The Photocopy Saga

[Beng]

There is a rumour that immigration now wants all passport pages in copy, even the empty ones, for the one year extension.

Anybody been there recently and can confirm this ?

[Lizard2010]

I hear abut this

I believe it depends on the person that handles your Visa

There is no consitancy

Just be prepared for everything

[junglechef]

I've found and read on other threads that they want all pages that have something in them.

So not the empty pages but one that you might not consider of any interest to them like old stamps to other countries before you ever first stepped foot in Thailand.

Not a big expense or deal to me esp. if I know to have (the photo copy booth at immigration knew what to do for me).

Saga? Sure shows how easy some of our lives actually are

Edited May 17, 2015 by junglechef

[uptheos]

If you photocopy at home it's no big deal.

If you photocopy in a shop at 50 satang a copy it's also no big deal.

[Beng]

If you photocopy at home it's no big deal.

If you photocopy in a shop at 50 satang a copy it's also no big deal.

it's not about money but volume. as I have a fairly new 50 page passport. Plenty of empty pages.

[junglechef]

Sorry but I don't get what it's about.

What about the volume?

Is too heavy to carry, waste of paper or ?

[robblok]

At my immigration i sometimes suspect the immigration office takes a cut of the profits of the copy shop they have on their premises. I had idiots too asking for copies of empty pages.

[Sparkles]

I hear abut this

I believe it depends on the person that handles your Visa

There is no consitancy

Just be prepared for everything

So true, varies from office to office and person to person I have a plastic carrying case, A4 size, which has copies of everything, even my parents birth certificates which I know sound stupid as they passed away 20 years ago but I was asked once in Bangkok to produce them,have no idea why.

The old motto "be prepared " can save you a lot of frustration and at 50 satang a copy cheap insurance.

I am sure however no point in photocopying empty pages

[junglechef]

I carry a thumbdrive in my car at all times with everything on it.

Done once and just add when new or renewed docs. etc.

Not sure if the copy shop at immigration has a USB port but if not a shop close by or whenever you might need something one should be easy to find.

[uptheos]

At my immigration i sometimes suspect the immigration office takes a cut of the profits of the copy shop they have on their premises. I had idiots too asking for copies of empty pages.

I try my best never to use immigration copy shops.

I do my own, but I can get 3 for a baht not far from me.

[kaptainrob]

I copied all pages with stamps, Immi retained only those with THAI in/out/reentry/visa & extension stamps. Blank pages definitely not required,

[onthedarkside]

I hear abut this

I believe it depends on the person that handles your Visa

There is no consitancy

Just be prepared for everything

That's exactly correct. Just the mood of the day. In the past I have been asked for all copies pages with stamps (not blank pages). Now I play their game and copy all the stamped pages (at home), officer usually throws back all those 'unnecessary' copies and seems annoyed he can't have me trot off to the photocopy facility. I have no doubt that if I did not supply those copies I would be told to go copy them. Oh well ....

[Lizard2010]

I hear abut this

I believe it depends on the person that handles your Visa

There is no consitancy

Just be prepared for everything

That's exactly correct. Just the mood of the day. In the past I have been asked for all copies pages with stamps (not blank pages). Now I play their game and copy all the stamped pages (at home), officer usually throws back all those 'unnecessary' copies and seems annoyed he can't have me trot off to the photocopy facility. I have no doubt that if I did not supply those copies I would be told to go copy them. Oh well ....

You would think with all those Photo Copys

That they would not ask for too much

As they have to keep all the paperwork for so long

So much for saving tress

[Thailand]

I hear abut this

I believe it depends on the person that handles your Visa

There is no consitancy

Just be prepared for everything

That's exactly correct. Just the mood of the day. In the past I have been asked for all copies pages with stamps (not blank pages). Now I play their game and copy all the stamped pages (at home), officer usually throws back all those 'unnecessary' copies and seems annoyed he can't have me trot off to the photocopy facility. I have no doubt that if I did not supply those copies I would be told to go copy them. Oh well ....

Same, done for years,copy every page that has something on it. And copy every other document you take.Seems to cover all bases.

[uptheos]

I hear abut this

I believe it depends on the person that handles your Visa

There is no consitancy

Just be prepared for everything

That's exactly correct. Just the mood of the day. In the past I have been asked for all copies pages with stamps (not blank pages). Now I play their game and copy all the stamped pages (at home), officer usually throws back all those 'unnecessary' copies and seems annoyed he can't have me trot off to the photocopy facility. I have no doubt that if I did not supply those copies I would be told to go copy them. Oh well ....

You would think with all those Photo Copys

That they would not ask for too much

As they have to keep all the paperwork for so long

So much for saving tress

Where DO they keep all that paperwork, there must be tons from around the country!

[scottiejohn]

They may be just blank pages to us, but to immigration etc it is to show 'continuity'. I.e the pages really are blank and there are no entry exit stamps or unaccountable gaps that may be of interest to them which they think we don't want them to see. Although the desk officer can see they are blank there may be some entry in there that the Officer may feel he needs to prove to a superior, later, that all is above board.

[onthedarkside]

You would think with all those Photo Copys

That they would not ask for too much

As they have to keep all the paperwork for so long

So much for saving tress

Where DO they keep all that paperwork, there must be tons from around the country!

Have you not noticed they recycle it as printer paper. Often when i get a form from Immigration, it has someone's passport details on the back.

[scottiejohn]

You would think with all those Photo Copys

That they would not ask for too much

As they have to keep all the paperwork for so long

So much for saving tress

Where DO they keep all that paperwork, there must be tons from around the country!

Have you not noticed they recycle it as printer paper. Often when i get a form from Immigration, it has someone's passport details on the back.

The 'breach of Data Protection Act police' in the UK would love that!

[uptheos]

You would think with all those Photo Copys

That they would not ask for too much

As they have to keep all the paperwork for so long

So much for saving tress

Where DO they keep all that paperwork, there must be tons from around the country!

Have you not noticed they recycle it as printer paper. Often when i get a form from Immigration, it has someone's passport details on the back.

Yes I have noticed that, so maybe most of what we give them isn't really necessary but just saves on their stationery bill.

[LarryBird]

At my immigration i sometimes suspect the immigration office takes a cut of the profits of the copy shop they have on their premises. I had idiots too asking for copies of empty pages.

Of course it is this!

[Chiengmaijoe]

So if you have a passport that is 8 years old they need coies of visas from the last 8 years, if you have a 2 year old passport they only need a copy of 2 years of visas!

[northernjohn]

I've found and read on other threads that they want all pages that have something in them.

So not the empty pages but one that you might not consider of any interest to them like old stamps to other countries before you ever first stepped foot in Thailand.

Not a big expense or deal to me esp. if I know to have (the photo copy booth at immigration knew what to do for me).

Saga? Sure shows how easy some of our lives actually are

I agree with you. I renewed my American passport a year and a half ago. It came with 52 blank pages. I have used 4. I doubt they are interested in 48 blank pieces of paper. The staff works many hours of overtime with the paper work. They would not appreciate a forest of blank paper.

Edit

It seems to me that some people think they have all the time in the world after they have finished with you. Not so. If there is a cut from the copy machine operator you can bet your bottom Baht it is going to the higher ups and in no way do the photo copiers know who referred you. As for the thumb drive idea yes it could come in handy. Have you ever had to use it? To get it processed close by you would more than likely have to go to the airport mall that opens at 11:00 AM.

Edited May 17, 2015 by northernjohn

[LarryBird]

NJ, look at how much the PassPort office was praised. Thai's have a vested interest in seeing that run efficiently and 'clean'. The passport office is more sophisticated and high tech.. I will let you fill in the rest as to why the immigration office isn't running as smooth as the Passort office.

[uptheos]

NJ, look at how much the PassPort office was praised. Thai's have a vested interest in seeing that run efficiently and 'clean'. The passport office is more sophisticated and high tech.. I will let you fill in the rest as to why the immigration office isn't running as smooth as the Passort office.

I agree the Thai passport office is a really streamlined place and filling in the blanks isn't difficult.

[sfokevin]

They may also ask for a copy of the back of your departure card (which is blank)...

[scottiejohn]

Unless you have extended your Passport with extra pages, as some countries allow, your passport still has the same number of pages, no mater its age, number of trips, stamps, used pages or blank pages. Immigration Stamps put into pages are not sequential (stamps are put in on random pages in random order by different countries, not from page one, two etc) so continuity is required. The pages are embossed with security features etc and are numbered, hence the need to copy them all if required.

What is the problem?

[Dante99]

The Immigration Officials have for decades been trying to explain to their customers what copies are required. The customers are too often too dense to respond appropriately so it is just easier to tell them to copy all of it.

Inconsistant, yes always, normal.

[junglechef]

I've found and read on other threads that they want all pages that have something in them.

So not the empty pages but one that you might not consider of any interest to them like old stamps to other countries before you ever first stepped foot in Thailand.

Not a big expense or deal to me esp. if I know to have (the photo copy booth at immigration knew what to do for me).

Saga? Sure shows how easy some of our lives actually are

I agree with you. I renewed my American passport a year and a half ago. It came with 52 blank pages. I have used 4. I doubt they are interested in 48 blank pieces of paper. The staff works many hours of overtime with the paper work. They would not appreciate a forest of blank paper.

Edit

It seems to me that some people think they have all the time in the world after they have finished with you. Not so. If there is a cut from the copy machine operator you can bet your bottom Baht it is going to the higher ups and in no way do the photo copiers know who referred you. As for the thumb drive idea yes it could come in handy. Have you ever had to use it? To get it processed close by you would more than likely have to go to the airport mall that opens at 11:00 AM.

Thanks for agreeing with me, could well be the first time in my many years on TV

As for your question "Have you ever had to use it?" the answer is yes but please keep in mind I said "or whenever you might need something". Just recently I took my 3 yr old to the hospital and they required documentation that I would not have figured they'd ask for. Quick trip to the car park and then they inserted the thumb drive right into the computer they were registering us on (it was BKK Hospital, not sure if all would be so efficient). But other times when I knew I needed things, like renewing my visa the next day, I didn't have to go look for them just stop at a convenient copy shop next time I was out knowing that all my docs were in my glove box.

Also it give me a bit of reassurance in case of a legal, medical etc. type of emergency.

[scottiejohn]

I've found and read on other threads that they want all pages that have something in them.

So not the empty pages but one that you might not consider of any interest to them like old stamps to other countries before you ever first stepped foot in Thailand.

Not a big expense or deal to me esp. if I know to have (the photo copy booth at immigration knew what to do for me).

Saga? Sure shows how easy some of our lives actually are

I agree with you. I renewed my American passport a year and a half ago. It came with 52 blank pages. I have used 4. I doubt they are interested in 48 blank pieces of paper. The staff works many hours of overtime with the paper work. They would not appreciate a forest of blank paper.

Edit

It seems to me that some people think they have all the time in the world after they have finished with you. Not so. If there is a cut from the copy machine operator you can bet your bottom Baht it is going to the higher ups and in no way do the photo copiers know who referred you. As for the thumb drive idea yes it could come in handy. Have you ever had to use it? To get it processed close by you would more than likely have to go to the airport mall that opens at 11:00 AM.

Thanks for agreeing with me, could well be the first time in my many years on TV

As for your question "Have you ever had to use it?" the answer is yes but please keep in mind I said "or whenever you might need something". Just recently I took my 3 yr old to the hospital and they required documentation that I would not have figured they'd ask for. Quick trip to the car park and then they inserted the thumb drive right into the computer they were registering us on (it was BKK Hospital, not sure if all would be so efficient). But other times when I knew I needed things, like renewing my visa the next day, I didn't have to go look for them just stop at a convenient copy shop next time I was out knowing that all my docs were in my glove box.

Also it give me a bit of reassurance in case of a legal, medical etc. type of emergency.

Do you think it is safe enough, in these days of identity theft etc, to leave all that data in your glove box. This is not a critisism, just a thought.

[kaptainrob]