I got my birth certificate today (Thai mail is surprisingly fast, sent from Van on Jan 3) and went to the Canadian Embassy. I was told they can issue me a temporary passport and that it will be ready on Friday. (8520THB ouch!) With the new temporary passport do I have to go to Thai immigration to have the stamps transferred?

That would be the normal procedure. Some have reported not doing so and doing on exit but at some point it was done so best to do where they know the procedure and it is expected to be done. Believe it becomes more important if arrival card must be manually searched for (lost passport) but I would proceed to immigration immediatly after pickup. Visit photo copy places across the street to get the required copies (they know what you will need).

my passport (USA) merely got damp, and the date on my O visa from the Australian consulate in Brisbane bled off.

At the border they said they had no relevant records in their computer system (which is hard to believe) and so I got

29 days visa on arrival instead of 3 months of non-immigrant status.

the passaport is fine, and most ink did not run...

zip-lock bags can help a lot!

For the US passport the normal Thai bank passbook plastic sleeves help a lot - have been using for last 15 years. SCB is a good fit - BBL a little long but can be trimmed.

my passport (USA) merely got damp, and the date on my O visa from the Australian consulate in Brisbane bled off.

At the border they said they had no relevant records in their computer system (which is hard to believe)...

When a Thai consulate issues a visa, this information is not entered into the database of the Immigartion Bureau, nor does immigration otherwise have access to it. Only details of your arrivals, departures, extensions and other immgration matters are input into the system of the Immigration Bureau.

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Maestro

"i left my passport in my shirt and it got washed"

sounds as credible to me as

"these aliens who abducted me last month treated me quite well".

I’ve got a friend who left his mobile phone in a pocket of his jeans and it got washed by his mother. That happened in Switzerland. Of course, the phone didn’t work anymore after that.

Don’t know about shirts. A little more diffcult, perhaps, not to notice something as bulky as a passport by

a) the person taking off the shirt

the person flinging the load of dirty laundry into the washing machine (unless white and coloured items are not sorted out first, in which case it would be easy not to notice)

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Maestro

I got my Canadian temporary passport, it's white and only has 2-3 pages for stamps and is good for one year. I went to the Thai immigration and had the stamps transferred over no problems. I was told that post 9/11 passports that look like they've been washed are highly suspect as apparently this is a common way for terrorists to try and use counterfeit passports. If you're a Canadian reading this go visit the Canadian embassy the ladies there are quite helpful.

My girlfriend just washed my passport and my current visa expires on Saturday. If I dry it out will I be able to use it for now? Can I get a new passport from the Canadian Embassy by Saturday? Am I fokked?

Try a brief encounter with a microwave oven....this should help dry it.

... but destroy the rfid-chip ...