New passport - Can immigration at airport transfer old Non 'O' visa?

[Jackson B]

I have a non 'O' (retirement) visa, valid only until my passport expires in June. I am currently waiting for new passport to be processed. Once I get the new passport I plan to travel to Australia and return to Thailand in April.

 

A few questions occur to me:

(1) Do I have the option of travelling and returning on the new passport, and have immigration transfer the visa extension from the old passport when I return? Can that be done at the airport on arrival?

(2) My most recent visa extension was granted only for 6 months (the validity of the passport). Is it possible for them to grant the remainder of the extension back to the usual 12-month date (once they see the new passport)?

(3) Could I return to Thailand in April on a passport that is about to expire in June (with existing visa)?

 

Thanks to knowledgeable members!

 

[Lite Beer]

1. No.

2. No. Start again.

3. Yes.

[NoDisplayName]

3.  You've already applied for a new passport.  Won't your old passport be cancelled when you pick it up at your embassy?  Why can't you transfer the visa/extension to the new passport before you leave?

[tomazbodner]

Lite Beer was quite direct:

1) When you get new passport in Thailand, you can go to immigration office that issued visa and have it transferred (what's left of it) to the new passport. But at the time you get new passport, your old one with visa will be vioded and hence no longer usable as you'll be stamped out on new passport. If you got your passport in Australia, then came back with both of them, you could show both passports to immigration at the airport, and they would stamp you in on old visa rules but stamp new passport. You'd then be able to transfer visa later. But with passport issued in Thailand, you can transfer it before. Then when you're back in April, request an annual extension on new passport.

2) No, but if you transfer visa to new passport, you can request a new 12 months extension. If you lost visa altogether, you'd need to start from scratch.

3) Yes, you could, but only if you did not get new passport yet, and from above I believe you would get a new one before that, which means that passport would be invalidated. Read point 1 above.

[tomazbodner]

3 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

3.  You've already applied for a new passport.  Won't your old passport be cancelled when you pick it up at your embassy?  Why can't you transfer the visa/extension to the new passport before you leave?

Exactly. Thumb up.

[Lite Beer]

2 minutes ago, NoDisplayName said:

3.  You've already applied for a new passport.  Won't your old passport be cancelled when you pick it up at your embassy?  Why can't you transfer the visa/extension to the new passport before you leave?

The passport will be cancelled but the Immigration stamps in it will still be valid.

Get stamps transfered at local Immigration Office.

[DrJack54]

OP, once you have new pp apply for reentry permit (unless you have one already.

The reentry permit will be valid till expiry of current permission of stay.

Travel to Oz and back with both passports. 

When you arrive back in Thailand you will be stamped in according to reentry permit.

At some point you will have immigration transfer your non O information and entry stamp, reentry permit.

Can do that at same time as applying for next extension.

30/45 days prior to expiry permission of stay. 

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Lite Beer said:

1. No.

2. No. Start again.

3. Yes.

1.  Yes, he can travel on his new passport, obviously.    No, the IO at the airport will not transfer the stamps on arrival.

Edited January 22 by Liverpool Lou

[Jackson B]

2 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

3.  You've already applied for a new passport.  Won't your old passport be cancelled when you pick it up at your embassy?  Why can't you transfer the visa/extension to the new passport before you leave?

I have not submitted the application yet. Only booked an appointment. Because of the minimum processing time of 6 weeks, I'm considering other options, including applying for a new passport in Australia. (If I go ahead with the current application, yes, I would get the visa extension transferred before travel.)

[Jackson B]

3 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

1. No.

2. No. Start again.

3. Yes.

1. That surprises me. Does that mean there's a minimum time frame for transferring visas between old and new passports? Or do you mean "no" not at the airport but Chaeng Wattana is possible?

2. Thought so. :-(

3. Ah. That would be helpful. But I have read that one needs 6 months' validity to travel to Thailand (but maybe holding a visa makes a difference?)

 

[Jackson B]

2 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Lite Beer was quite direct:

1) When you get new passport in Thailand, you can go to immigration office that issued visa and have it transferred (what's left of it) to the new passport. But at the time you get new passport, your old one with visa will be vioded and hence no longer usable as you'll be stamped out on new passport. If you got your passport in Australia, then came back with both of them, you could show both passports to immigration at the airport, and they would stamp you in on old visa rules but stamp new passport. You'd then be able to transfer visa later. But with passport issued in Thailand, you can transfer it before. Then when you're back in April, request an annual extension on new passport.

2) No, but if you transfer visa to new passport, you can request a new 12 months extension. If you lost visa altogether, you'd need to start from scratch.

3) Yes, you could, but only if you did not get new passport yet, and from above I believe you would get a new one before that, which means that passport would be invalidated. Read point 1 above.

Yeah, I was slightly ambiguous in my question. I have not actually submitted the passport for renewal yet. Considering other options that just occurred to me, because I cannot get an appointment at the embassy for some time. Yes, I'm aware the previous passport would be voided, but I was unsure if a voided passport and a new one could be used together (this sounds the best option).

 

2. That's a bugger. I did ask immigration, but got a confused look. I had never been given a term shorter than one year before, even when I changed passports.

 

3. Right, this would be the option to leave it all till later. The question is really whether one can travel on less than 6 months' validity.

 

Thanks!

[Jackson B]

2 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, once you have new pp apply for reentry permit (unless you have one already.

The reentry permit will be valid till expiry of current permission of stay.

Travel to Oz and back with both passports. 

When you arrive back in Thailand you will be stamped in according to reentry permit.

At some point you will have immigration transfer your non O information and entry stamp, reentry permit.

Can do that at same time as applying for next extension.

30/45 days prior to expiry permission of stay. 

I usually get re-entry permits at the airport. But this solution is really useful, thanks. I just don't think Australia will process my new passport in time to get one here (no appointments available for 10 days, plus minimum 6 weeks to process), so I'm now thinking better to apply in Oz.

 

Getting the visa transferred and extended at the same time certainly does save a headache. Thanks for that suggestion!

[Jackson B]

3 hours ago, Jackson B said:

I have a non 'O' (retirement) visa, valid only until my passport expires in June. I am currently waiting for new passport to be processed. Once I get the new passport I plan to travel to Australia and return to Thailand in April.

 

A few questions occur to me:

(1) Do I have the option of travelling and returning on the new passport, and have immigration transfer the visa extension from the old passport when I return? Can that be done at the airport on arrival?

(2) My most recent visa extension was granted only for 6 months (the validity of the passport). Is it possible for them to grant the remainder of the extension back to the usual 12-month date (once they see the new passport)?

(3) Could I return to Thailand in April on a passport that is about to expire in June (with existing visa)?

 

Thanks to knowledgeable members!

 

To be clear, I have not actually submitted my passport application yet, only started the process. But because of the long wait to get an appointment, I am worried I will run out of time before the travel date, so need a plan B, plan C, etc.

[DrJack54]

6 hours ago, Jackson B said:

I just don't think Australia will process my new passport in time to get one here (no appointments available for 10 days,

Did you consider mail in option for Oz pp. 

Actually I've just completed the application form and today print out the application and payment authority then post in.

[CMBob]

13 hours ago, Jackson B said:

 

2. That's a bugger. I did ask immigration, but got a confused look. I had never been given a term shorter than one year before, even when I changed passports.

 

3. Right, this would be the option to leave it all till later. The question is really whether one can travel on less than 6 months' validity.

 

Thanks!

#2.  An extension will never be granted beyond the expiration date of your passport.  In your case, your new extension date will be June 1st (and, presuming you have your new passport by then, you'll get the usual 12 months starting from June 1st).

 

#3.  Many countries and airlines require a minimum of 6 months validity with a passport.

 

Bottom-line and to avoid all issues, get your new passport now (as soon as you can) and go get your stamps transferred to your new passport (they'll insert stamps which detail your prior passport info and your original/latest Non-O data....along with any re-entry stamp if you have one).   

[splinter49]

16 hours ago, Jackson B said:

I have not submitted the application yet. Only booked an appointment. Because of the minimum processing time of 6 weeks, I'm considering other options, including applying for a new passport in Australia. (If I go ahead with the current application, yes, I would get the visa extension transferred before travel.)

I got my new passport with in 3 weeks , done at Australian Embassy in Bangkok

 

[cardinalblue]

Unless you get a re entry stamp in new PP, your old stamp is no good and they don’t give you a re entry stamp unless you have your transferred visa stamp extension in new PP b/f you can apply for a re entry permit 

 

must do it all b/f your departure to Oz and return b/f expired extension 

[pizzachang]

"Letter from the embassy to the Immigration Office asking for cooperation; " How to get this document from US Consulate Chiang Mai? The US website give no clue - just says "go to Thai Immigration to transfer stamp"

[pizzachang]

5 hours ago, pizzachang said:

"Letter from the embassy to the Immigration Office asking for cooperation; " How to get this document from US Consulate Chiang Mai? The US website give no clue - just says "go to Thai Immigration to transfer stamp"

Adding that this question is about transfer of visa stamp to new passport. 

[Jackson B]

UPDATE: I have obtained a new passport (faster than the caution of 6 weeks - it actually took 10 days). Last week I went to Chaeng Watthana immigration to transfer the stamps. To my surprise, they demanded bank statements for the last 5 months to prove the 800k was still there. They were not interested in the balance on my phone. So a quick trip to the photocopy shop to print out monthly statements. Then they demanded I withdraw 100 baht from the same account at an ATM. I warned them this would not show the balance, but they still asked for it. OK.... went to ATM to withdraw and print out receipt. Of course, it did not show they balance, and they drew a big question mark around it. After 10 minutes of being referred up the chain, the stamp transfer was approved.

 

This requirement for bank statement is not in the list of requirements on the application form. They added this requirement quite spontaneously.

[DrJack54]

19 minutes ago, Jackson B said:

This requirement for bank statement is not in the list of requirements on the application form. They added this requirement quite spontaneously.

No it's not and again just another example where immigration add requirements willy nilly.  

Exact same thing happened with me 2 weeks ago to transfer stamps to new pp at CW.