Re-entry stamp number doesn’t match with visa number. Comments please

[passedout]

Hi guys, some days ago I’ve got a single re-entry stamp from my local immigration office on my single entry non-o visa based on retirement I’ve recently got in Vientiane and I’ve just spotted that the number on the top left on the re-entry stamp doesn’t match with any number on the visa itself.

I think the immigration officer when he showed me what was what in the re-entry stamp he just made for me he said that was the visa number which makes it plausible so they can easily connect the two. Can’t remember perfectly though. If that’s the case then I may have a problem next time I come back to Thailand. I should have taken my glasses with me to check properly I guess. Rather than going back to check with them and possibly waste a trip I’m asking in here first. I attached a photo for clarity.

Thanks in advance for your comments

[nowretired]

It is a number separate to the "Visa" which has now been used and is of no further use.

The permit relates to the permission to stay date which was placed in your passport when you entered the country.

Use the permit number when completing the entry/departure card when re entering Thailand

[passedout]

It is a number separate to the "Visa" which has now been used and is of no further use.

The permit relates to the permission to stay date which was placed in your passport when you entered the country.

Use the permit number when completing the entry/departure card when re entering Thailand

Hi nowretired and thanks for that info. So there's not connection with the original visa and you say to write the permit number on the arrival card next time I enter the country which is the one on the top left of the re-entry stamp 1357/58

Cheers

[passedout]

Next time I come back in I will apply for a year extension based on retirement but I've got no plans to retire/stop working anytime soon. Can anyone see any problem with that? I assume I have to put retired in the arrival/departure card every time I come back into the country.

[KhunBENQ]

Next time I come back in I will apply for a year extension based on retirement but I've got no plans to retire/stop working anytime soon. Can anyone see any problem with that? I assume I have to put retired in the arrival/departure card every time I come back into the country.

No one at immigration cares about your status outside of Thailand (in your home country).

I doubt they care about any of the non-essential information on the departure card.

"Retired" refers only to the fact that you are not allowed and do not work in Thailand.

What you do elsewhere is not their business.

Write "retired", no prob.

And yes, write the number of the re-entry permit in the departure card when you arrive next time.

You will then get an "Admitted Until" stamp for 17 Nov 2015.

Edited August 23, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[passedout]

Next time I come back in I will apply for a year extension based on retirement but I've got no plans to retire/stop working anytime soon. Can anyone see any problem with that? I assume I have to put retired in the arrival/departure card every time I come back into the country.

No one at immigration cares about your status outside of Thailand (in your home country).

I doubt they care about any of the non-essential information on the departure card.

"Retired" refers only to the fact that you are not allowed and do not work in Thailand.

What you do elsewhere is not their business.

Write "retired", no prob.

And yes, write the number of the re-entry permit in the departure card when you arrive next time.

You will then get an "Admitted Until" stamp for 17 Nov 2015.

Hi KhunBENQ thanks for your input.

I read in other threads that now the immigration officers have started doing house calls to make sure people really live to the addresses they say they are even on retirement extensions.

I normally spend 6 months of the year outside Thailand for work purposes and if they come and check on me while I'm not there I assume I can say the truth and tell them I"m working away. Do you see any problem with that either?

[ubonjoe]

Unless you are applying at the immigration office in Surin you do not have to worry about a house visit and the only ones they do is when you apply for the extension.

Immigration does not expect you to stay in the country for the full year.

[wayned]

The number in the top left is the 1357th one that they have issued in 2015 (2558). It makes it easy for them to look it up later if there is a problem/question.

[passedout]

That's good news all around ubonjoe. Thanks for that.

Now I can see the sense in that number. Cheers wayned

[TigerandDog]

Just an additional piecd of information that I learned when I got my single entry permit this week. The single entry valid to date means that when you re-enter you can still only stay until 17 Nov 2015. However, if you leave the country again before 17th Nov get a multi-entry permit, and when you return you will get a 12 month extension. e.g. you come back to Thailand on 15th Sept, on your current permit you, your passport will be stamped and the valid to date will be 17 Nov. However if you should leave the country again, say on 1 October, and you have a multi-entry re-entry permit, and your return date is 4th Nov, your passport will be stamped with a valid to date of 3 Nov 2016. Immigration explained to me that the 12 month extension on re-entry only applies to multi-entry re-entry permits. The Immigration web site does not make this clear. It gives the impression that a 12 month extension is given every time you return to Thailand. So I know that next time, I'll be getting a multi-entry re-entry permit.

[ubonjoe]

Just an additional piecd of information that I learned when I got my single entry permit this week. The single entry valid to date means that when you re-enter you can still only stay until 17 Nov 2015. However, if you leave the country again before 17th Nov get a multi-entry permit, and when you return you will get a 12 month extension. e.g. you come back to Thailand on 15th Sept, on your current permit you, your passport will be stamped and the valid to date will be 17 Nov. However if you should leave the country again, say on 1 October, and you have a multi-entry re-entry permit, and your return date is 4th Nov, your passport will be stamped with a valid to date of 3 Nov 2016. Immigration explained to me that the 12 month extension on re-entry only applies to multi-entry re-entry permits. The Immigration web site does not make this clear. It gives the impression that a 12 month extension is given every time you return to Thailand. So I know that next time, I'll be getting a multi-entry re-entry permit.

Not correct.

Apparently a misunderstanding of what you were told. If you get a one year extension of stay a re-entry permit would be valid until the extension ends.

A re-entry permit is issued based upon a permited to stay date it does not matter if it is single or multiple re-entry permit.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Just an additional piecd of information that I learned when I got my single entry permit this week. The single entry valid to date means that when you re-enter you can still only stay until 17 Nov 2015. However, if you leave the country again before 17th Nov get a multi-entry permit, and when you return you will get a 12 month extension. e.g. you come back to Thailand on 15th Sept, on your current permit you, your passport will be stamped and the valid to date will be 17 Nov. However if you should leave the country again, say on 1 October, and you have a multi-entry re-entry permit, and your return date is 4th Nov, your passport will be stamped with a valid to date of 3 Nov 2016. Immigration explained to me that the 12 month extension on re-entry only applies to multi-entry re-entry permits. The Immigration web site does not make this clear. It gives the impression that a 12 month extension is given every time you return to Thailand. So I know that next time, I'll be getting a multi-entry re-entry permit.

Not so. You are confusing the O-A Long Stay Multi-entry visa (obtainable only in your homeland) with extensions and re-entry permits (obtainable only inside Thailand). If you are in Thailand on extensions (retirement, marriage, etc.), you must have a re-entry permit to come back into Thailand. Re-entry permits expire with your extension expiry date. There are no free extra years. You just have to renew your extension, plus get a new re-entry permit.

As others said to the OP, that number in the upper left of your re-entry permit is your new (visa) number. Write this on the Arrival form in the visa number area.