Re-Entry Permit Expired Early

[zzSleepyJohn]

I have a retirement visa and multiple re-entry permit both normally valid for one-year and both issued in March 2010 stamped in my old passport, but because that old passport was going to expire in Sept 2010, the immigration office in MaeSai shortened the validity of both the retirement visa and the re-entry permit to 6 months to coincide with the date my passport was going to expire.

OK, so now I'm overseas where I've got myself a brand new clean passport with nothing stamped in it at all, and I also have my old cancelled passport with the original annual retirement visa and re-entry permits available to show.

On the face of it, I would expect to be able to show the stamps in my old passport to Thai immigration when I arrive back in Thailand and hopefully they will let me in until March 2011 which is the date when my annual retirement visa expires. Or I suppose they might just give me a 30 day tourist stamp and tell me to go to MaeSai to sort it out. Either of these possibilities would be OK.

But I'm worried on two possible scores:

1. When I return to Thailand, it will be within the original 12 month validity of my visa and re-entry pemit,

but it will be after the September 2010 expiry date now showing in my old passport, so it will appear as

if they have both expired.

2. I plan to return to Thailand on a one-way ticket, and it may be hard to convince the airline check-in

staff to let me board because they have rules saying travellers must either have a return ticket or be

able to show some kind of residence permit for Thailand.

Not sure if I'm worrying unnecessarily on these two points, or if I ought to try and sort it out somehow, before I travel back to Thailand.

What do you think? Any suggestions? Any similar experiences?

[lopburi3]

Believe you are out of luck and need to start over as you do not have an extension of stay or re-entry permit so you probably should obtain a new non immigrant O visa now to start the retirement process again when you return.

You should have obtained the new passport and stamps prior to leaving so that you had a valid re-entry permit.

[InterestedObserver]

Your permission to stay in Thailand expires Sept 2010. You have to return to Thailand and report to immigration before the Sept 2010 extension/re-entry permit expires. If you cannot do that, it's back to square one and start all over again. As said, get a new non-immigrant "O" visa while overseas.

[zzSleepyJohn]

......If you cannot do that, it's back to square one and start all over again.....

Well thanks for the replies, but oh dear, is it really as bad as all that? Sadly no, I can't see me getting back to Thailand before those shortened validities expire. I had thought, but perhaps somewhat naïvely from what you're saying, that the validity shortening in my old passport was purely a minor administative matter that could easily be corrected by any immigration once they saw my new passport.

I have a consecutive string of annual retirement visas in my old passport going back to 2003, and I remember there used to be merit in keeping them consecutive like that, but I suspect that merit has disappeared now.

If I do have to start all over again, I wonder if MaeSai will be able to dig out some of my old details when I apply again. I can remember one immigration officer actually coming to our residence about 12 years ago to check me out and see if I was a fine upstanding member of the community at the time. I may not be quite so upstanding these days as I was then!

[mickba]

......If you cannot do that, it's back to square one and start all over again.....

Well thanks for the replies, but oh dear, is it really as bad as all that? ..............................

One point which may be relevant is that IME at Pattaya Immigration they will not transfer your Multi Re-entry Permit into your new Passport. It dies with your old one and you have to buy a new one.

That means that when you come back in (without a Re-entry Permit) you will have killed off your Extension and the Visa it was based on.

Therefore they will not transfer your old stamps into your new Passport and Lopburi3 et al are correct and you'll start from scratch.

If you come in on Visa Exemption you may have problems getting back to an Extension of Stay, but I'm hearing that it may be possible now.

Anyone know if this is correct?

[InterestedObserver]

YES, but it should be done immediately upon return to Thailand. There is a limited window of opportunity and not all immigration offices will accommodate you. Best to arrive back equipped with a Non "O" visa.

[lopburi3]

A non immigrant entry can be obtained for retirement at immigration if meeting the extension of stay requirements but it may have to be done in Bangkok

[zzSleepyJohn]

Thanks again for the further replies.

I've always been able to get retirement visas in the past either from MaeSai or Chiang Khong immigration, and they've always been very helpful explaining exactly what I had to do to meet the requirements. Probably easier than Pattaya or Bangkok judging by what I've read on here in the past, but I suppose whether they'd run to transferring my re-entry permit to a new passport up there could depend on how genuine a smile I can generate at the counter on the day.

The first hurdle I'm going to face unless I get an "O" visa over here is being allowed to board a flight at this end with only a one-way ticket. I don't really want to buy a return ticket because I've no idea when I'd want to return at the moment, and long-term returns are expensive anyway.

I'm trying explaining my dilemma in an e-mail to the Thai Consulate in Hull, UK, who I've been told are exceptionally helpful over here. Still living in hope that they might be able to issue some kind of temporary document that would convince an airline it would be OK to allow me to board with a one-way ticket. It's a big holiday weekend over here so I can't expect any reply for a few days, but if and when I get any positive response from them, I'll keep you posted here.

[Mario2008]

You can travel to Thailand with a one-way ticket if you have a visa. If you can't get a non-O visa, and I don't see why you wouldn't get one from Hull, you can ask for a tourist visa. That is also a visa and enough to be allowed boarding with a one-way ticket.

Note that Hull also will provide a non-O based on visiting friends if you give the address of a friend in Thailand.

[zzSleepyJohn]

You can travel to Thailand with a one-way ticket if you have a visa. If you can't get a non-O visa, and I don't see why you wouldn't get one from Hull, you can ask for a tourist visa. That is also a visa and enough to be allowed boarding with a one-way ticket.

Note that Hull also will provide a non-O based on visiting friends if you give the address of a friend in Thailand.

That's useful, thank you.

I do have a Thai wife, marriage cert, banks accounts and even current Thai driving licences I can show so it shouldn't be hard to get a new visa if that's what's necessary. I'm just a bit miffed, that's all, to have to go through the procedure and fork out for a new visa when I had a fully paid-up annual one that on the face of it appeared to be valid till next March, apart from what I thought was the small administrative matter of transferring it to a new passport.

Anyway,I'll see what Hull have to say once the UK bank holiday is over.

[Lite Beer]

Hull will be no problem.

[InterestedObserver]

......apart from what I thought was the small administrative matter of transferring it to a new passport.

It was a small administrative matter until you decided to leave Thailand and get yourself a new passport overseas. Now there is an even smaller matter of how to get back into Thailand.

[zzSleepyJohn]

Despite all the helpful advice given 3 months ago above, I still haven't implemented it because my need to return to Thailand has been delayed until now, and I haven't completely come to terms with the need to apply for an 'O' visa before travelling.

Recapping briefly, MaeSai immigration artificially shortened my 12-month retirement visa and re-entry pemit that were issued in March 2010 so that they showed as expiring at the end of September 2010 instead of March 2011 because my UK passport expired at the end of September. I'm now in UK with a brand new passport issued in UK that has no stamps in it and my old expired passport with my shortened 12-month retirement visa and re-entry permit still stamped in it

The worries i mentioned in my original post were based on returning to Thailand on a one-way ticket, but now on second thoughts, maybe it would make things simpler if I come on a return ticket after all. Please can any of you see any snags or flaws in the following alternatve plan?

1. I buy a return ticket UK -Bangkok - UK, out in December 2010, return in June 2011

2. I don't get any visa before I fly, and simply rely on the flight check-in desk in UK allowing me to board based on having a return ticket

3. I show both old and new passports to the Bangkok immigration officer when I arrive, and explain that my plan is to take both passports to Mae Sai immigration to try and get my original 1-year stamps re-instated in my new passport. At this point I only expect to be given a standard 30-day tourist visa on arrival.

4. Within the next few days, I take my Thai wife and all the documents to Mae Sai Immigration and we ask them nicely if they can transfer the stamps from my old passport to my new passport, thus usallowing me to stay on my original retirement visa until March 2011.

5a. In March, I apply for a new 12-month retirement visa

5b In the worst case, if Mae Sai won't transfer the old stamps, I go to the Thai embassy in Laos or Cambodia or Penang with all my documents and apply for an 'O' visa there.

Any comments, snags, suggestions, encouragement, will be much appreciated.

[Crossy]

No direct experience with this situation, but I suspect that your extension and re-entry permit are toast as they've both passed their sell by date.

You likely won't get on the flight with such a long return and no visa (they'll be wanting to see a return within 30 days as per the visa exemption rule).

To be safe why not get a free tourist visa from one of the consulates (you can convert it in Thailand to a non-o and then get a retirement extension on that)

OR

Get a 12 month non-o based on being married (not free and you have to do a border hop every 90 days) and get your retirement extension on that once you've used up all the available entry time.

OR

Get a single entry non-o (cheaper) and use that to get your retirement extension.

[tartempion]

The same happened to me a few years ago: passport expiring less than one year from extension, thus got limited extension and re-entry permits, could not come back to Thailand within the extension dates.

Got myself a new passport and started all over again beginning with non-O visa from home country Thai embassy.

Now my airline tickets have always been Bangkok-Europe-Bangkok.

I understand there is no need for a return ticket traveling with an non-O visa.

Moral: renew your passport on time to always get one year extensions.

[lopburi3]

You need a visa and a non immigrant O single entry would be the logical choice if you plan to extend again.

FYI: If you had obtained a new passport here they would have provided the remainder of the period when they transferred the stamps. But you departed and allowed your re-entry permit to expire while outside of Thailand so a new extension of stay will be required.

[true blue]

just to digress on this topic, i intend to renew my extension of stay,in march 2011 and and obtain a re entry permit,fly out los in april 2011 obtain a new passport overseas,as original one full,(may be one page left)???? still valid till 2014 though,will i have any proplems on leaving overseas,to return to los or simple matter of showing old passport to all concerned,and transfering visa to new passport on return to los,will be away los about 3 or 4 mths.

[lopburi3]

Should not be a problem but may have to have ticket agent take it higher if they can't get the idea a re-entry permit has the same effect as having a visa.

Having it in old passport should not be an issue as ticket agents are used to active visas being in an old passport for many countries.

[true blue]

Should not be a problem but may have to have ticket agent take it higher if they can't get the idea a re-entry permit has the same effect as having a visa.

Having it in old passport should not be an issue as ticket agents are used to active visas being in an old passport for many countries.

cheers loburi, yes did have hiccup last time,wanted to no why i not have multi re entry permit, instead of single,but got sorted,by another agent.

[zzSleepyJohn]

Thanks for all the advice and support. I'm now working somewhat uncomfortably on the logistics of getting a single entry non-O from the Hull consulate; uncomfortably because I'm now stuck in a caravan, a bit sick in a very cold north of England without easy access to printer, photocopying, stationery, stamps or transport , Thailand just feels like a far-off dream at the moment

....... I suspect that your extension and re-entry permit are toast as they've both passed their sell by date.

Well I had my Thai wife call Mae Sai immigration earlier today to ask them if they could move their original visa and re-entry stamps to my new passport. I was at pains to have her point out to them about how the artificial shortening of their original validity had made them appear to expire last September, although I'm not certain whether this part of the explanation effectively got through or not. They did reply that they could move them easily if I brought them in, so I'm living in hopes on that I might eventually get on-track again. We'll see!

Having downloaded several docs from the Hull website http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/downloads-and-visas.aspx, I'm impressed by how well-written and how much clearer all the rules and options are to me now. Almost as good as TV