I am off to the UK in a few days for another visa. Can I just hand Immigration the old and new Passports and let them get on with it? [On the understanding it may take a while.] Thanks.

If your existing visa and entry details are in your old passport, you should go to Chaeng Wattana and have these transferred to your new passport. Then go to the airport.

Your post makes no sense. Your local immigration office, not the airport, is where permission to stay, extension, and re-entry stamps are transferred to a new passport. Since you are off to the UK for a new visa, why not let immigration at the airport just stamp you out of Thailand. Am I missing something?

Your post makes no sense. Your local immigration office, not the airport, is where permission to stay, extension, and re-entry stamps are transferred to a new passport. Since you are off to the UK for a new visa, why not let immigration at the airport just stamp you out of Thailand. Am I missing something?

But that is my point. I just want to be stamped out. I am asking if this is possible without visiting Immigration previously?

No, they won't do the transfer at the airport.

It must be done at local immigration office before you head for the airport.

If your old passport is still valid and the visa in it is current, hand the airport exit immigration people the old passport. Then they can stamp you OUT of the country on the same passport they stamped you IN to the country on. Continuity is what they like, so they can see you ENTERING there and EXITING here on the old passport. Then get your new visa in the U.K. with the new passport and return with that new passport/visa so you can be stamped in on your new passport when you return to Thailand.

Now, if your old passport expires before you are due to leave, you will need the immigration to transfer the current visa in the old passport to your new passport BEFORE you go to the airport. In Bangkok, you need to go to the new immigration office at Chaeng Wattana to have the current visa from your old passport transferred to the new passport. They can do it in less than a day, just get there early enough for them to do the transfer. I'm not sure if they are open Saturday or Sunday (maybe they are, but I don't know)...so i would make it a weekday...and NOT a Thai holiday.

No, they won't do the transfer at the airport.

It must be done at local immigration office before you head for the airport.

If your old passport is still valid and the visa in it is current, hand the airport exit immigration people the old passport. Then they can stamp you OUT of the country on the same passport they stamped you IN to the country on. Continuity is what they like, so they can see you ENTERING there and EXITING here on the old passport. Then get your new visa in the U.K. with the new passport and return with that new passport/visa so you can be stamped in on your new passport when you return to Thailand.

Now, if your old passport expires before you are due to leave, you will need the immigration to transfer the current visa in the old passport to your new passport BEFORE you go to the airport. In Bangkok, you need to go to the new immigration office at Chaeng Wattana to have the current visa from your old passport transferred to the new passport. They can do it in less than a day, just get there early enough for them to do the transfer. I'm not sure if they are open Saturday or Sunday (maybe they are, but I don't know)...so i would make it a weekday...and NOT a Thai holiday.

Thanks for your reply, but my old Passport is not valid for travel, having been canceled by the UK as another has been issued. I am not trying anything on, I just want to leave with the minimum of fuss.

No, they won't do the transfer at the airport.

It must be done at local immigration office before you head for the airport.

If your old passport is still valid and the visa in it is current, hand the airport exit immigration people the old passport. Then they can stamp you OUT of the country on the same passport they stamped you IN to the country on. Continuity is what they like, so they can see you ENTERING there and EXITING here on the old passport. Then get your new visa in the U.K. with the new passport and return with that new passport/visa so you can be stamped in on your new passport when you return to Thailand.

Now, if your old passport expires before you are due to leave, you will need the immigration to transfer the current visa in the old passport to your new passport BEFORE you go to the airport. In Bangkok, you need to go to the new immigration office at Chaeng Wattana to have the current visa from your old passport transferred to the new passport. They can do it in less than a day, just get there early enough for them to do the transfer. I'm not sure if they are open Saturday or Sunday (maybe they are, but I don't know)...so i would make it a weekday...and NOT a Thai holiday.

Thanks for your reply, but my old Passport is not valid for travel, having been canceled by the UK as another has been issued. I am not trying anything on, I just want to leave with the minimum of fuss.

For minimum of fuss on departure, proceed to your nearest immigration and have the existing visa/extension, entry stamps transferred to your new passport. Should be relatively painless.

reason for edit: corrected spelling mistake.

If you want the minimum fuss go to your local immigration office and transfer the stamps. It is free and painless. Going to the airport with stanps in an expired/cancelled passport is not doing it without any fuss.

You are simply setting yourself up for hassle.

I have seen some posts saying that at a land border crossing (forgot which one) the immigration transferred whatever was necessary from the old passport to the new one as a courtesy. Never seen a post mentioning this service at BKK airport. The general rule is to go and have the stamps transferred at your local immigration office. That's what I would do.

However recent reports have indicated people have been told to take care of this on exit so it is not as clear now as it was a year ago. I suggest you contact local office and do what they say.

You can travel with both passports. ( together at the same time )

The old cancelled one with your (valid) visa and the new valid one with your name etc.

At the airport immigration hand over both passports and they will stamp the old or the new one whatever they like to do.

Even when your old passport is marked as not valid by the UK embassy the visas in the passport remain valid as long they are not damaged by the embassy.

Some immigration offices ( like Phuket ) don't even transfer the visa from the old to the new passport when the visa is almost up for renewal. They will inform you to travel with both passports and get the new visa in your new passport.

I traveled myself with two passports many times in different countries without any problem.

Immigration offices are closed on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday days.

You can not transfer any visa on the airport.

So, in short, now I don't know what is the best approach...but as the mighty baht have cleared all issues at the border before, it might solve this issue too...or not, what do I know.

I got my UK pp renewal and Thai stamps transferred at Bangkok Immigration (CW). It took over two and a half hours waiting there and also an hour travel in and back. On plus side it cost nothing at immigration. One delay, cost me twenty minutes, the officer couldn't recognize the old pp as canceled and said I should go to embassy to do this before the Thai visa could be transferred. I found a pair of scissors outside and cut the corner off, so immigration then accepted it as canceled! In past embassy cut corners off, now they tell you to do it by phone.

...Some immigration offices ( like Phuket ) don't even transfer the visa from the old to the new passport...

An immigration office never transfers a visa from the old passport to the new passport. It transfers the permission to stay (entry stamp or extension of stay) and makes a note in the new passport of the visa in the old passport.

As some offices are telling you to just do it at the airport, i would just do that. the officer at the airport is not going to know which is your nearest immigration office, and i don't think they are going to start screening people on where they reside, and have two seperate policies at the airport. Just wondering what they would do at the airport if the visa had not expired, and he had not transferred prior: would they cancel his visa by marking it as used and stamp him through; stamp him through and allow him to transfer the visa on his return to Thailand; or expect him to miss his flight and go to the nearest immigration office?

...Some immigration offices ( like Phuket ) don't even transfer the visa from the old to the new passport...

An immigration office never transfers a visa from the old passport to the new passport. It transfers the permission to stay (entry stamp or extension of stay) and makes a note in the new passport of the visa in the old passport.

Ooops my mistake youre right only extensions, re-entry etc and not the original visa are transfered to the new passport.

As some offices are telling you to just do it at the airport, i would just do that. the officer at the airport is not going to know which is your nearest immigration office, and i don't think they are going to start screening people on where they reside, and have two seperate policies at the airport. Just wondering what they would do at the airport if the visa had not expired, and he had not transferred prior: would they cancel his visa by marking it as used and stamp him through; stamp him through and allow him to transfer the visa on his return to Thailand; or expect him to miss his flight and go to the nearest immigration office?

As mentioned before, You can not transfer your extensions, re-entry etc at the airport.

But you can travel with two passports without any problem.