Transferring a new ME non-O to a new Passport.

[keysersoze276]

Hi guys. I am going to Savnnakhet to get a multi-enrty non-o based on marriage. 
i just read some confusing information.  Visas cannot be transferred, and then read contradictory information, but stating that your stamps are transferred.  Also read that one can travel freely with both the old and new passports. 
None of what I read was specifically for a multiple entry visa. 
Can I get a multiple entry non-o and exit and reenter on it every 90 days?   Or will the immigration at the border do the transfer as I was originally advised?  That was the plan. Is my plan flawed?  Or any suggestions on what I should do?  US Passport holder on my way to Savannakhet right now and very confused if I should get the multiple entry as planned. 
TIA for advice!

[Tod Daniels]

If you get a year long, multi-entry, non-immigrant type O Visa based on marriage to a thai, you are correct that Visa sticker cannot be transferred into another passport. Period, End of story

 

If you get a new passport while the Visa in the old passport is still valid when you travel out and back in every 90 days to activate a new 90-day entry on that year-long Visa you will show both passports each time, and you will be stamped in and out on the new passport.

 

There is no way to get a Visa sticker issued from a Thai consulate in another country transferred to a new passport. Only entry stamps, and or extensions of stay can be transferred.

[keysersoze276]

48 minutes ago, Tod Daniels said:

If you get a new passport while the Visa in the old passport is still valid when you travel out and back in every 90 days to activate a new 90-day entry on that year-long Visa you will show both passports each time, and you will be stamped in and out on the new passport.

Thanks. So no worries as long as I travel with both passports and I don’t even have to go to immigration or anything?  Or is in necessary to transer the first entry stamp at immigration?  

Edited June 7, 2023 by keysersoze276
Typo

[BritTim]

Immigration cannot transfer a visa issued by a consulate to a new passport. What they will do is transfer information about your immigration status from the old to the new passport. You then use both passports to travel. All new stamps go in the new passport, but the visa is in the old passport and needs to be shown each time you enter Thailand.

 

It appears that there is an office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that can transfer visas from old to new passports. I have never done this so do not know the exact procedure. Few people ever bother arranging this. It is easier just to travel with both passports.

[keysersoze276]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:22 AM, BritTim said:

Immigration cannot transfer a visa issued by a consulate to a new passport. What they will do is transfer information about your immigration status from the old to the new passport. You then use both passports to travel. All new stamps go in the new passport, but the visa is in the old passport and needs to be shown each time you enter Thailand.

Thanks@BritTim. Do I have to report to the immigration office when I get my new passport and have the information transferred from my cancelled one?  Or can I just take both passports when I do a border bounce (by land or air) with the multiple entry non o marrige visa?  

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, keysersoze276 said:

Thanks@BritTim. Do I have to report to the immigration office when I get my new passport and have the information transferred from my cancelled one?  Or can I just take both passports when I do a border bounce (by land or air) with the multiple entry non o marrige visa?  

The first time you use the new passport, stamps must be transferred. You do not have to do it at the immigration office, but might prefer to. At airports, this does not take much time. At land crossings, there tends to be a specific official responsible for doing it, and you could be faced with a long wait if they are not available (and late evening even told to come back tomorrow). Even after the stamp transfer, the visa remains in the old passport, and you still need to have the old passport with you to enter using the visa.

[keysersoze276]

@BritTimExcellent answer!  I would prefer to not go to immigration, so thank you very much!

[bigt3116]

On 6/8/2023 at 9:22 AM, BritTim said:

It appears that there is an office at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that can transfer visas from old to new passports.

I believe this is actually for people who have lost their passport with their visa in, and that SOMETIMES the MFA can trace the visa issue, and re-issue in the new passport.