Transferring Visas Into New Passports

[bendix]

I'm awaiting my new passport. It should be here by early next week.

I understand that I will need to transfer existing visas into the new one? Is that a laborious process? Can I do it myself? I could use our preferred visa specialists, but I will only have a one or two day window of opportunity to do it so I'd prefer to manage the process myself if it's not too difficult.

Advice or thoughts please?

[NanLaew]

Depends on your passports and the visas in question. For example, years ago when Brit passports were the old black book style, the canceled passport was physically attached to the back of the new passport and a comment to the effect, "Holder used to travel on passport number 1234567 which is attached and contains valid visa."

They don't bind the new EU-style passports together any more and my more recent experience was to alert the office issuing the new passport NOT to cut the corners off ALL the pages on the expiring passport, only the COVER. In this way, the US Immigration accepted the unexpired US visa in the expired UK passport. If they had cut the corner off the page with the unexpired visa, it would have invalidated the visa. The advice regards cutting was from the US Embassy in London but the Immigration chap at Houston seemed unaware that this was the approved method but accepted it and let me in anyway.

[gusgorman]

Last time i did this was in BKK. I went to immigration and they put new stamp in for the remaining time of my 90 days as per the old passport, but they do transfer the visa, you just have to carry both passports with you when you next do a visa run. I never had any problems, pretty standard procedure so i am told.

[lopburi3]

Visas can not be transferred into a new passport. Only permitted to stay stamps and extensions of stay/re-entry permits (issued by Immigration) are transferred. For that you take the letter from your Embassy and visit Suan Phlu. You will need copies of passports and stamps to be transferred and you will fill out a short form. Does not normally take too long. Easy to do by yourself.

If you have active visas in the old passport you use both passports on entry.

[bendix]

Can I just do this at the airport, for example, lopburi?

It's an NZ passport. I'm expecting to receive it on Tuesday, but then I have to travel to Philippines on Wednesday. Couldn't I just take old voided passport and the new one with me to airport and they could put the new stamp in at immigration?

Just a thought.

[lopburi3]

Don't believe so. At the terminal itself believe only re-entry permits are available. Not sure if the office out in the cargo area does or not; but I suspect not as this is a specialized operation even at Suan Phlu and not done at normal customer counters.

If old passport valid for travel you might want to use it and pick up the new passport after you return if no time to make the transfer.

[thaihome]

Your visa specialist should be able to get stamps moved in just a few hours. I picked up new passport about 8:00AM, gave to our specialist at 11:00AM got passport back before 3:00PM. This is through the One Stop Center (which is very close to our office), can’t say for sure about Suan Plu.

TH

[fozzy58uk]

Did this myself a couple of weeks back. No more than 20 mins in Suan Phlu. Usual photocopies of relevant pages needed, get the form from the info desk, fill it in, back to info desk get your wait number and go to counter to get your stamp transferred, no charge. Visa is not transferred. Told to carry both passports. British Embassy advised me I had to transfer my stamp at immo before attempting to travel. Very simple procedure.

[bendix]

thanks guys . .all very helpful. As Suan Phlu is just round the corner from my office I'm gonna do it myself. Seems relatively hassle-free

[marquess]

Back in 2003 when I renewed my current passport I had the visa transferred from the old Passport to the new one, they put a stamp on it that too up the whole page (and was in Thai), Visa class etc. Have things now changed then? So when I renew now will I still be able to get my extension of stay renewed very year for my Edu visa based on my orginal immigrant O (which was stamped in the old passport), or will I have to obtain a new Immigrant, once the current extention of stay runs out?

[lopburi3]

I do not believe you had a Consulate issued visa transferred. An Immigration stamp for permitted to stay or an extension of stay can be transferred but not a visa. There is an entry made of the visa information but the visa itself is not moved and if a multi entry that you want to use again you carry both passports.

[wpcoe]

I'm also about to get a new passport, and still not clear on whether I need to carry both passports after I do.

I was issued a special one-day Non-Immigrant Visa at Jomtien Immigrations as an intermediate step in changing from a 30-day visa-exemption stamp to a retirement extension -- the visa was issued 21SEP2006, and states "This visa must be utilized on the date of its issuance."

Am I correct that the visa is no longer "active," so that once the current retirement extension is transferred to the new passport, I will not be required to carry the old passport as well?

[lopburi3]

You are here on an extension of stay and that will be transferred into your new passport. You may have to provide the old passport/copy of visa for renewal next year but you do not have to carry it for travel (you must obtain a re-entry permit and that will be in new passport based on the extension of stay).

[Nip]

I'm awaiting my new passport. It should be here by early next week.

I understand that I will need to transfer existing visas into the new one? Is that a laborious process? Can I do it myself? I could use our preferred visa specialists, but I will only have a one or two day window of opportunity to do it so I'd prefer to manage the process myself if it's not too difficult.

Advice or thoughts please?

The last time I renewed my retirement visa with a new passport in Phuket. The officer had a Ranong Immigration stamp and he simply stamped my new passport added the current date on the new stamp and away I went.....

[corkman]

I dunno how useful it is, but for my Thai wife a couple of years we left Ireland with the visa in her "old" pasport (stamped into it) - got a new passport in Bangkok - and returned to Ireland with her new passport in one hand, and the visa stamped in her old passport in the other hand.......

no problems whatsover..... and we went via Heathrow....... they asked us the who, where, why and what of the situation - we explaned it, and there was no problem.

we also rasied the matter with the thai passport office in bangkok beforehand, just in case, and they looked at us like we were smoking crack....... didn't understand the problem......

So - like I say - I dunno if that info is of any use or not, but I just thought I'd share.

[james24]

mmm oh dear. Can I do this in Phuket?/ Im awaiting my new passport too from Bangkok and have to transfer my visa or get a new stamp or whatever. My visa in my old passport is vaild till august, after that will i still be able to get a 30 day extension even though i wont actually have the visa in my new passport??

[Mario2008]

mmm oh dear. Can I do this in Phuket?/ Im awaiting my new passport too from Bangkok and have to transfer my visa or get a new stamp or whatever. My visa in my old passport is vaild till august, after that will i still be able to get a 30 day extension even though i wont actually have the visa in my new passport??

No problem. You can do it at any immigration office and the transfer is free. Can apply for you extension at the same time.

[TopDogger]

I just went to the exit counter with my old and new passport, the new passport had not had the stamps moved into it. They just sent me to the back office and all was sorted there, stamps transfered & stamped out of the country no problem.

[hans1977]

Yes, this is exactly what i did earlier this week; except i went to a different immigration office...

/Hans

Visas can not be transferred into a new passport. Only permitted to stay stamps and extensions of stay/re-entry permits (issued by Immigration) are transferred. For that you take the letter from your Embassy and visit Suan Phlu. You will need copies of passports and stamps to be transferred and you will fill out a short form. Does not normally take too long. Easy to do by yourself.

If you have active visas in the old passport you use both passports on entry.

[Foggy Bottom]

Visas can not be transferred into a new passport. Only permitted to stay stamps and extensions of stay/re-entry permits (issued by Immigration) are transferred. For that you take the letter from your Embassy and visit Suan Phlu. You will need copies of passports and stamps to be transferred and you will fill out a short form. Does not normally take too long. Easy to do by yourself.

If you have active visas in the old passport you use both passports on entry.

I had to do this in 2001 in Chiangmai

The procedure then was as follows -

1 - present old & new passports to the enquiry desk at CM immigration on the Airport Road

2 - they give you a form and you take all three items to the inbound immigration office (airside) at the arrivals end of Chiangmai Airport (feels wierd having an armed escort around the airside of the immigration line)

3 - the arrivals immigration office stamp the visa details into the new passport and issue a new TM card

4 - go back to main immigration where they stamp in the unexpired period of the current permission to stay and record the new TM card details

Note - at this point, the first page of the passport has two important stamps - the stamp with entry date details and visa number as issued to the old passport, plus the expiry date stamp for the permission to stay, before which you must leave the kingdom or get another extension.

The whole process took about an hour, was painless and interesting, and FREE.

You can only get the entry stamp and replacement TM card at an international port of entry (e.g. a border entry point), or at Suan Phlu.

Gaz

[percy2]

Can I just do this at the airport, for example, lopburi?

It's an NZ passport. I'm expecting to receive it on Tuesday, but then I have to travel to Philippines on Wednesday. Couldn't I just take old voided passport and the new one with me to airport and they could put the new stamp in at immigration?

Just a thought.

Couldn't you just tell the NZ embassy not to invalidate your old passport.

I have done this at the British embassy before.

Having said that I have also had my visa transferred to a new passport at Suan Plu , quite painlessly.

Cheers

[Tywais]

2 - they give you a form and you take all three items to the inbound immigration office (airside) at the arrivals end of Chiangmai Airport (feels wierd having an armed escort around the airside of the immigration line)

3 - the arrivals immigration office stamp the visa details into the new passport and issue a new TM card

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you are saying regarding going to the airport. I had a passport renewal in 1995 and again in 2005 and in both cases it (permission of stay transfer) was entirely done at the Immigration office. Letter from embassy, both passports (expired and new) filled out the form and probably 10-15 minutes was done and out of there.

[mgjackson69]

To the OP:

You stated that you have "visa specialists", I am assuming someone who normally handles these types of things for your company. That being said, why do you want to go to Suan Phlu or some other Immigration office yourself? Unless you are a masochist, of course .

I know you mentioned a fairly tight window for getting this done, but I am sure that if you convey that to your visa specialist they will be able to get it done for you.

I had a similar situation a while back on a 90-day report. I took my passport to our company office in the morning, the gal there passed it over to the visa specialist, and I picked up my passport that afternoon...she even asked me if I wanted it returned to my residence instead of me coming back to the office.