My question is on behalf of a Thai citizen who travelled to Italy in January 2003 and has lived there since. In the meantime, he obtained a new passport through the Thai embassy in Italy before his old passport expired in February this year.

Stapled into his old passport is the TM-6 arrival card (i.e. the arrival portion of the departure card he needed to complete upon his last departure from Thailand), old version, completely filled in except for the flight number, with his old passport details (number, place of issue, date of issue) and an address in Thailand that won’t be valid any more on his return to Thailand this coming August?

What is he to do with that old arrival card?

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Maestro

I would carry the passport and card with me and present it if immigration wants to see it. But I would also fill out a new form on the plane with correct address. I suspect they will probably keep them both.

Bring in both. This happened to me once. They stamped me in on my old expired passport and that was that. They said to use the new passport to exit next time.

My mother recently had the same thing happpen to her too. They stamped her in on the new passport, but checked the old passport for the date of exit. An observation was made in the new passport that she had exited on her old one, and that was that.

Either way, if you have both passports, it will be useful. ALWAYS use the old TM card. Upon input into immigrations computers, they will be able to link it up with the serial number of the departure TM that was originally attached to it. Don't know why this is important, but it crosses the 't's and dots the 'i's as far as immigration is concerned.

Thank you, Lopburi and Samran.

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Maestro