Do i require a visa when travelling with an Emergency Travel Document

[el jorge]

Hi,

 

I recently tried checking in online for my flight to Bangkok but was unable to do so because I have less than 6 months left on my passport. I have since got an Emergency Travel Document from the British embassy but have been unable to find a definitive answer on whether or not I need a visa. I'm a UK citizen and the length of my stay is 7 days so normally it wouldn't be necessary but I'm not sure if this is still the case when travelling with an ETD. I can't contact the Thai embassy or see any information on their website. Any help would be appreciated.  

 

Thanks!

[farang241]

I've been on those emergency passport things several times due to stupid late passport renewal or lost passport, just a folded piece of paper with all the right stamps and photos. I've never had any problem entering or leaving Thailand on a temporary passport, but keep in mind some immigration officers might view it as only valid for travelling back to your country of origin.

 

 

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, el jorge said:

I recently tried checking in online for my flight to Bangkok but was unable to do so because I have less than 6 months left on my passport

That is annoying, but a manual check at the airport should have worked. Did you try? Presumably, it is not feasible for the online system to check (i) the passport is valid for the duration of your proposed stay in Thailand; and (ii) you are not transitting via another country that insists on 6-month validity.

[el jorge]

Thanks guys.

 

I finally got through to the embassy and they told me that I could have travelled to Thailand with my previous passport although this contradicts the information on both the British and Thai embassy websites. It felt a bit wrong when I exchanged my real full passport for a temporary one. I think I've made my situation a lot worse haha Hopefully I dont encounter any over enthusiastic immigration officers.

 

Thanks!

[thedemon]

The minimum 6 month validity thing causes a lot of confusion, it seems. Thailand doesn't require 6 months for some nationalities but does for others.

 

I noticed on the eticket from a low-cost recently that the airline had a blanket requirement of minimum 6 months validity irrespective of nationality/destination.

[sometimewoodworker]

There are rules about validity requirements for passports, onward tickets and money in your possession that are seldom enforced when flying into Thailand. 

 

The validity requirements of more than 6 months validity for passports are usually enforced on land crossings.

 

However airlines can make their own rules. AirAsia for example has a blanket "6 months valid" requirement for all flights to all countries. Other LCC's may well have similar rules. This isn't surprising as the airlines have heavy costs if someone is refused immigration clearance. 

 

So you really need to contact the airline you will be flying with to find out if they will let you on board with the ETD, they have the final say. If the airline will let you fly a visa is not needed assuming you are a full British citizen. 

[el jorge]

OK thanks guys. I'm flying with air asia.

 

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, el jorge said:

OK thanks guys. I'm flying with air asia.

 

Air Asia has it in their terms conditions that a passport must have 6 months of validity. If purchasing your tickets online it will not accept it if your passport has less than 6 months remaining.

A member was able to get around it by showing them a copy of the IATA timatic website info that states only a passport valid for the length of stay is needed.

Enter the required info here to see what it says. https://www.skyteam.com/en/flights-and-destinations/visa-and-health/

[el jorge]

Thanks that's helpful! Too late for me now because the embassy has cancelled my passport to process the ETD. I hope they accept the ETD.

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, el jorge said:

Thanks that's helpful! Too late for me now because the embassy has cancelled my passport to process the ETD. I hope they accept the ETD.

As long as the ETD has your trips shown on it they will accept it.

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, el jorge said:

OK thanks guys. I'm flying with air asia.

 

 

That should really be "I hope I'm flying with AirAsia"

 

If you fly will very much depend on the validity showing on your EDT and the attitude of the ground staff. ETD's can be listed as only valid for the period requested up to a maximum of 12 months.

 

I strongly recommend calling the local AirAsia office and discussing it with them.

 

In some countries the ground staff may be able to vary the rules for you if you sign a waver, but the local office is the first point of contact.

 

Thailand immigration is not the difficulty. It's getting on the AirAsia flight in the first place.

[chickenslegs]

I have tried emailing Air Asia in the past, but got no reply.

Just this morning I used the "live chat" page to clarify a problem with a flight I booked for a friend.

I had to wait in a queue for about 10 minutes but once I got through the response was great. Also, I was able to take a screenshot of the conversation so I will have a record if anything goes wrong.

 

Here's a link...

http://www.airasia.com/mo/en/live-chat.page

[BritTim]

6 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

The validity requirements of more than 6 months validity for passports are usually enforced on land crossings.

It ends up usually being enforced at land borders because you cannot enter any of the adjoining countries to Thailand with a passport having less than 6-month validity. If you happened, say, to have entered the other country while it still had 6-month validity, you would be able to return to Thailand by land when the remaining validity was much less. That is rarely what people want to do in practice.

 

If you want to do a "border hop" for a new visa exempt entry, it must be done by air, and via a country that allows entry on a soon-to-expire passport. The closest such country is Hong Kong. It is almost invariably much smarter to renew your passport once it is getting close to the expiry date.

[sometimewoodworker]

13 minutes ago, BritTim said:

It ends up usually being enforced at land borders because you cannot enter any of the adjoining countries to Thailand with a passport having less than 6-month validity. If you happened, say, to have entered the other country while it still had 6-month validity, you would be able to return to Thailand by land when the remaining validity was much less. That is rarely what people want to do in practice.

 

If you want to do a "border hop" for a new visa exempt entry, it must be done by air, and via a country that allows entry on a soon-to-expire passport. The closest such country is Hong Kong. It is almost invariably much smarter to renew your passport once it is getting close to the expiry date.

The advice to renew early is specially true for a British passport, as renewed up to 9 months early doesn't loose any remaining time on the passport.

 

FWIW my current passport is valid for 10 years 6 months.