We are a British family of 4, currently in Singapore, hoping to travel to Thailand on Monday evening. My 14 year old daughters passport has only got 5 months left before it expires and we have been told we will need to obtain an Emergency Travel Document for her from the British High Commission here in Singapore in order for her to be allowed entry.

We have made an appointment at the High Commission for first thing Monday morning.

What I would like to know though is whether she will also need to obtain a Visa from the Thai Embassy here in Singapore?

I have phoned immigration in Thailand and been told that I need to call back on Monday i.e. too late for our appointment at the High Commission.

It is particularly complicated because the ETD has to list all the destinations and travel dates and times and won't be valid for any other dates and times. We therefore need to book our flights before our meeting at the High Commission but don't know when to book flights as we don't know if she will require a Visa. Any advice would be VERY gratefully received.

Thailand doesn't require 6 months validity on passport for Britons. The required validity is the one allowed stay, in you case 30 days. But since it is a common requirement in the region, many people, including untrained consulate and airlines clerks assume that is the case.

And, no visa is required, ETD or not.

Airline documents regulations that reflect Thailand's ones below

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=280649

As said those from the UK do not require passports with 6 months validity. All that is required is one valid for the length of stay. You can check the requirements from a IATA database here. http://www.staralliance.com/en/services/visa-and-health/

Wow, this is amazingly good news - the first good news we have had in the past 3 days (very difficult days). Thank you both so much for your advice. It seems we have been misinformed.

To give you a little more background. We arrived in Singapore from Europe 6 days ago and 3 days ago tried to depart for Indonesia. We were stopped by immigration because my daughters passport had just over 5 months left before it expires. The airline, AirAsia, then contacted Indonesian Immigration in Denpasar who confirmed that she wouldn't be allowed entry because her passport is valid for less than 6 months. We were then told that we would have the same problem in Thailand as they applied the same rules.

We went to the British High Commission in Singapore who advised us that we would need an Emergency Travel Document. We phoned the Thai embassy in Singapore who told us that if my daughter is travelling on an ETD she will require a Visa. (Friday was a public holiday here so we have been unable to proceed with anything and have therefore made appointments for Monday).

My plan now is to go back to Singapore airport this evening and book flights for tomorrow to Thailand (Phuket).

Do you have any advice for if I find myself in a situation where we are told by Singapore Immigration or the airline that we can't travel to Thailand because my daughters passport has only got 5 months left before it expires?

Do you have any advice for if I find myself in a situation where we are told by Singapore Immigration or the airline that we can't travel to Thailand because my daughters passport has only got 5 months left before it expires?

Get in touch with the airline airport manager before you get there to travel. I think he/she will be well aware of the actual regulations.

I suggest you print out the IATA data base info. Any airline that is a IATA member can access the info by doing a few keystrokes. Others can also do it but may take a bit more effort.

I think this is the first time I have heard of departure immigration of any country questioning anything needed for entry to another country.

It is normally the airlines that make a problem.

Thanks paz for your super speedy response.

My wife has just found the below on the UK Gov website - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/entry-requirements

"Entry requirements

Passport Validity

Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months from the date of entry into Thailand."

Could it be that the UK Gov website is wrong?

This is what is said in the database -

Passport required.
- Passports issued to nationals of United Kingdom must be

valid for the period of intended stay.
- for holders of normal passports;
- Emergency and temporary passports issued to nationals of

United Kingdom must be valid for a minimum of 6 months from
the arrival date.

The way I read this concurs with the advice you guys are giving. That as my daughter has got a passport that is valid for the period of intended stay she should be allowed entry. And that the 6 months validity is only for emergency and temporary passports.

The UK government website states " should be valid for a minimum period of 6 months". That dose say it is mandatory.

I once entered Thailand with a passport that was valid for less than 4 months. No question or comments by the airline or immigration. At the time I didn't even think about ti until a discussion about it came up much later on this forum.

Just wanted to say a huge THANKS to everyone for their help and advice. I have been to Singapore airport this evening, and AirAsia have confirmed that there should be no issues with my daughter entering Thailand on a passport that will expire in 5 months time as she will be departing before her passport expires. I have therefore booked fights for tomorrow. Fingers crossed all will go to plan.

Reporting back to say how this saga panned out.

The ariline airasia told us that there is no problem with entering Thailand with a passport that has less than 6 months until it expires along as it is valid until departure.

We had no issues with Singapore immigration on leaving Singapore and no problem with immigration on entry into Singapore.

So, in summary, the advice that we had been given previously - that we need to obtain an Emergency Travel Document from the British Consulate in Singapore and a Visa from the Thai Embassy in Singapore was not correct.

Many thanks again to all who advised on this forum.

Thanks for the update and enjoy your stay!