Hi everyone,

This may sound a bit random but I have 7 pages left in my passport and will be moving to Thailand to teach English within the next couple of months. As I understand I will have to go to a neighbouring country to get my non-immigrant B visa so this will take up more space when entering one of these countries. I'm not sure how much space the B visa and work permit will take up. Will 7 free pages be fine or should I get a new passport before leaving the UK?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I would apply for a new one and get the 64 paged passport if you can as pages will get eaten up here in a few years.

I thought British passports only came in 2 flavours. 32 or 48 pages.

7 pages should be OK for at least one year...........Thai B Visa and 3 x 90 days exit country visa stamps will use 4 whole pages + 1 page of 8 small in and out stamps. I make sure they use any available space for these on previous pages by pointing politely and they usually oblige. That leaves 2 pages for the work permit which I have no knowledge of, but this is annual so I would think this would occupy no more than one page in your passport. You would then need to send your passport renewal app. to Hong Kong.

7 pages should be OK for at least one year...........Thai B Visa and 3 x 90 days exit country visa stamps will use 4 whole pages + 1 page of 8 small in and out stamps. I make sure they use any available space for these on previous pages by pointing politely and they usually oblige. That leaves 2 pages for the work permit which I have no knowledge of, but this is annual so I would think this would occupy no more than one page in your passport. You would then need to send your passport renewal app. to Hong Kong.

...........Sorry.......Im assuming u r British regarding passport renewal.

Personally I'd get a new one just because 2 pages remaining doesn't allow for much travel, which is something you'll probably want to do while you're here. It's easier to get a new passport, or additional pages put it, while in your home country. As if you change while in Thailand, not only do you need to get a new passport, but you also need to move your visas into your new passport, which is easy enough to do, just kinda annoying as it's an extra trip to Thai Immigration.

You might be able to get additional pages put into your passport, which might be easier/cheaper/faster than getting a new passport. I have a friend from the USA who has previously done this, although I'm not sure if the same can be done with a UK passport or not.

However in saying this, 7 pages should be sufficient, as 1x trip to a Thai Embassy in Lao, 1x Thai Visa, 1x Thai Visa Extension, 1x Thai Re-Entry Permit + a few entry/exit stamps should only take up around 4-5 pages.

Just apply for a new passport back home and you don't have to renew it in Bangkok. Once applying for visa and work permit and then applying for a new passport makes you a lot of more work.

Even a new passport number is a pain in the butt.-

You cannot add pages to a UK passport. They also only come in 36 or 48 page format.

7 pages is more that enough. 1 page for visa into Laos or where ever to get Thai B. 1 page for Thai B. Half page for entry and exit stamps. Half a page there after for extensions. That makes at least 4 years.

What's all the fuss.

Applying for a new passport from Hong Kong is also a piece of cake.

Is that 7 actual visa pages or including the 2 or 3 note pages which are not acceptable for visas. Still as others have said 2 or 3 pages is more than enough if you have all your paperwork in order and it isn't a big deal to get a new one while you are here.

Hi everyone thank you for all of your responses. Very helpful and much appreciated. I think I will pay for the express service to get a new passport within 1 week as I could be flying out very soon. Also, my current passport has a lot of sentimental value as it is filled with many stamps from previous travels so I would prefer to keep it safely locked up at my parents home.

Thanks again

That is a very wise idea. It is a bigger hassle once you are overseas to get the passport than it is when you are in your own country.

Why are you worrying about your existing passport? When in Thailand you don't even need to send it away. You only send a copy. The procedure is very very easy too.

In my opinion, and it is only an opinion, you are wasting your money getting a new passport so soon. If only a 24 page passport then you are wasting over 25% of it. I don't see the reasoning.

Still, as you are coming to Thailand I can only say "up to you".