand. At least for the example that I used:

From Germany to Thailand, Lufthansa non stop, arrival 15 Dec, stay 29 days, vacation, have return ticket, German national with normal German passport valid until 15 January.

 

Check on your own with your travel itinerary.

There might be variations if having stop overs or other factors?

 

https://www.copaair.com/en-cr/timatic/

 

Query:

(click on images for full size, "birthday" is arbitrary)

 

Result:

 

 

Now cutting short the passport validity shorter than the 29 days intended stay:

 

Edited October 29, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[DrJack54]

Anyone letting pp run even close to 6 months validity is foolish.

Many countries pp has 10 year validity.

 

I have 2 years left on mine and will renew shortly. 

[KhunBENQ]

On 5/12/2023 at 5:57 PM, lazygourmet said:

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

Check  yourself according to my post above.

[DrJack54]

17 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Check  yourself according to my post above.

And where to after that.

Various countries have there own rules.

For example my understanding is Thai immigration does not require the 6 month validity whereas  Vietnam does. 

 

As posted earlier it's crazy to get that low.

Only thing more crazy is the threads with ...."I have one and half pages left can I get a reentry permit and...."

 

Gee Whiz

[KhunBENQ]

4 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

And where to after that.

Responding to the op who can take his own decision.

I am not arguing with you declaring all other crazy.

[DrJack54]

2 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

Responding to the op who can take his own decision.

The OP is MAY.

 

I'm pointing out to others that getting down to less than 6 months is plain crazy as countries have their own requirements as do airlines. 

[stubuzz]

Does Thailand accept UK passports with more than 10 years validity? I know Europe now does not accept the extra months.

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, stubuzz said:

Does Thailand accept UK passports with more than 10 years validity? I know Europe now does not accept the extra months.

 

You are presumably referring to an existing passport which has had the unexpired period of its predecessor added to its 10-year validity period up to a maximum of 9 months. No problems with using such passports to enter Thailand - the 10-year rule to which you refer only applies to Brits (and other non-EU nationals) intending to darken the hallowed turf of those European countries who are subject to the debatable whims and wishes of the EU.

 

Unfortunately, thanks to this typically totally pointless EU rule (which, to the best of my knowledge, has not been replicated by any other country on this great planet of ours), the option of adding unexpired months to the validity period of replacement UK passports is no longer available.☹️

[MangoKorat]

I posted the information below in a thread on a similar subject and replies suggested its wrong - even though one of the links is from a Thai embassy.  I've also seen the same 6 month requirement mentioned on a B.O.I. website regarding visas/business. It may be more useful if, rather that simply stating its wrong, those who think its wrong post links to official sources that refute it.

 

Item 1, Item 14.

 

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/84498-faq?menu=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072ef

 

 Passport Validity Requirements

 

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

 

Visa Exempt Entry

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/

 

Last year I had a trip to Thailand planned and would be arriving with 5 months left on my passport.  I called the Thai embassy in London to ask if that was OK and was told that my passport must have 6 months remaining from the date or arriving in the country.

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

I posted the information below in a thread on a similar subject and replies suggested its wrong - even though one of the links is from a Thai embassy.  I've also seen the same 6 month requirement mentioned on a B.O.I. website regarding visas/business. It may be more useful if, rather that simply stating its wrong, those who think its wrong post links to official sources that refute it.

 

Item 1, Item 14.

 

https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/84498-faq?menu=5d6636cd15e39c3bd00072ef

 

 Passport Validity Requirements

 

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

 

Visa Exempt Entry

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/

 

Last year I had a trip to Thailand planned and would be arriving with 5 months left on my passport.  I called the Thai embassy in London to ask if that was OK and was told that my passport must have 6 months remaining from the date or arriving in the country.

 

Sigh!  I wish I had a pound for every time someone has asked Thai consular officials for information on anything other than services provided by themselves and has been given an incorrect answer. People assume that the Thai embassy (and its website) should be the oracle on all things Thai. In reality, they will invariably give you a confident answer and frequently that answer will be incorrect.

 

When applying for a visa (something the embassy does know something about) your passport requires six month's validity. At the time you enter Thailand, the passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your intended stay. That is not a recommendation to travel with less than six months remaining on your passport, a practice that can lead to all kinds of complications as a majority of the world's countries do apply a six month validity rule.

[MangoKorat]

6 minutes ago, BritTim said:

 

Sigh!  I wish I had a pound for every time someone has asked Thai consular officials for information on anything other than services provided by themselves and has been given an incorrect answer. People assume that the Thai embassy (and its website) should be the oracle on all things Thai. In reality, they will invariably give you a confident answer and frequently that answer will be incorrect.

 

When applying for a visa (something the embassy does know something about) your passport requires six month's validity. At the time you enter Thailand, the passport only needs to be valid for the duration of your intended stay. That is not a recommendation to travel with less than six months remaining on your passport, a practice that can lead to all kinds of complications as a majority of the world's countries do apply a six month validity rule.

This argument could go on forever. Given the amount of airlines/officials that DO require a 6 month validity, would you not agree that the best advice in these situations is to say yes, you need 6 months available on your passport?

 

Alternatively, could you provide a link to an official Thai government website that states that there is no minimum requirement/the validity only needs to cover your stay.  People intending to travel with less than 6 months validity could print that out and hand it over to the airline/official demanding 6 months validity.

 

I lost a full 5 months worth of validity on my UK passport as the UK no longer starts a new passport from the date the old passport expires as they did in the past.  Now, If you apply for a 10 year passport it expires precisely 10 years after the date of approval and disregards the expiry date of any existing passport.

[BritTim]

16 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Alternatively, could you provide a link to an official Thai government website that states that there is no minimum requirement/the validity only needs to cover your stay.  People intending to travel with less than 6 months validity could print that out and hand it over to the airline/official demanding 6 months validity.

 

When dealing with airlines, the best source to convince the ignorant is the IATA guidelines which member airlines are strongly recommended to follow. It should be noted that IATA tries to keep track of member airlines that depart from their recommendations, and their Travel Center (https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/) takes account of the known deviations. Even stubborn check-in staff will normally accept what IATA says about their airline's policies.

[MangoKorat]

3 minutes ago, BritTim said:

 

When dealing with airlines, the best source to convince the ignorant is the IATA guidelines which member airlines are strongly recommended to follow. It should be noted that IATA tries to keep track of member airlines that depart from their recommendations, and their Travel Center (https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/) takes account of the known deviations. Even stubborn check-in staff will normally accept what IATA says about their airline's policies.

So you don't have a link to an official Thai source?