Applying for a new passport in home country while on non-o visa

[kriswillems]

I plan to apply for a new passport in my home country.
Because of a new rule it's not possible to get a new passport in my embassy as long as I have an official residency in Belgium.
I want to keep my residency in Belgium because it will make going back easier and I still have a house there.
Therefore I would like to travel back home and apply for a new passport there.

The problem is that I have a non-immigrant-o extension valid until mid september and a reentry permit. This is my 6th consecutive 1 year extension.

If I apply for a new passport in Belgium, my local city hall will probably not want to write a letter to transfer the immigration stamps, because they have no knowledge about such letter.

So, suppose I would arrive in Thailand with:
- my old passport with reentry permit
- my new blank passport
- and without any letter asking to transfer the stamps

Will I be allowed to stay until my extension in my old passport expires?
Will I be able to transfer the stamps to my new passport?

An alternative would to apply for a new non-O visa in Belgium. But this would break my 6 year consecutive extension chain.

Edited February 19, 2016 by kriswillems

[kriswillems]

Would the Thai embassy in Belgium be able to transfer the stamps for me?
personally I think this is unlikely, given the huge number of special stamps and knowledge involved, plus access to computer immigration system that is needed).

[ubonjoe]

You can enter the country by showing both passports to use the re-entry permit in the old passport. They will do an entry stamp with a permitted to stay date equal to the expiration date of your re-entry permit in your new passport.

Whether you need a letter to have the stamps transferred will depend upon the immigration office you do it at. Some don't ask for the letter if you have used the new one to enter the country.

You should be able to get a letter from the Belgian embassy to have the stamps transferred if needed.

Immigration here is the only place you can get the stamps transferred.

[kriswillems]

Belgium embassy doesn't provide any consular services to people with residency in Belgium, so I guess that includes the letter.
The only consular services you can get from them are emergency travel documents or replacing a stolen passport.
Suppose I get my local city hall to write a letter in English, would that letter be accepted?

[ubonjoe]

The letter if in English might be accepted as long as it confirms you got a new passport from them.

[kriswillems]

Ok, my plan:
1. I consult immigration office here to ask if a letter of my local city hall would be accepted and/or if a letter is necessary.
2. I enter Belgium.
3. I apply for a new passport in Belgium
4. I ask the city hall if they can write than letter in English (if necessary).
- If they can not : I apply for a new non-immigrant-O visa and ask for a new 1 year extension in Thailand. This would break my visa-extension chain, but I never managed to get any benefit from that chain anyway.
- If they can: I take a old passport with reentry permit and new blank passport with me to enter Thailand. I get stamped in the new passport according to the reentry permit in the old passport. I go to immigration to transfer the other stamps.

I guess that would work.

Edit: thinking about it. There are a lot of steps and goodwill involved in this choice (both of my city hall and immigration). I might just choose to apply for a new non-immigrant-O visa.

Edited February 19, 2016 by kriswillems

[ubonjoe]

Which immigration office will you be doing the transfer at.

If all else fails I would try for the letter from the embassy. By that point it will be an emergency situation which I would think they would understand.

[kriswillems]

Problem solved. I went to talk to immigration in Sriracha. They don't need a special letter, just the 2 passports.