Passport Renewal - Here Or Uk?

[somo]

I have a 1 year extension that expires on the same day as my passport next May.

I am due to go back to the UK for a few weeks soon so would there be any problems if I got a new passport whilst there and arrived back in Thailand with it plus my old invalid book which has my visa in it.

Would they transfer the visa at the airport or ask me to go to Suan Plu and get it done or worse give me a hard time about haw long they would let me stay.

The alternative is to get a new book here but I have been told it is better to have a book issued in your home country for some reason.

Any advice gratefully received.

[grtaylor]

I have a 1 year extension that expires on the same day as my passport next May.

I am due to go back to the UK for a few weeks soon so would there be any problems if I got a new passport whilst there and arrived back in Thailand with it plus my old invalid book which has my visa in it.

Would they transfer the visa at the airport or ask me to go to Suan Plu and get it done or worse give me a hard time about haw long they would let me stay.

The alternative is to get a new book here but I have been told it is better to have a book issued in your home country for some reason.

Any advice gratefully received.

My gut reaction is that you would have a real problem, because your old passport, and therefore the visa, would be invalid.

The first time I renewed my passport here, for some reason, nobody told me about visa transferal. The next time I left the country, with both passports, the immigration official told me "you have no visa for Thailand - you are here illegally." I pointed out that it was in my old passport, and he told me it was not valid as the passport had been cancelled. After quite a bit of arguing, he let me go, with a hand-written note in my new passport.

When I last renewed my passport here at the British Embassy, they were careful, in cutting the corner off the book, not to cut it off the one page with the visa, so that one particular page was still valid. I think you'd have a problem persuading the people in the UK to leave one page valid like that. I believe the transfer has to be done at Immigration, and that you now need an official letter from the embassy asking them to transfer the visa.

G

[apetley]

I am not sure if extensions of stay are treated the same as multi entry visas but here's my experience.

I renewed my passport at the UK embassy in BKK earlier this year.

When I made a 90 day visa run the immigration officer had a look at my 'old' passport in which the visa was and made an entry in my new passport with the details of my visa.

No drama at all.

[digitalchromakey]

Get a new UK passport here and you will have no problem.

If you get a new passport issued in Bangkok (FOC), then the pages with valid visas and stamps will be folded in and the whole top right corner then cut off the passport. Those folded in pages are intact and thus still valid.

You can then go to the immigration dept who issued the extension and get both the stamp and extension transfered to your new passport.

Don't know what they do in the UK if you still have valid visa(s)/re-entry permit(s) in a passport that is replaced.

[grtaylor]

Get a new UK passport here and you will have no problem.

If you get a new passport issued in Bangkok (FOC), then the pages with valid visas and stamps will be folded in and the whole top right corner then cut off the passport. Those folded in pages are intact and thus still valid.

You can then go to the immigration dept who issued the extension and get both the stamp and extension transfered to your new passport.

Don't know what they do in the UK if you still have valid visa(s)/re-entry permit(s) in a passport that is replaced.

Exactly my point.

G

[somo]

Thanks for the info everyone. Just what I needed to know.

Will sort out a new passport here once I get back.

[2008bangkok]

Hi i did mine a few months back and apart from having a cob about the price they charge, (i mean come on how can they justify 10.5k for a 50 pager when a thai one is 1k) anyway i went to immigration with both passports and they changed the visa over for me..no problems no fuss just a nice relaxed pleasant time.

[richm7]

Can also confirm that my experience of the embassy in BKK is extremely positive. I have found them to be friendly and very helpful. The big advantage I see in visiting the embassy rather than doing it in the UK (aside from the obvious points raised by other posters) is that you deal with a real person in BKK who is even peripherally involved in issuing the new passport, rather than a "system" in the U.K.

BTW, don't you need to fill out a form at Suan Phlu to transfer you existing visa? I have never done it but it is my impression that just turning up with the new and old passport would not be enough, so go prepared, which means have copies of the old passport relevant pages, including the visa page AND your immigration form and copies of the data page of your new passport. The form I think you'll need is here:

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/downl...ansferstamp.pdf

Take a book to read at Suan Phlu!!!

[Crossy]

I recently renewed my (full) UK passport at the embasy in Delhi. They trimmed only the cover, leaving all the pages intact.

My non-o in the cancelled passport was happily accepted by the nice immigration lady at Swampy, no problem

No issues with moving entry stamps etc. in India, just presented both passports to the immigration chap and he stamped me out