Andyfez Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I'm currently in China, about to head to Thailand again. I only have 5 blank pages left in my British passport and may over the next 3 weeks need stamped entry to Thailand, then Vietnam visa, Laos visa, then a visa to come back into Thai by land. Is there a rule that you need so many pages available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterphil Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 I don't know about any rule, but I had 1 blank page and one half page left before. When I went through immigration at Suvarnabhumi I asked the officer to stamp on the half page as I needed the full page for a work visa. He stamped the half page and handed back my passport. I know in the past when I've applied for work visas around the world I needed 2 blank pages and at least 6 months validity. If you have enough space on a page for the entry stamp i cant see it being a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestro Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Arriving in Thailand by air you get visa-exempt permission to stay for 30 days, by land for 15 days, so let's assume that you are not getting a tourist visa for Thailand for your two stays in that country. Five blank pages are therefore more than enough. 1 page: visa for Vietnam 1 page: visa for Laos 1 and1/3 page: eight arrival/departure stamps 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangarang Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 One time I had 1 page left before I got a new one in BKK, so I assume no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangarang Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 5 Pages should last you atleast a year.... 1page for visa, and about 4 pages for a years worth of 90-day visa runs but you might get lucky and you will get an officer that stamps a 3rd set on a page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asupeartea Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 The Thai Vientiane visa office refused to put a new visa in my American passport with only 3 remaining pages. In US consular Citizen Services it takes 10-60 minutes to get new pages if the line isn't too long. Get there early to get things done quickly (at all consular office for all countries). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asupeartea Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 If you have the time and it's convenient, I'd get the extra pages/new passport. It sure takes a lot of pleasure out of a trip to get stuck somewhere and NEED to get stuff done. Play is safe. Do you really want to take chance with messing around with so many different governments with so many individuals determining if you get to go on to the next place? Note: Check consular holidays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellodolly Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Can you not get pages added to your passport at the British Embassy or consulate? I know the US you can at a price. When I had mine done it was free now they charge for the service but they give you a lot more pages in your new Passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyfez Posted July 6, 2013 Author Share Posted July 6, 2013 Thanks. I thought 6 pages was plenty enough, till I went to the Chinese police for my annual work visa. They took a long time to decide whether they could fit this visa on the remaining 6 pages. Now I have 5 left, and assumed that would be plenty. No time to get a new passport (they don't simply add pages). I'll keep my fingers crossed and get a new one in HK in August. Problem is that in HK they don't accept personal callers - you have to post it to them from the post office down the road! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 (edited) Can you not get pages added to your passport at the British Embassy or consulate? I know the US you can at a price. When I had mine done it was free now they charge for the service but they give you a lot more pages in your new Passport. I think the US may be the only country in the world that adds pages to their passports. I have been getting 48 page passports since they started 10 year passports. The trick is that you have to write a note requesting it and attach to your application if you do a mail in application in the States. All passports issued while overseas have 48 pages so you don't worry about it when you apply at the embassy. Edited July 6, 2013 by ubonjoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumply Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Five blank pages is more than enough for your proposed itinerary. You can apply for a new (EU) passport at any time for your future perambulations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a10ams Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Apply for a second passport. I got mine the next day on a recent trip back to UK. You can apply by post via HK as well. You will also need a letter from your employer stating why you need another passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dap Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 (edited) The Thai Vientiane visa office refused to put a new visa in my American passport with only 3 remaining pages. In US consular Citizen Services it takes 10-60 minutes to get new pages if the line isn't too long. Get there early to get things done quickly (at all consular office for all countries). He has a British Passport and adding pages is not accomplished in Thailand. Much more time consuming procedure than the US. I believe it needs to be taken care of in HK but not certain. Edited July 6, 2013 by Dap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marell Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 (edited) Can you not get pages added to your passport at the British Embassy or consulate? I know the US you can at a price. When I had mine done it was free now they charge for the service but they give you a lot more pages in your new Passport. I think the US may be the only country in the world that adds pages to their passports. I have been getting 48 page passports since they started 10 year passports. The trick is that you have to write a note requesting it and attach to your application if you do a mail in application in the States. All passports issued while overseas have 48 pages so you don't worry about it when you apply at the embassy. You might want to reconfirm this. I got a new passport approx six months ago. Standard issue has 28 pages, Non-standard (available on request) has 52. If you don't specifically request 52 pages you get 28. 48 pages was not an option Edited July 7, 2013 by marell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lopburi3 Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 As was mine issued 4 years ago. Normal US passport is 28 pages. But pages can be added at a cost. Of course all normal US passport are issued in the USA for many years now - you only apply at the Embassies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wackysleet Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Apply for a second passport. I got mine the next day on a recent trip back to UK. You can apply by post via HK as well. You will also need a letter from your employer stating why you need another passport. My passport was completely full so decided to return home to England and renew my passport. What a fuss the woman at immigration at swampy had with complaining that there was nowhere for an exit visa, I tried to explain she could stick it anywhere {in the passport} after all I was returning home to renew it and she had my exit details on her computer but what an obnoxious woman. By the way, if you now want a same day passport you need to make an appointment otherwise you will not get the same day service, I had to wait a week for an appointment and that was 15 months ago and that is an extra fee as well, plus more cash for more pages. David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Can you not get pages added to your passport at the British Embassy or consulate? I know the US you can at a price. When I had mine done it was free now they charge for the service but they give you a lot more pages in your new Passport. I think the US may be the only country in the world that adds pages to their passports. I have been getting 48 page passports since they started 10 year passports. The trick is that you have to write a note requesting it and attach to your application if you do a mail in application in the States. All passports issued while overseas have 48 pages so you don't worry about it when you apply at the embassy. You might want to reconfirm this. I got a new passport approx six months ago. Standard issue has 28 pages, Non-standard (available on request) has 52. If you don't specifically request 52 pages you get 28. 48 pages was not an option It was 48 and 24 pages for years my current passport only has 48. It has not been all that long since they upped the number pages to 28 and 52. With 48 pages you only got about 41 usable pages and 18 out of 24. If you get passport from embassy it will be the new 52 page passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuban Posted July 7, 2013 Share Posted July 7, 2013 Tired of sloppy immigration officials taking up too much space by clumsy use of the stamp I have used a pencil and rule to divide up each page of my fresh passport to act as a mental reminder to the person who I'm facing that space is at a premium. I will ask/indicate the person at the counter to stamp with care - so I tend to look for pleasant counter staff than a short queue, also defer if in a one queue system as I fumble with papers to avoid an agitated looking stamp barer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkeman Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 I realize the OP has a British passport but just an FYI, I was told at Chiang Mai immigration at one point that I needed to add pages soon when I had at least 5 pages left. I asked why and he pointed out that my US passport has most of the pages marked "Visas" on the top center of the page. However the last 3 pages doesn't have "Visas" but has the word "Endorsements" printed vertically on the outer margins. Unsurprisingly, I was told can't put Visa on a page that doesn't say "Visas". Can't say it's an immigration rule system-wide, but as we all know, better safe than sorry, than trying to reason with a government official. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 (edited) Only visa pages can be used for visas and departure/entry stamps is correct. The endorsements and amendments page are about a complete waste of paper. How many people have ever had an endorsement or amendment done on those pages. However you might get a immigration officer at the border or airport stamp them if he couldn't find any other space available. Edited July 8, 2013 by ubonjoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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