Thai Immigration Entry / Exit Stickers

samgrowth · February 3, 2009

I do travel in and out of Thailand a lot. Every time I ask politely for the immigration officers to squeeze as many entry / exit stamps as possible to conserve pages.

As usual I told the kind and sweet looking Thai immigration lady today. They often acknowledge back with an unforgettable smile. There was no one in the queue so she start chatting with me and showed me some sticker stamps, and told me that in the future (a matter of days), Thai immigration stamp will be replaced with a sticker. I don't mean a large visa sticker. It is a small stick to replace the usual entry / exit stamp.

Has anyone seen such practice in use in other part of the world? I suppose rubber stamp is too easy to forge these days.

singa-traz · February 3, 2009

Japan do this.

samran · February 3, 2009

I went to syria once overland and the put postage stamp like things in my passport...

seems a bit wierd to be honest. Sounds like someone has got some contract to produce the stamps when the normal 'chops' would do.

Would only wish they top stapling the arrival cards in my passport. It is all potmarked to say the least.

tw25rw · February 3, 2009

Would be handy if they did some kind of online arrival card so you could fill it out before you travel. It could they be in any language, would tell you when it expires and would also tell you if you were ineligible. Then they would just scan your passport and already have your info ready.

I vaguely remember filling one out in 1985 and it was a photocopied bit of paper asking questions about what you were carrying, ie VCRs etc..

samgrowth · February 3, 2009

A field day for the FM and procurement department I suppose.

Do you remember those horrible highly sophisicated colourful plastic annual Road Tax stickers a few years back? It was suppost to be forge proof. It must be printed using a special termal printing machine. I lasted about 3 years, now it revert back to the old basic tax label that can be printed by simple dot matrix printer. I wonder how much the transport minister make out of the procurement deal.

Briggsy · February 4, 2009

I went to syria once overland and the put postage stamp like things in my passport...
seems a bit wierd to be honest. Sounds like someone has got some contract to produce the stamps when the normal 'chops' would do.

Would only wish they top stapling the arrival cards in my passport. It is all potmarked to say the least.

A field day for the FM and procurement department I suppose.
Do you remember those horrible highly sophisicated colourful plastic annual Road Tax stickers a few years back? It was suppost to be forge proof. It must be printed using a special termal printing machine. I lasted about 3 years, now it revert back to the old basic tax label that can be printed by simple dot matrix printer. I wonder how much the transport minister make out of the procurement deal.

I agree with the sams.

jobsworth · February 8, 2009

I visit Cambodia a lot and I am always impressed

how both the Thai and Khmer immigration manage to squeeze 8 stamps per side in my passport.

One stamp for an entrance and one stamp for an exit and all neatly paired off.

That is apart from the whole side Khmer and Thai stickers for a one year visa.

I am interested to know whether it will still be possible to fit 8 stamps per side in my passport.

My passport is getting full and I don't want the trouble of applying for a new one.

Anybody know how big these new mini stickers will be?

samgrowth · February 10, 2009

I visit Cambodia a lot and I am always impressed
how both the Thai and Khmer immigration manage to squeeze 8 stamps per side in my passport.

One stamp for an entrance and one stamp for an exit and all neatly paired off.

That is apart from the whole side Khmer and Thai stickers for a one year visa.

I am interested to know whether it will still be possible to fit 8 stamps per side in my passport.

My passport is getting full and I don't want the trouble of applying for a new one.

Anybody know how big these new mini stickers will be?

8 rubber stamps per page is quite normal. I now use a light pencil to divide my passport page into 10 boxes, and sometime I managed to get rubber 10 stamps in a page. However, some officers (not many) just don't care, and stamp where ever they like.

As I went through Thai airport today, I ask when the sticker will be used. She said soon, but not sure when. She also said it will take up quite a bit of space on my passport. On all the immigration counter (beside the web cam), you will see a white box the size of a play station. I believe that the printer to print the stickers.

Mr Red · February 14, 2009

I currently live in Turkey and they use the stickers, as does Egypt.

pampal · February 14, 2009

I currently live in Turkey and they use the stickers, as does Egypt.

I was in Turkey last year and they were using entry/exit stamps at the time, are the stickers a new thing in Turkey?

asanee · February 17, 2009

I currently live in Turkey and they use the stickers, as does Egypt.

if you really apply to what the question was-then this must be brandnew too. Last year the sticker was for the VISA FEE=like a paid post-stmap, and then was stamped as suaulk for entry and exit-for me even 4 times-as I went overland into Georgia and then came back. It is indeed common now that most countries issue visa's as a big -nearpage full sticker. Only Thailand still sticks to the old-style big stamp-scribbled full with other things (that is-of the countreis I have visited)

the point of all those stickers is-they should disintegrate if you try to remove them-like advanced supermarkets now also do with rebate stickers etc-to prevent them used again

PoorSucker · March 9, 2009

IMMIGRATION officials plan to introduce a bar code system for processing arrivals and departures at Phuket and other Thai airports later this year, Phuketwan was told today.
The bar codes would be placed as stickers rather than stamps in all passports, the Chief of Immigration at Phuket Airport, Police General Suksopon Maneeson, said today.

Will this mean no more stamp visas from honorary consulates?

It wil also enable them to keep more complete detailed information about people who come and go from Thailand more frequently.

Big brother sees you.

Source: Phuketwan

Edited March 9, 2009 by PoorSucker

webfact · March 9, 2009

IMMIGRATION officials plan to introduce a bar code system for processing arrivals and departures at Phuket and other Thai airports later this year, Phuketwan was told today.
The bar codes would be placed as stickers rather than stamps in all passports, the Chief of Immigration at Phuket Airport, Police General Suksopon Maneeson, said today.

Will this mean no more stamp visas from honorary consulates?

It wil also enable them to keep more complete detailed information about people who come and go from Thailand more frequently.

Big brother sees you.

Source: Phuketwan

As far as I remember in Hong Kong frequent visitors get a bar code in their passports for an automatic clearance through a so called e-channel.

Nothing new.