Transferring Retirement & Reentry Stamp To New Passport

[rogerdee123]

I got a new passport BUT I got it overseas!

Now the big question is .... how do I re-enter Thailand, i.e. my re-entry and retirement extension is in the old cancelled passport.

I go to the Thai Consulate to try to get a non Immigrant O in my new passport so I can do the transfer at Suan Plu ...... and the visa clerk's eyes develop that glazed look when I start trying to explain what I need. I go to another employee at the consulate and he tells me I have to resubmit all my documents for the retirement visa !!! I show him my bank statements but he says he wants letter from the bank in Thai language! ###### ... I can do this but it will take days to get my bank in Bangkok to send me the letter. So I try employee number 3 ... this person looks at my old passport and say's "Mai Pen Rai" use the old cancelled passport to re-enter the country. OK I accept this because really this is what I wanted to hear.

But I go to the US Embassy to get another letter (addressed to Thai Immigration) just to have in case ... the Embassy says, OK but all they can say is that Mr. rogerdee on Passport xxxxxxxx is also the same Mr. Rogerdee on Passport YYYYYYY. As long as I have something from the US Embassy I don't care. I'm willing to take the risk.

I arrive at Suvarnaphum airport and after the long trek to immigration I hand the officer the old passport first opened to the page with my re-entry permit. He looks at it and doesn't notice the passport is cancelled. But I can't allow him to make that mistake. So I pull out my new passport and hand it to him exclaiming ... "OH I have a new Passport"! He doesn't bat an eye and the immigration process goes faster than usual even. One passport is opened on the re-entry and another is opened on the first page. So he doesn't have to flip back and forth thru the passport. And he does his stamping etc with efficiency. I think he forgot to take my photo!

He puts the entry stamp in my new passport!!!! I check the validity date. Actually he has given me one month too many. Instead of stamping January he has stamped February! "Mai Pen Rai" I say to myself and continue on my journey.

Actually I had originally planned to go to Suan Plu bright and early on Monday morning. But what the <deleted> it's Friday afternoon and there are still a few hours left. So I go to Suan Plu. I go into the madhouse at Suan Plu and stand in line at the "two ladies counter". When I reach the front I show the nice lady my two passports (one new and one cancelled) with the retirement extension page showing and tell her ... I want to put that extension into this new Passport. She grabs my old passport and looks at the retirement extension and then pushes the button and the number slip comes out ... and she motions me to that room where we all go to get out retirement extensions. I wander in an notice there are 60 people in front of me and it's already 2PM and they are calling a new number about every 10 minutes. I chat awhile with a bloke from UK sitting next to me. I never really understand what he is there for. Finally I conclude that the laws of probability and nature are such that there is no way in hel_l that muy number will be called before 5PM. So I depart Suan Plu unsuccessful in my mission.

Fast forward thru a weekend I prefer to forget to Monday morning. I arrive at Suan Plu a few minutes before 8AM. The "2 ladies counter" doesn't open until 8:30 but there is already the two lines of people lining up and waiting for the "2 ladies". So I step in line and wait while trying to remember what actually happened on the weekend. The two ladies arrive and when my turn comes this time the lady says ... "You don't need a number, just go to that desk over there (just inside the big room where we normally do the retirement extensions). " So .. I blindly follow her advice .. with no waiting line number. At the desk there is no one but there is a sign in Thai and broken English instructing you to pick up a number and attach it with paperclip to your passport and put your passport into the blue (laundry) basket and keep the other number and wait for the office to call your number. So momentary panic ... I have two passports, and old on and a new one ... which one should I give them??? Then a nice slim and attractive Thai woman (probably working for a Japanese businessman) who is sitting there waiting tells me that I should attach my application form to the passport. OK ... I manage to attach the number to two passort and the application form (form to transfer stamp) plus all the photocopies (old passport, new passport, re-entry, retirement visa, etc etc etc).

Then I sit down and wait But not too bad because the attractive Thai woman who I imagine works for some Japanese businessman is sitting next to me and wants to chat

Then I see the process in action. The immigration officers come and get the passports with application forms from the blue laundry basket and work on them for awhile and then they put them into the white laundry basket. "OK" I think .... "I can manage this".

After some time the immigration officer calls my number and I go up to the laundry basket desk and he hands me both old and new passports. I look into the new passport and lo and behold ... the retirement visa has been transferred ..... PLUS .... another entry stamp which duplicates my original entry (2002) stamp on my first retirement visa. Plus they have taken one whole page of my new passport to write a long passage in Thai language. I can understand the old passport number so I think this basically explains in Thai what they have done (i.e. transfer the extension etc from the old passport into the new passport). But for all I know the rest of it could be poetry and I imagine what they may have written.

"Kap Khun Krap" I say .... but I notice that there is no re-entry in the new passport. So I ask the kind immigration officer and he directs me to window 7.

However I can't help myself .... I must stop over at the "2 ladies counter" and ask them for help. They direct me to window 7 (surprise surprise) and I have an extended conversation with them about whether I need to fill out another form or not. But I can't resist because they are sooooo cute.

Now at window 7 I show the lady my old passport with the multiple re-entry (and smile joyfully) and my new passport with no re-entry (and have very sad face). She tells me not to worry and to have a seat. Again I have no number and have thrown myself to the mercy of the window 7 ladies. But they come thru terrifically and instead of calling my name, they just look at me and raise their eyebrows ... and confidently I arise and go to the wondow and receive my two passorts with the re-entry stamped into my new passport.

Another farang who must have noticed my aura and comes up to me and asks me the question "What is a Re-entry". So clearly I have now been elevated to a higher status.

I depart Suan Plu by 10AM having accomplished my mission impossible and with a renewed sense of "Mai Pen Rai".

[wpcoe]

Thanks for the blow-by-blow description of the process. My current passport is starting to come apart at the spine and I forsee myself getting a new passport fairly soon.

BTW, did you ever recall what transpired over the weekend?