Six-month passport validity required to enter Thailand

[sicky]

5 hours ago, perthperson said:

http://www.iatatravelcentre.com/

Thanks for the link.  That link appears to show that with short stays, fewer than six-month's validity is allowed.  But what about holders of visas of various types?  I'm not sure that the page allows that information to be specified, unless I'm mistaken.

 

Do those who already possess a visa, of various types, require six-months' validity?

[perthperson]

12 minutes ago, sicky said:

Thanks for the link.  That link appears to show that with short stays, fewer than six-month's validity is allowed.  But what about holders of visas of various types?  I'm not sure that the page allows that information to be specified, unless I'm mistaken.

 

Do those who already possess a visa, of various types, require six-months' validity?

It would not be possible to obtain a visa from a Thai embassy/consulate which was valid beyond a passports period of validity. 

[ubonjoe]

32 minutes ago, sicky said:

Thanks for the link.  That link appears to show that with short stays, fewer than six-month's validity is allowed.  But what about holders of visas of various types?  I'm not sure that the page allows that information to be specified, unless I'm mistaken.

 

Do those who already possess a visa, of various types, require six-months' validity?

Using the site I posted a link to (less info needed than IATA site). Entered a stay of about 90 days with a passport valid of less than 6 months. It asked if I had another travel document and I selected visa. 

Screenshot of results.

 

 

 

[sicky]

 

Thanks very much for doing that.   I had some difficulties given that my travel will be to Hong Kong, but that aside, it seems to indicate that Thailand does not require six months' validity.

Edited July 10, 2017 by sicky

[sicky]

50 minutes ago, perthperson said:

It would not be possible to obtain a visa from a Thai embassy/consulate which was valid beyond a passports period of validity. 

I already have a visa.

[perthperson]

1 minute ago, sicky said:

I already have a visa.

 

Are you saying that you obtained a visa the validity of which exceeded the validity of your passport?  

 

Interesting.

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, sicky said:

Thanks very much for doing that.  The site seems to have a problem though, when I say I am returning back to Hong Kong, even though British passport holders can arrive in Hong Kong with only a month's passport expiry remaining.  The message indicates this "1 month", but then says there's a problem.  Not sure if the site has bugs.

You do not show a departure date from Hong Kong is why it says that. You don't have enough passport validity if you were to stay for 180 days.

Try with a multisegment with a flight out of Hong Kong a month before the passport validity date you enter.

[sicky]

16 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You do not show a departure date from Hong Kong is why it says that. You don't have enough passport validity if you were to stay for 180 days.

Try with a multisegment with a flight out of Hong Kong a month before the passport validity date you enter.

Yes, you're right, my apologies.  It took me some time to understand that website, I must say.  I was just trying to re-post that result, together with an updated itinerary but ran out of edit time.  Yes, I found that with an additional segment from Hong Kong, before the remaining month's expiry on the passport, that it indicated all was well  As the attached shows, crucially, we can arrive in Thailand just over three months before passport expiry.

[sicky]

31 minutes ago, perthperson said:

 

Are you saying that you obtained a visa the validity of which exceeded the validity of your passport?  

 

Interesting.

Yes, that's correct indeed.  My UK passport visa expires in January 2018 and my Thai visa expires in mid-March 2018.  Presumably that's normal though, because we can use the existing unexpired visa in our old passports, when presenting our new passport, without the visa needing to be transferred from the old passport to the new passport.  Certainly that's what I've read others advocate.

[BritTim]

1 hour ago, sicky said:

Yes, that's correct indeed.  My UK passport visa expires in January 2018 and my Thai visa expires in mid-March 2018.  Presumably that's normal though, because we can use the existing unexpired visa in our old passports, when presenting our new passport, without the visa needing to be transferred from the old passport to the new passport.  Certainly that's what I've read others advocate.

Makes sense. Only the permission to stay, granted on entry, needs to end before the expiry date of the passport.

[sicky]

Many thanks for the comments on this.  We seem to have shown that in terms of immigration, there is no six-month passport validity requirement.  What would then remain to be seen however, is whether airline companies comply at check-in and what would one do given that situation, should they claim otherwise.

 

The other unknown, is that if the six-month validity is untrue, then what is the immigration rule?  Hong Kong requires at least one month remaining at the time of departure.  They've made it clear, but I wonder what Thailand's rule is.

Edited July 10, 2017 by sicky

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, sicky said:

What would then remain to be seen however, is whether airline companies comply at check-in and what would one do given that situation, should they claim otherwise.

If the airline is a member of the IATA they would accept what is shown in their data base. 

The problem arises when an airline is not a member. This can be the case with some low cost carriers. For example Air Asia has a minimum of 6 months passport validity in their terms and conditions when you buy a ticket.

Also remember it is not the same for all countries. Many still need 6 months of validity.

[sicky]

37 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

If the airline is a member of the IATA they would accept what is shown in their data base. 

The problem arises when an airline is not a member. This can be the case with some low cost carriers. For example Air Asia has a minimum of 6 months passport validity in their terms and conditions when you buy a ticket.

Also remember it is not the same for all countries. Many still need 6 months of validity.

Thank you, that's very clear.  So this list would be very useful... http://www.iata.org/about/members/Pages/airline-list.aspx

 

Also, the 19 visa-on-arrival countries you refer to is clarified in Thailand's official tourism website here and specifically mentions the six-month validity requirement as you say.  Ironically, it's this page which really had me convinced over the weekend that the six-month requirement applied to everything and everybody!  https://www.tourismthailand.org/About-Thailand/Passport-Visa

 

I'm really sorry this question has taken up a lot of people's time.  It's really appreciated.

[JackThompson]

1 hour ago, sicky said:

Thank you, that's very clear.  So this list would be very useful... http://www.iata.org/about/members/Pages/airline-list.aspx

 

Also, the 19 visa-on-arrival countries you refer to is clarified in Thailand's official tourism website here and specifically mentions the six-month validity requirement as you say.  Ironically, it's this page which really had me convinced over the weekend that the six-month requirement applied to everything and everybody!  https://www.tourismthailand.org/About-Thailand/Passport-Visa

 

I'm really sorry this question has taken up a lot of people's time.  It's really appreciated.

Don't feel too bad - I came to the same conclusion after visiting USA-Govt websites, among others, which also repeated the 6-Mo rule.  It seems almost everyone has it wrong. 

But note - do not trust the IATA website's info on money requirements.  You need 10K Baht worth of Cash or Travelers Checks on your person for a Visa-Exempt entry, and 20K worth with a visa.  IATA incorrectly states that plastic-money is OK, but people have been sent-back by Immigration for not having it, and not allowed to withdraw it from an ATM to show.

Edited July 10, 2017 by JackThompson

[sicky]

5 hours ago, JackThompson said:

But note - do not trust the IATA website's info on money requirements.  You need 10K Baht worth of Cash or Travelers Checks on your person for a Visa-Exempt entry, and 20K worth with a visa.  IATA incorrectly states that plastic-money is OK, but people have been sent-back by Immigration for not having it, and not allowed to withdraw it from an ATM to show.

20,000 is a lot to carry around through airports on each trip and worry about losing it!   Frankly with Thailand's improbable rules at times, I feel like not bothering to come back anyway!

[bangkoklasse]

16 hours ago, perthperson said:

It would not be possible to obtain a visa from a Thai embassy/consulate which was valid beyond a passports period of validity. 

Most people that live here like me don't apply for a visa. We have a 1 year extension that we renew once a year at our immigration office

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, sicky said:

20,000 is a lot to carry around through airports on each trip and worry about losing it!   Frankly with Thailand's improbable rules at times, I feel like not bothering to come back anyway!

Yes, I keep $500 USD of mine in Travelers Checks; they never expire.  It's a bit old-fashioned, but a good insurance-policy for many situations. 

[Thailand]

Plenty of info here.

 

http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/en/907-suvarnabhumi-visa-on-arrival

 

 

 

[stevenl]

8 minutes ago, Thailand said:

Plenty of info here.

 

http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/en/907-suvarnabhumi-visa-on-arrival

 

 

 

That is visa on arrival info, not visa exempt info as discussed here.